Quetzalcoatl,
one of the main deities
of pre-Hispanic
civilizations, is
present in most
of 15th-century Mesoamerica.
From
the beginning,
he has been attributed countless
mysteries: he is considered a man, a
deity, a priest,
a myth or
a legend.
The origin
of his name
comes from the Nahuatl and means “Quetzal”:
a bird of beautiful plumage and
“Coatl”,
which means snake,
resulting in
what is
commonly known as “the
Plumed Serpent.”
This deity was
one of the
most popular in Hispanic
tradition and
refers to
the union of terrestrial
and rain waters, which,
among agricultural
peoples, was
essential for
their survival,
thus signifying the origin of life
itself.
Legend has
it that when
the creation of
the world
was finished, the
gods and humans lived in harmony, everyone was happy,
except for the god Quetzalcoatl, who observed in
anger as humans were
subjugated by the
other gods. So he
decided to adopt the human
condition to
share the
knowledge and
art that
the deities possessed.
Upon
his arrival in
the world of the
humans,
he
wandered through
many lands until he came upon Tollan, a
place that is said to
be located today within the State
of Hidalgo, in Mexico.
When he
arrived, they were
offering a
sacrifice in honor of
his brother,
Tezcatlipoca, and,
angered by this barbarity, Quetzalcoatl
halted the
execution. The
priest who
performed the sacrifice
shouted angrily
and the sky turned
gray with clouds that heralded a
major storm
with lightning and
thunder.
Quetzalcoatl calmed
them and
assured them that while
he was
in the city, Tollan would
flourish like
no other. He
then raised
his hands to
the sky and the
winds began
to blow,
clearing away
the clouds. From
that moment on, men wanted to
worship him
as a deity,
but he
rejected any kind
of luxury and
invited to
them live with humility and
to learn with purity of
soul.
From then
on, Tollan grew
and prospered. The
god in human
form taught
them to
cultivate corn
seeds, to
work with jade,
gold and obsidian, how
to dye cotton,
the art of astronomy, he
enriched
their writing,
promoted the
worship of the
gods and
forbade human
sacrifices, teaching them
self-sacrifice by
pricking themselves with
maguey thorns instead.
He created an
order of maidens
dedicated to the cleaning and maintenance
of the
temples. In
short, the city
became a
grand, beautiful and
sacred city.
But
Quetzalcoatl’s brother, the god Tezcatlipoca,
was not happy with
his relative’s performance, so
he devised an evil plan to destroy
his image. One
day, Tezcatlipoca disguised himself
as an old man and
brought a gift to
Quetzalcoatl, who
received it with great
joy and humility, realizing that it
was a maguey that
brought forth a
delicious liquid.
However, what
Quetzalcoatl didn’t
know was
that the delicious liquid was
"octli"
or "pulque",
an intoxicating drink which
had yet to be discovered.
Quetzalcoatl drank
it with
pleasure; he drank and sang
like never before. He
was so
ecstatic that, being
filled with carnal desires, he
took as his woman
Quetzalpetatl, a priestess
belonging to his cult, thus
breaking his
celibacy.
The next
morning he
felt utterly unclean and made the hardest
decision of
his life,
for he was no
longer worthy to lead Tollan. He
headed for the sea, built a boat
out of snakes and sailed toward
the setting sun, promising the
Toltecs to return to Tollan
in the year
"Ce Acatl"
to avenge for
the betrayal.
Coincidentally, that
same pre-Hispanic
year was
the year
1519 AD, the year when
the first Spaniards arrived
on the
very coast by
which Quetzalcoatl disappeared.
On the other hand,
according to some historians,
the representations of
Quetzalcoatl depict
him as a tall
and bearded
white male. That’s
why it is assured
that this notable
personage may have been, in
fact,
genuine:
a
Viking who reached
the shores of
the Gulf of Mexico
to later become
the god of the
Toltecs, because
of all the
new knowledge
that he instilled.
The most remarkable thing
about this story is that
it was precisely because
of
these physical characteristics and the golden glow of his
armor and
clothing,
that the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, was mistaken
for this god.
The dates coincided,
as well as the omens promised
by the
magicians and Aztec
priests,
so that an
entire civilization, believing in these
prophecies, immediately
thought of the return of
Quetzalcoatl.
Unfortunately, they realized too late
that this god was
nothing more than
a man who came in search of gold and who
was
willing to end entirely
with
a great civilization.
The great Quetzalcoatl is
remembered, therefore, as an
exemplary governor and
politician,
a civilizing hero;
as the
inventor of
the calendar,
the discoverer of
corn, a
master farmer, the
inventor of
the art
of smelting metals, a
precious stone carver, judge
and jurist and
as the unifying god
of the world.
His importance was
such that many Hispanic
cultures worshiped
him, whether as
Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. His teachings reached
different civilizations, including the Olmec,
Maya, Mixtec
and Toltec,
and the Aztecs.
Even more puzzling
is
the fact that all cultures
described him similarly,
with only minor
variations.
Quetzalcoatl is the main
protagonist of many of the major Mesoamerican myths
and legends that
continue to intrigue us.
