Aztec Mythology Pairing Suggestions

Here are my pairing suggestions for Aztec gods with gods from other mythologies. Feel free to add to the list or provide your input on some of these pairings.

- Quetzalcoatl x Jörmungandr/the Midgard Serpent from Norse mythology

- Quetzalcoatl x The Rainbow Serpent from Australian Aborigine mythology because they're both snakes just like in the Midgard Serpent pairing.

-Quetzalcoatl x Prometheus the Titan from Greek mythology because they both introduced their people to civilization and Prometheus gave them fire. Quetzalcoatl gave his people corn. 

- Tezcatlipoca x Seth from Egyptian mythology. They both have a really chaotic nature and both can be tricksters at times but also just straight up evil sometimes.

- Coyolxauhqui x Amaterasu from Shinto mythology. Yeah I know one's a moon goddess and one's a sun goddess but I think that makes them even cuter together. Also most of the other sun deities like Helios or Ra or whatever are male and I think it's better when it's gay. 

- Xolotl x Anubis from Egyptian mythology. It's a hairless doggo and a jackal omg.

- Xochiquetzal x Aphrodite/Venus. Really fricking obvious one. I put like zero effort or thought into this one.

- Mayahuel x Dionysus/Bacchus. Lmao the only straight couple on the list. But it's like tequila + wine so that's hot. 

- Coatlicue x Kali from Hindu mythology because they're literally both depicted wearing necklaces made of human skulls. They're both mother goddess figures but also have a wild and untamed sort of chaotic nature. 

Sp00ky Windigo

Here is a sp00ky Windigo from Algonquian folklore! It's the creature that eats human flesh! Get sp00ked! This painting is probably by Norval Morisseau.

I've been reading "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden these days as I've already read his other two popular novels "The Orenda" (fricking amazing) and "Through Black Spruce" (meh). He's a really celebrated Canadian author and one of the only ones who writes historical fiction about indigenous people, so... I'll post a detailed review of his work on my blog and Goodreads account when I'm done (not that anyone would care xD) R.I.P me.

Oh yeah, here's a quote from "Three Day Road" that's really melancholic:

"I realized then that sadness was at the heart of the windigo, a sadness so pure that it shrivelled the human heart and let something else grow in its place. To know that you have desecrated the ones you love, that you have done something so damning out of a greed for life that you have been exiled from your people forever is a hard meal to swallow, much harder to swallow than that first bite of human flesh."

bEwArE!

So fam, stay tuned for a long book review on Joseph Boyden's work. 

My Interpretation of Wendat Myths

Didn't you know I'm not just a wannabe historian, I'm a wannabe folklorist/mythologist as well? Even though I consider myself an atheist, I love learning about religions, especially the ones that have rich mythological traditions. I think mythology is all about the ability of humans to think creatively and metaphorically. They're not to be interpreted literally, but to be analyzed to tell us about the values about the people/culture that wrote them. 

Recently I read a lot on the mythology of the Huron/Wendat people, who lived southeast of the Georgian Bay before they were dispersed by the Iroquois/Haudenosaunee. I've compiled my comments on them into the following paper, which I uploaded to Google Drive. The shared link is below. Enjoy.

Click here to read the paper

The Legend of the Piasa Bird and a rant on pseudo-historical "theories"

Have you ever heard a pseudo-historical 'theory'? This can be like someone claiming the Olmecs were black just because those Olmec heads supposedly had African looking features. Yeah right xD I don't think so. Other hilarious pseudohistory includes claiming that various ancient civilizations were descended from aliens or saying that everything that happened in the Bible is fact.

All 17 of the colossal Olmec stone heads found have chubby cheeks and flat noses. Many Mexican people still have those features today.

Now, aside from being laughable because they aren't based on any evidence, most pseudo historical statements are actually really racist and people who promote them don't realize the damage they are doing. By saying that the Olmecs were black you're offending Mexicans and other indigenous people by taking away a part of their heritage. You're also making it seem as if Africans don't have plenty of other things they should be proud of. The same is true when you insult an ancient civilization by saying it had something to do with aliens. And people who think everything that happened in the Bible is fact? At least consider that the Bible has been modified and translated for hundreds of years. There's no way everything in it is even what was originally intended to be there.

Oh yeah and lets not get started about what race the ancient Egyptians were. Why does everyone have to say they were either all white or all black? Can't we just accept that Kemet was mixed?

So why did I start off my post with ranting about pseudohistory? Well because I've noticed that Native Americans never really get anything out of pseudohistory. There are plenty of eurocentrics and afrocentric theories, but no indigenous-centric theories. I hate ALL pseudohistory of course, but I suppose they are good for getting a good laugh out of and writing fanfiction and alternate history on. The danger only comes when people actually start believing in the interesting fantasies as truth. So if we're going to say that pseudohistory is valuable because it allows us to be creative, then I suppose we should add some indigenous-centric "theories" to the pile. Yay!

I've discussed this with a really good indigenous internet friend of mine, and she seemed to approve of the idea. So lets do this!

So lets say that the Mexica/Aztec god Quetzalcoatl was responsible for introducing civilization to the Old World. This is why some of the art and mythology of the Middle East totally resembles the Piasa bird:

I mean this obviously looks like a griffin or a sphynx or a dragon or something, right? Ugh the only reason why no one is believing this theory now is because I'm saying Native Americans were the original people who came up with this. If I reversed it, people would be more okay with it. 

All jokes aside, here is the legit myth behind the Piasa Bird... 

Just because the religion/spirituality of indigenous people was more scientific, doesn't mean they didn't have some cool mythology :D This one comes from the Illini people from the upper Mississipi River valley.

Alright so the Piasa bird was this huge scary creature with deer antlers, wings, fish scales and eagle talons that was said to have come from over the eastern sea (omg this actually helps support the pseudohistorical theory I came up with). Its name means "bird that devours men" in the Miami-Illinois language. It was said to have terrorized and sp00ked everyone in the early days of the Illini confederation until a brave archer named Terahionawaka and the village chief, Ouatoga, figured out how to defeat it. Ouatoga told Terahionawaka that the underside of the dragon-bird thingy's body was completely unprotected by its scales. So Terahionawaka fired arrows dipped in poison at the birb and then the birb died R.I.P. 

Our sources for this myth

Murals were painted of this creature on limestone cliffsides above the Mississipi river. These no longer survive today thanks to the Mississipi Lime Company from the 1870s (that really really sucks ugh because the old mural was really epic and was older than 900 CE and was created possibly by the Cahokian civilization). However, a replica mural has been painted in Alton, Illinois based on descriptions of the original murals which is open as a tourist attraction today. The first European to see the original mural was the French explorer Jacques Marquette in 1673, who came up with the pseudohistorical theory that Native Americans could never have been the ones who painted it because apparently the painting was soooo good that even French artists would find it difficult or something like that. In 1836, the professor John Russell was able to find out more about the Piasa bird, including the story behind it that local indigenous people told. What really sucks is that some folklorists believe John Russell made everything up. So who knows?

By the way, here is an AMAZING DeviantArt drawing by LittleFireDragon that shows how the dragon is the most universal mythological creature: http://fav.me/d47yd2r make sure you read the description.

It's so beautiful *_* 

Have a gr8 day!~ 

Top 5 Scary Things from Aztec/Mexica Folklore that will get you in your sleep

Scary, creepy, and strange things from Mesoamerican mythology... 

Niltze, everyone. I have sort of been neglecting and procrastinating on this blog, but finally I got an idea for a quality post. Every culture has scary stories. These can be used to scare children into behaving. They can also be connected to a superstition. Today I'm going to talk about my five favourite scary myths of the Mexica/Aztec people. One of my friends helped me with the research for this post. Her name is Nahuaconetl Xocoyotzin. You can stalk her Deviantart account here. She is a wonderful artist who is very interested in Mexico. 

I have arranged this list from least scariest to most scariest. None of the pictures belong to me unless I say so.  So let's begin! 

5: The Ahuitzotl 

The Ahuitzotl was a creature that came in various sizes. It resembled a dog or cat with bluish fur and had a long tail ending with a human hand. The Ahuitzotl was associated with water. It was said that this animal killed humans by swimming around in bodies of water and waiting for people to enter the water. Once the people entered, it would grab them with the hand of its tail and pull them down until they drowned. At least if you were killed by the Ahuitzotl you'd end up in Tlalocan, the land of the rain teotl/god Tlaloc, which is supposed to be an awesome and luxurious afterlife.



This screenshot is actually from the tv show My Little Pony. Who knew there were Aztecs in MLP?

Here are some drawings I did of the Ahuitzotl: 

 





Remember that you can stalk me on Deviantart for more Mesoamerican fanart: http://aztecatl13.deviantart.com/ 

Here is another drawing I did called 'What the Ahuitzotl dragged in'. It shows an Ahuitzotl bringing a drowned child to Tlalocan. The goddess shown is Chalchuitlicue, the wife of Tlaloc, who was associated with water bodies rather than rain. 

Here is an Aztec chimalli (shield) depicting this creature:

There was also a Mexica tlatoani (ruler) named Ahuitzotl after this creature. Here is a codex drawing of him:

There is a website which everyone who likes the Mexica/Aztecs knows about called Mexicolore. They have done a great article on the Ahuitzotl so if you would like to learn more about it, here's a link: 

http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/aztefacts/water-dog-detective 

4: The Mirror-Headed Bird

This next creature has a pretty self-explanatory name. The mirror-headed bird. I have no idea how the Mexica come up with such strange creatures. But to the Mexica, this bird was a terrible omen which meant something bad was going to happen. One post-Aztec story tells that emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin (Moctezuma the 2nd. Yes, that's the famous one) was presented with this bird, shortly before the Spaniards arrived. The mirror that this bird has instead of a face is a strange mirror, because it it you are supposed to see stars and the universe instead of your own reflection in it. 



This image is from the Florentine codex.

I drew it once, but I can't find the picture as it wasn't on my DA :P . 

So here is a Alice-in-Wonderland looking picture that looks similar: 




3: The Cipactli 

This next story shows how the mythology of the indigenous people could have huge similarities sometimes, showing how they were all related throughout the continent. According to the Aztec creation story, the world was once only water. In order to bring the earth into existence, the gods who were usually enemies, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, had to team up to slay the Cipactli, a giant caimain-ish crocodillian aquatic creature. The back of this monster became the earth. One of Tezcatlipoca's feet were bitten off while he fought Cipactli. 

By the way, the word 'cipactli' also means caiman or crocodile in Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica. 

The reason why I thought this story was similar to other indigenous tales was because it reminded me of the Iroquois and Cherokee creation story in which the earth was built on the back of a huge turtle. Some indigenous people call North America 'turtle island' for this reason. The Taino people of the Caribbean also have a similar creation story that happened on the back of a caiman.

And here is a codex illustration of the creature: 

  

2: The Tzitzimeme

This is getting creepier. The Tzitzimeme were she-demons who harassed people in the forest at night. (singular: Tzitzimitl). They were associated with the stars and could turn into eagles and vultures. They had long claw-like nails and starry wings. Their queen was the goddess Itzpapalotl (her name means 'obsidian butterfly'). It is said that at the end of the world, they will devour humanity. These are some of Nahuaconetl's favorites. They remind me in some ways of Dionysus' maenads in Greco-Roman mythology.





1: The Night-Axe

You are a travelling pochtecatl (merchant) who is spending the night in a forest. You are awoken by the sound of someone cutting wood. Out of curiosity, you follow the noise, only to find a HEADLESS MAN WITH AN OPENING IN HIS CHEST HOLDING AN AXE. You are decapitated and your head is put into the opening in the Night-Axe's chest. Here is a drawing by Kama-zotz on deviantart, the best mesoamerican related artist on DA.

Nahuaconetl says it looks like a sacrificial victim. I agree with her. 

The Aztecs did human sacrifices which involved slitting open a person's chest and tearing out their beating heart. You probably know this already. It's that thing about the Aztecs that everyone knows. But there is so much more to them than human sacrifices. You have to remember that many cultures all over the world did human sacrifices. You also have to remember that even the Spaniards, who were Christians, sacrificed the Aztecs by burning them alive in the name of Jesus. The Spanish may have exaggerated the number of people who the Aztecs sacrificed as well. So really, you can not say the Mexica were more bloodthirsty than anyone else. 

Anyway, there is a codex depicting the entity but I can't find it now :(  It was next to a picture of the god Tezcatlipoca in jaguar form.How terrifying. I only heard of this legend recently, while I came across a reference to it in the historical fiction book called 'Aztec Blood' by Gary Jennings. Gary Jennings writes excellent historical fiction on not just the Aztecs but other cultures from around the world as well. Check out his books. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for giving Wannabehistorian1491 yet another page view. Have a great day! 

Valkyrie

Hey, fam!

So while I was cleaning my room, I stumbled across an old painting I made when I was 13 that brought back a lot of nice memories. So I thought, why not post it on my blog and talk about it? I thoguht it was really cute. This was the result of taking a few acrylic painting classes that really helped me to improve my art. If you'd like to check out some of my recent artwork, go to aztecatl13.deviantart.com. 

To be honest I'm quite proud. It turned out almost exactly the way I wanted it. 

I call this 'Valkyrie'. 

Ok, so this scene shows a Valkyrie from Norse mythology. The Valkyries were supposed to be beautiful women who rode on horses.  I made her a redhead 'cause redheads are better than blondes lmao. Valkyries were shield maidens (they carried shields and weapons such as spears) 'cause they were warrior women. The duty of a Valkyrie was to find the bodies of warriors who died on the battlefield and take them to Valhalla (the glorious afterlife that was reserved for the heroic dead). So, this picture shows a warrior about to die. Valkyries are lead by the goddess Freyja. ok yeah that's all. 

BAI.