SONS OF THE SUN

The Aztec capital was founded on an island in a lake of the high vally of Mexico at the beginning of the 14^th century. Towards the middle of the 15^th century –1450 – the aztec culture was on its hight dominating all villages around the lake and giving themselves the name “Mexicas”.

Later they extended their conquested territories further as far as the coasts of Veracruz and in 1498 the Azted troops subjugated a big part of the territory of Chiapas, where they arrived with the intention of guaranteeing the jade supply. They put jade faces for their gods (25-B) and made delicate little figures with representations of the most valuable men, such as the eagle noblemen (25-A) with quetzal feathers and “chalchihuite” pearls (the name for the jade stone in the Nahuatl language).

In 1519 the Spaniards arrived to the Aztec territory. When the Aztecs noted the great greed of the Spaniards for gold and silver, Moctezuma said to his court: “ Thank god that they don’t know the Chalchihuite”. When there already was a diplomatic contact between the Mexica governors and the Spaniards, Moctezuma gave some jade stones to Cortez as a gift and said to him: “These are Chalchihuites, you only can give it to your kings. Each one has the value of two loads of gold”. The conquistador received them, but he didn’t get the message. The gold is valuable, the jade can’t be valued.

DAUGHTERS OF THE MOON

Coyolxauhqui was the holy deity of the moon. It was the first born daughter of Coatlicue – the earth – and had as brothers the Centronhuitznahua – the stars-. Jealous of the birth of her brother Huizilopochtli –the sun – she planned the sacrifice of her mother, but was executed at the attempt. Her tears were transformed into bells and her name can be translated as “ the one with the bells on the cheeks” (26-A).

Tlazolteotl – Ixcuina was the deity, who the Mexicas devoted to the love. She was the great purifier and the mother of all the births. In the codexes she is one of the few deities who are showed totally forwards, to be able to bring out her sexuality and the ability of giving life.

The piece shown here (26-B) represents a squatting woman, giving birth to a new beeing in the typical Indigenous way.  The face is bigger than the rest of the body, perhaps to emphasize the wince. The personage doesn’t wear any decoration, neither attribute, nor cloths, perhaps to center all the attention to the drama of the scene.

Chalchihuitlicue, sister of Tlaloc, was the deity devoted to the water and the vegetation. Her head is decorated with jade stones. (H. Castellanos)

THE MARVELLOUS MEXICANS

Tepoztecatl, the god with rabbit appearance, was devoted to the spiritual beverages, especially to the “pulque”. Generally the Aztec society punished drunkness. The use of the “pulque” was only allowed at certain religious strata to encourage the chant, the dance and the fluent communication with the gods. The seed of the first Maguey plant, from which the “pulque” comes, is beeing taken credit for to the ancient god/governor Quetzalcoatl.

In the ledgent of the rise of the fifth sun, is mentioned, that at the beginning the two suns had the same shine, then Quetzalcoatl took a rabbit and threw it to one of the stars, which, while crashing, left its figure engraved in the surface. From the rabbit figure (27-A) emerges from its belly the figure of Tepoztecatl, decorated with an eagle’s head.

Tezcatlipoca, (27-B) the god of the smoking mirror, was the patron saint  of the beginnings and the warriors and together with Quetzalcoatl, they were the gods of the creation of the Aztec Panteon, representing the darkness and the light.

Xipe Totec is the god of the reborn earth, of the spring epoque, when the dead skin of the earth is changing for a new and fresh one, which allows the rise of a new vegetation. The celebrations for this deity are commemorated with rites in which they removed the skin from their victims to dress the priest of the earth. This deity also was the patron saint fo the goldsmiths. (H. Castellanos)