Translation:True History of the Profound Mexico/10

by Guillermo Marín Ruiz

9. RELIGION.

Religion in ancient Mexico occupied a central and prominent place of life for all Anahuac inhabitants. In part by ancestral mysticism and spirituality; and partly because the social system was totally immersed in the moral and ethical religious values of Cem Anahuac. All activities: family life, government, agriculture, health, education, art, sport, etc. was intricately linked to religious aspects. As any ancestral religion, ours sought the transcendence of the spiritual "self" beyond death. The eternal life from consciousness.

“Where will I go?
Where will I go?
The path of the Dual God.
is by fate your house at the place of the gaunt?
Perhaps inside heavens?,
or the place of the gaunt is only here on earth?
...
Is it for a fact we live on earth?
not forever on earth: just a little here.
even if it is jade, it breaks,
if its gold it breaks,
even if it is quetzal feathers, they tear off,
not forever on earth: just a little”.
(Mexican folk songs)

To understand ancient Mexico, it is highly recommended to understand the ways of life and values of people called "indigenous" that until today jealously maintain millenarian values and spiritual principles, engendered since the agriculture invention, eight thousand years ago and in essence seek to get humans closer to the sacred and divine, the transcendent and immeasurable.

"Finally we reach the worship of God in an ideal self-chosen form. Hindus have represented God in countless ways and, they claim, it is appropriate. Each representation is not more than a symbol pointing to something beyond, and as none diminishes the true nature of God, a full range is needed to complete the figure and manifestations aspects of God... As we have seen, life goals are to transcend the smallness of the finite being. This can be accomplished by identifying oneself with the transcendental absolute that resides deep in one's self or displacing interest and affection towards the personal God that feels as an entity different to our own." (Huston Smith. 1997)^[1]

All civilizations and their cultures point in their top vertex to achieve the transcendence of our material—carnal shape to a luminous—spiritual eternal life. Prepare for physical death and be spiritually reborn for an eternal life; this has been the challenge of all conscientious human beings in mankind history. This perennial challenge has shaped all civilizations and cultures of the world, as well as religions.

"...men is the beginning of the world creation and responsible for its preservation and development towards perfection. Over this concept builds himself and builds the world around. This is how was built the culture that of which, until today, we are exclusive heirs." (Ruben Bonifaz Nuño. 1992)

The supreme divinity.

To our ancestors there was only a single representation of the supreme divinity, it was invisible and impalpable, had no name and no one had created it. In ancient Mexico did not exist the Judaea-Christian concept of "God" and this is why many mistakes developed from the times of Hernán Cortez up to our colonized contemporary Mexico researchers. The ancient Mexican supreme divinity conception is closer to the Hindu than the Christian. Maintaining the basic principle that the supreme divinity is inaccessible and unknowable to human beings, the "flexibility" to represent the many aspects of such a complex concept.

"The uniqueness principle inherent to religion —principle that has little to do with the quality and quantity of gods— means that man has discovered a center in him and conceives the universe from that center. Hence that the essence of any religious system lies in the revelation of an individual soul closely linked to the cosmic soul: it is, in short, the divinization of man.

These are nothing but perishable intellectual productions subjected to social circumstances, the gods are secondary and considered as an end in itself, can only lead to an error. Thus, if we don't want that a religion hides under bunches of inert technical details, it is necessary to strive to rediscover the revelation that, inevitably, is in its origin". (Laurette Séjourné. 1957)

We must take into account how little is indeed known about our ancestors religion. Partly because during the postclassical period (850 to 1521 CE.) the decadence leaders, transgreded the religious norms that the Toltec masters had polished, that provided a millennium of peace and harmony for the Anahuac peoples. Moreover, when Tlacaelel and the Aztecs had reforms eighty-one years before the conquest, that dramatically changed the religious spiritual mystical sense, to a warrior imperialist material sense.

And also partially by the denial and inability of the spaniards invaders and missionaries to understand a religion that was completely different to theirs. And in addition weighed the epithet of demonic and primitive. Contemporary researchers continue taking as "scientific" basis” what the “defeated said and was interpreted by the victors", without developing an un-colonial mentality in trying to decipher our millenary religious heritage. As behind it we find a vast philosophical treasure, full of eternal universal wisdom.

"Now: in this religious condition, the Spaniard invasion occurred. Ensuing disaster follows. Missionaries arrive, who wisely seek something to escape, and seek to preserve testimonies of the defeated religion through information from those who had practiced it. And the defeated, understandably, do not reveal, because they don’t have it or because they do not want to share the greatest knowledge, of those I have called experts. Then they only communicate what is cognitive knowledge of the community: physical traits, general qualities such as that the Tlaloc entity is the God of rain or fertility promoter. This is what is registered in the texts collected then.

Chroniclers and historians later take this decidedly mutilated image, since when the religious community was destroyed, the expert knowledge cease to transfuse within it, and left it foundationless and with a fragmented truth.

Then the next scholars arrive. Possibly driven by their inability to understand the so-called archaeological testimonies, that is images where their secrets were drawn by members of the community, have gone to what is understandable to them: written sources. And have taken as the full truth the superficial rootless knowledge contained in the texts. Hence the poor information, incessant error repetition, contradictions and repeated superficiality manifested in their works.

And also, as a consequence of their misunderstanding of images, false iconographic attributions, that came, thoughtlessly repeated, to integrate an inescapable network of lies and confusion, proven very difficult to escape." (Ruben Bonifaz Nuño. 1986)''

The Supreme divinity had many representation forms, of what is erroneously known as minor gods, but which were different avocations of the same reality. As the Virgin Mary in the Catholic religion that is one, with multiple representations of the same reality. This advanced “God” interpretation, was poetically named by our ancestors as the, "owner of the near and the together,^[2] He for whom we live, night wind, He who invents himself". Poetic attempts to refer to the unpronounceable, divine, immeasurable, unnamable. A concept more philosophical than religious, that surely was handled as esoteric knowledge by persons living in what we now know as archaeological sites and which were devoted to the study and research of the human energetic possibilities.

“Master our Lord, Tloque Nahuaque, Yoalli Ehécatl, that can see and know the interior of the tree and stone, and in truth now also know our interior, listen in our interior; hear and know what we say inside of us, what we think; our face and heart as smoke and fog rise before you." (Sixth book of the Florentine Codex)^[3]

The dual divinity.

This same philosophical figure is represented in a more accessible plane, called "Dual divinity, divine duality or two God", as a dual divinity half male and half female, understanding that everything created on earth, arises from a pair of complementing opposites, one male one female, life death, hot cold, dark light, black and white, Ying Yang, etc.

Ometeótl^[4] is a profound philosophical metaphor. The universe itself consists of a pair of complementary opposites. The dialectical principle is conclusively present in the “divine duality". Repetitively occupies the most relevant iconographic spaces. As two serpent heads facing each other, or as two quetzal heads facing each other.

"First of all, therefore it behooves to consider the generally accepted idea, of the dualistic conception of the existing world among ancient Mexican.

Originating from a dual divinity, according to authors, the world was conceived by them as a result of this principle; as a perpetual struggle between opposites that would engender new stages of existence". (Ruben Bonifaz Nuño. 1996)

This supreme divinity representation in the next inferior plain of Tloque Nahuaque or He for whom one lives, perhaps was managed by the high priests and the high religious hierarchy. The truth is that this dual representation of serpents or quetzals can be found in all cultures of the three periods, as an important and central iconography element. It is the struggle of opposites in the universe creation and life in the Anahuac. A religious—philosophical figure that speaks about the need of humanizing the world, through the mission assigned to mankind.

"We will now reflect on what was noted thus far.

It has been noted that the —actions of two opposing principles that fight—, of —opposing side’s fight—, of —the idea of the fight—, of —clash of opposing forces—... The said third element, by necessity, at the same time is not one or other of the two, but has something from each of them and something different at the same time, by which its transmutation is provoked and its unity with the creative action.

By intervening, given that this element can be called neutral, within the positive and negative elements, gives rise at that point to the possibility and necessity of something that did not previously exist." (Ruben Bonifaz Nuño. 1996)

Tlaloc & Quetzalcoatl.

The third approximation of this same divinity representation is found in a pair of religious figures, opposite and complementing. For our ancestors, all that existed in the world was formed by two types of energy. One was luminous and the other one was the spiritual. Luminous energy, is the essence of the “material" world, because matter in its most intimate nature is made of energy. In our days it is easier to understand this advanced understanding of the world, because we know that the smallest "matter" part is composed of atoms and these in turn by small energy loads, so what we call "matter", is not more than energy condensed to varying degrees.

"Tlaloc's face, then is serpentine; but not only that: it is also human. Because the image of Tlaloc represents a face formed by the meeting of two snakes joining their snouts together, face that, usually sits on the body of a man or woman, seen in whole or in part." (Ruben Bonifaz Nuño. 1996)

The ancient grandparents symbolically represented this energy with water, given that by water influence the material world reproduces. A desert can become a garden by water intervention. Water is only —a symbol— to represent the wonderful momentum of LIFE in a broader sense, always associated with fertility. The symbol is confirmed by the presence of water as life announcement. This religious symbol was called Tlaloc by the Nahua, Chac by the Mayas, the Zapotec called it Cosijo and Tajín by the Totonac. The concept is the manifestation of creative forces on a couple of opposing and complementing energies that make the world. It is a single religious—philosophical structure used by all cultures of the same civilization.

This is how the Tlaloc symbol, not only presents energy with which the world around us is made out of, but also, permanently reminds us that man's duty is to "humanize" the material world he lives in.

The second energy that constituted the world was the spiritual energy, generated by all living entities, from an ant to a whale, but that in humans is generated with greater intensity through the Being consciousness. For the old grandparents, the difference with other live beings becomes a responsibility and not superiority. The human being through its potential of spiritual energy generator is committed with the creative force to maintain universal order and assist the various representations of the supreme divinity to humanize the world. Sustain, preserve, and humanize the world was the divine mission of the ancient Mexicans in life universal cosmic order.

"Creation is not an instantaneous act, but a never-ending process. Men have to comply without interruption, taking upon him the duty of moving towards perfection, what was initially created.

This explains, within the basic cultural unity, the dynamic manifestations variety. This explains, for example, the urbanization differences between La Venta, Palenque, Monte Alban and Tenochtitlan. A single concept guides them: the human obligation to ally with the gods to create, maintain and perfect what exists." (Ruben Bonifaz Nuño. 1995)

The second representation, opposite and complementing to the first, is found in the so-called "wind god". Understanding in this symbolism that, life gets its "essence" when receives the "divine breath that gives the consciousness of being". Indeed, the old grandparents claimed that the life phenomenon reached its most sublime perfection when the immeasurable “Spirit” force blew inside of the light energy. "The wind God" was called Ehécatl-Quetzalcoatl by the Nahuas. Also, metaphorically called him "the roads sweeper" that announces life. It is the wind that announces rain arrival, and therefore life flourishment. The divine breath that encouraged spiritual consciousness was associated with Quetzalcoatl.

"They spoke of a national hero, civilizer and teacher, which at the same time was identified with the supreme deity and the world creator."

"Leon Portilla considers that more important than Quetzalcoatl existence as a man —whose life, mainly in the Mayan world, constitutes a complex whose clarification has quite a few problems— is that he has been regarded as central spiritual personage in Mexico before the conquest, to the extent that the philosophical thought, attributed to him, dominates an entire cultural stage." (Alfredo López Austin. 1989)

These symbolic representations of philosophical realities highly complex and profound were shared by all cultures in time and space. From the preclassical to the postclassical periods, from north to south and from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Its iconography maintained common features and characters and basically their names varied according to the language, but meant the same. For example: Quetzalcoatl in Nahuatl and Kukulcán in Maya mean in both cases "Bird—Serpent" or precious snake, as Nuhu Coo Tnumiii in Mixtec language or Belaguetza in Zapotec and Q'uq'umatz for the Maya K'iche'. Various forms of expressing the same religious philosophical matrix, which speaks of a conducting thread from the Olmecs in the preclassical, to the Toltec in classical period and to the Mexicas or Aztec (and others) in the postclassical period. A single philosophical-cultural matrix, a varied iconography but maintaining and sharing universal aesthetic values between them, and finally, a single religion with many expression variations in time and space.

In the book, “Thought and religion in ancient Mexico", Laurette Séjourné makes un-colonial approximation of what must have been the essence of the Anahuac religion.

"It is this same itinerary what the soul follows: descends from its celestial abode, enters the darkness of matter to raise again, glorious, at the time of body dissolution. The Quetzalcoatl myth does not mean anything else. The absolute purity of the King refers to its planet state, when it is still nothing but light. Its sins and remorse correspond to this light incarnation phenomenon and to the painful but necessary human condition consciousness; his abandonment of worldly things and the fatal bonfire built with his own hands signal the precepts to follow so that existence is not lost: reaching eternal unity by the detachment and sacrifice of the transitional self"...

"That is to say, that creation is not considered possible other than by sacrifice: sacrifice of the dismembered Sun in humanity (evening star is a fragment of light tore before its decline). Men sacrifice to restore the original star unity..."

"The Sun is called the King of those that return: hardly a more rigorous test might be found, to the Nahuatl hypothesis of the belief in the celestial origin of the individual"

"As we have seen, the Quetzalcoatl message is in solving the human nature duality problem. With the parable of the Tollan King, sets forth detachment and renouncing principles by which man can rediscover its own unit"...

"Quetzalcoatl throws upon him a bridge so his "pages" or disciples can follow him. This action of creating a bridge tells us, once again, that his mission purpose is to establish communication between earth and heavens, uniting men with God.

Whether fulfilled during life or after death, these rites which reproduce the parable of man converted to a planet certainly constitute a test for stepping to higher spiritual levels which should gradually lead to join with the transcendent.

Actually, existence was conceived as a preparation for death, and this represented the true birth that was reached by freeing from the limited and mortal self."

"The blood that Quetzalcoatl sprayed on bones taken from death represents the divine fire that saves matter –shall later see that blood and fire have the same symbolic meaning—, and it is clear that this myth talks about the birth of men to spirituality."

"This indicates that, far from constituting a useless element that does nothing more than bothering the spirit, matter is necessary because liberation is only achieved by the reciprocal action of one over the other.

It would seem that if matter is saved by the spirit, matter in turn needs spirituality to transform into something like a conscious energy, without which creation would cease to exist."

"This vital energy for the universe's functions can only come from men, because only he possesses a center capable of transforming the spirit that is destined to be lost in matter. Saving himself, men —of which Quetzalcoatl is the archetype— then can save creation.

This is why he is the redeemer par excellence. As taught by the Tollan King parable, this salvation is not easily achieved. To reconcile spirit and matter of which he is formed, the individual must sustain throughout his life, a painful conscious struggle that turn him into a battlefield, in which the two mercilessly enemies face each other. The victory of one or the other will decide his life or his death: If matter wins, his spirit dies; if the opposite occur his body "flourishes" and a new light will strengthen the Sun."

"The Sun that gives life to the universe feeds from men sacrifice [spiritual A.N.], and can only survive by its inner strength."

“Thus, through a different path, we again find the hypothesis according to which, the Quetzalcoatl Era is the soul advent, the unifying center, essence of all religious thought." (Laurette Séjourné. 1957)

It is important to highlight, that the abstraction and depth degree of the religion achieved by the ancient grandparents, is very advanced even nowadays. What happens is that from 1521 all knowledge and value of the ancient civilization has been prejudiced and misinterpreted, especially in the religion and philosophy aspects, because of the "moral" bases that justified the invasion. Indeed, the Spanish Crown points out that invaded peoples were wild and primitive. The Church for its part authorizes the invasion as long as natives are "freed" from their demonic religion and saved their souls, taking them into the bosom of the Catholic Church.

The religious abstraction.

An example of this advanced religious vision can be seen by a celebration of a ceremony that from the Olmec’s to Aztecs was repeated exactly every 52 years.

An astonishing measure that prevented fanaticism and cult to objects, maintaining people without the aberrant traits of deceit and idolatry. We refer to the New Fire ceremony that was celebrated every "Bundle of years" and that among all rituals required that the inhabitants of all communities, large and small, climbed a tutelary hill carrying all their "religious relics" that were accumulated over 52 years, both in the temples and homes.

These figures made from clay and various materials belonged to the different ways in which the supreme divinity was represented and its various avocations or "small gods". The pieces were destroyed the last day before the end of the cosmic cycle, because if the Sun rose the next day, they were guaranteed another 52 years of life from the Fifth Sun. So not only initiated a new fire, but also new deities representations were built to start a new cycle without old "relics" that would make people fanatical, that could prevent the abstract sense of divinity. It is remarkable to understand how with a religious tradition of an extremely mystical and spiritual civilization, prevented their peoples from becoming fanatical and convert objects into religious fetishes, while maintaining the Supreme divinity at the abstract plane. Our ancestors only became idolatrous precisely with the imposition of Catholicism, as it is there where images devotion originates.

This is how it can be asserted, that the supreme divinity, which had no name, nor could be represented, view or touched, manifested itself in the universe, nature and the great human feelings. Hence, the Sun was a manifestation of this immeasurable power, but also water, wind, earth, mountains, lightning, fire. It is not that they were "gods", but various manifestations of the same reality. As in the Catholic religion there are many virgins, but all are Virgin Mary avocations. The pigeon repeatedly found in paintings, sculptures, stained glass or metal, may be another example. Catholics do not "worship" the Dove. It is only an accepted symbol by all, of a more profound and abstract concept, as is the Holy Spirit.

For people commoners, for "macehuales",^[5] for "the wing and tail", the Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc symbols were immediate representations of the creative force, the supreme divinity. Symbols used by the people to guide their ethical and moral senses. To strengthen customs and tradition. Surely it was this third level of religious conception what allowed the old grandparents have social community life in harmony and peace, for over ten centuries, while allowing knowledge development of the venerable Toltec teachers that "worked", in what we know today as archaeological sites.

There is a common historical memory shared by all Anahuac peoples regarding their origin. Further reviewed in the philosophy chapter, but it is worth pointing out the existence of a series of shared histories in one way or another by the peoples of the Anahuac, such as: Earth creation,^[6] the divine twins,^[7] the Suns legend, the struggle between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, the first divine couple and their four children, the pilgrimage in search of a promised land.

This suggests that religion origin comes from a very old, profound and shared philosophical conception.

Religious divinity symbols.

To close this chapter, will enumerate the Anahuac best known religious symbols. Understanding that these are not "gods" as in the Judean-Christian concept, but various avocations of the same unmentionable, impalpable and invisible reality. These multiple representations of referring to the various ways of perceiving the immeasurable, at times would seem to repeat or have great similarities. This assessment is correct, because these are abstract symbols that speak of universal truths seeking to be re-thought or conceptualized for popular use.

When we deal with the Anahuac multiple supreme divinity avocations, the precise period we are referring to must be clarified: formative, splendor or decadent. And at what level: if the philosophical investigated by knowledgeable individuals; the religious handled by the priesthood hierarchy or; the popular, worshiped by macehuales or commoners. And finally, of what culture, given that although all avocations had a single source, in every culture had a different name —even if the meaning was similar— and had different iconography, according to each cultural style. But must point out that all shared certain common features. For example, in the case of Tlaloc and its avocations in all cultures. The graphical representation always had goggles, fangs, and a bifid tongue.

The exception to the rule is embodied by Huitzilopochtli, divinity representation unique to the Aztecs. Indeed, when they reached the Anahuac Valley in the 12th century, they brought it from the north, as their spiritual guide. Later, when the Aztecs are cultured with Toltec wisdom remaining from the classical period, they added their "tribal God" to the ancestral Anahuac Pantheon and embed it as one of the four sons of the divine couple. This happened during the philosophical—religious reforms made by Tlacaelel 81 years before the invaders arrival.

There are also endless "smaller gods", which are very spatial references of human activities and, immersed in an extremely religious world, were envisaged not as gods as in the Judean-Christian context, but rather as a "sacred essence". We refer to the multiple "gods", such as: hunting, pulque, trade, and others. Something similar to what "saints" represent in Catholic religion.

The confusion arises from the European and Judeo-Christian vision of the 16th century, which had no elements, nor intentions to understand a much more ancient religion, abstract, and advanced. It is born of the prejudiced and intolerant attitude of the first foreign “scholars" and their successive researchers. Also born from a series of lies, erroneous appreciations and distorted thesis of foreign researchers and local colonized followers, which have been formed and repeated through five centuries and have become the official version of official history.

The following list names the most important Cem Anahuac supreme divinity avocations; it is not a complete list:

1. Tloque Nahuaque or “He who is here and everywhere”.
2. Ometeótl or “Dual divinity”
3. Ometecutli “Of the two The Lord”.
4. Ometecihuatl “Of the two the Lady”.
5. Quetzalcoatl, “Divine breath or air representation”.
6. Tlaloc, “God of water or fertility”;
7. Tlaltecuhtli and Tlalecihuatl “Earth Lord and Lady”
8. Coatlicue or “The one with serpent skirt”
9. Cihuacoátl or “Serpent Woman” Earth represented in three different modalities.
10. Tlazolteotl or “Eater of waste”;
11. Tezcatlipoca, “Smoking mirror or the Interior Enemy”;
12. Mictlantecuhtli and Mictlantecihuatl, “Death Lord and Lady”.
13. Tonantiuh, “The Sun”.
14. Tonacatecutli y Tonacatcihuatl, “"The Lord and Lady of livelihood".
15. Xochiquetzalli, “Precious flower”.
16. Huehueteotl, “The ancient fire god”;
17. Chantihco, “Earth heat, home fire or female energy part”.
18. Tonatzin, “Our beloved mother.
19. Mixcoátl, “The nebulous serpent” referring to the Milky Way.
20. Xipe Totec, “The gaunt Lord”, nature cleaner or the action of separating matter from the spirit.
21. Xolotl, “The twin or nagual” of Quetzalcoatl.
22. Macuilxochitl, “Five Flower” or spirit enhancer by exercise and dance.
23. Mayahuel associated with “pulque” as spirituous beverage;
24. Yspapalotl, “Obsidian Butterfly”;
25. Toci, “The venerable grandmother”.
26. Chicomecóatl, or “Seven Serpent”, corn deity.
27. Xilonen The Young corn mother”;
28. Tlaloques smaller rain entities;
29. Chalchihuitlicue, “"The jeweled mantle", female avocation of divine water.
30. Patécatl; “From the medicine land”;
31. Metztli, “The Moon”.
32. Tepeyolohtli, “The heart of the mountains”;
33. Yacatecuhtli, “The Lord guide of traveling merchants”;
34. Ixtliton, sicknesses healer avocation, “Lord of health”;
35. Chiuatetéotl, avocation of dead women while giving birth;
36. Xiuhtecuhtli, fire avocation.

Almost all cultures shall share the same avocations, but the iconography is slightly changed and the name totally changed according to each language.

One of the most important legacies from ancient Mexico indisputably is the spiritual and mystical vision that Mexicans have about the world and life. The old grandparents very wisely knew how to adjust to the imposed religion. Changed everything on the outside, but inside maintained the fundamental bases of their millenarian religion until today, especially in the original Anahuac towns.

One of the many legacies of the this religious world which lasted, perfectly structured, for at least 30 centuries before the arrival of the Spanish invaders, can be found today in the way in which native peoples relate with the divine and sacred. Natives don't need "middle men" to come in contact with the supreme divinity. They currently use Catholic images, but assign names in their native languages and worship them in personal and community cults where they officiate, without the need of priests or vergers.

In closing it is stated that religion is and has been one of the bases of the Mexican people. The mystic and spiritual meaning of life is one of the valuable legacies of the old grandparents.

1. Huston Cummings Smith (born May 31, 1919 in Suzhou, China) is a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions (originally titled The Religions of Man) remain a popular introduction to comparative religion.
2. Omnipresent
3. The Florentine Codex is the common name given to a 16th century ethnographic research project in Mesoamerica by Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Bernardino originally titled it: La Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva Espana (in English: the General History of the Things of New Spain). It is commonly referred to as "The Florentine Codex" after the Italian archive library where the best-preserved manuscript is preserved. In partnership with Aztec men who were formerly his students, Bernardino conducted research, organized evidence, wrote and edited his findings starting in 1545 up until his death in 1590. It consists of 2400 pages organized into twelve books with over 2000 illustrations drawn by native artists providing vivid images of this era. It documents the culture, religious cosmology (worldview) and ritual practices, society, economics, and natural history of the Aztec people. One scholar described The Florentine Codex as “one of the most remarkable accounts of a non-Western culture ever composed.”
4. Ometeótl (Two God) is a name sometimes used about the pair of god Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl (also known as Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatl) in Aztec mythology. Whether such a deity existed among the Aztecs and what was its meaning is a matter of dispute among scholars of Mesoamerican religion. Miguel Leon-Portilla interprets the name "Ometeotl" as "Lord of the Duality" and argues that Ometeotl was the supreme creator deity of the Aztecs, and that the Aztecs envisioned this deity as a mystical entity with a dual nature akin to the European concept of the trinity. He argues that the Aztecs saw Ometeotl as a transcendental deity and that this accounts for the scarcity of documentary references to it, and why there is no evidence of an actual cult to Ometeotl among the Aztecs. Leon-Portilla's arguments have largely been accepted among scholars of Mesoamerican religion. Other scholars however, notably Richard Haly (1992) argue that there was no "Ometeotl".
5. In Aztec society, the macehualli (or macehualtin, plural) was the social class above slaves, and were hierarchically below the pīpiltin or nobility. The maceualtin rendered military service, paid taxes and worked in collective works. As the slaves, they could also own property, marry free people, have free children, having a relative freedom.
6. E. de Jonghe "Histoire du Mexique" XVI Century French manuscript manuscript (Paris National Library.)
7. Popol Vuh. Mayas sacred book.