The Mayan culture is very wide and tells the story of several gods, but in this article we want to talk specifically about the Mayan god of the wind, Quetzalcóal, considered one of the greatest ancient gods, also worshiped throughout Mesoamerica.
Its name is composed of two words, quetzal, which is a bird of beautiful plumage that inhabits the jungle of southeastern Mexico and part of Central America, and coatl, which means “serpent”, translated or interpreted by the Spaniards as “feathered serpent” ”
likewise, he has been described as the creator of the five cosmic ages of men, a giver of life through his blood, and along with Tlaloc, he snatched the ants for men to feed. According to the legend, he fell into the trap of the magicians and sinned, so he left Tollan, and went to “the burning place”, but he predicted his return from him and was incinerated.
It is said that he was the son of Camaxtli and Chimalma, born in Michatlauhco. His mother of him died during his birth of him and he was raised by his grandparents of him. The legend says that Quetzalcoatl and his twin brother Xolotl, descended to hell to recover the human bones, that when receiving drops of their blood began to resuscitate, and that`s why men considered them children of Quetzalcoatl.
In addition, he was a creator god and a god of wisdom, who taught humans about growing food, goldsmithing, astronomy, mathematics, ceramics, construction, medicine, the practice of penance and self-sacrifice. It represents a benevolent god who wears a “jewel of the wind” around his neckmade of a shell, and his head was adorned with a jaguar and a small cap, a bone protruding from the head, from which the blood that nourishes his nahualli, the Quetzal bird, flows.
The Maya and Aztecs worshiped the Quetzal feathers as an allegory of the growth of plants. They were very valuable and the powerful ones wore them in their outfits. Rulers and nobles distinguished themselves from the rest by approaching the God Quetzalcoatl. 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, Quetzalcoatl, was represented in many forms, one of them is a man with white skin, blond hair and beard, with shell earmuffs, the body painted in black, a conical cap and instruments for self-sacrifice, like maguey quills and bone punch. In 1519, when the conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived in Mesoamerica, the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, believed that Cortés was the Quetzalcoatl god and thus facilitated the Spanish conquest.
Finally, the teachings of Quetzalcoatl were collected in certain documents called Huehuetlahtolli, “ancient words”, transmitted by oral tradition and written by the first Spanish chroniclers. This transmission is also related to the sixth sun and the completion of the Mayan calendar in the Year of 2012, the famous prophecy.