Quetzal

“ The paba humbled himself before the speaker, and said, slowly and tearfully, “The wise king is blinded by his hope. When Quetzal’ finished this chapter, his task was done; he had recorded the last day of perfect glory, and ceased to write because, Azatlan being now to perish, there was nothing more to record. O unhappy king! that is the curse, and it needed no writing!”
Montezuma shook with passion.
“Lead me hence, lead me hence!” he cried. “I will watch; and if Quetzal’ comes not on the morrow,—comes not during the celebration,—I swear to level this temple, and let the lake into its chambers! ”

“ The destiny brings me a crown: tell me, when your god has glutted himself, where shall I find subjects? Comes he in person or by representative? Am I to be his crowned slave or Malinche’s? Once for all, let Quetzal’ enlarge his doom; it is sweeter than what you call his love. I will go fight; and, if the gods of my fathers—in this hour become dearer and holier than ever—so decree, will die with my people. Again, father, farewell.”
Again the withered hands arose tremulously, and a look of exceeding anguish came to the paba’s help. ”

“ Alas! no other can. Cuitlahua is a prisoner; so is Cacama; and in the court-yard yonder, cold in death, lie the lords who might with them contest the crown and its tribulations. I alone am left. And as to Quetzal’,—I accept the doom of my country,—into the heart of his divinity I cast my spear! So, farewell, father. As a faithful servant, you cannot bless whom your god has cursed. With you, however, be all the peace and safety that abide here. Farewell.”
“Go not, go not!” cried Mualox, as the ’tzin, calling to Hualpa, turned his back upon him. “We have been as father and son. I am old. ”

“ If you go hence for any purpose of war, remember Quetzal’ neither forgets nor forgives; better that you had never been born.”
By this time, Hualpa had joined the party. Resting his hand upon the young man’s shoulder, the ’tzin fixed on Mualox a look severe and steady as his own, and replied,—“Father, a man knows not himself; still less knows he other men; if so, how should I know a being so great as you claim your god to be? Heretofore, I have been contented to see Quetzal’ as you have painted him,—a fair-faced, gentle, loving deity, to whom human sacrifice was especially abhorrent ”

“ What then is your counsel, Teule? How can I defend myself against these mighty men, who are clothed in metal, and ride upon fierce wild beasts, who have instruments that make a noise like thunder, at the sound of which their adversaries fall dead by hundreds, and who bear weapons of shining silver in their hands? Alas! there is no defence possible, for they are the children of Quetzal come back to take the land. ”

“ He was a beneficent deity, who seemed to have taken the shape of a man in order to improve the condition of the people of earth. His name is constructed from two words, Quetzal, a bird of beautiful plumage found in the forests of southern Mexico, and Coatl, a serpent, also found there—Quetzalcoatl, the "Plumed Serpent." The traditions, or legends, paint him as a tall, white man with a large beard, in complexion and general appearance very different from the Indians, among whom he lived, in Tula, as "God of the Air." ”

“ QUEZAL, or Quesal, the Spanish-American name for one of the most beautiful of birds, abbreviated from the Aztec or Maya Quetzal-tototl, the last part of the compound word meaning fowl, and the first, also written Cuetzal, the long feathers of rich green with which it is adorned. ”

“ Others showed an inclination to favour the descendants of Quetzal', and thus the widely conflicting shouts and cries formed a medley which was fairly deafening.
For one of his fierce temper the Red Heron showed a marvellous coolness throughout that perilous retreat, and never more than during the first few seconds. Then a single injudicious word or too hasty movement might easily have precipitated a fight, where the vast audience would surely have brought disaster, whether the majority so willed or not. ”

“ It was a venerable pile when the Aztecs took possession of the land and erected on its summit a magnificent temple, which they dedicated to Quetzal. With the advent of their cruel religion began those daily human sacrifices that drenched its altars with blood for two centuries, or until the coming of the white conquerors. Other temples sprang up about that of Quetzal, each demanding human victims, until126 the number of those annually sacrificed, in Cholula alone, was over six thousand. ”

“ He began to comprehend the writing, and thrill with fast-coming presentiments. Yet he struggled with his fears.
“Prophecy has to do with the future,” he said; “and you have shown me nothing that the sculptors and jewellers in my palace cannot do. Would you have me believe all this from Quetzal’, show me something that is to come.”
Mualox led him to the next scene which represented the king sitting in state; above him a canopy; his nobles and the women of his household around him; at his feet the people; and all were looking at a combat going on between warriors. ”

“ Another name is garalari, “enemy of poison,” indicating the great repute enjoyed by this stone in India as an antidote for all animal, 136mineral and vegetable poisons. [268] In Mexico the emerald [269] bore the name Quetzalitzli, “stone of the quetzal,” because its color resembled the brilliant green of the plumes of the bird called in the Mexican tongue quetzal. These plumes were worn as insignia of royalty by the sovereigns of Mexico and Central America, and hence the emerald was regarded as an essentially regal gem, although its use was not confined to royalty. ”

“ After Montezuma went to dwell with the strangers, the king of Tezcuco revolted, and drew after him the lords of Iztapalapan, Tlacopan, and others; to-day they are prisoners, while you are free. Next, aided by Tlalac, you planned the rescue of the king by force in the teocallis; for that offence the officers hunted you, and have not given over their quest; but the cells of Quetzal’ are deep and dark; I called you in, and yet you are safe. To-day Quetzal’ appeared amongst the celebrants, and to-night there is mourning throughout the valley, and the city groans under the bloody sorrow ”

“ His name, like that of the Quiché demiurge Gucumatz, means "Plumed Serpent" and is a precise equivalent of "Quetzalcoatl"—the first element referring directly to the long and iridescent plumes of the quetzal. The frequency of bird-serpent symbols in Maya [Pg 135] art, regarded as emblematic of this deity, as well as images, both in the codices and on the monuments, of the long-nosed god himself, indicate a deep-seated and fervent worship, so that it may indeed be an open question as to whether Kukulcan is the pattern or the copy of Quetzalcoatl, with the probabilities favoring the Maya source. ”

“ There but remains the etymology of Quetzalcoatl’s name. It is compounded of the element quetzalli and coatl. The first denotes the bright green tail-feathers of the quetzal bird, and coatl = “snake,” so that the whole implies “feathered snake.” The generally accepted belief is that [145] this name applies to the rain-bearing clouds which accompany the trade-wind, although others have seen in it a description of the rain itself, and still others the ripples made by wind on water. ”

“ At present he is well disposed towards you because he thinks that the oracle may declare you to be the son of Quetzal through whom his people shall be redeemed, since it seems that here there is some such prophecy, and for this reason it is that he has not forbidden the friendship between you and his daughter, or so he hinted to me. But be warned, señor; for if he comes to know that you are not the man, then he will sweep you aside as of small account, and you may bid farewell to the Lady of the Heart. ”

“ The Anales de Quauhtitlan or Codex Chimalpopocâ states that Quetzalcoatl was born in no natural manner, but was a nine years’ child. He created the four classes of men: the men of the four “suns” or periods of the world were made by him on the day chicome ehecatl, or “seven wind.” The record proceeds to relate the circumstances of his rule at Tollan, the manner in which he discovered the value of precious stones, gold and silver, red and white shells, quetzal feathers, the cotinga and red sparrowbill feathers, the various species of cocoa and cotton. ”

“ In the afternoon the king Cuitlahua, whose sickness had greatly increased, caused himself to be taken to Chapultepec, where he judged he would be safer from the enemy and better situated for treatment by his doctors and nurses. Before leaving, however, he appointed a deputation of ancients, and sent them, with his signet and a message, to Guatamozin.
The ’tzin, about the same time, changed his quarters from the teocallis, now but a bare pavement high in air, to the old Cû of Quetzal’. That the strangers must shortly attempt to leave the city he knew ”

“ Their feet are weak and of a unique structure, the second toe, which in most birds is the inner anterior one, being reverted, and thus the trogons stand alone, since in all other birds that have two toes before and two behind it is the outer toe that is turned backward. The plumage is very remarkable and characteristic. There is not a species which has not beauty beyond most birds, and the glory of the group culminates in the quetzal (q.v.) ”

“ The immediate consequence was a new revolt, and from an unexpected source, since it was abetted if not originated by the followers of Quetzalcoatl, who deemed Acxitl, the child of adulterous love, an unworthy successor of their great prophet. Maxtlatzin was the most prominent of the many nobles who espoused the rebel cause, and Quauhtli was the choice of the malcontents for the rank of high-priest of Quetzalcoatl. ”

“ Then Quetzalcoatl builded a great fire and took his son--his son born of his own flesh, without the aid of woman--and cast him into the flames, whence he rose into the sky as the sun which lights the world. When the Light-God kindles the flames of the dawn in the orient sky, shortly the sun emerges from below the horizon and ascends the heavens. Tlaloc, god of waters, followed, and into the glowing ashes of the pyre threw his son, who rose as the moon. ”

“ Besides the attributes of the sparrow, flint, and snake, there are others which ascribe to Quetzalcoatl the same properties, but less prominently. As god of the air, he holds the wonderfully painted shield in his hand, a symbol of his power over the winds. As god of the fertilizing influence of the air, he holds, like Saturn, the sickle, symbol of the harvest—he it is that causes the grain to ripen. ”

“ The Popol Vuh.—The myths relating to Quetzalcoatl under his name of Gucumatz in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiche of Guatemala, are difficult to summarize. In the first chapter he is alluded to as “the serpent covered with feathers, the heart of the lakes, the heart of the sea, master of the sky, master of the blue expanse,” and is connected with the creative gods. Along with Hurakan (Tezcatlipocâ) he creates the world by uttering the word “earth.” The creation of man having been considered, the wherewithal for his sustenance is debated. ”

“ This latter deity becomes a magician, cunning and malicious enough to get the better of the gentle Quetzalcoatl on every occasion. I regret that time will not allow me to tell in detail of the combat between Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl. The latter was a sovereign who lived long ago at Tulla, the northern focus of Toltec civilization. Under his sceptre men lived in great happiness and enjoyed abundance of everything. ”

“ Quetzalcoatl (whose name means "Feathered Serpent" or "Feathered Staff") became, at a relatively early period, ruler of Tollan, and by his enlightened sway and his encouragement of the liberal arts did much to further the advancement of his people. His reign had lasted for a period sufficient to permit of his placing the cultivated arts upon a satisfactory basis when the country was visited by the cunning magicians Tezcatlipoca and Coyotl inaual, god of the Amantecas. ”

“ A peculiar legend accounts for the feather-work garments and mask worn by Quetzalcoatl; from two sources we learn that this god was extremely ugly, and one of them adds that when Tezcatlipoca showed him his reflection in his mirror, Quetzalcoatl was so ashamed that he adopted these aids to concealment. 'The other states that his image was always kept covered.
Besides Tezcatlipoca, there were also other high gods, whose functions related to creation and generation, but, like many high gods among primitive peoples, the amount of active worship paid them was relatively small. ”

“ A more probable explanation of the origin of Quetzalcoatl and a more likely elucidation of his nature is that which would regard him as the Man of the Sun, who has quitted his abode for a season for the purpose of inculcating in mankind those arts which represent the first steps in civilisation, who fulfils his mission, and who, at a late period, is displaced by the deities of an invading race. ”

“ The Max Müller school of mythologists see nothing in Quetzalcoatl but a god of the wind. With them Minos was a myth. So was his palace with its labyrinth until its recent discovery at Knossos. I am fain to see in Quetzalcoatl a real personality—a culture-hero; but I will suggest nothing concerning his non-American nationality. At the same time it will be interesting to examine, firstly, those European myths which speak of men who set out for America; and, secondly, those American myths which speak of the existence of 'white men,' or 'white tribes,' dwelling upon the American continent. ”