Huitzilopochtli

“ HUITZILOPOCHTLI, the supreme being in the religions of ancient Mexico, and as a specialized deity, the god of war. He was the mythic leader and chief divinity of the Aztecs, dominant tribe of the Nahua nation. As a humming-bird Huitzilopochtli was alleged to have led the Aztecs to a new home. ”

“ One hundred years of successful government had made the Aztecs proud. Their enemies feared them. Surrounding nations sought their friendship for the sake of peace. The great house of Texcuco had allied itself with their king in marriage. Mingled in the veins of Montezuma with the savage blood of the worshippers of Huitzilopochtli, the terrible god of war, was a gentler strain of the delicate culture of the family of Nezahualcoyotl. ”

“ In the medley of such a Pantheon, it is difficult to arrange the deities on any principle of order. Beginning with Huitzilopochtli, as perhaps the most famous, it is to be observed that he indubitably became and was recognised as a god of battles, and that he was also the guide and protector who (according to the Aztec painted scriptures) led the wandering fathers through war and wilderness to the promised land of Mexico. ”

“ The king died in 1440, recommending the allies above all things to live at peace with each other, ordering work to be continued on the temple of Huitzilopochtli, and making provision for statues of himself and his predecessors on the throne of Mexico. He was succeeded by his nephew, Montezuma Ilhuicamina, or the elder, who was already commander of the armies and high-priest of Huitzilopochtli. ”

“ Dressed like a warrior ready for the fray, and prepared to lead in the chief dances as is his duty, he seems to impersonate the omen of evil which hovers over the scene.
Presently the Spaniards are conducted to a separate court, wherein are assembled several hundred nobles and leading men, arrayed in rich costumes glittering with gold and precious stones. The centre of attraction is the new image of Huitzilopochtli, of tzoalli dough, its jacket wrought with human bones. ”

“ A small figure standing by its side they said was his page, at any rate it held the idol's short lance and shield decorated with gold and jewels. Round the neck of Huitzilopochtli were figures of human faces made of gold, and hearts of silver set with many precious blue stones. In front of the image stood several incense pans in which the hearts of three Indians, who had that day been sacrificed, were burning with copal as a burnt-offering. The walls of the chapel and the whole floor were so encrusted with human blood that they were black, and the stench of the place was unendurable. ”

“ Even the most civilised Americans, the Mexicans, had not as yet outgrown this stage of religious belief. It is true that the idea of a white God of Love and Peace was as not quite foreign to them, but the fear of the horrible Huitzilopochtli still prompted them to stain the altars of his temples with the blood of human victims. ”

“ Priests, chiefs of wards, and other officials, says Tezozomoc, are commanded to ascertain and impart all dreams and strange occurrences relating to a coming people or to the throne. Wise and politic as he is, he does not seem to know that this is only placing himself and his malady at the mercy of the masses. Who could not conjure up visions under such a summons? Some old men immediately come forward with a dream, wherein Huitzilopochtli’s image is overthrown and his temple burned to the ground, leaving no vestige. ”

“ The gift of fire is usually ascribed to a culture-god. Huitzilopochtli was such a deity; he introduced dress, laws, and ceremonies among his people. The statement that Huitziton had at some time, given fire to the people, has no historical meaning; there is no people without fire, and a formerly told myth mentions that man made fire even before the existence of the present sun. The signification of the fable is a religious one, it is a myth in which the Aztecs ascribe the origin of all human culture to Huitziton their culture-god, afterward Huitzilopochtli. ”

“ The legend refers to this as a dispute between the followers of the tribal god Huitzilopochtli and those of his sister Malinalxochitl. We may understand it to have been the separation of two “totems.” The latter entered at once the Valley of Mexico, while the 89followers of Huitzilopochtli passed on to the plain of Tula and settled on the Coatepetl. Here, says the narrative, they constructed houses of stones and of rushes, built a temple for the worship of Huitzilopochtli, set up his image and those of the fifteen divinities (gentes?) ”

“ If only the Cause of All, to whom even the gods are quarreling children, would speak the last truth, so that man might understand! But if Tlaloc calls for a sprinkling of blood before he will give us showers of rain, then it is indeed just that he should have his blood. Without rain the world would die. Yet Huitzilopochtli, under whose standard fight those of Tenochtitlan, is a god of war alone. He can promise only plunder. He is a little god suddenly grown to commanding stature, so that all the cities pay tribute to his children. But Tezcatlipoca is the great one of all the land ”

“ He knew well what answer would come from the priests, whose possessions, wealth, and honors depended on the exclusion of invaders, aiming above all at the overthrow of their religion. "My people shall not fear the enemy," spake the war-god Huitzilopochtli, "for the allied hosts will not persevere long in the siege, and I will scatter the Castilians now as hitherto." ”

“ We must, in considering the nature of this deity, bear well in mind the connection in the Nahua consciousness between the pantheon, war, and the food-supply. If war was not waged annually the gods must go without flesh food and perish, and if the gods succumbed the crops would fail, and famine would destroy the race. So it was small wonder that Huitzilopochtli was one of the chief gods of Mexico.
Huitzilopochtli’s principal festival was the Toxcatl, celebrated immediately after the Toxcatl festival of Tezcatlipoca, to which it bore a strong resemblance. ”

“ His priest enjoyed the highest esteem and his temple in Mexico stood by the side of that of Huitzilopochtli. Montezuma not only calls the Toltec hero a leader of his forefathers, but the Aztecs actually consider him as a son of Huitzilopochtli. The opposition of the two gods, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, has another reason: the difference lies not in their worship, but in their nature and being, in the natural phenomena which they represent. If the god of the beneficial atmosphere, the manifested god-power of the atmosphere of the fructifying seasons, is adored in Quetzalcoatl ”

“ In ancient Mexico, where crime was punished very severely, and was pursued with much energy, an immense throng came together every year to witness the numerous and terrible human sacrifices in honor of the god Huitzilopochtli. The spectacle, with its atrocious cruelties, was a source of delight to a people among whom intoxication, theft, and murder were punished with death, and who possessed a remarkable political organization and civilization. ”

“ Along with this let it be remembered that the legend states that Huitzilopochtli was born in Tula, and insisted on leading the Mexica toward the south, the opposition to which by his brother led to the massacre and to the destruction of the town.
116. This myth is recorded by Sahagun, Historia de Nueva España, Lib. iii, cap. 1, “On the Origin of the Gods.” It is preserved with some curious variations in the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, cap. 11. When the gods created the sun they also formed four hundred men and five women for him to eat. ”

“ In still closer relationship to him stands his brother-in-arms, or, as Bernal Diaz calls him, his page, Paynalton, that is, 'the fleet one;' he was the god of the sudden war alarm, tumultus or general levée en masse; his call obliged all capable of bearing arms to rush to the defence. He is otherwise considered as the representant of Huitzilopochtli and subordinate to him, for he was only a small image, as Diaz says, and as the ending ton denotes. The statue of this little war-crier was always placed upon the altar of Huitzilopochtli, and sometimes carried round at his feast. ”

“ Tylor (Primitive Culture) calls Huitzilopochtli an 'inextricable compound parthenogenetic deity.' A more satisfactory solution of the myth would seem to the present writer to be that the origin of Huitzilopochtli was partly totemic—that, in fact, the humming-bird was the original totem of the wandering tribe of Aztecs prior to their descent upon Anahuac. The humming-bird is of an extremely pugnacious disposition, and will not hesitate to attack birds considerably larger than itself. ”

“ When he had completed the temple, and had placed the god of war, the terrible Huitzilopochtli, in position in one of the adoratories on the summit, Ahuitzotl invited the two allied monarchs to be present at the dedication. He also extended invitations to all persons of distinction within the valley. Even people at war with the Mexicans came to witness the ceremonies, and were assigned seats where they could have an unobstructed view. ”

“ The myth of the birth of Huitzilopochtli, which Sahagun relates, throws light upon the character of the divinity. His mother, Coatlicue ("She of the Serpent-Woven Skirt") , dwelling on Coatepec ("Serpent Mountain") , had a family consisting of a daughter, Coyolxauhqui ("She whose Face is Painted with Bells") , and of many sons, known collectively as the Centzonuitznaua ("the Four Hundred Southerners") . One day, while doing penance upon the mountain, a ball of feathers fell upon her, and having placed this in her bosom, it was observed, shortly afterward, that she was pregnant. ”

“ At the moment of the enemy's arrival Huitzilopochtli was born, flourishing a shield and spear of a blue colour. He was painted, his head was surmounted by a panache, and his left leg was covered with feathers. He shattered Coyolxauhqui with a flash of serpentine lightning, and then gave chase to the Centzonuitznaua, whom he pursued four times round the mountain. They did not attempt to defend themselves, but fled incontinently. Many perished in the waters of the adjoining lake, to which they had rushed in their despair. ”

“ At the dedication of the great temple of Huitzilopochtli, in 1486, the prisoners, who for some years had been reserved for the purpose, were drawn from all quarters to the capital. They were ranged in files, forming a procession nearly two miles long. The ceremony consumed several days, and seventy thousand captives are said to have perished at the shrine of this terrible deity! But who can believe that so numerous a body would have suffered themselves to be led unresistingly like sheep to the slaughter? ”

“ In placing the god in the position of son to the plant-goddess, the myth separates his being from that of the mother, consequently, Huitzilopochtli is not the plant-world himself, however closely he may be related to it. ”

“ This monotony, however, was relieved to a great extent. by the number of temples sacred to superior and local deities which were to be seen in every ward, raised high above the dwellings of mortals, on mounds of varying elevations, and surmounted by towering chapels. Their fires, burning in perpetual adoration of the gods, presented a most impressive spectacle at night. The grandest and most conspicuous of them all was the temple of Huitzilopochtli, which stood in the centre of the city, at the junction of the four avenues, so as to be ever before the eyes of the faithful. ”

“ The standard author on Mexican antiquities at that time was the Italian dilettante Boturini, of whom it may be said that he is better, but not much better, than nothing at all. From page 27 of his work the antiquaries learned that Huitzilopochtli was accompanied by the goddess Teoyaominqui, who was charged with collecting the souls of those slain in war and sacrifice. This was enough. The figure was at once named Teoyaominqui or Huitzilopochtli (The One plus the Other) , and has been so called ever since. The antiquaries next elevated this imaginary goddess to the rank of the war-god’s wife. ”

“ The name Huitzilopochtli signifies "Humming-bird to the left," from the circumstance that the god wore the feathers of the humming-bird, or colibri, on his left leg. From this it has been inferred that he was a humming-bird totem. The explanation of Huitzilopochtli's origin is a little deeper than this, however. Among the American tribes, especially those of the northern continent, the serpent is regarded with the deepest veneration as the symbol of wisdom and magic. ”

“ As might be expected from a people so warlike and ambitious as the Nahuas, the profession of arms ranked high above all other callings, save that of the priests. This was especially the case in the later days, under the Aztec kings, whose unscrupulous ambition and passion for conquest could only be gratified by their warriors. Huitzilopochtli, god of war, protector of the empire, was glorified and honored above all other gods; his altars must be red with blood, for blood alone could extort his favor, and wars were frequently waged solely for his propitiation ”

“ On the top of the Stone of Tizoc is a representation of Tonatiuh, or the sun’s disk, much less complex than that which we have seen on the Calendar Stone but with many similar parts. On the sides of the stone are fifteen groups of figures, each group representing a conqueror and his captive. The victorious soldier appears each time in the guise of the war god, Huitzilopochtli, or his wizard brother Tezcatlipoca. The left foot of the figure ends in two scroll-like objects that may represent the humming bird feathers that formed the left foot of Huitzilopochtli. ”