Quetzalcoatl: Encyclopedia - Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl ("feathered snake", in Nahuatl: Ketsalkoatl, in Spanish: Quetzalcóatl) is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations.

Quetzalcoatl - Antecedents

The name "Quetzalcoatl" literally means quetzal-bird snake or serpent with feathers (Amphitere) of the Quetzal (which implies something divine or precious) in the Nahuatl language. The meaning of his local name in other Mesoamerican languages is similar. The Maya knew him as Kukulkán; the Quiché as Gukumatz.

The Feathered Serpent deity was important in art and religion in most of Mesoamerica for close to 2,000 years, from the Pre-Classic era until the Spanish conquest. Civilizations worshiping the Feathered Serpent included the Olmec, the Mixtec, the Toltec, the Aztec(who adopted it from the people of Teotihuacan), and the Maya.

Quetzalcoatl - Origins

The cult to the serpent in mesoamerica is very old, it can be found between the Olemcs, since it represents the earth and vegetation, but it was in Teotihuacan, around 150 DC where the snake got the precious feathers of the Quetzal in the Murals of the city. It would take centuries to evolve, taking elements from diferent gods. Quetzalcoatl would survive Teotihuanca, and would be adopted by the Toltec, nahuas and maya.

Quetzalcoatl - The cult

The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in other traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice.

Mesoamerican priests and kings would sometimes take the name of a deity they were associated with, so Quetzalcoatl and Kukulcan are also the names of historical persons. The reason being that Quetzalcoatl called twelve to reign in his stead after he left the people of the Yucatan. He also called one man, who he gave his rights, privileges and powers to administer in his religious duties. This one took on the name of the Deity, as to show the power had been given to this man. The name was pronounced differently, to denote this man a mortal, in contrast to Quetzalcoatl, Kate-Zal, or Kukulcan the God of wind and waves.

One noted Post-Classic Toltec ruler was named Quetzalcoatl; he may be the same individual as the Kukulcan who invaded Yucatán at about the same time. The Mixtec also recorded a ruler named for the Feathered Serpent. In the 10th century a ruler closely associated with Quetzalcoatl ruled the Toltecs; his name was Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl. This ruler was said to be the son of either the great Chichimeca warrior, Mixcoatl and the Colhuacano woman Chimalman, or of their descendant.

The Toltecs had a dualistic belief system. Quetzalcoatl's opposite was Tezcatlipoca, who supposedly sent Quetzalcoatl into exile. Alternatively, he left willingly on a raft of snakes, promising to return.

When the Aztecs adopted the culture of the Toltecs, they made twin gods of Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, opposite and equal; Quetzalcoatl was also called White Tezcatlipoca, to contrast him to the black Tezcatlipoca. Together, they created the world; Tezcatlipoca lost his foot in that process.

Quetzalcoatl - Moctezuma Controversy

It is generally accepted that the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II initially believed the landing of Hernán Cortés in 1519 to be Quetzalcoatl's return. This has debated by historian Victor Frank. He points that the Quetzalcoatl-Cortés conncetion is asserted in no documents created independent of post-Conquest Spanish influence, and there is little proof of a pre-Hispanic belief in Quetzalcoatl's return. Most documents expounding this theory are of entirely Spanish origin, such as Cortés's letters to Charles V of Spain, in which Cortés goes to great pains to present the naïve gullibility of the Mexica in general as a great aid in his conquest of Mexico.

But his mexican colleages did not agree. The conection bewteen Quetalcoatl was recorded also from aztec sources, like the Matritence Codex, and specially on the Florentine codex, (a collection of aztec history written in nahuatl but on european writting) and mentioned also in the "Anales de Cuahtitlan". As a gift, Moctezuma specifically sent the treasures of Quetzalcoatl to Cortez. Part of the treasure, the headress of the statue of Quetzalcoatl is now in Viena, under the missnomer of "headress of Moctezuma".(Arqueologia mexicana: "El retorno de Quetzalcoatl", Feb 2002)

Quetzalcoatl - Atributes

The exact significance and attributes of Quetzalcoatl varied somewhat between civilizations and through history. Quetzalcoatl was often considered the god of the morning star and his twin brother, Xolotl was the evening star (Venus). As the morning star he was known under the title Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, which means literally "the lord of the star of the dawn". He was known as the inventor of books and the calendar, the giver of maize corn to mankind, and sometime as a symbol of death and resurrection. Quetzalcoatl was also the patron of the priests and the title of the Aztec high priest.

Most Mesoamerican beliefs included cycles of worlds. Usually, our current time was considered the fifth world, the previous four having been destroyed by flood, fire and the like. Quetzalcoatl allegedly went to Mictlan, the underworld, and created fifth world-mankind from the bones of the previous races (with the help of Cihuacoatl), using his own blood, from a wound in his penis, to imbue the bones with new life.

His birth, along with his twin Xolotl, was unusual; it was a virgin birth, born to the goddess Coatlicue. Alternatively, he was a son of Xochiquetzal and Mixcoatl.

One Aztec story claims Quetzalcoatl was seduced by Tezcatlipoca into becoming drunk and sleeping with a celibate priestess, and then burned himself to death out of remorse. His heart became the morning star (see Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli).

Quetzalcoatl - In archeology

The late Cretaceous pterodactyloid Pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus was named after Quetzalcoatl, and quetzal young display vestigial claws, like the pterosaurs.

Quetzalcoatl - Modern media

The early 20th-century English writer D H Lawrence wrote a novel set in Mexico, The Plumed Serpent (1926), describing the revival of a pre-Christian religion. The first draft of this text was called Quetzalcoatl.

In the video game Final Fantasy VIII, Quetzalcoatl is a lightning-based elemental creature that can be summoned into battle, however spelled "Quezacotl" due to character-space limit. It also the name of one of the servers in Final Fantasy XI

In the GBA game Riviera: The Promised Land, the Quetzalcoatl is also a lightning-based elemental enemy belonging to the Giant Wyrm Family

In the video game Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich, Quetzalcoatl is a superhero that has been summoned by a mysterious energy.

In the Crossfire MMORPG, Quetzalcoatl is a race that a player can choose for his character.

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Faust Eric, the people of the Tezumen Empire worshipped a creature described as a "feathered boa" called Quezovercoatl. He is described as one sixth man, one sixth chicken, one sixth jaguar, one sixth serpent, one sixth scorpion and one sixth mad (a total of three homicidal maniacs).

In the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth" the crew of the Enterprise encounter Kulkulkan in deep space and discover that he is actually a long lived mortal who had visited Earth in the distant past and influenced Mesoamerican cultures.

In the comic book Tom Strong an alternate dimensional empire is run by an Aztec-like culture. Their main method of maintaining their empire is an advanced computer modeled after Quetzalcoatl. Eventually this computer gains sentience and creates its own multi-dimensional theocracy.

The 1982 movie Q (also known as Q: The Winged Serpent) placed Quetzalcoatl in the setting of contemporary Manhattan, as an essentially generic monster behind a series of killings.

The manga Spriggan depicted Quetzalcoatl as a being who assisted Yu Ominae and the Sasakura sisters in sealing the power of the Mask of Palenque.

A 1996 X-Files novel by Kevin J Anderson entitled "Ruins" also centres around Quetzalcoatl, and speculates that the god was in fact an extra-terrestrial.

Category: Aztec gods

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Quetzalcoatl", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki