The gods of Mexico

by Lewis Spence

“They here fasted the last four days to Quecalcoatl of Tula, who is he who was named after the first Calcoatle; and now they name him One Cane, which is the star Venus, of which they tell the fable accredited amongst them.

“Tlavizcalpantecutli is the star Venus the first created light (Civahteltona) before the deluge. They say that it was a fire or a star: it was created before the sun. This star (Venus) is Quecalcoatle. They say this is the star which we call Lucifer from its light; and they accordingly paint it with the sign of one Cane, which was the day dedicated to it. He took this name on the occasion of his departure or disappearance. Tlavizcalpantecutli is the God of Morning when it begins to dawn: he is also the Lord of Twilight on the approach of Night: he presided over these thirteen days during the four last of which they fasted. It properly was the first light which appeared in the world; it here signifies the light which diffuses itself over things, or the surface of the earth.”

The interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A says:

“They invented dreams, the result of their own blindness, relating that a god of the name of Citallatonac, which is the sign seen in heaven called St. James’s or the Milky Way, sent an ambassador from heaven on an embassy to a virgin of Tulan called Chimalman (a shield) who had two sisters, the one named Tzochitlique and the other Couatlique; and that the three being alone in the house, two of them, observing the ambassador of heaven, died of fright, Chimalman alone remaining alive, to whom the ambassador announced that it was the will of this god that she should conceive a son; and having delivered to her the message, he rose and left the house, and as soon as he had left it she conceived a son without connection with man, who they called Quetzalcoatle, who they say is the god of air, and his temples are round in the manner of churches, although till that time such was not the fashion of their temples. He was the inventor of [[130]]temples of this form as we shall show. He it was, as they say, who caused hurricanes and in my opinion was the god who was called Citaladuali and it was he who destroyed the world by winds. This painting is here wanting, together with another which represented that as soon as the son of this virgin was born he possessed the use of reason. The son of the virgin, Topilcin Quetzalcoatle, knowing that the vices of men were necessarily the cause of the troubles of the world, determined on asking the goddess Chalchiutlicue (this was the heavenly designation of the virgin Chimalman) who is she who remained after the deluge with the man in the tree, and is the mother of the god Tlaloque, whom they have made goddess of water, that they might obtain rain when they stood in need of and accordingly Quetzalcoatle commenced offering sacrifices to obtain rain, as a period of four years had elapsed since it had rained.

“Quetzalcoatltopilzin does penance and makes offerings of prayers, sacrifice, gold gems, incense, etc., to appease divine wrath against the people; draws his own blood with thorns. After the expiration of a long period during which he continued his penance a lizard appeared scratching the ground giving him to understand that the scourge of heaven was past and that the earth would with joy produce its fruits, which quickly came to pass; and accordingly they relate that on a sudden such abundance followed that the earth, which had remained so many years barren, bore many kinds of fruit and from that even they took four signs.

“Quetzalcoatl’s example teaches men to do penance, make offerings. He founded four temples—the first for the nobles; second, for the people; third, House of Fear or Serpent; fourth, Temple of Shame.

“Of Quetzalcoatle they relate that, proceeding on his journey, he arrived at the Red Sea, which is here painted, and which they named Tlapallan; and that entering into it, they saw no more of him, nor knew what became of him, except that they say that he desired them at the time of his departure to restrain their grief and to expect his return, which would take place at the appointed time; and accordingly [[131]]they expect him even to the present time: and when the Spaniards came to this country they believed that it was he, and when at a later period of 1550 when the Çapotecas revolted, they alleged, as the cause of their insurrection, the report that their god who had to redeem them had already come. Quetzalcoatle was born on the sign One Cane; and the year of the Spaniards’ arrival commenced on the sign One Cane, according to their ancient Computation: whence the occasion arose of their believing that the Spaniards were their gods; because they say that he had foretold that a bearded nation would arrive in those countries who would subject them. They adored him as a god, as will be seen: for they believed it certain that he had ascended into heaven and was that star which was visible at the north of the sun before the break of day, which is the planet Venus; and they represented him accordingly as has already been shown.

“Quetzalcoatle was the first inventor of sacrifices of human blood, amongst the various other things which they offered to the gods; and this was the manner in which they pierced their tongues, that the blood might flow … and their ears and penis; till at last, as we shall presently mention, the custom of human sacrifices was introduced, when they tore out the hearts of the victims to present them to the face of the idol which they considered the image of their wretched god.

“They declare that their supreme deity Tonacatecotle, whom we have just mentioned, who by another name was called Citinatonali, when it appeared good to him, breathed and begot Quetzalcoatle, not by connection with woman, but by his breath alone, as we have observed above, when he sent his ambassador, as they say, to the virgin of Tula. They believed him to be the god of the air and he was the first to whom they built temples and churches, which they formed perfectly round without any angles. They say that it was he who effected the reformation of the world by penance, since as, according to his account, his father had created the world and men had given themselves up to vice, on which account it had been frequently destroyed, Citinatonali sent [[132]]his son into the world to reform it.… They assigned to him the dominion over the other thirteen signs, which are here represented, in the same manner in which they assigned the preceding thirteen to his father. They celebrated a great festival on this sign, as we shall see on the sign of four earthquakes, which is the fourth in order here, because they feared that the world would be destroyed in that sign, as he had foretold to them when he disappeared in the Red Sea, which event occurred on the same sign. As they considered him their advocate, they celebrated a solemn festival and fasted during four signs.”

The Anales de Quauhtitlan or Codex Chimalpopocâ states that Quetzalcoatl was born in no natural manner, but was a nine years’ child. He created the four classes of men: the men of the four “suns” or periods of the world were made by him on the day chicome ehecatl, or “seven wind.” The record proceeds to relate the circumstances of his rule at Tollan, the manner in which he discovered the value of precious stones, gold and silver, red and white shells, quetzal feathers, the cotinga and red sparrowbill feathers, the various species of cocoa and cotton. When he had drunk the octli offered him by Tezcatlipocâ, he forgot his chastity in the intoxication and indulged in intercourse with Quetzalpetlatl, for which sin he was forced to quit Mexico. When he was driven from Tollan in the year one reed, he arrived on the sea-shore, wept, and divested himself of his garb and turquoise snake-mask. Then he immolated himself by burning, his ashes became dust and changed into birds and his heart was converted into the morning star. Lastly, it is said of him that when he died he was not visible for four days, during which period he tarried in the Underworld. For a subsequent four days “he was bones.” “After eight days appeared the great star which they called Quetzalcoatl. They said that he thus mounted the throne as a god.”