Aztec Folklore:
Huitzilopochtli is the Sun. He always had a blue-green hummingbird helmet in any of the depictions found. In fact, his hummingbird helmet was the one item that consistently defined him as Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, in artistic renderings. Soldiers who died in battle and women who died in childbirth were said to turn into hummingbirds and follow the sun through the sky. Furthermore, he sent the Mexicas to found a city on a certain site where he would see an eagle eating an animal on a cactus, which is where they built Tenochititlan and, later, Mexico City, and the story is represented on the Coat of Arms of Mexico. As they moved to the area around Lake Texcoco, they adapted a lot of Mesoamerican cultures, especially from the Toltec.
Tlaloc is the God of water (and may have originated with the Olmec), both in its life-giving and dangerous attributes. He often had jaguar fangs and goggle eyes and would be sacrificed to for water. In cosmology, he ruled Tlalocan, the fourth layer of the upper world that is constantly springtime and green and for those who died violently or of water-related things. Those who died in otherways went to Mictlan.
Mettztli was a moon god (or goddess). According to legend, the moon and sun were both bright but one threw a rabbit in the face of the other and darkened the other, which became the moon and thus it is possible to see a rabbit in the moon on a full moon.
Huitzilopochtli is the Sun. He always had a blue-green hummingbird helmet in any of the depictions found. In fact, his hummingbird helmet was the one item that consistently defined him as Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, in artistic renderings. Soldiers who died in battle and women who died in childbirth were said to turn into hummingbirds and follow the sun through the sky. Furthermore, he sent the Mexicas to found a city on a certain site where he would see an eagle eating an animal on a cactus, which is where they built Tenochititlan and, later, Mexico City, and the story is represented on the Coat of Arms of Mexico. As they moved to the area around Lake Texcoco, they adapted a lot of Mesoamerican cultures, especially from the Toltec.
Tlaloc is the God of water (and may have originated with the Olmec), both in its life-giving and dangerous attributes. He often had jaguar fangs and goggle eyes and would be sacrificed to for water. In cosmology, he ruled Tlalocan, the fourth layer of the upper world that is constantly springtime and green and for those who died violently or of water-related things. Those who died in otherways went to Mictlan.
Mettztli was a moon god (or goddess). According to legend, the moon and sun were both bright but one threw a rabbit in the face of the other and darkened the other, which became the moon and thus it is possible to see a rabbit in the moon on a full moon.
Regarding creation myths, the Aztecs and other Nahua peoples believed that there had been four worlds (or Suns) before the currently inhabited universe. The earlier worlds had been destroyed by divine action and so the Aztecs felt they needed to nourish the Sun or else this world would also be destroyed. The current world began when Quetzalcoatl stole the bones of his people from the underworld, dipped them in his blood, and resurrected them to the current sun. The stars and a moon goddess, Coyolxauhqui, wage war on the sun and thus the Aztecs supply power to the sun to continue the fight. However, due to lack of written word during the Spanish conquest and the verbal and adaptive way of life of Mesoamerican cultures, there are a lot of contradiction and different versions of myth. In general, the order is as follows: Nahui-Ocelotl (Jaguar Sun), where the inhabitants were giants who were devoured by jaguars, then Nahui-Ehécatl (Wind Sun), where the inhabitants were transformed into monkeys and the world was destroyed by hurricanes. Then there was Nahui-Quiahuitl (Rain Sun), where the inhabitants were destroyed by rain of fire and birds remained. Then, Nahui-Atl (Water Sun), which was flooded, leaving only fish. finally, we live in Nahui-Ollin (Earthquake Sun), and the world will eventually be destroyed by earthquakes.
Santa Muerte (above) and Pedro Urdemales (below).
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Folk Characters:
Santa Muerte: Considered to be an extention of the Aztec cult of Mictecacihuatl, her worship reminds people of their mortality. In Latin American tradition, death is part of the cycle of creation and isn’t an evil, frightening thing as it is in Western culture. She is a skeletal woman wearing a robe who often caries a scythe or globe, though the color and item can change. For example, white is a common color as it symbolizes purity, but red is also emotional stability. While worship of this syncretic figure has survived since pre-Columbus, it has been document in working-class areas of Mexico City in the 1940s as well as in Hidalgo in the 1960s, but her popularity jumped exponentially at the turn of the millennium. Today, most worshippers are young women who tend to be in difficult or marginalized situations who are disillusioned with the Catholic Church and institutions as a whole. Pedro Urdemales: A Latin American trickster/rogue/rascal character who has been around since medieval Spain. Huehuecóyotl: The Aztec trickster god, often shown as a dancing coyote with human Juan Oliveras: Buried at El Tiradito, he had an affair with his mother-in-law and was killed by his father-in-law with an ax. He fled to Sonora, but after attempting a return to Tucson was scalped by a group of Apache natives. The mother-in-law hung herself on the balcony. Next, the widow of Juan hung herself as well. So, the motive of the wisher at the shrine effects the outcome. He is an example of a victim intercessor folkloric character – the other two types popular along the border are faith heroes and social bandits, as exemplified by the history of the area. |
Dia de Muertos: Dia de Muertos evolved from pre-Columbian traditions of ancestor veneration and respect of death. November 1st is generally Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) and Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is November 2nd. During the celebration, people build altars (ofrendas) that feature Mexican marigolds, food, and items for the dead and visit cemeteries to invite the souls to cross over to the land of the living. Similar traditions are also popular with communities with large Mexican-American American populations. One famous artistic association with the holiday is José Guadalupe Posada’s La Calavera Catrina, an upper-class Mexican woman with a skeleton face, and thus Catrina idols are quite popular, as well. |
1910 image of Catrina
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Poinsettias:
Poinsettias are native to Mexico and were used by the Aztecs to make red dye and as an anti-fever drug. It’s been associated with Christmas since the mid-16th century, due to a Mexican legend about a girl named Pepita or Maria who was told by an angel to gather and set weeds at a church altar. When she did, they became poinsettias. The shape of the flower is thought to represent the Star of Bethlehem and the red is Jesus’ blood.
Poinsettias are native to Mexico and were used by the Aztecs to make red dye and as an anti-fever drug. It’s been associated with Christmas since the mid-16th century, due to a Mexican legend about a girl named Pepita or Maria who was told by an angel to gather and set weeds at a church altar. When she did, they became poinsettias. The shape of the flower is thought to represent the Star of Bethlehem and the red is Jesus’ blood.
Lotería:
The name comes from the Spanish word for lottery and thus the game relies on chance and odds. It is played like bingo, in which the caller selects a card from a specific 54-card deck, announces it (often through a riddle), and those who have the image on their board make it off. The first player who marks off four images in a pre-determined pattern wins.
The game itself originated in Italy in the 15th century and was brought to Mexico in 1769 as entertainment for the upper class, then trickled down. The images, especially from Pasatiempos/Don Clemente, have become iconic.
A few riddles and their associated cards are as follows:
The name comes from the Spanish word for lottery and thus the game relies on chance and odds. It is played like bingo, in which the caller selects a card from a specific 54-card deck, announces it (often through a riddle), and those who have the image on their board make it off. The first player who marks off four images in a pre-determined pattern wins.
The game itself originated in Italy in the 15th century and was brought to Mexico in 1769 as entertainment for the upper class, then trickled down. The images, especially from Pasatiempos/Don Clemente, have become iconic.
A few riddles and their associated cards are as follows:
1. El gallo ("the rooster")
El que le cantó a San Pedro no le volverá a cantar. The one that sang for St. Peter will never sing for him again. |
23. La luna ("the moon")
El farol de los enamorados. The street lamp of lovers. |
46 El Sol ("the sun")
La cobija de los pobres. The blanket of the poor. |