Tezcatlipoca as depicted in the Codex Borgia.

Tezcatlipoca ([teskatɬiˈpoːka]^[1]) was an important deity in Aztec religion. He was associated with a wide range of concepts such as the night, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, sorcery, beauty, war and strife. His name is Nahuatl for "Smoking Mirror" alluded to his connection to obsidian, the material from which mirrors where made in Mesoamerica and which was used for shamanistic rituals. Image File history File links Black_Tezcatlipoca. ... Image File history File links Black_Tezcatlipoca. ... Quetzalcoatl in human form, using the symbols of Ehecatl, from the Codex Borgia. ... Aztec religion was a typical Mesoamerican religion combining elements of polytheism, shamanism and animism within a framework of Astronomy and calendrics. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ... Obsidian was an important part of the material culture of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) was a geographical culture area extending from central Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica on the south, and, in Mexico, from the Soto la Marina River in Tamaulipas and the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa on the north. ... A shaman doctor of Kyzyl. ...

He had many epithets which alluded to different aspects of his deity: Titlacauan ("We are his Slaves"), Ipalnemoani ("He by whom we live"), Necocyaotl ("Enemy of Both Sides"), Tloque Nahuaque ("Lord of the Near and the Nigh") and Yohualli Èecatl (Night, Wind), Ome acatl^[2]("Two Reed"), Ilhuicahua Tlalticpaque "Possessor of the Sky and Earth". An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ...

When depicted he was usually drawn with a black and a yellow stripe painted across his face. He is often shown with his right foot replaced with an obsidian mirror or a snake - an allusion to the creation myth in which he loses his foot battling with the Earth Monster. Sometimes the mirror was shown on his chest, and sometimes smoke would emanate from the mirror. Tezcatlipocas Nagual, his animal counterpart, was the Jaguar and his Jaguar aspect was the deity Tepeyollotl "Mountainheart". In the Aztec ritual calendar the Tonalpohualli Tezcalipoca ruled the "trecena" 1 Ocelotl - "1 Jaguar" - He was also patron of the days with the name Acatl "reed".^[3] Nagual or Nahual (both pronounced [nawal]) is a word used in the study of the religion, mythology, folklore and anthropology of Mesoamerican peoples and which is used with different definitions. ... The jaguar played an important role in the culture and religion of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ... In Aztec mythology, Tepeyollotl (heart of the mountains; also Tepeyollotli) was the god of earthquakes, echoes and jaguars. ... The Tonalpohualli,the day-count in English, is the 260 day sacred calendar of early Mesoamericans. ...

The Tezcatlipoca figure goes back to earlier Mesoamerican deities worshipped by the Olmec and Maya. Similarities exist with the patron deity of the K'iche' Maya as described in the Popol Vuh. A central figure of the Popol Vuh was the god Tohil whose name means "obsidian" and who was associated with sacrifice. Also the Classic Maya god of rulership and thunder known to modern Mayanists as "God K", or the "Manikin Scepter" and to the classic Maya as K'awil was depicted with a smoking obsidian knife in his forehead and one leg replaced with a snake^[4] Monument 1, one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta. ... The indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the ancient and modern Maya vary greatly over space and time, but certain common features can be discerned, all of which are consistent with other Mesoamerican religions. ... The Kiche (or Quiché in Spanish spelling), are a Native American people, one of the Maya ethnic groups. ... The Popol Vuh (Quiché for Council Book or Book of the Community; Popol Wuj in modern spelling) is the book of scripture of the Quiché, a kingdom of the post classic Maya civilization in highland Guatemala. ... Maya mythology refers to the pre-Columbian Maya civilizations extensive polytheistic religious beliefs. ...

Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl

Tezcaltlipoca was often described as a rival of another important god of the Aztecs, the culture hero, Quetzalcoatl. In one version of the Aztec creation account^[5] the myth of the Five Suns, The first creation, "The sun of the Earth" was ruled by Tezcatlipoca but destroyed by Quetzalcoatl when he struck down Tezcatlipoca who then transformed into a jaguar. Quetzalcoatl became the ruler of the subsequent creation "Sun of Water", and Tezcatlipoca destroyed the third creation "The Sun of Wind" by striking down Quetzalcoatl. A culture hero is a historical or mythological hero who changes the world through invention or discovery. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Tezcatlipoca depicted in the codex Rios in the aspect of a Jaguar - in this form he was called Tepeyollotl.

In later myths, the four gods who created the world, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Xipe Totec were referred to respectively as the Black, the White, the Blue and the Red Tezcatlipoca. The four Tezcatlipocas were the sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, lord and lady of the duality, and were the creators of all the other gods, as well as the world and man. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Jaguar (disambiguation). ... In Aztec mythology, Tepeyollotl (heart of the mountains; also Tepeyollotli) was the god of earthquakes, echoes and jaguars. ... A pictorial representation of Huitzilopochtli from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, México In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli, (IPA: (Hummingbird of the South, He of the South, Hummingbird on the Left (South), or Left-Handed Humming Bird – huitzil is the Nahuatl word for hummingbird... Xipe Totec ias depicted in the Codex Borgia, notice the bloody weapon and the flayed human skin he wears as a suit with the hands hanging down. ...

The rivalry between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca is also recounted in the legends of Tollan where Tezcatlipoca deceives Quetzalcoatl who was the ruler of the legendary city and forces him into exile. But it is interesting to note that Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca both collaborated in the creation of the different creations and that both of them were seen as instrumental in the creation of life. Karl Taube and Mary Miller, specialists in Mesoamerican religion, writes that "More than anything Tezcatlipoca appears to be the embodiment of change through conflict"^[6]Tezcatlipoca appears on the first page of the Codex Borgia carrying the 20 day signs of the calendar; in the Codex Cospi he is shown as a spirit of darkness, as well as in the Codex Laud and the Dresden Codex. His cult was associated with royalty, and was the subject of the most lengthy and reverent prayers in the rites of kingship, as well as being mentioned frequently in coronation speeches.The temple of Tezcatlipoca was in the Great Precinct of Tenochtitlan. The Atlantes – columns in the form of Toltec warriors in Tula. ... Quetzalcoatl in human form, using the symbols of Ehecatl, from the Codex Borgia. ... The Aztec calendar was the calendar of the Aztec people of Pre-Columbian Mexico. ... Maya codices (singular codex) are books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, using the Maya hieroglyphic script. ... Tenochtitlan, looking east. ...

Aztec religion

Tezcatlipoca’s feast was during Toxcatl, the fifth month of the Aztec calendar. The preparations began a year early, when a young man was chosen by the priests, to be the likeness of Tezcatlipoca. For the next year he lived like a god, wearing expensive jewellery and having eight attendants. He would marry four young women, and spent his last week singing, feasting and dancing. During the feast where he was worshipped as the deity he personified he climbed the stairs to the top of the temple on his own where the priests seized him and sacrificed him. Immediately after he died a new victim for the next year’s ceremony was chosen. Tezcatlipoca was also honoured during the ceremony of the 9th month, when the Miccailhuitontli "Little Feast of the Dead" was celebrated to honour the dead, as well as during the Panquetzaliztli "Raising of Banners" ceremony in the 15th month. The Aztec calendar was the calendar of the Aztec people of Pre-Columbian Mexico. ...

Turquoise mask representing the god Tezcatlipoca, from the British Museum.

In the British Museum there is a mask made of Obsidian and Greenstone Mosaic on a human skull which is thought to represent Tezcatlipoca. It dated to have been made between 1400 AD and 1521 AD. It was found in Mexico, and donated to the British Museum by Henry Christy in the 1860's. The mosaic tesserae are made from turquoise and lignite, and the eyes from iron pyrites in rings of shell, all of which have been placed directly onto a human skull of a man who was in his 30’s. The teeth are original to the skull, and only the four top front teeth are missing. The back of the skull has been cut away and lined with leather. The jaw of this skull is joined to the skull with leather, making it moveable. It is 19.5cm in height and 12.5cm in width. It was probably tied around the wearer’s waist. It is not known where the mask was found, worn perhaps by a high priest or the emperor himself. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x3888, 1141 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x3888, 1141 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The British Museum in London is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... The British Museum in London is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... Mosaic is the art of decoration with small pieces of colored glass, stone or other material. ...

Mythical stories

In one of the Aztec accounts of creation, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca joined forces to create the world. Before their act there was only the sea and the crocodilic earthmonster called Cipactli. To attract her, Tezcatlipoca used his foot as bait, and Cipactli ate it. The two gods then captured her, and distorted her to make the land from her body. After that, they created the people, and people had to offer sacrifices to comfort Cipactli for her sufferings. Because of this, Tezcatlipoca is depicted with a missing foot. It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... In Aztec mythology, Cipactli was a vicious primeval sea monster, part crocodile and part fish. ...

Another story of creation goes that Tezcatlipoca turned himself into the sun, but Quetzalcoatl couldn’t bear his enemy ruling the universe, so he knocked Tezcatlipoca out of the sky. Angered, Tezcatlipoca turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world. Quetzalcoatl replaced him and started the second age of the world and it became populated again. Tezcatlipoca overthrew Quetzalcoatl when he sent a great wind that devastated the world, and what men that survived were turned into monkeys. Tlaloc, the god of rain, became the sun, but Quetzalcoatl sent down fire which destroyed the world again, except for a few men who survived who were turned into birds. Chalchihuitlicue the Water Goddess became the sun, but the world was destroyed by floods, with what men surviving being turned into fish. Tlaloc, as shown in the late 16th century Codex Rios. ... ...

Notes

The Ramirez Codex is the name applied to two unrelated post-conquest manuscripts from central Mexico. ...

References

• Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6. 

Mary Miller is the master of Saybrook College at Yale University and the Vincent Scully Professor of the History of Art. ... Karl Andreas Taube is an American Mayanist, anthropologist, epigrapher and ethnohistorian, known for his publications and research into the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. ...

See also

• Huitzilopochtli
• Quetzalcoatl
• List of night deities

A pictorial representation of Huitzilopochtli from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, México In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli, (IPA: (Hummingbird of the South, He of the South, Hummingbird on the Left (South), or Left-Handed Humming Bird – huitzil is the Nahuatl word for hummingbird... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... Categories: | ...

External link

• Mexicolore - Tezcatlipoca Symposium