A basic introduction to Aztec mythology
This article is intended to serve as a primer to some of the basic ideas of Aztec mythology. I’ve appended a brief bibliography at the end, should you be interested in finding out more.
The Aztecs, one of the most well-known people of Mesoamerica, were in fact relative newcomers to the Valley of Mexico: the founding of Tenochtitlan, their capital city, took place in 1345, barely two centuries before Hernan Cortés and his conquistadores toppled an empire at the height of its powers.
The place of man within the universe in Aztec theology
Nothing reflects better the Aztec idea of human worth than the very word “man.” In the Aztec language, men are macehualli, “the deserving ones”. Why “deserving”?
To understand the reason for this, it’s necessary to go back a little and envision the history of creation as the Aztecs saw it. Much like the Greeks and the Hindus, they believed that the current world was only the most recent creation. It had been preceded by four other worlds (or Suns, or Ages). A natural disaster had ended each Sun, and killed the races of men that lived on earth (the second Sun, for instance, was ended by a hurricane, and the human race was transformed into monkeys).
After the four first Suns had been destroyed, the gods gathered in Teotihuacan to make a new sun. But when it was created it stood still in the sky and would not move, and the world remained cold and lifeless. The gods then sacrificed themselves so that the sun, feeding on their blood, finally started its journey across the Heavens.
Man is thus a privileged being: in order for him to exist, the gods gave their lives. He is also faced with a tremendous responsibility: since the gods are dead and therefore unable to offer more blood, it behoves him to make the sacrifices necessary for the continuation of the world.
The gods are dead, but not entirely gone. They remain in control of most of the natural forces, such as the rain, the wind, the waters. They can grant their favours in exchange for the proper sacrifices. But they cannot do the one thing the universe needs above all else—they cannot offer blood, “the precious water, the precious flower”. Without the offering of blood, the sun will surely stop, and the world tear itself apart.
Aztec Gods: a quick introduction
The sun-god Tonatiuh, merged with the Aztec tribal god Huitzilpochtli, was the supreme deity of the Aztecs, the one who gave life and warmth to the world. He had the greatest temple in the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan, and it is to him that all the Aztec conquests were dedicated.
Of equal importance (and sharing the Templo Mayor with Huitzilpochtli) was Tlaloc, the god of rain, who bestowed harvests and abundance, or withheld them according to his mood. He lived in a great palace in the verdant land of Tlalocan, and was helped by four hundred subordinates, the tlaloques, who brought the different kinds of rain to the Valley of Mexico. Tlaloc has his equivalent in Chac, the Mayan rain-god.
Two gods who also played a great part in Aztec society, and can introduce another central concept of Aztec religion were the Feathered Serpent Quetzalcoatl and his arch-enemy Smoking Mirror, Tezcatlipoca.
Quetzalcoatl was the legendary king of the Toltecs and his worship was probably imported into Aztec religion. The Toltecs had established the last great empire in the Valley of Mexico, and the Aztecs believed that under Quetzalcoatl’s rule the Toltecs had enjoyed great prosperity, perfecting all the arts from painting to featherwork. Quetzalcoatl was one of the least bloodthirsty gods, demanding nothing but offerings of butterflies and flowers. Human sacrifice was abolished during his rule.
Tezcatlipoca was Quetzalcoatl’s opposite: he was the god of sorcerers and black magic, and delighted in challenging travellers at night-time. Angered by the Toltecs’ lack of proper offerings, he set about to bring Quetzalcoatl’s downfall. Disguising himself as a sorcerer, he brought about the ruin of the Toltecs by driving away Quetzalcoatl.
The interesting fact is not so much that those two were enemies, since antithetic gods are often found in other mythologies (Osiris/Seth in Ancient Egypt, for instance), but that the Aztecs considered those two gods part of the same aspect. They were not separate, but rather two incompatible parts of the same personality. This idea of complementarity permeates the whole Aztec mythology, and indeed the whole language—most Aztec expressions are difrasismos, a combination of two images that only makes sense when taken as a whole ("water and hill” for a town, “flower and song” for poetry). The supreme culmination of this is the Duality (Ometeotl); though they receive no worship and remained at best nebulous concepts, they are embodied in most of the Aztec pairings: Quetzalcoatl/Tezcatlipoca (peace/war, white magic/black magic), Huitzilpochtli/Tlaloc (warriors/peasants, sun/rain, fire/water...).
Aztec sacrifices
The most common type of sacrifice is also the most famous—the sacrifice victim was arched over a stone altar by four priests (one for each limb). A fifth priest used an obsidian knife to open up the chest and retrieve the heart, which was then placed into a special vessel. Other forms included the gladiatorial sacrifice, where a captive warrior armed with wooden weapons fought other men until he fell under their assault; and the sacrifice of the ipixtla or god-impersonator—a person selected to be the incarnation of the god on earth was sacrificed after an elaborate pageant. Among those last, the most well-known was the Feast of Toxcatl, which involved the sacrifice of Tezcatlipoca’s impersonator. Sacrifice victims could be Aztecs, or other inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, caught as prisoners of war. They could be men, women or children, though the first were by far the most common.
It’s important to place this notion of sacrifice in its proper context, in order to avoid misunderstanding the Aztecs. First, this was not a uniquely Aztec preoccupation. Most populations within the Valley of Mexico and indeed within Latin America (such as the Mayas and the Incas), were equally obsessed with offering human lives.
Those sacrifices were viewed as necessary, and particularly so for the Aztecs. For if the Sun and the earth were not fed, then the earth would tear itself apart, and everything would collapse into endless darkness. What seems to us like cruelty (the numerous sacrifices as well as the sometimes gruesome manner in which they were offered) was in fact simple necessity. It’s interesting to note that the Aztecs did not have recourse to torture, and that they were genuinely shocked at the way their Spanish conquerors lavishly used it to obtain information.
Aztec magic
The most important magic was that of shed blood, the one substance which guaranteed the survival of the world. Other magical items included those tied to a god or an emperor (the regalia of Emperor Ahuizotl was kept carefully in the treasury, and bestowed on a warrior during the Spanish Conquest, as a last attempt to turn the tide of battle). A final, odd category of magical items were body-parts—eating certain parts of a warrior’s body would confer courage, and the hair and fingers of women who had died in childbirth were thought to protect warriors in battle. These women, who had died bringing a life into the world and who would eventually become goddesses, were considered to straddle the boundary between the mortal world and the Heavens.
Divination was practised by calendar priests, whether it was to give a newborn child his name and horoscope, or to determine a favourable day for a wedding or a journey. The Aztecs, like most Mesoamericans, carefully observed the heavens and the positions of the stars, and deduced omens that would apply to everyday life. Of particular importance was Venus, who as the Morning Star was the incarnation of Quetzalcoatl.
Other forms of magic were those practised by doctors, essentially for purposes of healing: according to one’s day of birth (which determined a set of patron deities), there would be a different healing ritual.
The Aztecs set a great store by the day of birth: days in the 260-day religious calendar were held to be favourable, neutral, or ill-omened, and every day also carried a particular destiny. Favourable days included One Snake, which promised success and prosperity, Seven Flower, which saw the birth of painters, scribes and weaving-women.
At the other end of the scale were the days such as One Rain or One Wind: anyone born on such a day was doomed to become a sorcerer, a practitioner of black magic. Their powers would range from being able to change into animals to casting spells to paralyse an entire household--but would never be used for good. Such sorcerers were also responsible for casting illnesses and killing people in mysterious ways.
Further reading:
The Flayed God: The Mesoamerican Mythological Tradition
In the Language of Kings: An Anthology of Mesoamerican Literature, Pre-Columbian to the Present
Daily Life of the Aztecs
http://www.azteccalendar.com
ALIETTE DE BODARD’s short fiction credits include Aztec mysteries ("Obsidian Shards”, published in Writers of the Future XXIII) and other stories inspired by Mesoamerican culture. Her short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Realms of Fantasy, Interzone and Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Visit her website or her blog for more information.
5 comments so far.
Glad you enjoyed it, Sheila! Thanks for stopping by.
Good stuff, facts that read like poetry. Thanks.
Fascinating! This may just make it into my current WIP!
Thanks, Karen and Amy! (and Amy: do put some of it in your WIP. The world always needs more Aztec culture 
)
1. Sheila Finch on 15th September 2008 at 3:22 pm
Interesting material, Aliette! Thanks for posting it.