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Most people in modern Mexico trace their ancestry to American Indians, to the Spanish who controlled Mexico for three centuries, or to both, in a mixed-ethnic heritage called mestizo (pronounced mes-TEE-zoh). In the same way, Mexican religion, myths, and legends are a blend of American Indian traditions and European influences, such as ...
The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend, the various groups who became the Aztecs arrived from the North into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco .
- Aztec Mythology in Context. The mythology of the Aztec civilization, which dominated central Mexico from the 1300s through the early 1500s ce, described a universe that was both grand and dreadful.
- Core Deities and Characters. In the Aztec view of the universe, human life was small and insignificant. An individual's fate was shaped by forces beyond his or her control.
- Major Myths. Many Aztec myths tell all or part of the story of the five suns. The Aztecs believed that four suns, or worlds, had existed before theirs. In each case, catastrophic events had destroyed everything, bringing the world to an end.
- Key Themes and Symbols. The idea that people were servants of the gods was a theme that ran through Aztec mythology. Humans had the responsibility of keeping the gods fed, otherwise, disaster could strike at any time.
In the Postclassic period (900–1519 AD), the worship of the feathered-serpent deity centered in the primary Mexican religious center of Cholula. In this period the deity is known to have been named Quetzalcōhuātl by his Nahua followers.
In explaining how the Mayan gods created the world, the Popol Vuh features the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who were transformed into, respectively, the Sun and the Moon. One of the panels depicts the Hero Twins beneath a bird deity; the other panel features a Mayan maize (corn) god surrounded by a serpent.
Oct 7, 2002 · Its chief focus is on Mexican Highland and Maya areas, as they were, and are, of utmost importance to Mesoamerican history. An extensive and edifying introduction defines the nature of myth, the Mesoamericans as a people, and the cultural worldview that informed Mesoamerican mythology.
Dec 5, 2016 · This chapter examines the Mexica origin myth based on indigenous cartographic accounts, hieroglyphic texts deciphered by modern scholars, and interpretations offered by chroniclers and historians.
