AZTEC COSMOGONY (Lectures 32-33)

Leyenda de los Soles Primal Duality Creation of Suns 1-4 Creation of 5th world Descent into Mictlan Mountain of Sustenance Creation of pulque Creation of 5th Sun (4-Motion)

Primal Duality Ometeotl creates 4 Tezcatlipocas Creation of Suns 1-4 Creation of 5th world separation of earth and sky creation of 13 levels sacrifice of caiman (Cipactli) blood-letting by gods Descent into Mictlan Quetzalcoatl and nahualli Xolotl descend for bones retrieval of broken bones people made from ground bones and divine blood Mountain of Sustenance discovery of mountain of maize Nanahuatzin borrows lightning, splits mountain tlaloques steal maize Creation of pulque Quetzalcoatl elopes with Mayahuel Mayahuel dismembered by tzitzimimes transformation into maguey Creation of 5th Sun (4-Motion)

TEZCATLIPOCA POINT ALIAS COMMENT Red East sunrise Xipe Totec Our Lord the Flayed One sacrifice renewal regeneration Black North midnight Tezcatlipoca Smoking Mirror darkness magic delusion White West sunset Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl Plumed Serpent-Wind culture-bringer Yellow ____________ Blue South noon Huitzilopochtli Southern Humming-bird _________________ Mictlantecuhtli Lord of the Dead Nahuatl warrior _______________ death

Creation of Worlds • Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca compete to create GOD RTESULT 4 Jaguar Tezcatlipoca eaten by jaguars 4 Wind Quetzalcoatl blown away by wind 4 Rain Tlaloc fire 4 Water Chalchiutlicue flood 4 Motion Nanahuatzin earthquake • Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca compete to create new world • Four worlds created result in four failures • Inner power of each world destroys each one • Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca cooperate to create Fifth World

Descent into Mictlan • Quetzalcoatl and nahualli Xolotl descend into Mictlan • after various trials, they recover bones of ancestors • bones break, resulting in different and flawed humans • Quetzalcoatl brings bones back up, where they are ground • bone meal mixed with blood of gods to create new humans

Mountain of Sustenance • Quetzalcoatl discovers Mountain of Sustenance filled with maize. • Quetzalcoatl is unable to move mountain. • Nanahuatzin borrows lightning from Tlaloc at the four quadrants. • Nanahuatzin splits Mountain of Sustenance. • Servants of Tlaloc (tlaloques) steal maize.

Origin of Maguey • Quetzalcoatl elopes with Mayahuel. • Mayahuel’s grandmother, a star-demon, sends tzitzimime in pursuit. • Tzitzimime catch and decapitate Mayahuel. • Quetzalcoatl burns Mayahuel’s body. • Maguey grows from ashes.

Creation of the 5th Sun • Competition between Nanahuatzin and Tecuciztecatl. • Nanahuatzin jumps into bonfire first and becomes 5th Sun. • Tecuciztecatl jumps second, to become Moon. • Rabbit thrown at Moon to dim its brightness • Quetzalcoatl sacrifices gods to provide blood to feed Sun. • Quetzalcoatl sacrifices nahualli Xolotl. • Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl blows wind to put Sun and Moon into motion.