Huitzilopochtli was said to be in a constant struggle with the darkness and required nourishment in the form of sacrifices to ensure the sun would survive the cycle of 52 years, which was the basis of many Mesoamerican myths. Through this, Huitzilopochtli replaced Nanahuatzin, the solar god from the Nahua legend. Originally, he was of little importance to the Nahuas, but after the rise of the Aztecs, Tlacaelel reformed their religion and put Huitzilopochtli at the same level as Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, and Tezcatlipoca, making him a solar god. Huitzilopochtli was the patron god of the Mexica tribe. History Huitzilopochtli, as depicted in the Codex Tovar If Huitzilopochtli did not have enough strength to battle his siblings, they would destroy their mother and thus the world. It is also why it was so important to provide tribute for Huitzilopochtli as sustenance for the Sun. In the Aztec worldview, this is the reason why the Sun is constantly chasing the Moon and stars. Huitzilopochtli is seen as the sun in mythology, while his many male siblings are perceived as the stars and his sister as the moon. He also chased after his brothers, who fled from him and became scattered all over the sky. He attacked his older brothers and sister, defending his mother by beheading his sister and casting her body from the mountain top. Huitzilopochtli burst forth from his mother's womb in full armor and fully grown, or in other versions of the story, burst forth from the womb and immediately put on his gear. These children, angered by the manner by which their mother became impregnated, conspired to kill her. Her other children, who were already fully grown, were the four hundred male Centzonuitznaua and the female deity Coyolxauhqui. Īnother origin story tells of a fierce goddess, Coatlicue, being impregnated as she was sweeping by a ball of feathers on Mount Coatepec ("Serpent Hill" near Tula, Hidalgo). Together, Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl created fire, the first male and female humans, the Earth, and the Sun. His mother and father instructed him and Quetzalcoatl to bring order to the world. According to this legend, he was the smallest son of four - his parents being the creator couple of the Ōmeteōtl ( Tōnacātēcuhtli and Tōnacācihuātl) while his brothers were Quetzalcōātl ("Precious Serpent" or "Quetzal-Feathered Serpent"), Xīpe Tōtec ("Our Lord Flayed"), and Tezcatlipōca ("Smoking Mirror"). One story tells of the cosmic creation and Huitzilopochtli's role in it. There are a handful of origin mythologies describing the deity's beginnings. the little bird is reborn." Origin stories Blue and Red Tezcatlipocas in the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer. He writes, "It appears to be dead, but at the advent of spring. Diego Durán describes what appears to be the hummingbird hibernating in a tree, somewhat like the common poorwill does. The hummingbird was spiritually important in Aztec culture. However, Frances Karttunen points out that in Classical Nahuatl compounds are usually head final, implying that a more accurate translation may be "the left (or south) side of the hummingbird". Generally it is agreed that there are two elements, huītzilin "hummingbird" and ōpōchtli "left hand side." The name is often translated as "Left-Handed Hummingbird" or "Hummingbird of the South" on the basis that Aztec cosmology associated the south with the left hand side of the body. There continues to be disagreement about the full significance of Huītzilōpōchtli's name. When performed, typically multiple victims were sacrificed per day at any one of the numerous temples. These took place frequently throughout the region. During their discovery and conquest of the Aztec Empire, they wrote that human sacrifice was common in worship ceremonies. The Spaniards recorded the deity's name as Huichilobos. He wielded Xiuhcoatl, the fire serpent, as a weapon, thus also associating Huitzilopochtli with fire. He was also the patron god of the Aztecs and their capital city, Tenochtitlan. Huitzilopochtli ( Classical Nahuatl: Huītzilōpōchtli, IPA: ⓘ) is the solar and war deity of sacrifice in Aztec religion.
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