Fifth Sun

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.

The current world is a product of the Aztecs' self-imposed mission to provide Tlazcaltiliztli to the sun, giving it the nourishment it needs to stay in existence and ensuring that the entire universe remains in balance. Thus, the Aztecs’ sacrificial rituals were essential to the functioning of the world, and ultimately to its continued survival.

Legend

According to the legend, from the void that was the rest of the universe, the first god, Ōmeteōtl, created itself. Ōmeteōtl created the four Tezcatlipocas, who each preside over one of the four cardinal directions: Quetzalcoatl in the west, Huitzilopochtli in the south, Xipe Totec in the east, and Tezcatlipoca in the north.Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs 2nd Ed. Blackwell Publishing, 2005

The Aztecs believed that the gods created the universe at Teotihuacan. The name was given by the Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs centuries after the fall of the city around 550 CE. The term has been glossed as "birthplace of the gods", or "place where gods were born",Archaeology of Native North America by Dean R. Snow. reflecting Nahua creation myths that were said to occur in Teotihuacan.

First sun: Tezcatlipoca

The four Tezcatlipocas sought to create the world, but each time they created something, it fell into the waters below and was devoured by Cipactli, a monstrous caiman covered in mouths. Determined to end the cycle, Tezcatlipoca, the Black Tezcatlipoca, sacrificed his leg, using it as bait to lure Cipactli from the depths. As she consumed it, the other gods seized the opportunity to slay her. From her body, they shaped the earth, and later created other gods and humans, the latter giants in size.

To provide light, they chose Tezcatlipoca to be the sun. However, whether due to the loss of his leg in battle or his role as the god of night, he could only shine as half a sun. The world existed under this dim light for a time, until a confrontation with Quetzalcōātl saw him knock Tezcatlipoca out the sky, with a stone club, and leaving the world in darkness. Angered by his defeat, Tezcatlipoca sent his jaguars to consume humanity.Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. The Aztec World. California State University, Los Angeles, 2006

Second sun: Quetzalcōātl

The gods shaped a new race of humans in normal stature, with Quetzalcōātl serving as the sun for this new civilization. Their intention was to bring order to the world, but their efforts failed, as humans strayed from divine teachings and instead succumbed to greed and corruption. In response, Tezcatlipoca turned them into monkeys. Quetzalcōātl, who had still held them in great regard, was deeply distressed and, in his sorrow, unleashed a hurricane to cast them away.

With the monkeys banished, Quetzalcōātl relinquished his place as the sun and turned his focus to crafting a new race of humans, ones more perfect and aligned with the gods’ vision.

Third sun: Tláloc

Tláloc, the rain god, was crowned the new sun, but Tezcatlipoca snatched his wife, Xōchiquetzal. Consumed by grief and despair, Tláloc could no longer fulfill his divine duty, and as a result, the world was plunged into a devastating drought. Annoyed by the cries of humanity, Tláloc unleashed a rain of fire upon the earth, reducing it to ash and leaving behind only desolation.

Fourth sun: Chalchiuhtlicue

After the creation of a new earth and humans, Tlaloc passed the role of the sun god to his second wife, Chalchiuhtlicue, the water goddess. Chalchiuhtlicue doted on humanity, much to the ire of Tezcatlipoca. He accused her of feigning compassion as a ploy to win the people's admiration. A grief-stricken Chalchiuhtlicue wept blood for fifty-two years, flooding the earth and turning the humans into fish.

Fifth sun: Huītzilōpōchtli

Unwilling to accept the destruction of his people, Quetzalcōātl descended into the underworld and stole their bones from Mictlāntēcutli, ruler of the dead. As he carried them back to the earth, he tripped and fell into a hole, shattering the bones. When the remains were dipped in Quetzalcoatl’s blood, they were restored, but their broken state resulted in humans being born in different sizes. Huītzilōpōchtli was then chosen as the new sun.

However, Huītzilōpōchtli was locked in an eternal battle with his sister, the moon Coyolxāuhqui, who led an assault against him each night. She was aided by the Centzonhuītznāhua, the southern stars, and the Tzitzimīmeh, goddesses of the solar eclipse. Yet despite their efforts, they were always defeated by Huītzilōpōchtli at dawn.

To sustain his strength, the Aztecs offer human sacrifices, while also sacrificing to Tezcatlipoca out of fear and giving their own blood to Quetzalcōātl, who opposes fatal offerings. Should these tributes cease, the fifth sun will go dark, the world will crumble in a great earthquake, and Huitzilopochtli will be defeated, bringing an end to humanity.

Variations and alternative myths

Most of what is known about the ancient Aztecs comes from the few codices to survive the Spanish conquest. Their myths can be confusing because of the lack of documentation and also because there are many popular myths that seem to contradict one another. This happened due to the fact that they were originally passed down by word of mouth and because the Aztecs adopted many of their gods from other tribes, both assigning their own new aspects to these gods and endowing them with those of similar gods from various other cultures. Older myths can be very similar to newer myths while contradicting one another by claiming that a different god performed the same action, probably because myths changed in correlation to the popularity of each of the gods at a given time.

Other variations on this myth state that Coatlicue, the earth goddess, was the mother of the four Tezcatlipocas and the Tzitzimitl. Some versions say that Quetzalcoatl was born to her first, while she was still a virgin, often mentioning his twin brother Xolotl, the guide of the dead and god of fire. Tezcatlipoca was then born to her by an obsidian knife, followed by the Tzitzimitl and then Huitzilopochtli. The most popular variation including Coatlicue depicts her giving birth first to the Tzitzimitl. Much later she gave birth to Huitzilopochtli when a mysterious ball of feathers appeared to her. The Tzitzimitl then decapitated the pregnant Coatlicue, believing it to be insulting that she had given birth to another child. Huitzilopochtli then sprang forth from her womb wielding a serpent of fire and began his epic war with the Tzitzimitl, who were also referred to as the Centzon Huitznahuas. Sometimes he is said to have decapitated Coyolxauhqui and either used her head to make the moon or thrown it into a canyon. Further variations depict the ball of feathers as being the father of Huitzilopochtli or the father of Quetzalcoatl and sometimes Xolotl.

Other variations of this myth claim that only Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca were born to Ometeotl, who was replaced by Coatlicue in this myth probably because it had absolutely no worshipers or temples by the time the Spanish arrived. It is sometimes said that the male characteristic of Ometeotl is named Ometecuhtli and that the female characteristic is named Omecihualt. Further variations on this myth state that it was only Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca who pulled apart Cipactli, also known as Tlaltecuhtli, and that Xipe Totec and Huitzilopochtli then constructed the world from her body. Some versions claim that Tezcatlipoca actually used his leg as bait for Cipactli, before dismembering her.

The order of the first four suns varies as well, though the above version is the most common. Each world's end correlates consistently to the god that was the sun at the time throughout all variations of the myth, though the loss of Xochiquetzal is not always identified as Tlaloc's reason for the rain of fire, which is not otherwise given and it is sometimes said that Chalchiuhtlicue flooded the world on purpose, without the involvement of Tezcatlipoca. It is also said that Tezcatlipoca created half a sun, which his jaguars then ate before eating the giants.

The fifth sun however is sometimes said to be a god named Nanauatzin. In this version of the myth, the gods convened in darkness to choose a new sun, who was to sacrifice himself by jumping into a gigantic bonfire. The two volunteers were the young son of Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue, Tecuciztecatl, and the old Nanauatzin. It was believed that Nanauatzin was too old to make a good sun, but both were given the opportunity to jump into the bonfire. Tecuciztecatl tried first but was not brave enough to walk through the heat near the flames and turned around. Nanauatzin then walked slowly towards and then into the flames and was consumed. Tecuciztecatl then followed. The braver Nanauatzin became what is now the sun and Tecuciztecatl became the much less spectacular moon. A god that bridges the gap between Nanauatzin and Huitzilopochtli is Tonatiuh, who was sick, but rejuvenated himself by burning himself alive and then became the warrior sun and wandered through the heavens with the souls of those who died in battle, refusing to move if not offered enough sacrifices.

Brief summation

*''Nāhui-Ocēlōtl'' (Jaguar Sun) – Inhabitants were giants who were devoured by jaguars. The world was destroyed.
*''Nāhui-Ehēcatl'' (Wind Sun) – Inhabitants were transformed into monkeys. This world was destroyed by hurricanes.
*''Nāhui-Quiyahuitl'' (Rain Sun) – Inhabitants were destroyed by rain of fire. Only birds survived (or inhabitants survived by becoming birds).
*''Nāhui-Ātl'' (Water Sun) – This world was flooded turning the inhabitants into fish. A couple escaped but were transformed into dogs.
*'' Nāhui-Olīn'' (Earthquake Sun) – Current humans are the inhabitants of this world. Should the gods be displeased, this world will be destroyed by earthquakes (or one large earthquake) and the Tzitzimimeh will annihilate all its inhabitants.

In popular culture

* The version of the myth with Nanahuatzin serves as a framing device for the 1991 Mexican film, '' In Necuepaliztli in Aztlan (Return a Aztlán)'', by Juan Mora Catlett.
* The version of the myth with Nanahuatzin is in the 1996 film, '' The Five Suns: A Sacred History of Mexico'', by Patricia Amlin.
* Rage Against the Machine refers to intercultural violence as "the fifth sunset" in their song "People of the Sun", on the album ''Evil Empire''.
* Thomas Harlan's science fiction series "In the Time of the Sixth Sun" uses this myth as a central plot point, where an ancient star-faring civilization ("people of the First Sun") had disappeared and left the galaxy with many dangerous artifacts.
* The ''Shadowrun'' role-playing game takes place in the "Sixth World."
* The concept of the five suns is alluded to in ''Onyx Equinox'', where Quetzalcoatl claims that the gods made humanity four times before. Tezcatlipoca seeks to end the current human era, since he believes humans are too greedy and waste their blood in battle rather than as sacrifices.
* The final episode of ''Victor and Valentino'' is called "The Fall of the Fifth Sun", and also features Tezcatlipoca in a central role.

See also

*Aztec mythology
*Aztec religion
*Aztec philosophy
* Fifth World (mythology)
* Mesoamerican creation accounts
* Sun stone
*Thirteen Heavens

References

Further reading

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{{Aztec mythology

Eschatology
Creation myths
Eschatology
Aztec philosophy