Tezcatlipoca as depicted in the Codex Borgia. The Codex Borgia (or Codex Yoalli Ehecatl) is a Mesoamerican ritual and divinatory Manuscript.

Tezcatlipoca ([teskatɬiˈpoːka])^[1] was a central deity in Aztec religion, associated with a wide range of concepts including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, sorcery, beauty, war and strife. Aztec religion is a Mesoamerican religion combining elements of Polytheism, Shamanism and Animism within a framework of Astronomy and calendrics His name in the Nahuatl language is often translated as "Smoking Mirror"^[2] and alludes to his connection to obsidian, the material from which mirrors were made in Mesoamerica and which was used for shamanic rituals. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family Obsidian is a naturally formed Volcanic Glass that was an important part of the Material culture of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined

He had many epithets which alluded to different aspects of his deity: Titlacauan ("We are his Slaves"), Ipalnemoani ("He by whom we live"), Necoc Yaotl ("Enemy of Both Sides"), Tloque Nahuaque ("Lord of the Near and the Nigh") and Yohualli Èecatl (Night, Wind), Ome acatl^[3] ("Two Reed"), Ilhuicahua Tlalticpaque ("Possessor of the Sky and Earth"). An epithet (from Greek ἐπίθετον - epitheton, neut of ἐπίθετος - epithetos, "attributed added" is a ^[4]

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 Mesoamerican folk religion a Nagual or Nahual (both pronounced) is a human being who has the power to magically turn him- or herself into an animal form most In Aztec mythology, Tepeyollotl ("heart of the mountains" also Tepeyollotli) was the god of Earthquakes echoes and Jaguars 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. The tonalpohualli, a Nahuatl word meaning "count of days" is a 260-day sacred period (often termed a " Year " in use in Pre-Columbian "^[5]

The Tezcatlipoca figure goes back to earlier Mesoamerican deities worshipped by the Olmec and Maya. The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian people living in the Tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are roughly the modern-day states Nowadays the Maya religion of Chiapas and Yucatan (Mexico Guatemala Belize and western Honduras is full of tensions between the traditional ancestral religion the 're-invention Similarities exist with the patron deity of the K'iche' Maya as described in the Popol Vuh. This page is about the Native American people for other uses the dish see Quiché (disambiguation. For other uses see Popol Vuh (disambiguation The Popol Vuh ( K'iche' for "Council Book" or "Book of the Community" A central figure of the Popol Vuh was the god Tohil whose name means "obsidian" and who was associated with sacrifice. See also Huracán (disambiguation Huracan (also Hurakan, from Mayan Jun Raqan "one legged" was a 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. ^[6]

Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl

Tezcatlipoca was often described as a rival of another important god of the Aztecs, the culture hero, Quetzalcoatl. A culture hero is a Mythological Hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, etc Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcōhuātl keʦalˈkoːwaːtɬ is an Aztec sky and creator god. In one version of the Aztec creation account^[7] 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. The concept known generally as the Five Suns describes the mythical world-view held by the Aztec and other Nahua peoples in which the present world was preceded by 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.

Tezcatlipoca depicted in the codex Rios in the aspect of a Jaguar - in this form he was called Tepeyollotl. The jaguar (Panthera onca,, or—especially in British English — is a New World Mammal of the Felidae family and one of In Aztec mythology, Tepeyollotl ("heart of the mountains" also Tepeyollotli) was the god of Earthquakes echoes and Jaguars

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. In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli (Huitzilopōchtli wi In Aztec mythology, Xipe Totec ("our lord the flayed one" was a Life-death-rebirth deity, god of Agriculture, the west disease spring 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.

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. Toltec-style Vessel 1jpg|thumb|250px|right|A rather expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style 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. "^[8] 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. The Codex Borgia (or Codex Yoalli Ehecatl) is a Mesoamerican ritual and divinatory Manuscript. The Aztec calendar is the Calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. The Codex Cospi (or Codex Bologna) is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican pictorial manuscript, included in the Borgia Group. The Codex Laud (or Laudianus; catalogued as MS Laud Misc 678, Bodleian Library in Oxford is an important sixteenth century manuscript associated to Maya codices (singular Codex) are folding Books stemming from the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic 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. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo

Aztec religion

The Main temple of Tezcatlipoca in Tenochtitlan was located south of the Great Temple. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo The Templo Mayor (commonly known by this Spanish name meaning " Great Temple " was the main temple of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan According to Fray Diego Durán it was "lofty and magnififenctly built. Diego Durán (c 1537&mdash1588 was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs Eighty steps led to a landing twelve or fourteen feet wide. Beyond it stood a wide, long chamber the size of a great hall. . . "^[9] There were several smaller temples dedicated to Tezcatlipoca in the city, among them the ones called "Tlacochcalco" and "Huitznahuatl". Tezcatlipoca was also worshipped in many other Nahua cities such as Texcoco, Tlaxcala and Chalco. Tlaxcala ( Nahuatl Tlaxcallān "place of maize tortillas" was a pre-Columbian City state of central Mexico. Chalco was a complex Pre-Columbian Nahua Altepetl or confederacy in central Mexico. Each temple had a statue of the god for which copal incense was burned four times a day. Copal is a type of Resin produced from plant or tree secretions, often taken from members of the genus Copaifera. There were several priests dedicated to the service of Tezcatlipoca, one of them was probably the one Sahagún calls "huitznahuac teohua omacatl", others were the calmeca teteuctin who were allowed to eat the ritual food offered to Tezcatlipoca, others accompanied the Ixiptlatli impersonator of Tezcatlipoca in the year prior to his execution. Bernardino de Sahagún (1499 &ndash October 23 1590) was a Franciscan missionary to the Aztec ( Nahua) people of Mexico Tezcatlipocas priests were offered into his service by their parents as children, often because they were sick. These children would then have their skin painted black be adorned with quail feathers in the image of the god.

Tezcatlipoca’s main feast was during Toxcatl, the fifth month of the Aztec calendar. Toxcatl was the name of the fifth twenty-day month or "veintena" of the Aztec calendar which lasted from approximately the 5th to 22nd of May and of the festival The Aztec calendar is the Calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. ^[10] The preparations began a year earlier, 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, his body being eaten later. 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.

Turquoise mask representing the god Tezcatlipoca, from the British Museum. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London.

Mythical stories

In one of the Aztec accounts of creation, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca joined forces to create the world. Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcōhuātl keʦalˈkoːwaːtɬ is an Aztec sky and creator god. Before their act there was only the sea and the crocodilic earthmonster called Cipactli. In Aztec mythology, Cipactli was a vicious primeval sea monster part Crocodile and part Fish. 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.

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. For the fictional character from the Legends of Dune books see Titan (Dune#Tlaloc. Chalchihuitlicue the Water Goddess became the sun, but the world was destroyed by floods, with what men survived being turned into fish. In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalciuhtlicue or Chalcihuitlicue ("She of the Jade Skirt" was the goddess of lakes rivers seas streams horizontal

Notes

References

• Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993). Mary Ellen Miller (b December 30, 1952) is an American Art historian and academic at Yale University. Karl Andreas Taube (born September 14, 1957)  is an American Mesoamericanist, Archaeologist, Epigrapher and ethnohistorian The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6.  
• Olivier, Guilhem (2003). Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God - Tezcatlipoca, "Lord of the Smoking Mirror". University Press of Colorado. ISBN 0-87081-745-0.  

See also

• Huitzilopochtli
• Quetzalcoatl
• List of night deities

External links

• Mexicolore - Tezcatlipoca Symposium