254 THE LEGEND OF THE FIVE SUNS
Tonatiuh, the last sun god, receives
blood from a bird in a painting from the
Codex Borgia (ca. 1450). The image also
depicts the 13 holy birds, Quecholli,
representing the 13 divine Aztec lords.they swept down on it and split it
asunder. The Tzitzimimeh fell on
Mayahuel, tearing her apart.
Quetzalcoatl, who survived the
attack, was heartbroken. He
gathered together Mayahuel’s
scattered remains and buried them,
weeping on the ground. From this
grief sprang forth the maguey
plant—the source of the joyous
drink Quetzalcoatl had set out to
find. Its sap could be used to make
pulque, a thick, milk-colored,
alcoholic drink. The Aztecs and
other Mesoamerican people
considered pulque to be a sacred
beverage, and it was drunk ritually
during sacred ceremonies.The Fifth Sun
The world was still in darkness. A
council of gods gathered in the city
of Teotihuacán to determine who
would become the Fifth Sun and
provide light for humanity. Whoever
was chosen would have to sacrifice
themselves by jumping into a huge
fire from a high platform constructed
above it. The first contender was the
haughty and rich god Tecciztecatl, a
son of Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue.
The poor and sickly Nanahuatzin
also volunteered for the honor, albeit
reluctantly. Before the gods chose,
the two contenders had to fast andpurify themselves by ritually
shedding blood. Tecciztecatl
ostentatiously burned costly
incense. When the time came to let
his own blood, he lay down on
feathers instead of the customary
branches of the fir tree and pulled
jade spines from a gold ball to prick
his skin. In contrast, Nanahuatzin
used the thorns of the maguey plant
to draw out his blood, and because
he could not afford incense, he
burned scabs from his own body.
The other gods built up the fire
as Nanahuatzin and Tecciztecatl
made their preparations. After four
days of rituals, the decisive moment
arrived. First to prove himself was
Tecciztecatl. The arrogant god
mounted the platform but, gripped
by fear, could not bring himself to
leap into the flames. Nanahuatzin,
however, showed no hesitation. Hejumped off the platform and
plunged into the fire and was
incinerated. Shamed, Tecciztecatl
quickly followed suit.
The flames died down. Suddenly,
Nanahuatzin burst into the skies
and became the Fifth Sun, which
brought light to the world again.
His new name was Tonatiuh.
Soon afterward, Tecciztecatl also
soared into the skies. There were
now two suns at the same time.
This was not what the gods had
envisioned. The cowardice of
Tecciztecatl had shown that he
was not worthy of being a new sun.
Papaztac, the god of the sacredBut [the Fifth Sun] spent
four days without moving,
just staying in place.
History and Mythology
of the AztecsUS_248-255_Sun_in_Sky.indd 254 05/12/17 4:16 pm
255
drink pulque, threw a rabbit at
Tecciztecatl’s face. It dimmed his
light, ensuring he would never
shine as brightly as a sun. He
became Metztli the Moon, which
still bears the imprint of a rabbit.Sacrifice of the gods
Tonatiuh, the Fifth Sun, hung
motionless in the sky for four days.
The gods begged him to move, but
he refused to do so until he had
received a blood sacrifice. At this,
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, god of the
planet Venus, grew angry and
launched a dart at the Sun using an
atlatl (an Aztec tool that increased
the velocity of projectiles). The dart
missed. Tonatiuh threw a dart back
at Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli and it
pierced his head, turning him into
the god Itztlacoliuhqui, who spreadTHE AMERICAS
Teotihuacán
The city of Teotihuacán was
a place of pilgrimage for the
Aztecs, who admired its
magnificent ruins and thought
it the cradle of civilization.
Teotihuacán (“the place where
gods are created”) is the Aztec
word for the city; its original
name is lost to us. The city lay
30 miles (48 km) northeast of
their capital, Tenochtitlán, and
had been built between the
1st and 7th centuries ce. At its
peak in the mid-5th century, it
was probably the largest city
in pre-Columbian America.
Its major thoroughfare—the
Avenue of the Dead—was
flanked with civic buildings,
temples, and tombs.
The city's most impressive
feature was its immense
Pyramid of the Sun, and there
was also a slightly smaller
Pyramid of the Moon. Both
structures are mentioned in
the Fifth Sun myth, as the
“hills” raised by the gods
where, before their ordeal,
Tecciztecatl and Nanahuatzin
purified themselves.
At the heart of Teotihuacán
is the citadel, a large courtyard
where a third pyramid was
built ca. 200 ce. When the
great seven-tiered Temple of
Quetzalcoatl was completed,
more than 200 people from
outside the city were then
sacrificed there, including
36 young warriors.Leaders of Aztec Religion
The Aztec Emperor was the
gods' representative and the
high priest of Tenochtitlán.The High Priest
of the god
Huitzilopochtli
served as joint head
of all priests in the
capital Tenochtitlán.Every temple
and every god
had its own
priestly order.Priestesses
served in the
temples. Priestesses,
who cut their hair
to signify chastity,
often cleaned or
lit the fires.Priests took
charge of rituals
and ceremonies.
They also taught
novice priests.The High Priest
of Tlaloc shared
the leadership,
directing lower
orders serving in
the community.frost with the dawn. The gods
realized they had to make an
offering to persuade Tonatiuh to
move. Numerous gods offered
themselves to Quetzalcoatl, and he
removed their hearts with a sacred
knife. Their blood ensured that the
Fifth Sun moved through the
heavens. The gods had sacrificed
themselves to help mankind.
The Aztecs believed this
sacrifice by the gods was key to the
survival of all humanity. Aztec
warriors had a responsibility to
capture enemies to sacrifice to
Tonatiuh; they thought that if they
ceased to replicate the gods’ blood
offerings, the world would end with
a series of earthquakes. Only acts of
sacrifice could ensure that the Fifth
Sun kept moving across the sky and
that the world continued to exist. ■US_248-255_Sun_in_Sky.indd 255 05/12/17 4:16 pm