Quetzalcoatl, the Great God, in Outline

Context

• Quetzalcoatl was initially just one of many feathered serpents (quetzal refers to a species of bird with long tail feathers, and coatl to serpents) that peppered all of Mesoamerican myth. He is depicted in art both as a feathered serpent, true to his name, and also as a human with a feathered serpent headdress.
• However, from the time of the Conquest forward Quetzalcoatl has become a much more influential figure, becoming nothing less than a creator and culture hero.
• As a creator god, Quetzalcoatl is credited with being the god who created the fifth world which ancient Mesoamericans believed we live in today, and that he created humans and the earth itself.
• As a culture hero, Quetzalcoatl’s legends are probably merged with the stories of an actual man named Quetzalcoatl, whose hypothesized existence makes him the king of Tula as the city founded its civilization.
• In both stories there is the figure of Tezcatlipoca. If Quetzalcoatl is called the great god, then Tezcatlipoca is called the Dark One. He plays a nefarious trickster foil to Quetzalcoatl, eventually causing his fall from the kingship of Tula, and he also seems to partner with Quetzalcoatl in at least one creation narrative.
• Quetzalcoatl, some sources argue, departed into the east by boat at the end of his life, never to be seen again; it was reportedly prophesied that he would return. While some historians doubt this prophecy ever existed before the arrival of the Spaniards, claiming that Cortes invented it as a handy way to enter the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan, there are also other historians who insist this legend existed before Cortes, and that Motecuhzoma II, the last Aztec emperor, himself seemed to believe that Cortes was none other than Quetzalcoatl returned.
• Below, the various episodes of the main legends about Quetzalcoatl have been divided into first the category of Quetzalcoatl as creator, then as Quetzalcoatl as hero.

Quetzalcoatl as Creator: The Five Worlds

• The first world was created, with its own sun, which was the sun of earth. Because the people of this world did not act appropriately, they were punished by the gods—jaguars ate their flesh.
• No one survived; the sun died with them.
• Then the second world was created, this one with its own sun made of air. Because the inhabitants of this world acted without wisdom, hurricanes were called down by the gods and this world and its sun were also destroyed.
• The third world was a world illumined by a sun made from fire. The people of this world acted without respect to the gods, and were put to death by flames, including earthquakes and volanci eruptions.
• The third world’s sun also being dead, the fourth world had a sun of water. Its inhabitants were greedy, and were turned into fish. A flood ensued, and the gods helped two humans to escape in the hollow of a tree. When the waters subsided, the couple ate some of the fish they caught, which displeased the gods who had asked them to eat only corn. Their brains were shrunk and these people were turned into dogs.
• Four worlds there had been, yet none of them were the world the gods wanted. They sat in the darkness and deliberated what to do, eventually deciding that the next world must have a powerful sun made of all of the previous suns’ elements. To do this would require no less than the sacrifice of a god—two would be better.
• At once one god volunteered. He was very fond of himself and his high standing among the deities, and did not quite pay attention to what he volunteered for. When all was silent after his volunteering, the gods turned to the edge of their assembly and saw Nanautzin.
• Nanautzin was the puniest of the gods, the least liked and the least well-known. He often received the shame of the community. But when the gods offered him the second spot, to be sacrificed to make the new and more powerful sun, Nanautzin jumped at the chance to gain honor.
• The day for the sacrifice came, and the popular god was chosen to go first. He rose to the challenge, but when he realized it would mean his death he eventually cowered away. Choosing cowardice and shame, he admitted in embarrassment he could not perform the sacrifice.
• Nanautzin saw his chance. As it was his turn next, he sacrificed himself by jumping into the center of the flames, and the power that came from him was more than enough to create the awesome sun of this, our fifth world.
• The more popular god? His reputation faded away and he became insignificant. It is now said, however, that Nanautzin may well have been a form of the great god Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatl as Creator: With Tezcatlipoca

• Queztalcoatl, the light one, and Tezcatlipoca, the dark one, saw only sky around them and dark water below. A goddess who was a monster floated in the waters, eating all she could find with her many heads.
• Knowing everything they would create would be destroyed by the devouring goddess, the two gods became serpents. Grabbing the monster by the arms and the feet, they pulled her apart in the waters until she split in two and died.
• The gods saw what Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca had done and were displeased. Coming to the waters to make amends with the monstrous goddess, they decreed her body would provide all humanity needed to live: food, supplies for shelter, etc. All these things were created from her body.
• The goddess still weeps on occasion, however, and she will withhold the fruits of her flesh at that time and drought will strike. Unless she is sated by the spilling of human blood, the drought will continue, so humans have learned to do the sacrifices.

Quetzalcoatl as Creator: The Creation of Humans

• Quetzalcoatl decided to make humans who would populate the fifth world. First, he wanted to make sure the world would support them, so he scoured the earth to see what they would eat.
• Finally, he found corn. Seeing the ants piling the corn high in their mound, he became a great black ant and helped them increase their stockpile. Once the mound was full he resumed his form, took a great sack, and bagged the corn to come with him.
• Next, it was time to make the humans. For this, Quetzalcoatl chose to use the bones of his father. Going to the underworld, he asked the Lord of Xibalba for his father’s bones.
• The lord refused, saying that what was buried belonged to him, but then he relented and said Quetzalcoatl could have the bones if he could make a conch shell sound when it had no holes. The Lord of Xibalba knew this was impossible and was instead playing tricks on Quetzalcoatl.
• With the help of some worms and bees, who bored holes into the shell sneakily and buzzed to make it sound, Quetzalcoatl succeeded at the task. He now faced the Lord of Xibalba, who begrudgingly gave him his father’s bones but told him to wait a while. The Lord of Xibalba, of course, was merely tricking Quetzalcoatl: he had every intention of finding a way to get the bones back.
• With the help of his nahual spirit-animal, Quetzalcoatl managed to flee the lord of the underworld with the bones of his father. Arriving at the place where Woman Snake was, she was happy to grind the bones into meal for Quetzalcoatl. Once the meal was very fine, Quetzalcoatl cut his body to let his own blood make the meal moist. He used this concoction to create the race of human beings that inhabited the fifth world, both male and female.

Quetzalcoatl as Hero: Facing the Dark One

• Quetzalcoatl was a great man, and a worthy god to be king. When he arrived at the city of Tula, he taught the people how to farm and to use jade, how to weave and work with metals such as gold. He taught them to write, to paint, and to dance. It was not long before Quetzalcoatl became the king of Tula, and the city entered a glorious age of splendor.
• Then came Tezcatlipoca, the Dark One. He saw all Quetzalcoatl had done, and he became Quetzalcoatl’s enemy, desiring nothing less than the great god’s destruction. Quetzalcoatl, however, was told none of this.
• Tezcatlipoca’s first ruse against Quetzalcoatl was to play a game with him and partway through to transform himself into a jaguar. Fleeing him, Quetzalcoatl went from one community to another.
• Then, Tezcatlipoca held up a mirror to Quetzalcoatl’s face—few knew what they looked like at this time, as there were no mirrors. Quetzalcoatl was surprised to see the lines on his face, and grieved at his aging: he resolved never to go into public again, because he was afraid his people would be tempted to destroy him.
• Tezcatlipoca said, “Nonsense!” and promised to make Quetzalcoatl handsome again. Giving Tezcatlipoca free rein, Quetzalcoatl found himself dressed in stunning royal regalia. Quetzalcoatl looked young again! He was so delighted that he decided not to hide away after all. But the seeds Tezcatlipoca had sown in Quetzalcoatl’s heart remained.
• From this time on, a fear of death began to gnaw at Quetzalcoatl, and Tezcatliopca capitalized upon it. He gave Quetzalcoatl a powerful drink, an intoxicating pulque beverage which made him quite drunk. Without knowing what he was doing, the great god slept with his sister.

Quetzalcoatl as Hero: The Fall of Tula

• Abhorred at what he had done, Quetzalcoatl knew it was time for him to leave Tula and the Toltec people who lived there. He left Tezcatlipoca behind, who now resolved to torment the people of Tula, the Toltecs, since their leader was gone.
• First, Tezcatlipoca entertained the people with song after song, and the people joyfully sang along. What they did not know is that with each song Tezcatlipoca was increasing the tempo, which increased the beating of their hearts. Once the songs became fast enough, their hearts could no longer keep up the rhythm. Many people died as their hearts gave out.
• Next Tezcatlipoca made himself a warrior and called other warriors to him from the city. When they came, he killed them in his natural form.
• Tezcatlipoca then transformed himself into a puppeteer entertainer, using a puppet of Quetzalcoatl to attract a large crowd. When the crowd was large enough, he convinced the people he needed to be killed—given what he had already done, this did not take long! The people there stoned him to death on the spot. What they did not reckon on, however, was the way Tezcatlipoca’s carcass would rot and develop an overpowering stench. Whoever smelled this stench died, and many Toltecs passed away as the breezes wafted the stench throughout the city.
• Then, the food began to taste bitter, and soon no one had anything to eat. Tezcatlipoca used this instance to start a great fire and to make a great amount of popped corn. When every last remaining resident of Tula came to get some food, Tezcatlipoca killed them all.

Quetzalcoatl as Hero: The Wanderings of the Great God

• As Tezcatlipoca had his way with the Toltecs, Quetzalcoatl began his journey by hiding his wealth in the mountains and in the canyons.
• He struck out eastward toward the shore, stopping often to rest. Once a stone had been sat on by Quetzalcoatl, it became holy; its location is remembered and made a shrine to this day.
• The same happened one time when Quetzalcoatl came upon a pool of water. Seeing his reflection and his great age at this time in his life, he picked up some stones and hurled them into the trunk of a tree, where they lodged and remain to this day.
• One day, Quetzalcoatl came upon a group of demons. When they asked where he was going, he simply responded that he was following to where the Sun had called him. They gave him permission to pass and finish his quest, but only if he discarded everything about him: his jewels and possessions he still carried, yes, but also his skills and abilities.
• Stripped of all of these things, Quetzalcoatl arrived at the seashore, He looked at the great ocean before him, and built a raft of snakes, taking it eastward across the waves in search of the Sun. It is said he will return from the east one day; others say they saw him being burned up by the Sun, and his ashes were placed in the sky to become the morning star.

Source Material:

Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology: An Analogy of the Great Myths and Epics. 3rd edition. Chicago: McGraw Hill, 1999.

Read, Kay Almere, and Jason J. Gonzalez. Mesoamerican Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

To cite this reading, use the following format:

“Quetzalcoatl, the Great God, in Outline.” Colorado Community College System, 2023.