the bird on fire

When Elizabeth asked the Blog Class to write about “Mythology,” Blogger Erik chose to explore his Mexica ancestry and write about the creation myth of the Mexica people.

By Erik Bearman

Context 

The Mexica people are known as “the Aztecs” by the general public and were given that name by the Spanish. However, this is not what the Nahuatl-speaking peoples of that region called themselves at the time; nor is it what they call themselves today. Because of this, I will be referring to the Mexica by our indigenious name.

Pre-Creation

Ometeotl, the Dual God, is the bigender creator god of the Mexica and Lord of Duality. They created the world with the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. Ometeotl’s first four sons each ruled a direction. 

Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror, rules the North and is the embodiment of the night sky and winds, hurricanes, discord, earth, sorcery, temptation, obsidian, rulership, and jaguars.

Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, rules the West and is the embodiment of wind, wisdom, art, the day, rain, and the cycle of death and resurrection. He is also mankind’s creator. You may be familiar with the Feathered Serpent because he appears across Mesoamerican artwork and in pop culture.

Our Lord the Flayed One, Xipe Totec, rules the East and is the embodiment of agriculture, sacrifice, vegetation, the seasons, maize, and rebirth. 

Huitzilopochtli, the Blue Hummingbird of the South, rules the South. Huitzilopochtli is patron of the Mexica people and is the embodiment of war, fire, and the current sun.

The gods set out to create more gods and the rest of the world, but first they had to defeat the earth monster, Cipactli. Cipactli was a giant crocodilian/fish/turtle who lived in the primordial sea of creation. Anything the gods tried to create Cipactli ate. The gods battled with Cipactli. Tezcatlipoca lost his left leg in the process. After the battle, the gods repurposed Cipactli’s body and scattered it into the sky, land, caves, valleys, and grass. The Mexica use Cipactli as an explanation for sinkholes. A commonly held belief is that Cipactli will drag people underground unless she is fed the blood of regular sacrificial victims. 

The gods were nearly finished with creating the world, but they still needed a sun. The gods gathered their power into a ball of light, which existed among them. Tezcatlipoca, who was proud but petty, stole the ball, tied it to his back, and rose into the sky with the sun. 

The First Sun and the First People

The First Sun was ruled by Tezcatlipoca and lasted 676 years. The first people Quetzalcoatl created were a race of nut-eating giants. For the most part, the world was in order. But, there was a problem with the Sun. Because he had lost his leg, Tezcatlipoca could only manage half a sun. Yet, he refused to step down. So Quetzalcoatl, the wisest of the gods, came up with the best solution. He took a macuahuitl (a wooden club used by Mexica warriors) and whacked Tezcatlipoca out of the sky! In a vengeful response, Tezcatlipoca created jaguars to devour the people Quetzalcoatl had created. And, the people disappeared.

The Second Sun and the Second People

Quetzalcoatl took over as the Second Sun and ruled for another 676 years. Quetzalcoatl created a new race of people who were much smaller than the giants. However, Tezcatlipoca was still angry at his brother for hitting him out of the sky centuries earlier. So, Tezcatlipoca used his dark magic to transform into a giant jaguar, leaped into the sky, and struck down his brother. Quetzalcoatl retaliated with a massive windstorm that ended up blowing humanity away. The survivors turned into monkeys. Quetzalcoatl was quite bummed about his precious creations being turned into monkeys. So he left and ended the age of the Second Sun. To recap, Quetzalcoatl has gone; there are no humans–only monkeys.

The Third Sun and the Third People

The Third Sun was not ruled by one of the cardinal gods but by a rain god named Tlaloc. Tlaloc embodies rain, storms, thunder, lightning, moisture, and plant growth after rainstorms. His name means “he who makes things sprout.” Tlaloc ruled for 676 more years until Tezcatlipoca interfered. Tlaloc’s wife at the time was Xochiquetzal, the Precious Feathered Flower, who embodies female sexual power, prostitution, erotic love, beauty, and pregnancy. Xochiquetzal was seduced by Tezcatlipoca and left her husband. Tlaloc entered a state of depression and neglected his duties as a rain god. The people kept praying and attempting to appease him. Tlaloc eventually caved and gave the humans rain. Only he made it rain fire instead of water. The surviving humans transformed into birds.

Note: In some stories, Xochiquetzal was abducted by Tezcatlipoca and forced to marry him. After leaving Tezcatlipoca, Xochiquetzal was transformed into a patron and guardian of female homosexuality.

The Fourth Sun and the Fourth People

Tlaloc eventually remarried. This time to the goddess Chalchiuhtlicue. Chalchiuhtlicue embodies rivers, streams, storms, seas, and all things water related. Her name means “She of the Jade Skirt.” Chalchiuhtlicue became the Fourth Sun and was broadly loved by the new people Quetzalcoatl created. But, 624 years later, Tezcatlipoca accused Chalchiutlicue of faking her kindness and of only acting the way she did because she wanted mankind’s praise. Chalchiutlicue became so sad that she started crying blood. She cried for 52 two years and drowned the people in her misery. The survivors transformed into fish.

The Fifth Sun and the Fifth People

Note: The Mexica believe that we currently live in the Fifth Sun and that a special sacrificial ceremony called the New Fire Ceremony must be performed every 52 years in order to prevent the next cataclysm. 

The warrior god, Huitzilopochtli, became the Fifth Sun. At this point, Quetzalcoatl was sick and tired of having to recreate humanity. So, he journeyed to the Mictlan, the lowest point in the Mexica underworld, and met with Mictlantecuhtli, the Lord of the Land of the Dead, and Mictlantecuhtli’s wife, Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Land of the Dead and the Keeper of Bones. Quetzalcoatl asked the two if he could have the bones of previous humans in order to create more humans. Mictlantecuhtli said that he would allow Quetzalcoatl to take the bones if Quetzalcoatl traveled around Mictlan blowing into a shell. But Mictlantecuhtli attempted to trick Quetzalcoatl by handing him a shell with no holes to blow. Quetzalcoatl was smart and summoned worms to drill holes into the shell and summoned bees to buzz inside the holes. The horn worked. Mictlantecuhtli was furious but let Quetzalcoatl take the bones.

Quetzalcoatl was heading towards the mortal realm when he fell into a pit. Mictlantecuhtli had played another trick! He had commanded his underworld servants to dig the pit. When Quetzalcoatl awoke, he realized he had broken the bones! Thankfully, the Snake Woman, Cihuacoatl, saved the day. She ground the bones into a bowl and used Quetzalcoatl’s blood to bring the humans to life. They were healthy, but because the bones had been broken, they now had different heights.

There are different predictions for how the Fifth Sun will end, but a common version is that it will once again be the fault of Tezcatlipoca, who will destroy humanity with earthquakes.

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This creation myth is important to me because I can imagine the stories of my ancestors. It provides context and connection. There are many creation myths. This one doesn’t get told enough. It reveals much about my Mexica people, why, and how they lived.

Sources:

• Harper, Jo, and Sizer Irma Martínez. Birth of the Fifth Sun and Other Mesoamerican Tales. Texas Tech Univ. Press, 2008. 
• Miscellaneous Myths: The Five Suns 
• The Fifth Sun – Aztec Myths – Extra Mythology
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quetzalcoatl 
• Clayton, Matt. Aztec Mythology: Captivating Aztec Myths of Gods, Goddesses, and Legendary Creatures. Independently Published, 2018.

Mythology Editor: Elizabeth Shay