The Obituary
Quetzalcoatl, the “feathered serpent,” was a Mesoamerican god of wind, knowledge, the morning star, and the creation of humankind, his cult reaching back to Teotihuacan. Myth credits him with descending to the underworld and shedding his blood on ancestral bones to fashion humanity, and with giving people maize. As Ehecatl, the wind, he was honored in round temples. The Aztec worship of Quetzalcoatl ended with the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan in 1521 and the imposition of Catholicism.
Worth remembering
- He descended to the underworld and bled on the bones of the dead to create the present race of humans.
- As the wind-god Ehecatl he wore a red beak-mask; his temples were round so the wind could pass freely.
Sources
- Quetzalcoatl was the feathered serpent god of wind, learning, and the morning star Wikipedia
- Aztec worship ended with the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan in 1521 Encyclopaedia Britannica
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.