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Aztec Gods
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were a culture living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend, the various groups who became the Aztecs arrived from the North into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City – but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the Aztec. There are different accounts of their origin. In the myth, the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec were one of seven groups that came from a place in the north called Aztlan, to make the journey southward, hence their name "Azteca." Other accounts cite their origin in Chicomoztoc, "the place of the seven caves", or at Tamoanchan (the legendary origin of all civilizations). The Mexica/Aztec were said to be guided by their war-god Huitzilopochtli, to an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toltecayotl
Toltecayotl is a Nahuatl word derived from " tōltēcatl" which as used by the Nahuas to refer to the members of the Toltec civilization that preceded them in the basin of Mexico, as well as a generalized meaning of "artisan". Modern use The introduction and dissemination of that title in the academic world is due to anthropologist Miguel León-Portilla who, in 1980, published a book titled ''Tōltēcayōtl, aspects of the Nahuatl culture''. León Portilla's interpretation of the concept of Toltecayotl is based on a set of principles that were collected in the '' Huēhuehtlahtōlli''Must point out that the "Huehuetlahtolli" is a series of texts collected from Nahua informers by Spanish missionaries: by the 16th century, the archaeological Toltec had disappeared. or 'book of the ancient words', which includes traditional parliaments preserved by oral tradition and other documents. The main are the following: Criticism of the use of the term ''Toltequity'' is also the generi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanauatzin
In Aztec mythology, the god Nanahuatzin or Nanahuatl (or Nanauatzin, the suffix -tzin implies respect or familiarity; ), the most humble of the gods, sacrificed himself in fire so that he would continue to shine on Earth as the Sun, thus becoming the sun god. Nanahuatzin means "full of sores." According to a translation of the '' Histoyre du Mechique'', Nanahuatzin is the son of Itzpapalotl and Cozcamiauh or Tonantzin, but was adopted by Piltzintecuhtli and Xōchiquetzal. In the Codex Borgia, Nanahuatzin is represented as a man emerging from a fire. This was originally interpreted as an illustration of cannibalism. He is probably an aspect of Xolotl. Aztec tradition The Aztecs had various myths about the creation, and Nanahuatzin participates in several. In the legend of Quetzalcoatl, Nanahuatzin helps Quetzalcoatl to obtain the first grains which will be the food of humankind. In Aztec mythology, the universe is not permanent or everlasting, but subject to death like a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifth World (Native American Mythology)
The Fifth World in the context of creation myths describes the present world as interpreted by several indigenous groups in the USA and Mexico. The central theme of the myth holds that there were four other cycles of creation and destruction that preceded the Fifth World. The creation story is taken largely from the mythological, cosmological, and eschatological beliefs and traditions of earlier Mesoamerican cultures. Aztec mythology According to Aztec mythology the present world is a product of four cycles of birth, death, and reincarnation. When each world is destroyed it is reborn through the sacrifice of a god. The god’s sacrifice creates a new sun, which creates a new world. The myth is sometimes referred to as the “Legend of Five Suns.” Jaguars, a hurricane, fire rain, and a flood destroyed the first four suns. After the fourth sun was destroyed the gods gathered to choose a god to become the new sun. , a boastful and proud god, offered himself up for sacrifice. Howev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nahui Ollin
Nahui Ollin is a concept in Aztecs, Aztec/Mexica cosmology with a variety of meanings. Nahui translates to "four" and Ollin translates to "movement" or "motion." Ollin was primarily portrayed in Aztec codices as two interlaced lines which are each portrayed with two central ends. Nahui Ollin has been used as an educational framework, particularly in social justice and ethnic studies institutions. Philosophy The concept is also described as alluding to the four preceding suns or ages in history. Nahui Ollin has been described as the Fifth Sun, fifth sun over our current world. Nahui Ollin has been described as "the sun (Tōnatiuh) in its four movements." When the fourth sun ended, Nahui Ollin emerged "from the remnant matter of an earlier age of humanity." It is believed that Quetzalcoatl traveled to Mictlān (underworld or land of the dead) to gather bones from the previous age and initiate a process of re-birthing humanity after its previous catastrophic end. According to sour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiuhcoatl
In Aztec religion, Xiuhcōātl was a mythological serpent, regarded as the spirit form of Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec fire deity sometimes represented as an atlatl or a weapon wielded by Huitzilopochtli. Xiuhcoatl is a Classical Nahuatl word that translates as "turquoise serpent" and also carries the symbolic and descriptive translation of "fire serpent". Xiuhcoatl was a common subject of Aztec art, including illustrations in Aztec codices, and was used as a back ornament on representations of both Xiuhtecuhtli and Huitzilopochtli. Xiuhcoatl is interpreted as the embodiment of the dry season and was the weapon of the sun. Apparently, the royal diadem (or ''xiuhuitzolli'', "pointed turquoise thing") of the Aztec emperors represented the tail of the Xiuhcoatl, the fire serpent. Attributes Typically, Xiuhcoatl was depicted with a sharply back-turned snout and a segmented body. Its tail resembled the trapeze-and-ray year sign and probably does represent that symbol. In Nahuatl, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Suns
In creation myths, the term "Five Suns" refers to the belief of certain Nahua cultures and Aztec peoples that the world has gone through five distinct cycles of creation and destruction, with the current era being the fifth. It is primarily derived from a combination of myths, cosmologies, and eschatological beliefs that were originally held by pre-Columbian peoples in the Mesoamerican region, including central Mexico, and it is part of a larger mythology of Fifth World or Fifth Sun beliefs. The late Postclassic Aztecs created and developed their own version of the "Five Suns" myth, which incorporated and transformed elements from previous Mesoamerican creation myths, while also introducing new ideas that were specific to their culture. In the Aztec and other Nahua creation myths, it was believed that the universe had gone through four iterations before the current one, and each of these prior worlds had been destroyed by Gods due to the behavior of its inhabitants. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
