Mictlantecuhtli god

Mictlantecuhtli was 6 feet tall, mictlantecuhtli god, and was depicted as a blood-spattered skeleton or a person wearing a toothy skull. Although his head was typically a skull, his eye sockets did contain eyeballs. His headdress was shown decorated with owl feathers and paper banners, and he wore a necklace of human eyeballs, while his mictlantecuhtli god were made from human bones.

Mictlantecuhtli is the god of death in ancient Aztec religion and was also one of the rulers of the Aztec underworld, Mictlan. The interaction between life and death in Aztec religion is circular. Death is a necessity since it prepares you for a new life. As the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli also played a key role in the creation of life. Aztec god of death Mictlantecuhtli is a fascinating god in an already fascinating set of underworld gods. Mictlan is the place over which he ruled, which is the name for the Aztec underworld. His residence consisted of nine layers.

Mictlantecuhtli god

After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. Mictlantecuhtli was the Aztec god of death who ruled over Mictlan , the land of the dead. Like Hades , the Greek underworld, Mictlan was where most people would spend their afterlife, regardless of moral standing. Mictlantecutli left stands next to Quetzalcoatl in this page from the Codex Borgia. Together, the two deities represent the binary of life and death. Mictlantecuhtli was most commonly depicted as a skeletal figure, though reliefs have also been found depicting him as a skull with eyes. In the Aztec universe, each of the cardinal directions was associated with one of the godly realms. Like several other early Aztec gods , Mictlantecuhtli was not born to another god, but was instead created by Xipe Totec , Tezcatlipoca , Quetzalcoatl , and Huitzilopochtli during their construction of the universe. Such an arrangement was not usual; Aztec mythology frequently featured binary gods usually in male-female pairs who would share power over their respective domains of influence. Mictecacihuatl Mictlantecutli's wife is usually depicted with an open mouth so that she may receive the setting stars. In this image from the Codex Borgia, she wears a necklace made of eyes.

Later, he mixed the bones with his blood and maize, creating the first humans of the fifth age, mictlantecuhtli god. Village Name Generator. Tamoanchan, Tlalocan: places of mist.

He is one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and is the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld. The worship of Mictlantecuhtli sometimes involved ritual cannibalism , with human flesh being consumed in and around the temple. Two life-size clay statues of Mictlantecuhtli were found marking the entrances to the House of Eagles to the north of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan. Mictlantecuhtli was considered 6 feet 1. He was not the only Aztec god to be depicted in this fashion, as numerous other deities had skulls for heads or else wore clothing or decorations that incorporated bones and skulls.

Aztec religion was a polytheistic set of beliefs where many gods were worshipped. These different gods had unique powers dealing with different aspects of nature and life and death. Aztecs has a unique concept of death where the destination of dead people in the afterlife depended on their social status and achievements in this life. Various rituals revolved around death and the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, who was considered one of the most powerful and important gods in the Aztec pantheon. Although there were also several other gods and goddesses of death in the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli was the most powerful and most prominent among them all and thus religious ceremonies and rituals were reserved for him. Mictlantecuhtli is depicted on a variety of Aztec codices from different times. In these codices, Mictlantecuhtli is often depicted with his skeletal jaw open in which the stars, according to Aztec belief, descended during the daytime. Similarly, he is depicted as the symbol of a dog in the Codix Borgia. The appearance of the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, is evident from various works of art of the Aztecs in addition to Aztec codices. For instance, there were two life-size statues of Mictlantecuhtli at the entrance to the House of Eagles at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan.

Mictlantecuhtli god

Podcast: Play in new window Download. Outside the entrance to this magnificent building stood two statues that frightened the Spanish conquistadors, who were invited into the Aztec capital as honored guests of the Emperor Montezuma. Now lost to history, each clay statue depicted a man with a skull for a head and an angry expression on its face. In this angry expression, the jaw jutted out slightly, so as to receive and swallow the stars at the break of dawn.

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As guardian of the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli was at first quite fiery. Those who suffered a death by water flood, lightning, certain illnesses would end up in Tlalocan, while those who died in battle would join Huitzilopochtli for a time before being resurrected as hummingbirds. The flesh of the impersonator was eaten, emphasizing the close relation of Mictlantecuhtli with ritual cannibalism. How to Cite this Article There are three different ways you can cite this article. This perfectly aligns with the idea that the Aztec god of death is worshiped for its ability to design and manage the Aztec underworld, creating a perfect place to regain energy. The Aztecs second ed. Mictlantecuhtli and his wife were the opposites and complements of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl , the givers of life. Description [ ] Mictlantecuhtli was 6 feet tall, and was depicted as a blood-spattered skeleton or a person wearing a toothy skull. The Aztecs believed that death allows life, and life requires death. Another important day on which the god of the underworld was worshiped is called Hueymiccaylhuitl, an Aztec holiday that honors those who recently died. Not one to turn down a challenge, Quetzalcoatl had worms drill a hole in the shell so that it could be played; he also filled the shell with bees so that it sounded constantly. Some believe he lived in the most northern realm, while others believe the Aztec god switched between the nine hells. Huitzilopochtli Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Xipe Totec.

As a god of death , Mictlantecuhtli ruled over the Aztec version of Hell and was typically portrayed either with a skull for a head or as an entire skeleton. Mictlantecuhtli played a significant role in Aztec myths, most notably their creation stories.

Article Talk. He took the bones to earth, poured blood over them, and started a new life for human beings. Mictlantecuhtli told Quetzalcoatl he could have the bones, but only if he went around Mictlan sounding a conch shell with no holes in it. Greek God Name Generator. Dragon Name Generator. In other projects. Mictlantecuhtli was 6 feet tall, and was depicted as a blood-spattered skeleton or a person wearing a toothy skull. He then calls the bees to enter the shell and to make it sound out like a trumpet. He is one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and is the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld. Ancient Mesoamerica. He was not the only Aztec god to be depicted in this fashion, as numerous other deities had skulls for heads or else wore clothing or decorations that incorporated bones and skulls. But, people could also have a heroic death, like being sacrificed, dying because of childbirth, or death by nature. He was determined to place new human beings on earth, something which he already was quite experienced with. Quetzalcoatl was allowed to collect the shattered bones of any human being, but he could just wander around for four rounds maximum.