Huitzilopochtli Facts: You Will Love Reading About The Mexican God

Huitzilopochtli was the patron deity of the Mexican Aztec tribe, who lived in Central Mexico. 

Huitzilopochtli was considered a primary god of the ancient Aztec tribe due to the victories and defeats he attained for the Mexican people on the battlefield. In Aztec mythology, this tribal god is also known as the god of war, sacrifices, and sun, who became the patron in leading the indigenous people to their Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. 

Though Huitzilopochtli was known as the sun god and the god of battles, he didn't spend most of this time in warfare; instead, he was immersed in maintaining the imagery of a hummingbird. He was mostly depicted in art forms as painted in blue stripes with a hummingbird helmet and feathers on one arm and leg.

The depiction of a hummingbird was one of the easiest ways to identify Huitzilopochtli among the other Aztec gods.

Huitzilopochtli's Temple

Huitzilopochtli's name was derived from the word 'huitzilin', which means 'hummingbird'. He was also known as Totec and Xiuhpilli, and maintained an animal disguise in the form of an eagle.

Huitzilopochtli was closely associated with the sun among the different symbols, as he was constantly fighting against the darkness. On top of that, the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan was another important symbol of Huitzilopochtli. He rose to the position of major deity after the Aztecs moved to Tenochtitlán.

The most powerful and largest structure of the Aztec empire is the Templo Mayor or Great Temple of Tenochtitlán. During the Spanish conquest in 1521, this shrine was situated close to the temple of the rain god, Tlaloc.

The Templo Mayor was built and dedicated to honoring Tlaloc (rain god) and Huitzilopochtli (sun god), as these deities had equal power. Considered a sacred place, the temple was held with great importance among the Aztec tribe for around two hundred years of its existence.

Huitzilopochtli's temple was constructed in a shape that symbolized the goddess, Coatepec. The temple had a pyramidal platform with twin temples at the top.

The south temple was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, and the north one to Tlaloc. The Great Temple consists of two shrines lying side-by-side to each other. One shrine was painted with blue stripes and belonged to the rain god, Tlaloc, representing the summer solstice and rainy season.

The other one belonged to Huitzilopochtli and was painted red to symbolize war and blood. At the foot of the temple site lies a massive sculpture that portrays the dismembered body of the goddess, Coyolxauhqui.

Worshipping Huitzilopochtli

In the city of Tenochtitlán, Huitzilopochtli was the supreme god, and the focal point of worship was at the capital city where a shrine and wooden statue was built towards the south side on the Templo Mayor pyramid. The south side was chosen to mark the dry season and the winter solstice, also known as the traditional battles. 

Just like the rest of the Aztec deities, Huitzilopochtli also has a handful of variants to his origin story. Each story was equally valid since Aztec mythology lacks rigid family structures.

One story talks about Huitzilopochtli's role in cosmic creation. According to this mythology, he was the son of the two creator deities - Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl.

He was the youngest child among four children, and his older brothers were Tezcatlipoca (god of the night sky), Quetzalcoatl (the wind god), and Xipe Totec (god of rebirth and agriculture). His parents instructed him and his brother, Quetzalcoatl, to create and bring order into the world.

Together, they created the first male and female humans, the sun, the earth, and fire.

The second most popular origin story talks about the divine Earth mother goddess, the fierce multidimensional goddess, Coatlícue. One day, she was sweeping a ball of feathers that fell from the sky on top of the snake hill or Mt.

Coatepec; she tucked the feathers safely under her bosom and later found she was bearing a child.

According to another Huitzilopochtli origin story, it is said that his mother, Coatlícue, conceived him when she kept a bundle of hummingbird feathers that had magically fallen from the sky onto her bosom while sweeping Mt. Coatepec.

Her other adult children, the female deity, Coyolxauhqui, and her 400 male children, were embarrassed about this and conspired to kill their mother. When they attacked Coatlícue, Huitzilopochtli jumped out from her womb in full armor, ready to avenge his mother's death.

He ferociously attacked his siblings, beheaded his sister, the mob leader, and threw her body down the mountain, which ended up being the moon. His 400 brothers were scattered and became the stars in the sky.

In this manner, Huitzilopochtli successfully completed the creation story. As per the Aztec belief, night and day happen because the god of war, Huitzilopochtli, is still chasing the moon and stars.

As the god of light, Huitzilopochtli was constantly fighting the forces of darkness, and he needed nourishment in the form of blood to fight the battles. 

Being a very significant Aztec deity, Huitzilopochtli was the recipient of human sacrifices, where he was fed with human blood and hearts for strength. The victims of the human sacrifices were usually war captives who stood in line and waited for their turn to be led to the top of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlán.

At the shrine, the priests or the appointed lords removed their hearts, skinned them, decapitated, and dismembered the parts of the corpse to honor Huitzilopochtli.

Perhaps, this form of sacrifice was done in homage to the goddess Coyolxauhqui, as she met with a similar fate in the hands of Huitzilopochtli.

The torso of the victims was flung down the pyramid steps and would land at the base of Mt. Coatepec.

In fact, the nobles and priests who performed the sacrifice would eat the parts of the sacrificed humans, with the heart being most in demand. This was considered a form of worship that enabled them to get closer to their god.

In addition to bloody sacrifices, some ceremonies included the sacrifice of quail eggs and flowers with women dancing to traditional dances.

Huitzilopochtli In Art & Literature

The Aztecs often created elaborate art pieces to honor their deities. Huitzilopochtli, the important god of the Aztecs, was commonly portrayed as an Eagle or a hummingbird.

He was symbolized in art forms wearing a turquoise-shaded hummingbird helmet with a shield in one hand and a snake-shaped sword in the other. The ancient Mexican tribe often decorated Huitzilopochtli's images with gold, jewelry, and feathers as a gesture of respect.

Similar to most other Aztec deities, the art and literature work of Huitzilopochtli in modern times are mostly found as decorative art pieces instead of being portrayed as mythological figures in movies or books. Most of the art forms and literary works of Huitzilopochtli were created during the peak of the Aztec empire. 

The Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli befitted the status of being a powerful warrior in defending the world from the dark foes. They had to nourish him with human blood every day to keep the world in motion.

Though the idea of human sacrifice seems to be horrifying in the modern era, the ancient Mexican people believed that pleasing the deities by feeding them with human blood was essential to maintain order and prolong the world from ending.

FAQs

What did the Aztecs feed their gods?

Though the Aztecs had numerous gods, they mostly worshipped the Aztec sun god, Huitzilopochtli. Since it was a constant struggle between the sun and the forces of darkness, he needed constant nourishment via blood and heart to survive and protect the universe.

Also, the Aztecs blindly believed that they lived in the last and final sun era, and any day the world would come to an end. To postpone this, humans appease the gods by performing human sacrifices.

Both men and women were taken as ceremonial sacrifices, with most of the victims being prisoners of war. In case of famine or shortage, the Aztecs even sacrificed their own people. The Aztec warriors who became sacrifices were known as 'the People of the Eagle' or quauhteca. 

What was the largest Aztec festival called?

The largest Aztec festival ever was known as 'Xiuhmolpill', meaning 'new fire'. The festival was celebrated once every 52 years to try to prevent the whole world from coming to an absolute end.

How did the Aztecs worship Huitzilopochtli?

The Aztecs built temples to honor their deities. Temples were a place of worship, a place to conduct ceremonies and human sacrifices that were essential to keep the gods happy.

War was an essential part of a material and human tribute to appease gods. Human sacrifice was an important tribute, and the human blood and hearts were extremely powerful as a source of sustenance to strengthen Huitzilopochtli. As per Aztec mythology, human blood helped this god keep his siblings at bay while providing light to those on Earth.

Why do you think the Aztecs worshipped Huitzilopochtli?

Originally, Huitzilopochtli had very little importance among the indigenous Mexican tribe. But once the Aztecs rose to power, the Aztec solar god, Huitzilopochtli, was considered one of the most revered and powerful deities among the Aztec people. He was held with great importance that even the indigenous Mexican tribe considered themselves the people of the sun. 

However, as per Mesoamerican mythology, Huitzilopochtli was constantly struggling against darkness and required daily nourishment in the form of human sacrifices to make sure the sun would survive for a cycle of 52 years. The Aztecs feared the world coming to an end after every 52 years.

To prevent such a disaster from happening, they believed human blood would strengthen Huitzilopochtli to fight the forces of darkness and postpone the end of the world to another 52 years.

What did Huitzilopochtli tell the leader?

As per the ancient Aztec mythology, the tribal god, Huitzilopochtli, told the Aztec people to search for an eagle holding a snake and perched on top of a prickly pear cactus. He instructed that in the place where the eagle was found, they must establish the Tenochtitlán city.

To date, the eagle continues to be an important symbol among the Mexicans and has even found a place on the Mexican flag.

Which Aztec king declared Huitzilopochtli Day?

The Huitzilopochtli celebrations took place during the festive month of December. Panquetzaliztli, known as one of the largest Aztec festivals, was celebrated for a duration of two weeks that lasted from the second until December 21 every year.

This ceremony was held to celebrate the migration of the Aztecs from the north to the southern city of Tenochtitlan.

The Aztecs decorated their houses and held processions, sacrifices, and dance ceremonies as part of the festivities. Also, it is assumed that the ninth and final Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, was the one who declared this month as the time for Huitzilopochtli celebrations.

Who was Huitzilopochtli's sister?

According to the Aztec tradition, Coyolxauhqui, a powerful goddess, was the daughter of the fierce goddess, Coatlicue. Coyolxauhqui conspired along with her siblings to kill her mother after discovering that Coatlicue was mysteriously pregnant.

As they attack Coatlicue, she gives birth to a fully armed grown son named Huitzilopochtli. He avenges his mother by killing his sister, Coyolxauhqui.

He beheads her and throws her body parts to heaven, and her head eventually turns out to be the moon. Next, he fights off his 400 brothers and scatters them throughout the sky.