By Brooke O’Connor
Dragons are known globally through myth, legends, and folklore. Sometimes they teach, sometimes they terrorize, but they always fascinate. Let’s look at our local dragons and how they became part of Meso-American culture. There are many versions of their stories, and their identities and powers varied over time and according to which Meso-American culture was worshipping them.
Quetzalcóatl
Mesoamerica’s most famous dragon is the feathered serpent god. Called Quetzalcóatl by the Toltecs, then the Aztecs, and then their successors the Nahua, the deity is called Kulkulkán in the Yucatec Maya mythology and religion. The Quiché (also K’iche’) Maya of Guatemala called their deity Gucumatz. The Huastecs of the Gulf Coast worshipped a wind god called Ehecatl; when they were taken over by the Aztecs in the 15th century, Ehecatl was united with Quetzalcóatl, who also ruled the wind. This revered god was prominent in Aztec art and folklore, manifesting in various artistic expressions.
There are multiple accounts regarding the birth of Quetzalcóatl. In one version, he was born to a virgin named Chimalman, who dreamed that Ometeotl (a binary god who was both husband and wife) appeared to her. Another story tells of Chimalman conceiving Quetzalcoatl by swallowing an emerald. A third narrative says that Mixcoatl (the god of hunting, war, and storms) shot Chimalman in the womb with an arrow. She stopped the arrow with her hand, and nine months later, she gave birth to a child named Quetzalcóatl. Lastly, a fourth story mentions Quetzalcóatl being born from Coatlicue (see below), who already had given birth to four hundred children who became the stars of the Milky Way; the association with Quetzalcóatl may come from her skirt of writhing snakes, or the story that she gave birth to Huitzilopochtli, god of sun and war, after being impregnated by a feather, or perhaps a ball of feathers.
Quetzalcóatl was a multi-faceted deity, and held dominion over many aspects of everyday life. He was revered as the Creator deity of the Morning and Stars, the guardian of craftsmen, a rain summoner, and a bringer of fire. Additionally, he imparted knowledge in the fine arts and is credited with the creation of the calendar.
Quetzalcóatl was the priest-king of Tula city in Hidalgo, where Mexico’s most important indigenous civilizations were born. Unlike many other gods, he strongly opposed the idea of regular human sacrifices; in one tale, he was known for his great kindness by suggesting sacrifices of snakes, birds, and butterflies instead of humans. There is some disagreement on this – he is shown in the 16th-century Codex Telleriano-Remensis swallowing a human being.
Quetzalcóatl’s reign was cut short when his vengeful brother Tezcatlipoca, god of war, night, and sorcery, used dark magic to banish him from Tula. One version says Tezcatlipoca inveigled him into committing drunken incest with his sister, Quetzalpétatl. Remorseful beyond measure, Quetzalcóatl left Tula and journeyed to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, where he ultimately sacrificed himself on a pyre and transformed into the planet Venus. There are multiple versions of how Quetzalcóatl’s life ended – another story says he departed on a raft made of snakes, sailing beyond the eastern horizon.
In Huatulco, it is said he was the deity that came to Santa Cruz Beach and taught the locals how to thrive long before the Spanish arrived.
For more see: Quetzalcóatl Meso-American God – Naked History. http://www.historynaked.com/quetzalcoatl-meso-american-god/.
Coatlicue
Coatlicue roughly translates as “she-of-the-serpent-skirt” because she wore a skirt (īcue) of serpents (cōātl), and was accompanied by two dragons. She represented the duality of nature and sometimes wore a necklace with a heart, human hands, and claws. Coatlicue symbolized nature for the Aztecs and guided people through the process of rebirth; she was considered an earth goddess.
Coatlicue was also a symbol of maternal fertility. One day, the earth goddess was busy sweeping on top of Coatepec in what is now the state of Veracruz, also known as Snake Mountain, when a feather accidentally landed in her apron. In that very instant, she miraculously became pregnant with a son, whom she named Huitzilopochtli, a powerful deity associated with the sun and warfare. When she became pregnant with Huitzilopochtli, her older sons, Centzon and Huitznahua, gods of the southern stars, became angry and decided to wage war against their mother. However, Huitzilopochtli leaped out of the womb in total warrior regalia and slew his siblings before they had a chance to kill their mother. Huitzilopochtli became the patron god of the Mexica tribe and was later given the same deity status as Quetzalcóatl.
Coatlicue is immortalized in statues with her head cut off and blood squirting out from her neck. This may be because of a myth about several female deities, including Coatlicue, who sacrificed themselves to put the sun in motion. Their selflessness effectively allowed time to continue, and they preserved the cosmos by offering their own lives.
For more see: http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/early-cultures/aztec-mexica/a/coatlicue. To get to the article, close the Khan Academy donation page by clicking the ‘x’ in the upper right corner.
Chaac
Chaac is the Mayan god of thunder, lightning, and rain. His basic form is human; his “dragon-ness” comprises a lengthy crocodile-like snout that curls – when Chaac appears on temple ruins, the snout looks more like an elephant trunk. His snout and body are adorned with reptilian or fish-like scales; he has ears resembling a deer, sometimes adorned with a shell. He carries a mighty axe, known as the lightning ax, capable of conjuring lightning bolts.
Chaac was depicted in four different aspects. The Four Chaacs were positioned in cardinal directions, and each wore a color representing their direction. The Chaac in the East, where the sun rises, wore red. The Chaac in the North, at the mid-day zenith, wore white. The Chaac in the West, representing the sunset, wore black. Lastly, the Chaac in the South wore yellow. A fifth color, green, is associated with the center point. In 16th-century Yucatán, the Chaac in the East was known as Chac Xib Chaac, meaning “Red Man Chaac,” with only the colors being different for the other three Chaacs.
As the rain-making deity, Chaac gained immense popularity among the Mayan gods. The Palace at the Kabah ruins in the state of Yucatàn boasts a façade with an impressive collection of over two hundred masks depicting his face. Chaac enjoyed widespread worship among the Mayans, unlike other gods with limited cult centers. His name and reverence held particular significance during the crucial planting and harvesting seasons.
The Mayans believed that the god Chaac had a primary role in rain-making, but he also had dominion over all water sources. Chaac required a specific sacrifice to bring rain – the blood of royalty from the Earth. He had to shed his own blood to make it rain, and he believed in the “blood for blood principle.”
This rainbringer held the key to survival for the Mayans. Their strong desire to appease him with blood not only reflected their desperate need for water and bountiful harvests but also their deep-rooted belief in the importance of sacrifice and renewal for sustaining life. In this intricate cycle, humans offered sacrifices to Chaac, while Chaac himself shed his blood to ensure the revival of crops, and each person was expected to sacrifice something of themselves for the good of the whole.
The Mayans’ deep understanding of Chaac’s influence on rainfall enabled them to create sophisticated irrigation systems and techniques for managing water. By building canals, reservoirs and using terracing methods, they effectively utilized Chaac’s rain to support their agricultural activities.
Even today, modern Mayan communities deeply respect Chaac’s role in agriculture and water. They continue to perform ceremonies and rituals to pay homage to Chaac, acknowledging his vital role in maintaining the cycles of life and fertility. He was considered responsible for the balance of ecosystems and reminded people of the delicate dance between all creations in nature, including humans.
For more see: http://www.oldworldgods.com/mayan/chaac-god-of-rain/.
Dragons, dragons everywhere
Dragons are widely associated with medieval-esque lore and fantasy fiction, but we see they have an essential role in shaping cultures centuries, if not millennia, before the Middle Ages. Renowned psychologist Carl Jung taught that dragons symbolized the cold-bloodedness in our subconsciousness. He said they personify the brutal fear and ancient power of raw, unfettered natural law from times long past. He believed we used dragons to represent the “old ways.” He explains that as humans evolved, dragons became less emblematic as we took on more warm-blooded, gentler symbols. However, one has to ask, in the modern day, if dragons haven’t found their way back into society, dressed in cozy sheep’s clothing.