Tezcatlipoca
Tezcatlipoca or Tezcatl Ipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. He is associated with a variety of concepts, including the night sky, hurricanes, obsidian, and conflict. He was considered one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, the primordial dual deity. His main festival was Toxcatl, which, like most religious festivals of Aztec culture, involved human sacrifice.
Tezcatlipoca's nagual, his animal counterpart, was the jaguar. In the form of a jaguar he became the deity Tepeyollotl. In one of the two main Aztec calendars, Tezcatlipoca ruled the trecena 1 Ocelotl ; he was also patron of the days with the name Acatl. A strong connection with the calendar as a whole is suggested by his depiction in texts such as the Codex Borgia and Codex Fejéváry-Mayer, where Tezcatlipoca is surrounded by day signs, implying a sort of mastery over them.
A talisman related to Tezcatlipoca was a disc worn as a chest pectoral, called the anahuatl. This talisman was carved out of abalone shell and depicted on the chest of both Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca in codex illustrations.
The origins of Tezcatlipoca can be traced to earlier Mesoamerican deities worshipped by the Olmec and Maya. Similarities exist between Tezcatlipoca and the patron deity of the K'iche' Maya, Tohil, as described in the Popol Vuh. The name Tohil refers to obsidian and he was associated with sacrifice. The Classic Maya god of rulership and thunder, K'awiil, was depicted with a smoking obsidian knife in his forehead and one leg replaced with a snake. Although there are striking similarities between possible earlier imagery of Tezcatlipoca, archaeologists and art historians are split in the debate. It is possible that he is the same god that the Olmec and Maya term their "jaguar deity", or alternately that he is an Aztec expansion on foundations set by the Olmec and Maya, as the Aztecs routinely took deliberate inspiration from earlier Mesoamerican cultures.
Etymology
Tezcatlipoca is often translated from the Nahuatl as "smoking mirror." It alludes to his connection to obsidian, the material from which mirrors were made in Mesoamerica. They were used for shamanic rituals and prophecy, and as such Tezcatlipoca is additionally associated with divination.Tezcatlipoca had many epithets which alluded to different aspects of his deity and also point to his centrality in Aztec worship. Bernardino de Sahagún, in Book VI of the Florentine Codex, refers to Tezcatlipoca with 360 different forms. These include:
- Tloque Nahuaque, meaning "lord of the near and nigh"; "the one who owns what surrounds "
- Titlacahuan, Titlacahua or Titlacaua, meaning " we are servants"; " whose we are"
- Tehimatini, meaning "the wise"; "the one who understands people"
- Tlazopilli, meaning "the precious nobleman"; "the precious son"
- Teyocoyani, meaning "the creator "
- Yáotl or Yaotzin, meaning "the enemy"; "the venerable enemy"
- Icnoacatzintli, meaning "the merciful"
- Ipalnemoani, meaning " by whom all live"
- Ilhuicahua, meaning "possessor of heaven"
- Tlalticpaque, meaning "possessor of the earth"
- Monenequi, meaning "the arbitrary"; "the one who pretends"
- Pilhoacatzintli, meaning "revered father"; "possessor of children"
- Tlacatlé ''Totecué, meaning "our master, our lord"
- Yoalli Ehécatl, Yohualli Ehécatl or Youalli Ehécatl, meaning "night wind"
- Monantzin, meaning "your mother"
- Motatzin, meaning "your father"
- Telpochtli, meaning " young man"
- Moyocoyani or Moyocoani, meaning "the one who creates himself." His calendrical name is Ome Ácatl, "''Two Reed", and under that name he consecrates himself as another deity.
Representations
Iconography
One of the most recognizable iconographic details of Tezcatlipoca is his face paint, called mixchictlapanticac. Most commonly, he is shown with horizontal bands of black and yellow, though codices may vary in which two colors are depicted. Mary Miller has posited that the combination of yellow and black might be a connection to the jaguar, with which Tezcatlipoca is associated. Black is the foremost color associated with Tezcatlipoca, not only because of his role as a god of nighttime and darkness, but to differentiate him from the other three so-called Tezcatlipocas and their respective colors. Which parts of his body are painted black varies by site; half of his leg, the full length of his arms, the majority of his legs, or any combination thereof can be depicted. Later scholarship has identified the black material with which the god was supposedly painted as tezcatlipoctli.He is often depicted with various symbolic objects in place of his right foot, such as an obsidian mirror, bone, or a serpent. This is an allusion to the creation myth, in which Tezcatlipoca loses his foot battling with the earth monster Cipactli. The obsidian mirror may also appear on his chest, as a breastplate, and often is shown emanating smoke — a literal representation of his name and role. In the majority of representations, Tezcatlipoca bears the mirror in one hand, where it is surrounded by feathers of various colors.Tezcatlipoca often wears a headdress of feathers, flowers, and/or flint knives. His head could be additionally ornamented with the symbol for smoke. Heron feathers or balls of eagle down, like that from which Huitzilopochtli was born, often adorned his head, clothing, and shield. He variably wore earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and other jewelry, all rendered in precious materials like gold and jade. A motif of skulls and crossbones is recorded appearing in some pictures, but likely would have followed the European popularization of such a design. Many iconographic elements highlight Tezcatlipoca's role as a warrior, including his shield, his anahuatl breastplate, his arrow nose ring, and his spears, or arrows.
''Ezpitzal''
Scholar Juan José Batalla Rosado has identified an iconographic element unique to depictions of Tezcatlipoca in codices from central Mexico, which both Rosado and Sahagún call the "ezpitzal." The term is likely derived from the Nahuatl words for "blood" and "to become enflamed with anger" or "to rise with anger". Alternate translations for pitza make reference to blowing or playing instruments like the flute, which appear during the Toxcatl fest and may then have some relation with Tezcatlipoca himself. The term ezpitzal has since been translated as "flow of blood", but Rosado additionally points out the sense of rage and violence the ezpitzal is meant to signify—an element which points to Tezcatlipoca's nature and his role as a god of conflict. The ezpitzal is one or more streams of blood shown emanating from Tezcatlipoca's head, sometimes accompanied by the symbol for a flint knife or a heart. In some cases, the idea of the ezpitzal was artistically transformed into a headband or garland, adorned with flowers or stones.Codex Fejéváry-Mayer
The frontispiece of the Codex Fejéváry-Mayer, one of the more well-known images from Aztec codices, features a god circumscribed in the 20 trecena, or day symbols, of the Tōnalpōhualli. The exact identity of this god is unclear, but is most likely either Tezcatlipoca or Xiuhtecutli. The figure has yellow and black face paint, as is characteristic of Tezcatlipoca. But as Olivier points out, "gods like Xiuhtecutli or Huitzilopoctli have similar facial painting." The figure is also shown with two unaltered feet, but does possess the white sandals, armbands, and adorned ears and head of Tezcatlipoca. He also carries arrows and a spear, the typical weapons of the war god. Finally, perhaps coincidentally, the figure is bounded on the left side by the symbols for acatl and tecpatl, both of which are associated with Tezcatlipoca.Depicting either Tezcatlipoca and Xiuhtecutli surrounded by calendrical symbols is equally logical in both cases, as Tezcatlipoca is represented in other codices in association with the calendar, and Xiuhtecutli was a god of the sun and passage of time. The page also features the ollin symbol, a trecena that additionally represented eras of time, including the five suns. These mythological eras were begun by Tezcatlipoca, but Aztec festivals which celebrated the completion of eras involved worship of Xiuhtecutli. The codex features additional, more standardized depictions of both deities in its later pages.
Temples
Many of the temples associated with Tezcatlipoca are built facing east–west, as Olivier quotes Felipe Solis: "the sacred building of the war god was in direct relation with the movement of the sun, in the same manner of the Great Temple was, their façades being towards the West". There are also several references to momoztli. Although the exact definition of the momoztli is unknown, with definitions varying from "mound", "stone seat" and "temple", there is an overall consensus that it is a general holy place to worship the gods, specifically mentioned as "his viewing place".Priests
The priests of Tezcatlipoca often wore the ornaments of the god and wore specific garments for different rituals. Most frequently worn were white turkey feather headdresses, a paper loincloth, and a tzanatl stick with similar feathers and paper decorations. Another common practice was to cover themselves in black soot or ground charcoal while they were involved in priestly activities at the temple or during rituals. They would also cover the sick and newly appointed king in a similar manner with a black ointment to encourage an association with the god. When the ritual called for it, priests would also dress up as Tezcatlipoca himself and accompany other similarly outfitted gods or goddesses.Several types of priests were dedicated to the service of Tezcatlipoca, one of them likely being the one Sahagún calls "huitznahuac teohua omacatl". Others were the calmeca teteuctin who were allowed to eat the ritual food offered to Tezcatlipoca, still more accompanied the impersonator of Tezcatlipoca in the year prior to his execution. Honoring Tezcatlipoca was fundamental to both the priesthood and the nobility. "On his installation", the new king fasted and meditated, "which included prayers in honor of Tezcatlipoca, the patron deity of the royal house". Tezcatlipoca's priests were offered into his service by their parents as children, often because they were sick. These children would then have their skin painted black and be adorned with quail feathers in the image of the god. Sacred hymns were also chanted at ceremonies to honor the gods. Most were sung to praise the highest deities, including Tezcatlipoca, who was often addressed as the "Giver of Life". In one hymn, he is mentioned as being both the creator and destroyer of the world, and both as a poet and a scribe. Everyone, including commoners, high priests, and the king, were involved in some aspect of the Toxcatl ceremonies.