Quetzalcoatl is a feathered serpent god widely worshiped by the Aztecs and Toltecs. Indigenous religion described Quetzalcoatl as light-skinned and bearded and said that he would return to life after death. When conquistador Hernan Cortez appeared in the Aztec capital in 1519, King Montezuma believed he was the resurrected Quetzalcoatl and welcomed him into his court. Therefore, one critical factor in Spain’s Aztec conquest is that the local population believed Cortez was a returning deity rather than an explorer searching for the region’s vast quantities of gold.
According to legend, Quetzalcoatl was born near La Puerta in Amatlan about one hour’s drive from Mexico City. A several hour hike takes you to Quetzalcoatl’s birthplace, a pool surrounded by cliffs and old-growth hardwood trees
Photos:
1. Serpent image of Quetzalcoatl growing out of the mountainside guarding the entrance to his birthplace
2. The area contains many ceremonial sites including this sweat lodge overlooked by a skull
3. Modern Mexico is torn between indigenous beliefs and Catholicism introduced by the Spanish conquistadors. In a defiant act against indigenous religion, Christians actually burned one of the massive trees growing from Quetzalcoatl’s birth pool. This photo shows a sacred old-growth tree in the distance with the charred stump of a similar tree in the foreground.
No comments:
Post a Comment