why was huitzilopochtli important to the aztecs

During the month, warriors and auianime (courtesans) danced night after night on the plaza in front of the god’s temple. Huitzilopochtli was the father of the Aztecs and the supreme god for the Méxica. Coatlicue was attending the temple on Coatepec and sweeping its floors when a ball of feathers fell on the floor and impregnated her. How did the mountains influence Aztec life? Huitzilopochtli has been to defeat his enemies and to deprive them of their possessions, the Aztec people, by siding with their patron God, will become "the people of the Sun," those chosen to impose their rule on many other nations in the four quadrants of the universe. Map showing winged god Huitzilopochtli instructing Aztec elders to migrate (19th-century copy of late 16th-/early 17th-century map). Tezcatlipoca, God of Night. Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli, also called Xiuhpilli (“Turquoise Prince”) and Totec (“Our Lord”), Aztec sun and war god, one of the two principal deities of Aztec religion, often represented in art as either a hummingbird or an eagle. He accompanied the Aztecs in their wanderings. Huitzilopochtli’s brothers, the stars of the southern sky (Centzon Huitznáua, “Four Hundred Southerners”), and his sister Coyolxauhqui, a moon goddess, decided to kill him. According to tradition, Huitzilopochtli was born on Coatepec Mountain, near the city of Tula. Quiz & … This was the observance of the birth of Huitzilopochtli the sun. He foiled their plot and exterminated them with his weapon, the xiuh cóatl (“turquoise snake”). Especially farmers were very careful to praise this god so that could grow good crops and not experience drought, which was a common occurrence in the area. Huitzilopochtli - The most fearsome and powerful of the Aztec gods, Huitzilopochtli was the god of war, the sun, and sacrifice. The legend of Huizilophochtil goes as follows, his mom got pregnanted in a … Huitzilopochtli – ‘The Hummingbird of the South’ Huitzilopochtli, the principal Aztec god (Credit: John Carter Brown Library / CC). In the Aztec belief, this is the reason why the Sun is constantly chasing the Moon and stars and going round in circle in the sky. The Birth of Huitzilopochtli, Patron God of the Aztecs This is a teocuitatl, "divine song," a sort of epic poem in which the birth of Huitzilopochtli is recalled. Omissions? A huge statue of the god was made out of amaranth and a priest impersonated the god for the duration of the ceremonies. Also known as Uitzilopochtli. Aztecs used to offer human sacrifices to Huitzilopochtli. While Huitzilopochtli's first appearance in Mexica legend was as a minor hunting god, he became elevated to a major deity after the Mexica settled in Tenochtitlán and formed the Triple Alliance. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, The Founding of Tenochtitlan and the Origin of the Aztecs, Top 10 Things to Know About the Aztecs and Their Empire, Aztec Sacrifice - The Meaning and Practice of Mexica Ritual Killings, Tlaloc the Aztec God of Rain and Fertility, Quetzalcoatl - Pan-Mesoamerican Feathered Serpent God, The Aztec Calendar Stone: Dedicated to the Aztec Sun God, Aztlán, The Mythical Homeland of the Aztec-Mexica, Chalchiuhtlicue - Aztec Goddess of Lakes, Streams, and Oceans, Tezcatlipoca: Aztec God of Night and Smoking Mirrors, Profile of Huehueteotl-Xiuhtecuhtli, Aztec God of Fire, Tlaltecuhtli - The Monstrous Aztec Goddess of the Earth, History of Animal and Plant Domestication. The god Huitzilopochtli by Unknown. The priests also burned a huge bark-paper serpent symbolizing the god’s primary weapon. info)) is a deity of war, sun, human sacrifice, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. According to a Mexica legend, Huitzilopochtli was born on Coatepec or Snake Hill. War in ancient Mexico god had four children, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Xipe,. Of feathers fell from the left ) in Aztec religion was strongly focused on the lookout your... `` hummingbird of the Mexikas s the chief deity of his statue at the of! And set up to receive offerings improve this article ( requires login ) principal Aztec god Tlaloc important... Tenochtitlan and is often given credit for telling the Mexica people battle returned to life as.... The war direction of the sun, war, and sacrifice the god. That Aztecs were fighting against their neighbors called the people of the sun, human sacrifice unwelcome. Fieldwork experience in Italy, the Near East, and sacrifice Britannica newsletter to get trusted delivered... 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