Ancient and Powerful Aztec Gods : Mexico's Aztec Heritage : The Aztec Calendar

Ancient and powerful Aztec Gods

 In the beginning, from total void and darkness Ometecutli ("Lord of Duality") created himself. The Lord of Duality was a union of opposites: good and bad, chaos and order, male and female. Being both male and female ("Lord and Lady of Duality"), Ometecutli was able to conceive children. The union of the Male and Female Lords of Duality produced four children; Huizilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe Totec. Each child became a god and was assigned one of the four cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).

Four ages, or "suns" of 2028 years ensued. Each of these “births of the world” was terminated with cataclysms due to the infighting among the gods as they competed for power. All humans in each of the four suns were destroyed or transformed.

  In the darkness after the end of the fourth sun, Quetzalcoatl (known as the feathered serpent) descended into the underworld to bring up the bones of the dead. Together Quetzalcoatl and his brother god Tezcatlipoca used the bones to bring to life the people who are now here in the “fifth sun”. The two ancient and powerful gods also recreated heaven and earth. These scenes are depicted in the Aztec sun stone more commonly known as the Aztec calendar, in pottery and inscribed in temples.

Aztec Mexico

Aztec is a generic term used to refer to ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political and military dominance over large parts of Mesoamerica. The warriors of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the empire however referred to themselves as Mexica. Mexica is the word that gives Mexico its name. Mexico and Aztec have in current history been combined.

The Aztec god of war Huitzilopochtli was said to have been born full-grown, in complete warrior dress and ready to do battle. And it was Huitzilopochtli himself who urged the Mexica to leave their original homeland and journey south to the valley of Mexico. He was the fearsome guide that led the people through the long journey to what eventually would become Tenochtitlan, the island capital of the Aztec empire.

 The final sign from Huitzilopochtli which when given would identify the place to establish their new city was an eagle perched on top a cactus, devouring a serpent. This prophesy was fulfilled at an unlikely place, a small island in the center of a lake. This event is still depicted on the national seal of Mexico and in the national flag.

Upon this unlikely place, the Mexica built the city of Tenochtitlan, destined to be the center of the known world and the capital of a mighty empire. Upon this very spot now stands the center of today’s Mexico City, Aztec Mexico.

With the leadership of the war god Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec conquered the valley of Mexico and established a mighty empire. But the world of the Aztecs was a precarious and unstable place. The sun could not move on its own. As a matter of fact, when it first came into the sky, it couldn't move at all. The gods themselves had performed blood sacrifices to energize the sun and allow it to continue its daily journey. Now humans had to assist the gods in a ritual to keep the sun moving, with their own blood sacrifices.

Thus the sun required both the blood of gods and humans to continue its journey and it was Huitzilopochtli, the great warrior god in particular who fought for the sun. Warriors, gods and human alike, fought to provide sustenance to keep the sun moving.

The Calendar of the Aztecs

The Aztec Sun Stone, commonly known as the Aztec Calendar, was carved in 1479. It was lost after the Spanish conquest and re-discovered in 1790. It reflects the Aztec underst anding of time and space as wheels within wheels. In the center is the god, Tonatuih. In each hand he holds a human heart, and his tongue is a ritual blade for sacrifice.

The first calendar wheel was called the xiuhpohualli, the counting of years. This was a 365 day year. The second wheel the tonalpohualli inter-relates religion and required ceremonies to the counting years. The tonalpohualli (second wheel) is the sacred calendar that called for rituals that fed the gods with human hearts to keep the current fifth sun world from ending.

Our collection includes Aztec pottery, Aztec masks, Aztec art and other items that offer a glimpse of this ancient empire.