There are several legends and myths of South-Hummingbird. From time to time, those warriors could return to earth as butterflies or hummingbirds. They could only see the god through the arrow holes in their shields, so it was the bravest warrior who could see him best. From a description in the Florentine Codex, South-Hummingbird was so bright that the warrior souls had to use their shields to protect their eyes. The left one was South-Hummingbird's, and the right one was Tlaloc's.Īccording to Miguel León-Portilla, in this new vision from Tlacaelel, the warriors that died in battle and women who died in childbirth would go to serve South-Hummingbird in his palace (in the south, or left).
Sixteenth century Dominican Friar Diego Durán wrote, "These two gods were always meant to be together, since they were considered companions of equal power." The Great Temple consisted of a pyramidal platform, on top of which were twin temples. The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan was dedicated to South-Hummingbird and Tlaloc because they were considered equals in power. Under Tlacaelel, Aztecs believed that they could give strength to South-Hummingbird with human blood and thereby postpone the end of the world, at least for another fifty-two years. There were eighteen especially holy festive days, and only one of them was dedicated to South-Hummingbird.Įvery fifty-two years, the Nahuas feared the world would end as the other four creations of their legends had. While popular accounts claim it was necessary to have a daily sacrifice, sacrifices were only done on festive days. South-Hummingbird was said to be in a constant struggle with the darkness and required nourishment in the form of sacrifices to ensure the sun would survive the cycle of fifty-two years, which was the basis of many Mesoamerican myths. Through this, South-Hummingbird replaced Nanahuatzin, the solar god from the Nahua legend. Originally he was of little importance to the Nahuas, but after the rise of the Aztecs, Tlacaelel reformed their religion and put South-Hummingbird at the same level as Feathered Serpent, Tlaloc, and Smoke-and-mirrors, making him a solar god. South-Hummingbird was a tribal god and a legendary wizard of the Aztecs. He threw his other brothers and sisters into the sky, where they became the stars. He tossed his sister's head into the sky, where it became the moon, so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night.
He then killed his sister Coyolxauhqui and many of his four hundred brothers. Her offspring, South-Hummingbird, learned of this plan while still in the womb, and before it was put into action, sprang from his mother's womb fully grown and fully armed.
His sister, Coyolxauhqui, tried to kill their mother because she became pregnant in a shameful way (by a ball of feathers). The legend of South-Hummingbird is recorded in the Mexicayotl Chronicle. In one of the recorded creation myths, South-Hummingbird is one of the four sons of Bone Lord, he made the first fire from which a half sun was created by Feathered Serpent. His messenger or impersonator was Paynal. His sister was Malinalxochitl, a beautiful sorceress, who was also his rival. GenealogyĪccording to Aztec mythology, South-Hummingbird's mother was Snake-skirt, and his father was a ball of feathers (or, alternatively, Mixcoatl). In the tlaxotecuyotl, a hymn sung in reverence to South-Hummingbird, he is referred to as: the Dart-Hurler, the divine hurler, and a terror to the Mixteca.
COLIBRI AZTECA FULL
Despite the popularity of these latter interpretations, South-Hummingbird's name most probably does not mean "left-handed/southern hummingbird" considering that the Classical Nahuatl huītzilin ("hummingbird") is the modifier of ōpōchtli ("left-hand side") in this compound rather than the reverse there continues to be much disagreement as to the full meaning of this name. The name literally means something like "Hummingbird('s) South" or "Hummingbird('s) Left", yet it has commonly been translated as "Southern hummingbird" or "left-handed hummingbird".
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