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| huitzilopochtli [2024/09/19 13:57] – merytnebthut | huitzilopochtli [2024/10/02 07:28] (current) – just some solar related edits merytnebthut |
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| <sup>(Also //Witzilopochtli//)</sup> | <sup>(Also //Witzilopochtli//)</sup> |
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| **Huitzilopochtli** (His Left Side is like a Hummingbird)[(https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/huitzilopochtli)] is a [[solar_gods|solar]] and war [[teteo|Deity]] of sacrifice and [[fire]]. He was also patron of the [[Aztecs]] and their capital city, [[Tenochtitlan]]. His name may imply that He is left-handed. | **Huitzilopochtli** (His Left Side is like a Hummingbird)[(https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/huitzilopochtli)] is a [[solar_gods|solar]] and war [[teteo|Deity]] of sacrifice and [[fire]]. He was also patron of the [[Aztecs]] and their capital city, [[Tenochtitlan]]. His name may imply that He was historically considered left-handed. |
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| ===== Iconography ===== | ===== Iconography ===== |
| In the great temple His statue was decorated with cloth, feathers, gold, and jewels, and was hidden behind a curtain in reverence. 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 the statue still exists in a cave somewhere in the Anahuac Valley. | In the great temple His statue was decorated with cloth, feathers, gold, and jewels, and was hidden behind a curtain in reverence. 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 the statue still exists in a cave somewhere in the Anahuac Valley. |
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| He wears a blue-green hummingbird helmet in most depictions found. In fact, His hummingbird helmet is the one item that consistently defines Him as Huitzilopochtli, the [[sun]] God, in artistic renderings. He is usually depicted holding a shield adorned with balls of eagle feathers, an homage to His [[Coatlicue|Mother]] and the story of His birth (more below.) | He wears a blue-green hummingbird helmet in most depictions found. In fact, His hummingbird helmet is the one item that consistently identifies Him in artistic renderings. He is usually depicted holding a shield adorned with balls of eagle feathers, an homage to His [[Coatlicue|Mother]] and the story of His birth. |
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| ===== Timeline ===== | ===== Timeline ===== |
| 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 the religion and put Huitzilopochtli at the same level as Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, and Tezcatlipoca, making Him a solar God. Through this, Huitzilopochtli replaced [[Nanahuatzin]]/[[Tonatiuh]], 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. | 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 the religion and put Huitzilopochtli at the same level as Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, and Tezcatlipoca. It is thought that Huitzilopochtli was not the original [[blue]] Tezcatlipoca, and at some point replaced Tlaloc in that role. |
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| It is thought that Huitzilopochtli was not the original [[blue]] Tezcatlipoca, and at some point replaced Tlaloc in that role. | |
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| ====Founding Tenochtitlan==== | ====Founding Tenochtitlan==== |
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| Another origin story tells of an Earth goddess, Coatlicue, being impregnated by a ball of feathers on Mount Coatepec as she was sweeping a temple. Her other children, who were already fully grown, were the four hundred male [[Centzonuitznaua]] and the moon Deity [[Coyolxauhqui]]. These children, offended by the mysterious manner in 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 the mountain top. He also chased after His Brothers, who fled from him and became scattered all over the sky. | Another origin story tells of an Earth goddess, Coatlicue, being impregnated by a ball of feathers on Mount Coatepec as she was sweeping a temple. Her other children, who were already fully grown, were the four hundred male [[Centzonuitznaua]] and the moon Deity [[Coyolxauhqui]]. These children, offended by the mysterious manner in 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 the mountain top. He also chased after His Brothers, who fled from him and became scattered all over the sky. |
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| 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 the Sun: if Huitzilopochtli did not have enough strength to battle His siblings, They would destroy Their Mother and thus the world. | |
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| According to the Aubin Codex, the Aztecs originally came from a place called Aztlan. 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 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 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, 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. | According to the Aubin Codex, the Aztecs originally came from a place called Aztlan. 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 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 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, 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. |
| ===== Community Gnosis ===== | ===== Community Gnosis ===== |
| Many practitioners now associate Huitzilopochtli with fitness, exercise, and self-defense. | Many practitioners now associate Huitzilopochtli with fitness, exercise, and self-defense. |
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| | There is a debate within the community about Huitzilopochtli's solar association and the apparent lack of primary sources corroborating it, though the idea has not become popular among scholars yet. Whether or not this argument holds water, He has taken on this association by our time and many modern practitioners have honored Him as a solar Teotl for years. |
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| {{tag>review solar_gods teteo war_gods}} | {{tag>review solar_gods teteo war_gods}} |
