God of war and will, Lord of the Sun and fire
50-499: Huitzilopochtli ( Classical Nahuatl : Huītzilōpōchtli , IPA: [wiːt͡siloːˈpoːt͡ʃt͡ɬi] ) is the solar and war deity of sacrifice in Aztec religion . He was also the patron god of the Aztecs and their capital city, Tenochtitlan . He wielded Xiuhcoatl , the fire serpent, as a weapon, thus also associating Huitzilopochtli with fire. The Spaniards recorded
100-511: A hummingbird or as an anthropomorphic figure with just the feathers of such on his head and left leg, a black face, and holding a scepter shaped like a snake and a mirror. According to the Florentine Codex, Huitzilopochtli's body was painted blue. In the great temple his statue was decorated with cloth, feathers, gold, and jewels, and was hidden behind a curtain to give it more reverence and veneration. Another variation lists him having
150-478: A central dialect and is most closely related to the modern dialects of Nahuatl spoken in the valley of Mexico in colonial and modern times. It is probable that the Classical Nahuatl documented by 16th- and 17th-century written sources represents a particularly prestigious sociolect . That is to say, the variety of Nahuatl recorded in these documents is most likely to be more particularly representative of
200-409: A face that was marked with yellow and blue stripes and he carries around the fire serpent Xiuhcoatl with him. According to legend, the statue was supposed to be destroyed by the soldier Gil González de Benavides , but it was rescued by a man called Tlatolatl . The statue appeared some years later during an investigation by Bishop Zummáraga in the 1530s, only to be lost again. There is speculation that
250-616: A full vocabulary of spoken language in the way that the writing systems of the Old World or the Maya civilization 's script could. The Spanish introduced the Latin script , which was then used to record a large body of Aztec prose and poetry, which somewhat diminished the devastating loss caused by the burning of thousands of Aztec codices by the Spanish authorities. Nahuatl literature
300-470: A more accurate translation may be "the left (or south) side of the hummingbird". The hummingbird was spiritually important in Aztec culture. Diego Durán describes what appears to be the hummingbird hibernating in a tree, somewhat like the common poorwill does. He writes, "It appears to be dead, but at the advent of spring, ... the little bird is reborn." There are a handful of origin mythologies describing
350-621: A policy of burning the books of conquered peoples with the aim of erasing all memories of a pre-Aztec past. When he dedicated the seventh reconstruction of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan , Tlacaelel had brought his nation to the height of its power. The dedication took place in 1484 and was celebrated with the sacrifice of many war captives. After Tlacaelel's death in 1487, the Mexica Empire continued to expand north into
400-468: A purely historical explanation to one in terms of cosmovision and possible astronomical content.” At one level, Huitzilopochtli's birth and victorious battle against the four hundred children represent the character of the solar region of the Aztecs in that the daily sunrise was viewed as a celestial battle against the moon (Coyolxauhqui) and the stars (Centzon Huitznahua). Another version of the myth, found in
450-528: A pyramidal platform, on top of which were twin temples, one painted with blue stripes and the other painted red. The red shrine, on the south side, was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, while the blue shrine to the north was dedicated to Tlaloc. That these two deities were on opposite sides of the Great Temple is very representative of the Aztec dichotomy that the deities represent. Tlaloc, as the rain god, represented fertility and growth, while Huitzilopochtli, as
500-537: A solar god. Through this, Huitzilopochtli replaced Nanahuatzin , the solar god from the Nahua legend. Huitzilopochtli was said to be in a constant struggle with the darkness and required nourishment in the form of sacrifices to ensure the sun would survive the cycle of 52 years, which was the basis of many Mesoamerican myths . There were 18 especially holy festive days, and only one of them was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. This celebration day, known as Toxcatl, falls within
550-471: A system that rewarded successful warriors. During the festival of Panquetzaliztli, of which Huitzilopochtli was the patron, sacrificial victims were adorned in the manner of Huitzilopochtli's costume and blue body paint, before their hearts would be sacrificially removed. Representations of Huitzilopochtli called teixiptla were also worshipped, the most significant being the one at the Templo Mayor which
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#1732782891287600-526: Is agreed that there are two elements, huītzilin " hummingbird " and ōpōchtli "left hand side." The name is often translated as "Left-Handed Hummingbird" or "Hummingbird of the South" on the basis that Aztec cosmology associated the south with the left hand side of the body. However, Frances Karttunen points out that in Classical Nahuatl compounds are usually head final , implying that
650-500: Is also devoiced and merged into /ʃ/ in syllable-final position. At the time of the Spanish conquest, Aztec writing used mostly pictograms supplemented with a few ideograms . When needed, it also used syllabic equivalences ; Diego Durán recorded how the tlacuilos could render a prayer in Latin using this system but it was difficult to use. The writing system was adequate for keeping such records as genealogies, astronomical information, and tribute lists, but it could not represent
700-515: Is extensive (probably the most extensive of all Indigenous languages of the Americas), including a relatively large corpus of poetry (see also Nezahualcoyotl ). The Huei tlamahuiçoltica is an early sample of literary Nahuatl. A bilingual dictionary with Spanish, Vocabulario manual de las lenguas castellana y mexicana , was first published in 1611 and is "the most important and most frequently reprinted Spanish work on Nahuatl," according to
750-537: The Ramírez Codex , in Tenochtitlan approximately sixty prisoners were sacrificed at the festivities. Sacrifices were reported to be made in other Aztec cities, including Tlatelolco , Xochimilco , and Texcoco , but the number is unknown, and no currently available archeological findings confirm this. For the reconsecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, dedicated to Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli,
800-744: The Mesoamerican Codices through the medium of Aztec Hieroglyphs ) and Colonial Nahuatl (if written in Post-conquest documents in the Latin Alphabet ), is a set of variants of Nahuatl spoken in the Valley of Mexico and central Mexico as a lingua franca at the time of the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire . During the subsequent centuries, it was largely displaced by Spanish and evolved into some of
850-519: The Mexica (Aztec) empire. He was the son of Emperor Huitzilihuitl and Queen Cacamacihuatl , nephew of Emperor Itzcoatl , father of poet Macuilxochitzin , and brother of Emperors Chimalpopoca and Moctezuma I . During the reign of his uncle Itzcoatl, Tlacaelel was given the office of Tlacochcalcatl , but during the war against the Tepanecs in the late 1420s, he was promoted to first adviser to
900-557: The World Digital Library . [REDACTED] Media related to Classical Nahuatl language at Wikimedia Commons Tlacaelel Tlacaelel I (1397 – 1487) ( Classical Nahuatl : Tlācaēllel Nahuatl pronunciation: [t͡ɬaːkaˈeːlːel] , "Man of Strong Emotions," from "tlācatl," person and "ēllelli," strong emotion) was the principal architect of the Aztec Triple Alliance and hence
950-401: The Aztecs reported that they sacrificed about 20,400 prisoners over the course of four days. While accepted by some scholars, this claim also has been considered Aztec propaganda. There were 19 altars in the city of Tenochtitlan. Classical Nahuatl language Colonial Nahuatl Classical Nahuatl, also known simply as Aztec or Codical Nahuatl (if it refers to the variants employed in
1000-568: The Aztecs sacrificed people to Huitzilopochtli, the victim would be placed on a sacrificial stone. The priest would then cut through the abdomen with an obsidian or flint blade. The heart would be torn out still beating and held towards the sky in honor to the Sun-God. The body would then be pushed down the pyramid where the Coyolxauhqui stone could be found. The Coyolxauhqui Stone recreates the story of Coyolxauhqui, Huitzilopochtli's sister who
1050-519: The Mexica people had on the battlefield. The people had to make sacrifices to him to protect the Aztec from infinite night. According to Miguel León-Portilla , in this new vision from Tlacaelel, the warriors that died in battle and women who died in childbirth would go to serve Huitzilopochtli in his palace (in the south, or left). From a description in the Florentine Codex , Huitzilopochtli
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#17327828912871100-522: The Sun. If Huitzilopochtli did not have enough strength to battle his siblings, they would destroy their mother and thus the world. Huitzilopochtli was the patron god of the Mexica tribe. Originally, he was of little importance to the Nahuas , but after the rise of the Aztecs, Tlacaelel reformed their religion and put Huitzilopochtli at the same level as Quetzalcoatl , Tlaloc , and Tezcatlipoca , making him
1150-432: The blue snake, Xiuhcoatl , in his hand in the form of an atlatl . Diego Durán described the festivities for Huitzilopochtli. Panquetzaliztli (November 9 to November 28) was the Aztec month dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. People decorated their homes and trees with paper flags; there were ritual races, processions, dances, songs, prayers, and finally human sacrifices. This was one of the more important Aztec festivals, and
1200-704: The book El Calendario Mexica y la Cronografia by Rafael Tena and published by the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, the author gives the last day of the Nahuatl month Panquetzaliztli as the date of the celebration of the rebirth of the Lord Huitzilopochtli on top of Coatepec (Snake Hill); December 9 in the Julian calendar or December 19 in the Gregorian calendar with
1250-487: The deity's beginnings. One story tells of the cosmic creation and Huitzilopochtli's role in it. According to this legend, he was the smallest son of four — his parents being the creator couple of the Ōmeteōtl ( Tōnacātēcuhtli and Tōnacācihuātl ) while his brothers were Quetzalcōātl ("Precious Serpent" or "Quetzal-Feathered Serpent"), Xīpe Tōtec ("Our Lord Flayed"), and Tezcatlipōca ("Smoking Mirror"). His mother and father instructed him and Quetzalcoatl to bring order to
1300-420: The deity's name as Huichilobos . During their discovery and conquest of the Aztec Empire , they wrote that human sacrifice was common in worship ceremonies. These took place frequently throughout the region. When performed, typically multiple victims were sacrificed per day at any one of the numerous temples. There continues to be disagreement about the full significance of Huītzilōpōchtli's name. Generally it
1350-490: The end of syllables (e.g. str e ngths ) ( ngths = /ŋkθs/ ). Consonant clusters are only allowed word-medially, Nahuatl uses processes of both epenthesis (usually of /i/ ) and deletion to deal with this constraint. For such purposes, tl /tɬ/ , like all other affricates, is treated as a single sound, and not all consonants can occur in both syllable-initial and syllable-final position. The consonants /l/ and /w/ are devoiced in syllable-final position. Likewise, /j/
1400-425: The female deity Coyolxauhqui . These children, angered by the manner by which their mother became impregnated, conspired to kill her. Huitzilopochtli burst forth from his mother's womb in full armor and fully grown, or in other versions of the story, burst forth from the womb and immediately put on his gear. He attacked his older brothers and sister, defending his mother by beheading his sister and casting her body from
1450-523: The fifteenth month of the Mexican calendar. During the festival, captives and slaves were brought forth and slain ceremoniously. Every 52 years, the Nahuas feared the world would end as the other four creations of their legends had. Under Tlacaelel , Aztecs believed that they could give strength to Huitzilopochtli with human blood and thereby postpone the end of the world, at least for another 52 years. In
1500-400: The historical chronicles of Diego Duran and Alvarado Tezozomoc, tells the story with strong historical allusion and portrays two Aztec factions in ferocious battle. The leader of one group, Huitzilopochtli, defeats the warriors of a woman leader, Coyolxauh, and tears open their breasts and eats their hearts. Both versions tell of the origin of human sacrifice at the sacred place, Coatepec, during
1550-528: The journey. For a time, Huitzilopochtli left them in the charge of his sister, Malinalxochitl , who, according to legend, founded Malinalco, but the Aztecs resented her ruling and called back Huitzilopochtli. He put his sister to sleep and ordered the Aztecs to leave the place. When she woke up and realized she was alone, she became angry and desired revenge. She gave birth to a son called Copil . When he grew up, he confronted Huitzilopochtli, who had to kill him. Huitzilopochtli then took his heart out and threw it in
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1600-557: The level and prevalence of human sacrifice , particularly during a period of natural disasters that started in 1446 (according to Diego Durán ). Durán also states that it was during the reign of Moctezuma I, as an invention of Tlacaelel that the flower wars , in which the Aztecs fought Tlaxcala and other Nahuan city-states, were instigated. To strengthen the Aztec nobility, he helped create and enforce sumptuary laws, prohibiting commoners from wearing certain adornments such as lip plugs, gold armbands, and cotton cloaks. He also instigated
1650-599: The middle of Lake Texcoco . Many years later, Huitzilopochtli ordered the Aztecs to search for Copil's heart and build their city over it. The sign would be an eagle perched on a cactus, eating a precious serpent, and the place would become their permanent home. After much traveling, they arrived at the area which would eventually be Tenochtitlan on an island in the Lago Texcoco of the Valley of Mexico. In art and iconography , Huitzilopochtli could be represented either as
1700-574: The modern Nahuan languages in use today (other modern dialects descend more directly from other 16th-century variants). Although classified as an extinct language , Classical Nahuatl has survived through a multitude of written sources transcribed by Nahua peoples and Spaniards in the Latin script. Classical Nahuatl is one of the Nahuan languages within the Uto-Aztecan family . It is classified as
1750-484: The mountain top. He also chased after his brothers, who fled from him and became scattered all over the sky. Huitzilopochtli is seen as the sun in mythology, while his many male siblings are perceived as the stars and his sister as the moon. In the Aztec worldview, this is the reason why the Sun is constantly chasing the Moon and stars. It is also why it was so important to provide tribute for Huitzilopochtli as sustenance for
1800-429: The mountain, while his sister was dismembered and fell to pieces below, so Huitzilopochtli's temple and icon sat triumphantly at the top of the Templo Mayor while the carving of the dismembered goddess lay far below. This drama of sacrificial dismemberment was vividly repeated in some of the offerings found around the Coyolxauhqui stone in which the decapitated skulls of young women were placed. This would suggest that there
1850-471: The people prepared for the whole month. They fasted or ate very little; a statue of the god was made with amaranth (huautli) seeds and honey, and at the end of the month, it was cut into small pieces so everybody could eat a little piece of the god. After the Spanish conquest, cultivation of amaranth was outlawed, while some of the festivities were subsumed into the Christmas celebration. According to
1900-555: The rise of the Aztec nation and at the foundation of Tenochtitlan. There are several legends and myths of Huitzilopochtli. According to the Aubin Codex , the Aztecs originally came from a place called Aztlán . They lived under the ruling of a powerful elite called the " Azteca Chicomoztoca ". Huitzilopochtli ordered them to abandon Aztlán and find a new home. He also ordered them never to call themselves Aztec; instead they should be called "Mexica." Huitzilopochtli guided them through
1950-463: The ruler, a position called Cihuacoatl in Nahuatl , an office that Tlacaelel held during the reigns of four consecutive Tlatoque , until his death in 1487. Tlacaelel recast or strengthened the concept of the Aztecs as a chosen people , elevated the tribal god/hero Huitzilopochtli to top of the pantheon of gods, and increased militarism. In tandem with this, Tlacaelel is said to have increased
2000-524: The sky. The most important and powerful structure in Tenochtitlan is the Templo Mayor. Its importance as the sacred center is reflected in the fact that it was enlarged frontally eleven times during the two hundred years of its existence. The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc , the rain god. 16th century Dominican friar Diego Durán wrote, "These two gods were always meant to be together, since they were considered companions of equal power." The Templo Mayor consisted of
2050-422: The speech of Aztec nobles ( pīpiltin ), while the commoners ( mācēhualtin ) spoke a somewhat different variety. Stress generally falls on the penultimate syllable. The one exception is the vocative suffix (used by men) -é , which is added to the end of a word and is always stressed, e.g. Cuāuhtli quetz qui (a name, meaning " Eagle Warrior "), but Cuāuhtliquetz qué "O Cuauhtliquetzqui!" When women use
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2100-493: The statue still exists in a cave somewhere in the Anahuac Valley . He always had a blue-green hummingbird helmet in any of the depictions found. In fact, his hummingbird helmet was the one item that consistently defined him as Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, in artistic renderings. He is usually depicted as holding a shield adorned with balls of eagle feathers, a homage to his mother and the story of his birth. He also holds
2150-399: The sun god, represented war and sacrifice. The Coyolxauhqui stone was found directly at the base of the stairway leading up to Huitzilopochtli's temple. On both sides of the stairway's base were two large grinning serpent heads. The image is clear. The Templo Mayor is the image of Coatepec or Serpent Mountain where the divine battle took place. Just as Huitzilopochtli triumphed at the top of
2200-462: The variant of December 18 in leap years . Ritual sacrifice and self bloodletting were key offerings to Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs performed ritual self-sacrifice (also called autosacrifice or blood-letting) on a daily basis. The Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli needed daily nourishment ( tlaxcaltiliztli ) in the form of human blood and hearts and that they, as “people of the sun,” were required to provide Huitzilopochtli with his sustenance. When
2250-415: The vocative, the stress is shifted to the final syllable without adding any suffix. Oquichtli means "man", and oquichtlí means "O man!" Maximally complex Nahuatl syllables are of the form CVC; that is, there can be at most one consonant at the beginning and end of every syllable. In contrast, English , for example, allows up to three consonants syllable-initially and up to four consonants to occur at
2300-457: The world. Together, Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl created fire, the first male and female humans, the Earth, and the Sun. Another origin story tells of a fierce goddess, Coatlicue , being impregnated as she was sweeping by a ball of feathers on Mount Coatepec ("Serpent Hill"; near Tula , Hidalgo ). Her other children, who were already fully grown, were the four hundred male Centzonuitznaua and
2350-424: Was a ritual reenactment of the myth at the dedication of the stone sometime in the latter part of the fifteenth century. Many gods in the pantheon of deities of the Aztecs were inclined to have a fondness for a particular aspect of warfare. However, Huitzilopochtli was known as the primary god of war in ancient Mexico. Since he was the patron god of the Mexica, he was credited with both the victories and defeats that
2400-418: Was dismembered at the base of a mountain, just as the sacrificial victims were. The body would be carried away and either cremated or given to the warrior responsible for the capture of the victim. He would either cut the body in pieces and send them to important people as an offering , or use the pieces for ritual cannibalism . The warrior would thus ascend one step in the hierarchy of the Aztec social classes,
2450-516: Was made of dough mixed with sacrificial blood. Warriors who died in battle or as sacrifices to Huitzilopochtli were called quauhteca (“the eagle’s people”). War was an important source of both human and material tribute. Human tribute was used for sacrificial purposes because human blood was believed to be extremely important, and thus powerful. According to Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli needed blood as sustenance in order to continue to keep his sister and many brothers at bay as he chased them through
2500-527: Was so bright that the warrior souls had to use their shields to protect their eyes. They could only see the god through the arrow holes in their shields, so it was the bravest warrior who could see him best. Warriors and women who died during childbirth were transformed into hummingbirds upon death and went to join Huitzilopochtli. As the precise studies of Johanna Broda have shown, the creation myth consisted of “several layers of symbolism, ranging from
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