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Xiuhcoatl is a Classical Nahuatl word that translates as "turquoise serpent" and also carries the symbolic and descriptive translation of "fire serpent". Xiuhcoatl was a common subject of Aztec art, including illustrations in Aztec codices, and was used as a back ornament on representations of both Xiuhtecuhtli and Huitzilopochtli. [1]
A small fire was permanently kept alive at the sacred center of every Aztec home in honor of Xiuhtecuhtli. [14] The Nahuatl word xihuitl means "year" as well as "turquoise" and "fire", [11] and Xiuhtecuhtli was also the god of the year and of time. [15] [16] The Lord of the Year concept came from the Aztec belief that Xiuhtecuhtli was the North ...
Huitzilopochtli (Classical Nahuatl: Huītzilōpōchtli, IPA: [wiːt͡siloːˈpoːt͡ʃt͡ɬi] ⓘ) is the solar and war deity of sacrifice in Aztec religion. [3] 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.
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. [1] The Aztecs were Nahuatl -speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures.
Īxpoztequeh, god who lived in one of nine layers of the underworld. Iixpuzteque was Nexoxochi's husband. Tzontēmōc, god who lived in one of nine layers of the underworld. Tzontemoc was Chalmeccacihuatl's husband. Xolotl, god of death who is associated with Venus and the Evening Star. He is the twin god and a double of Quetzalcoatl.
Mary Elizabeth Smith identified the yahui as the "xiuhcoatl-turtle-sacrificer" when she analyzed the Codex Muro and colonial Mexican documents. [6] She identified the flint-flame tail motif and turtle carapace as the key symbols that distinguish the yahui from other specific figures in the Mixtec codices.
The rest of the gods present: Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, Nochpalliicue, Yapallicue and Xochiquetzal sacrifice themselves in Teotihuacan to make the Sun move across the sky, starting the contemporary era. [7] Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is also viewed as one of the four gods who kept the sky up and was associated with the cardinal direction East. [8]
During the Spanish Conquest, Christianity was imposed on the Nahua people, which prohibited many traditions and celebrations linked to Aztec gods, including Netotiliztli. Netotiliztli survived because the Nahua shifted the dance's meaning from a spiritual tradition of celebration and worship, to a dance solely for pleasure.