The Mayan culture is very broad and tells the story of several gods, but today in this article we want to talk specifically about the Mayan God of the wind, Quetzalcóal, considered to be one of the greatest ancient godsalso worshiped throughout Mesoamerica.
His name is made up of two words, quetzal, which is a bird with beautiful plumage that inhabits the jungle of southeastern Mexico and part of Central America, and cóatl, which means «serpent», being translated or interpreted by the Spanish as «feathered serpent».
Equally, has been described as the creator of the five cosmic ages of men, giver of life at the cost of his blood, the one who along with Tlaloc snatched the ants so that men could feed. According to the legend he fell into the trap of the magicians and sinned, he left Tollan, going to «the place of burning», predicted his return and was cremated.
It is said that he was the son of Camaxtli and Chimalma, he was born in Michatlauhco, his mother died during his birth and he was educated by his grandparents. Legend has it that Quetzalcoatl and his twin brother Xolotl descended into hell.to recover the human bones, which upon receiving drops of their blood began to resurrect, for which men are considered sons of Quetzalcóatl.
In addition, he was a creator and wisdom God, he taught humans to cultivate, goldsmithing, astronomy, mathematics, ceramics, construction, medicine, the practice of penance and self-sacrifice. It represents a benevolent God who wears around his neck a «jewel of the wind»made of a shell and its head was adorned with a jaguar and a small cap, a bone protrudes from the head from which the blood that nourishes its nahualli, the Quetzal bird, flows.
The Mayans and Aztecs revered the Quetzal’s feathers as an allegory of plant growth. They were very valuable and the most powerful carried them in their outfits. In this way, rulers and nobles distinguished themselves from the rest by approaching the God Quetzalcóatl. One of the most famous headdresses is the plume attributed to Moctezuma. To get the long iridescent feathers, they had to capture the bird and then release it. Killing a Quetzal was a crime punishable by death.
The Mayan god of the wind, Quetzalcóatl, was represented in many forms, one of them is as a man with white skin, blonde hair and beard, with shell earmuffs, a black painted body, a conical hat and instruments for self-sacrifice. like maguey spikes and bone punch. In 1519, when the conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived in Mesoamerica, the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, believed that Cortés was the God Quetzalcóatl and for that reason it facilitated the Spanish conquest.
Finally, the teachings of Quetzalcóatl were collected in certain documents called Huehuetlahtolli«ancient words», transmitted by oral tradition and put in writing by the first Spanish chroniclers, this transmission is also related to the sixth sun and the completion of the Mayan calendar in the year 2012, the famous prophecy.