Jack of All Trades and Master of All: The Tale of Adopted Deity

If it appears a blog title to review a typical movie plot where rich parents adopt a child and how gradually that child becomes an integral part of that couple’s lives so much so that he ends up being an overachiever! Then you got it totally, no no no… partly wrong because this is a story of an adopted god named ‘Quetzalcoatl’ (You can master the pronunciation in 3 business days!) that entangled into the cultural web of Aztec people so deeply, ending up shouldering the responsibility of the whole of Aztec civilization thus becoming master of all! (Later in the blog you will get to know why he is the master of all)

Let me give you all a little background of Aztec civilization. The Aztecs were a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of Central Mexico during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The Republic of Mexico and the capital, Mexico City, get their names from the Mexica people.

ihttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-fmcc-boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-toltecs-and-the-aztecs/

The Aztec empire's capital was Tenochtitlan (don’t ask for pronunciation), which was on an island in Lake Texcoco. Today, Mexico City is where Tenochtitlan used to be. The Valley of Mexico was the centre of Aztec civilization from the 13th century. The Aztec Triple Alliance made up of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, expanded its power and controlled many areas in Mesoamerica. And of course! They had a rich cultural tapestry with complex religious traditions and were way accomplished in art and architecture.

iihttps://historycooperative.org/quetzalcoatl/

Well, for Aztecs; Quetzalcoatl was the god of wisdom, ritual calendar, corn & maze, yes he is the mastermind behind sizzling jalapeno nachos (so if you love munching on them thank him!) Moreover, they also see him as the symbol of death and resurrection. Interesting right? But if he is at the cultural vortex for Aztec people traversing all the way to this day Mexico and across the globe (I’m not referring to nachos here!) then why was he adopted in the first place? Or from where he got his name (not gibberish obviously)?  

Let's seek answers together!

The worshipping of Quetzalcoatl can be dated as back as Teotihuacan (not gibberish though!) civilization that stretched from the 3rd to 8th centuries CE.  As per the legend, The later Aztec culture considered the Toltecs as their intellectual and cultural predecessors, it's like the Aztecs did not find the potential of Quetzalcoatl worthy of their ancestors and decided to adopt him and give him the followers he actually deserved (cut-throat competition). They described Toltec culture as originating from Tula and viewed it as the pinnacle of civilization. In the Nahuatl language, the word “Tula” came to mean “artisan.” Additionally, the Aztec oral and pictographic tradition documented the history of the Toltec Empire, providing lists of rulers and their accomplishments.

However, some scholarly interventions do question the affirmance of Aztec narratives of Toltec history, as what remains on the record may have been tainted or hind sighted in the glorification of Aztec mythology in the 14th through 16th centuries. Nonetheless, there is still ongoing debate regarding the connections between the Toltecs and the similarities in architecture and iconography found at the archaeological sites of Tula and Chichén Itzá. A consensus has not been reached on the extent of influence between these two sites and their archaic mythical connection.

iiihttps://historycooperative.org/quetzalcoatl/

Moving further to the origin and meaning of this master of all, in Nahuatl words quetzal means the emerald-plumed bird; a rare bird species found in Mesoamerica and coatl means serpent thus, named after the feathered serpent he resembles. It's no coincidence that worshipers and historians often refer to him as the Feathered Serpent. Since he is a god that represents both a bird and a serpent in particular, he is regarded as the highest of spiritual leaders. But this story takes its roots deep into the cultural representation.

The bird and the serpent have the religious and symbolic meanings of heaven and earth, respectively for Aztecs. His birth draws an analogy for opposites, culminating together the destructive and developing character of the earth, represented by the snake, with the fertile and rendering forces of the heavens, represented by the bird (he is the Yin Yang for the Aztec people).

However, Quetzalcoatl was not a half-bird and half-serpent since the beginning, so the story goes Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain saw a cave full of snakes eagerly sipping water except one, little did he know his aversion to water would make him a deity and that too this important! Well intrigued enough, Tlaloc let it rain so abundantly that the snake drifted out of the cave after months (wallflower vibes!). The snake was amazed by the first sunlight and the beautiful world around him and was surprised to see Quetzal birds flying in the sky, something he had never seen before and wished to fly like a Quetzal bird.  Tlaloc having attached to the snake fulfilled his wish and he flew straight into the direction of the sun, leading to a total eclipse. The snake grew bigger and became a flying serpent. This marked the end of the eclipse and the birth of Quetzalcoatl.