Cosmology
The story of creation, according to the Aztecs, is actually a story of birth, death, and rebirth. When the world is destroyed, it's born again through the sacrifice of one of the gods, and so through the birth of a new sun. So you'll often hear of the legend of the five suns - the five births of the world. Five suns, and so five different worlds, have existed. When the story is told, the order of the worlds is sometimes different, sometimes there are even less that five suns, but the general idea remains the same. But unlike many other religious cultures, for the aztecs, the universe didn’t have an actual beginning.
In the beginning was the void. It was at some ancient time in the Aztec creation story that the dual god, Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl, created itself. This god was good and bad, chaos and order, male and female. Being male and female, it was able to have children. It had four children, which came to represent the four directions of the compass, being north, south, east and west. These four gods were Huizilopochtli (south), Quetzalcoatl (east),Tezcatlipoca (west), and Xipe Totec (north). The directions were very important to the Aztecs, since their great empire was believed to be at the very centre of the universe.
The four gods then began to create. They created water, and other gods, and the sea monster Cipactli. Cipactli was part fish and part crocodile, a massive creature as big as all things that now are. This was a consuming monster, a jaw at every joint. Cipactli was to become the source of the cosmos in a strange way.
As the gods continued to create, they had a problem, their creations would fall into the water and be eaten by the dreadful Cipactli. So it was time for war - the four gods attacked the sea monster, pulling her in four directions. She fought back, biting Tezcatlipoca and tearing off his foot. But at last Cipactli was destroyed.
From this enormous creature the universe was created. All the 13 heavens stretch into her head. The earth was created in the middle, and her tail reaches down to the underworld (Mictlán).
You could say that in the Aztec creation story the world is on the back of this sea monster, floating in the water of space.
The first sun - Jaguar Sun (Nahui Ocelotl)
To complete the world, a great source of energy had to be created - the sun. This is the key to the cycles in the Aztec creation story. But the sun is so powerful, it can't just be created. It can only come into being through the sacrifice of a god. The god chosen was Tezcatlipoca. Tezcatlipoca only managed to become half a sun, however, making this first creation incomplete. During the first age, the gods created giants from ashes, and gave them acorns to eat. A fight began, however, between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca. In the end, the sun was knocked from the sky, and in anger Tezcatlipoca sent jaguars to destroy the giants.
The second sun - Wind Sun (Nahui Ehecatl)
At this point Quetzalcoatl took over for his brother as the sun. Humans were created as they are now. They lived on piñon nuts, and for a while things were fine. But the people became corrupt, and perhaps out of revenge Tezcatlipoca turned them into monkeys. Furious, Quetzalcoatl sent a hurricane to blow all of the monkeys away.
The third sun - Rain Sun (Nahui Quiahuitl)
Tlaloc was one of the early creations of the gods, the god of rain and water. He became the next sun. But his personal problems became his downfall. Once again, Tezcatlipoca was the instigator. Tezcatlipoca stole Tlaloc's wife (Xochiquetzal), and Tlaloc was grief-stricken. He shone as the sun but refused to send rain, in spite of the pleas of the people. Drought swept the earth, and finally in a rage Tlaloc made it rain fire, burning away this version of the world.
The fourth sun - Water Sun (Nahui Atl)
This time the gods selected Tlaloc's sister to be the sun. Her name was Calchiuhtlicue. But filled with jealousy, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl struck down the sun. As she fell, the sky opened up and water flooded the earth. All things were once again destroyed.
The fifth sun - Earthquake Sun
The gods then gathered to bring another sun into being. This is when the Aztec creation story really gets around to explaining what the world is today. The proud god Tecuciztecatl offered himself, but the other gods preferred the humble Nanahuatzin. A great fire was built, but Tecuciztecatl was too afraid at the last minute to jump in. Nanahuatzin did jump in, forcing Tecuciztecatl to jump in after him, followed by a brave eagle and jaguar. Two suns began to rise in the east. It was too bright - the gods threw a rabbit into the face of Tecuciztecatl to dim the light, and he became the moon. But Nanahuatzin was weak. He was motionless, so the other gods gave their blood to give him the energy to rush across the sky. This is the world in which we now live in today. The Aztecs believed its end would come in massive earthquakes.
In the beginning was the void. It was at some ancient time in the Aztec creation story that the dual god, Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl, created itself. This god was good and bad, chaos and order, male and female. Being male and female, it was able to have children. It had four children, which came to represent the four directions of the compass, being north, south, east and west. These four gods were Huizilopochtli (south), Quetzalcoatl (east),Tezcatlipoca (west), and Xipe Totec (north). The directions were very important to the Aztecs, since their great empire was believed to be at the very centre of the universe.
The four gods then began to create. They created water, and other gods, and the sea monster Cipactli. Cipactli was part fish and part crocodile, a massive creature as big as all things that now are. This was a consuming monster, a jaw at every joint. Cipactli was to become the source of the cosmos in a strange way.
As the gods continued to create, they had a problem, their creations would fall into the water and be eaten by the dreadful Cipactli. So it was time for war - the four gods attacked the sea monster, pulling her in four directions. She fought back, biting Tezcatlipoca and tearing off his foot. But at last Cipactli was destroyed.
From this enormous creature the universe was created. All the 13 heavens stretch into her head. The earth was created in the middle, and her tail reaches down to the underworld (Mictlán).
You could say that in the Aztec creation story the world is on the back of this sea monster, floating in the water of space.
The first sun - Jaguar Sun (Nahui Ocelotl)
To complete the world, a great source of energy had to be created - the sun. This is the key to the cycles in the Aztec creation story. But the sun is so powerful, it can't just be created. It can only come into being through the sacrifice of a god. The god chosen was Tezcatlipoca. Tezcatlipoca only managed to become half a sun, however, making this first creation incomplete. During the first age, the gods created giants from ashes, and gave them acorns to eat. A fight began, however, between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca. In the end, the sun was knocked from the sky, and in anger Tezcatlipoca sent jaguars to destroy the giants.
The second sun - Wind Sun (Nahui Ehecatl)
At this point Quetzalcoatl took over for his brother as the sun. Humans were created as they are now. They lived on piñon nuts, and for a while things were fine. But the people became corrupt, and perhaps out of revenge Tezcatlipoca turned them into monkeys. Furious, Quetzalcoatl sent a hurricane to blow all of the monkeys away.
The third sun - Rain Sun (Nahui Quiahuitl)
Tlaloc was one of the early creations of the gods, the god of rain and water. He became the next sun. But his personal problems became his downfall. Once again, Tezcatlipoca was the instigator. Tezcatlipoca stole Tlaloc's wife (Xochiquetzal), and Tlaloc was grief-stricken. He shone as the sun but refused to send rain, in spite of the pleas of the people. Drought swept the earth, and finally in a rage Tlaloc made it rain fire, burning away this version of the world.
The fourth sun - Water Sun (Nahui Atl)
This time the gods selected Tlaloc's sister to be the sun. Her name was Calchiuhtlicue. But filled with jealousy, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl struck down the sun. As she fell, the sky opened up and water flooded the earth. All things were once again destroyed.
The fifth sun - Earthquake Sun
The gods then gathered to bring another sun into being. This is when the Aztec creation story really gets around to explaining what the world is today. The proud god Tecuciztecatl offered himself, but the other gods preferred the humble Nanahuatzin. A great fire was built, but Tecuciztecatl was too afraid at the last minute to jump in. Nanahuatzin did jump in, forcing Tecuciztecatl to jump in after him, followed by a brave eagle and jaguar. Two suns began to rise in the east. It was too bright - the gods threw a rabbit into the face of Tecuciztecatl to dim the light, and he became the moon. But Nanahuatzin was weak. He was motionless, so the other gods gave their blood to give him the energy to rush across the sky. This is the world in which we now live in today. The Aztecs believed its end would come in massive earthquakes.