Aztec Mythology and the Origins of Humanity | Fate & Fabled
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- Опубликовано: 15 май 2024
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If the word “Nahua” sounds unfamiliar to you, it’s probably because you’re more used to hearing them referred to as the Aztec. The history is complicated, but the name Aztec was popularized by a German explorer in the 1800s to describe the powerful Mesoamerican empire. Nahua culture is richly complex, with stories that reflect and explain the sometimes confusing duality of nature. Beyond mythology, the Nahua had an interesting political structure, impressive agricultural system, and TWO CALENDARS! Yet most people these days don’t even know them by their real name.
Hosted by Dr. Moiya McTier & Dr. Emily Zarka, FATE & FABLED explores the stories and characters of mythologies from all around the world - why they came to be and how they impact us still today.
Host / Writer: Moiya McTier, PhD
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor / Animator: P.W. Shelton
Assistant Editor: Jordyn Buckland
Illustrator: Sophie Calhoun
Script Editors: Emily Zarka, PhD & Moiya McTier, PhD
Script Consultant: David Tavárez
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Music: APM Music
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming (PBS): John Campbell
Fate & Fabled is produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program
Another fun myth I have heard is that Xolotl at one time had to hide in the lake around Mexico City today and transformed himself into the first Axolotl. That lake is the only lake in the world where Axolotls live naturally.
There's also the "Xoloitzcuintle", or the "mexican hairless dog" who was bred by pre-colonial Natives and modern Mexicans believe they guide spirits to the afterlife.
They were actually native to 3 lakes from what I could find, lake taxcoco (the lake that once surrounded the aztec capital in modern day Mexico city) lake chalco, and lake xochimilco, which is the only lake that they currently live in
I live in a small city "town" named Chignahuapan, here the axolotl are also native to our lake. And that myth mentioned where the god xolotl hides is also related to are lake Wich is also related to the entrance to the Mictlan.
Xolotl is one of my favorite gods of death, one of the two native Mexican dog breeds, the Xoloitzcuintli, is said to have come from him (the other dog breed is the chihuahua.)
The dog in the Coco movie is also a Xolo dog and it also plays a role in guiding Miguel, the main character, through the land of the dead.
When the fifth sun begun the council of gods sacrificed lesser gods so their blood would make the sun start moving, Xolotl didn't want to die, he cried and begged so hard that his eyes fell out from the tears.
Xolotl began to start hiding as different plants and animals so the gods wouldn't find him, his final disguise was the Axolotl (Atl-Xolotl), which means Water dog. Xolotls are known for their regenerative properties, you can cut off their limbs and they will grow back, this for the Aztec was a living proof of the divinity of axolotls, the god who didn't want to die...
As someone who studies Mesoamerican history and culture, I will say that I have a lot of problems with how human sacrifice is discussed. Most obviously, it was not as common as is typically said. Both the Mexica and the Spanish had reason to exaggerate the numbers, and the reality is, we just can't find evidence for mass-sacrifice on the scale that is said to have occurred. In fact, it seems that sacrifice had fell out of favor by the early to mid postclassic, with it being reintroduced and repopularized by the Mexica in Tenochtitlan, as well as the Uanacaze in Patzcuaro. That's not to say that it didn't occur during the early postclassic; it definitely did, but not as much as at its height in the late 1400s, and even at that time it was definitely exaggerated. Auto-sacrifice through the piercing of the tongue or ears was much more common.
How much of the re-popularization of sacrifice by the Mexica do you think was politically motivated? While this doesn't rule out true belief in such practices, the cynic in me can't imagine a system like this not being co-opted by the powerful for their own gain, either consciously or unconsciously. Things like the Garland Wars and increasing levels of sacrifice seem like they could've been used by the Mexica to dominate their subjects by keeping them weakened and fearful while asserting their power over them.
Feel free to correct me but from what I've heard and read the most absurd levels of human sacrifice in Mexico was orchestrated by tenochtitlan, and the lake city was fairly young compared to their neighboring cities. In my mind it seems that this blossoming empire was taking cultural norms (that were probably both feared and revered) and went balls to the walls with it in order to solidify their place in mesoamerica. I've heard it said that even neighboring cities of tenochtitlan thought they were talking it too far.
An unfortunate reality is that we really haven't looked for evidence of mass sacrifice. While archeologists frequent these areas, as well as tourists, there are not nearly as many large scale digs as would be needed to find such evidence. This may have a lot to do with the whole 'bringing a bunch of digging machinery and tearing up the earth would do serious damage to the jungle and probably the structures, as well as putting the diggers at high risk for disease and wildlife attacks' thing. It isn't an open desert like Egypt, and even then many openly admit that, especially early digs, could cause a lot of destruction and are never easy to put together or execute. Now throw it in a jungle and see how easy it is to do!
Certainly it is easier to just go with what the people reported they, themselves, did. Unfortunatly, that does allow for people to bring up a lack of supporting evidence, though dealing with skeptics is still far easier than doing that dig.
A lack of looking and therefore unsurprising lack of evidence aside, they probably did exaggerate their numbers, but we will never know how much they did or didn't. Also, if they ended up grinding the bones and using it in stuff, like food or art/pottery/construction, that would really screw with the body count as well.
@@reuvenknight1575 in pretty sure there's actually evidence that the Spanish government or the church or whoever mattered then altered Cortez's original writings on the aztec, even though Cortez doesn't strike me as the honest scholarly type to begin with
Was going to write this too. But you did so mutch better job than i could have. Thank you🙏🙏
Something to keep in mind about the sacrifices. Most mexican scholars agree that these numbers were greatly exaggerated by the Spaniards in order to justify conquest and colonization. Not to say it didn't happen. But the number that most post has been mostly agreed that it wasn't more than double digits within a year.
I was just going to mention this. The population just wasn’t there to support these claims. Also, a lot of the sacrifices were actually captured members of other tribes.
Yeah. I've always find the high figure sacrifices to be unrealistic. (About 10k? In a DAY?!) Not only would that spell out an anomaly (to me, at least; like, how did they manage to build such an empire doing that), but it's also impractical. Do they really mean to tell us that the Mexica were wasting away what is essentially a massive workforce? They need those people's tribute too, y'know...
And I'm saying this as a foreigner of the New World. (Like, I have no gain/reason to defend the Nahua culture.)
@@yari139 the sacrifices were also voluntary as an honor as well I believe
@@kristophervilledasome were voluntary. Others were enemy prisoners from battles
Given the methods that (most) of the sacrifices were killed by, I would say that it was definitely one of the quicker and least painful deaths in that time period. And considering that being sacrificed was one of the very few ways to actually get a good afterlife and NOT have to go on a grueling journey to Mictlan(other than drowning, lightning, killed in combat/childbirth), drinking a mild hallucinogen while people are playing wild music and getting your heart surgically removed by a guy who does this on a daily basis and is probably an expert on rapid organ removal doesn't sound like a bad trade off for not having to go on the underworld's worst road trip ever.
Although, if they were training the new guy that day, or if they chose to sacrifice you to Xipe Totec, you're in for a REAL bad time. (To be fair, I've read some sources that say that the flaying happened AFTER death for Xipe Totec's sacrifices, so maybe it still wasn't that bad. It's just a lot more of the ones I've seen say it happens while you're still alive.)
[Also, disclaimer, I am NOT condoning human sacrifice, I'm just saying the "savage" Aztecs were a lot better at quick and painless execution than "scientifically and technologically superior" white people at the time.]
More on Xolotl:
He was the twin brother of Quetzalcoatl and a god of fire, lightning, death, disease, deformities, misfortune, monsters, and dogs. He accompanied Quetzalcoatl on his trip on the underworld to retrieve the bones of past humans. He took a sliver of bone and used to create dogs (the Xoloitzcuintle breed specifically) as a gift to mankind. The Xoloitzcuintle were considered sacred to the aztecs, being guides and guardians of the dead like their creator. If you were kind to dogs and treated them well in life they would happy to help you on your journey through Mictlan (because they are good boys and girls), but if you were cruel and mistreated them in life they would want nothing to do with you and you were on your own which means you were almost certainly doomed. He was also a guide and guardian to the sun and protect it on it's journey through the underworld each night.
He is my favorite god
Yes, where I live (Chignahuapan, Puebla, Mexico) that is a well known myth, the axolotl is also native to our lake from Wich our small city/ town gets its name. It's said that during that trip Xolotl laid Axolotl eggs in our lake since it was apparently the entrance to the Mictlan. Chignahuapan is roughly traduced to mean over the nine waters or nine eyes of water relating it to the rive of nine streams of the Mictlan (underworld) know in some places as Chiconahuapan.
No way! I'm from Autlan, Jalisco Mexico, and growing up we were exposed to a lot of Nahua, being that there are still some nahuas living in the areas, and I never really thought to deep about it as a kid, now I feel so proud of my heritage. Thanks for the amazing video and the great representation that you're bringing 💜💜
"The pustulous god" can be interpreted as "the blistered god", which is totally appropriate for a deity who became a sun god but didn't start as one
Tecciztecatl was offered the position of the new sun because the other 4 gods considered him the most beautiful and prideful, making him the best choice for a sun. However, when he saw that he had to throw himself to the fire he cowered and began to be doubtful. Seeing this Nanahuatzin, who was a sick and weak God throw himself to the fire without a doubt. Then Tecciztecatl feeling humiliated by Nanahuatzin sacrifice and his own doubts throw himself also to the fire.
After a moments the sun rises and it was the sun from Nanahuatzin sacrifice and because of bravery of Nanahuatzin the sun he made was as bright as can be. But, a few moments later another sun rises, this was Tecciztecatl. The gods were not happy that a coward would become a sun and so they started to think how to get rid of the other sun. Quetzalcóatl then grab a rabbit that was walking nearby and throw it to Tecciztecatl putting his light out and thus he became the moon.
Sacrifice by burning to death was practiced later on by the Mexicas against captives from defeated altepetls. Ironically, it was the American colonists who last used fire for execution.
Tecci what? That sounds like a pokemon name. 😂😂😂
Europeans burn witches and heretics to death, not the Northern Americans.
@@fallinginthed33p Not like Europeans haven't used it before anywhere else...
As he dragged the rabbit, it said "this can't be happening, this is a trick!" To which Quetzalcóatl as they cranked their arm back for the throw "tricks are for kids!"
Loving this episode! I’ve only ever heard this culture described as “Aztec” so I’m always excited to learn more accurate information about peoples past
If you speak to modern Nahuas, they usually refer to their town and sometimes they say they speak mexicano (another term to describe Nahuatl).
It’s a common mistake, and lots of us are still around but some of us call ourselves Mejica or Nahua.
Yes a lot of us are still around. Nahuatl was actually my first language before I learnt Spanish and then obviously English. You'll be surprised how many words derive from Nahuatl. Chocolate, Tomato, Avocado, and Coyote just to name a few.
The Mexica are very much around and the Nahuatl language is widely spoken. The Aztecs were the dominant ethnic-political group in Central Mexico but there were plenty of other peoples of Nahua descent in the surrounding area.
@@ChidoDeLaSierra
Also Moccasins (not sure about either spelling) = Mocatzin.
Obviously the first comes from fellow, related-family tribes in what is now the US and Canada and the latter from the Mexica in Mexico.
They share the same language family and blood ties dating back to a time long gone; when afterwards those tribes begun dispersing. 🤓👍🏼
I’m no expert and wouldn’t dare to correct two PhD’s but as a Mexican I’ve always been taught that Huitzilopochtli means “left handed hummingbird”, maybe my knowledge is outdated but wanted to mention it anyway. Great episode! Loved it.
I'm quite certain that what we know now of Nahua culture is as flawed as what we know about ancient Greek culture. It is taught to us as a monolithic religion with a fixed pantheon, but that really is only an imperfect cross section that doesn't run along a shared present of Greek culture, and there were numerous local minor deities and also major cults that elevated different gods of the classical era over Zeus
Huitzilopochtli literally means “left (handed) hummingbird”. I think the confusion with the meaning of the name comes from the association of Huitzilopochtli with the south, as a cardinal point
No
@@nicolaiveliki1409 In some ways our knowledge is even more flawed, we have many sources from Greeks during the time periods when Greek Paganism was the dominant religion in Greece, but most of our sources for Nahua beliefs are, to my knowledge, ones compiled after the Spanish conquest and subsequent genocide (largely through forced conversions at that point), which means that there was ample time for the beliefs the Spaniards forced onto the indigenous people to change their beliefs from what would have been practiced before colonization.
@@auroraourania7161 oh yes, absolutely true. I was just looking for a point of comparison, and the graecoromanic pantheon and culture is what I am most familiar with, and it is also taught in most schools in Europe
Great video. Congratulations.
As a Mexican philosophy professor I can give you 3 grades.
It is true that the conquest of Tenochtitlan was cruel and brutal, but the Spanish were accompanied by thousands of indigenous enemies of the Mexica. The Mexicas were a great civilization but they were a very cruel empire with their conquered. For a non-Eurocentric view of the conquest I recommend the book by the Mexican historian: Pedro Salmeron "
The battle for Tenochtitlan" (I don't know if you can find it in English).
According to much of what we know about the pre-Hispanic period, the rescue of the codices was thanks to Catholic priests who tried to approach and understand the indigenous language and culture. Thanks to them we have the first Nahuatl grammar and the codices (if you look at the codices that show there are Latin letters in Spanish).
Third, the independence of Mexico was achieved by criollos (children of Spaniards born in America), who took indigenous symbols to distance themselves from Spain and her parents, even when they were not.
Greetings and thanks for putting a piece of Mexico in the cultural world of the world.
Vicente Guerrero?
The idea that Cortes made alliances with other local states because the Mexica of Tenochtitlan was cruel and hated is a misconception: They/the Aztec empire were military expansionists and conquerors, yes, they were actually hands off with the places they conquered, and it is ironically BECAUSE of that that Cortes got allies: Due to the rough geography and a lack of draft animals, large states in Mesoamerica were fairly hands off, without the direct management and administration of subjects, founding of colonies, and instituting of a unified national/cultural identity: Political power was cemented more through fragile tax/tributary and vassal relationships, flaunting your military might, economic success, and ties to other legendary civilizations and kings to get states to align with you and suck up with political marriages, etc. Obviously, Eurasian polities did these too, and there still WAS some examples of more hands on imperialism in Mesoamerica.
But hands off and indirect imperialism and methods of establishing political power which much more the norm and were more fundamental in statecraft in the latter then the former. The Aztec Empire was no exception here, and it's primary goal in expansionism was to gain resource rich states as tax-subjects to extract goods and luxuries without expending direct effort, with those states keeping their rulers, laws, and customs and mostly being left alone, as long as they did pay those economic goods as taxes, didn't block roads, provided military aid on request, and other basic obligations.,etc. The Aztec were not coming in and raiding existing subjects (unless they incited others to stop paying taxes), nor were slaves or sacrifices a common tax/tribute demand: Sacrifices were generally from enemy soldiers captured during wars, and sacrifice itself was also a pan-mesoamerican practice every civilization in the region did, not just the Aztec.
Accordingly, what was really going on, as much or more then Cortes manipulating local states, was local kings and officials manipulating Cortes to benefit their own political ambitions: In a political system where subjects mostly stayed independent, they had the motivations and the capacity to secede, backstab, and preform coups opportunistically to sway or cause the house of cards they held up that their capitals rested on to collapse, so they could advance politically. Especially by allying or pledging themselves to another group (since again, as a subject they had little to lose) to then work together to take out existing political rivals or capitals, to then be in a position of higher standing in the aftermath. (The Aztec Empire itself was founded this way in the late 1420s) . For example, the city of Cempoala (and it's king Xicomecoatl), the capital of one of 3 major kingdoms of the Totonac civilization, and a recent conquered subject of the Aztec, lied to Cortes about there being an Aztec fort oppressing them at Tzinpantzinco, which was really a rival Totonaca capital city.
They then led the Conquistadors into the territory of Tlaxcala, one of the states in Central Mexico the Aztec hadn't manage to conquer yet, and which the Totonacs were hostile with. When the Tlaxcaltecas and the Conquistadors fought to a standstill and allied with one another (with different Tlaxcalteca officials like Xicotencatl I, Xicotencatl II, disagreeing on what to do, later on Xicotencatl II would end up being executed when a rival Tlaxcalteca politician got Cortes to execute him) en route to Tenochtitlan (as Tlaxcala was an active target of Aztec invasions and DID have resentment towards the Aztec), they stopped in Cholula, where the Tlaxcaltecas fed Cortes rumors of them planning to assassinate the visitors, and it just so happens that the Tlaxcaltecas end up propping up a pro-Tlaxcalteca political faction after they and the Conquistadors sack the city, after Cholula had recently switched from being aligned with Tlaxcala to the Aztec. Finally arriving at Tenochtitlan, Moctezuma II allows them into the city: Flaunting the grandeur of your city and it's opulence was a common method of courting a foreign state into becoming a vassal or an ally (to say nothing of the princesses they gave to high ranking conquistadors, an attempt at political marriages the Conquistadors mistook as offerings of concubines). When Pánfilo de Narváez arrived, who actually was sent by the governor of Cuba to arrest Cortes as he had been out on his expedition illegally, Narvaez actually worked with Aztec officials to get capture Cortes, since by this point they realized Cortes wasn't a licensed diplomat representing a foreign king.
It is only after 1. Cortes panics, Moctezuma II and other Aztec rulers and officials get captured, locked up (Cortes of course claims this happened earlier and he was always in control) and then are killed; 2. the Aztec nobles and elite warriors are killed while unarmed during a religious festival; 3. smallpox broke out, and 4. the Conquistadors and Tlaxcalteca flee back to safety; that then other core-Aztec states inside the valley like Texcoco (the second most powerful Aztec city), Chalco, Xochimilco, Itzpalapan, etc ally with Cortes. Because by then, Tenochtitlan was weak, vulnerable due to it losing it's elite soldiers, its king (always a period in Mesoamerican history where subjects would stop paying taxes and see what they could get away with untill the new ruler re-asserted their military power), and struck by plague. Furthermore, these also made Tenochtitlan unable to project it's power and wield its political authority; and by extension, said core subject states inside the valley didn't benefit as much from the tax influx into the area (which was secured by the threat of retaliation if taxes weren't paid, something currently jeopardized) or their political marriages with Tenochtitlan at the moment, de-valuing their close relationship with it. (Ixtlilxochitl II of Texcoco also had a grudge against the Mexica of Tenochtitlan, as in a recent war of succession after the prior Texcoca king died, the Mexica favored a competing heir as the claimant to the throne, so when the Conquistadors and Tlaxcalteca returned to the valley to siege Tenochtitlan, Ixtlilxochitl II, who had split power with other heirs, sided with Cortes wheras other Texcoca royals sided with Tenochtitlan)
@@MajoraZstop justifying the Cruelty of the aztec empire. Nobody likes being sacrificed
@@Bluecheese1400 Look up Tlahuicole. That's one example of somebody who did.
@@Bluecheese1400yet Abraham sacrificed Isaac. So what do you say about that?
Quick little anecdote to really show just how fun we were.
Pozole is one of MExico's most famous dishes, and one of the most popular and widespread foods to be enjoyed around Mexico, a wonderful soup of spice, corn
Pozole is a pre-colonial dish and it's one of the oldest dishes in Mexico since experts have found that it became part of the Mexicas' diet between 1325 and 1524. It also had a religious origin.
In pre-colonial times, pozole was known as tlacatlaolli, which means “men shelled corn” and it was a privilege to eat it, only for those who belonged to the Tenochtitlán elite, such as royals, governors, and warriors.
Its name derives from the Náhuatl word “pozolli,” which means foam and refers to the foam produced when the corn is boiled. Pozole dates back to pre-colonial times. It was served during a celebration for the god Xipe Tótec, a god who was flayed and protected agriculture, fertility, and love. Nevertheless, the pozole served during the festivities had one especial ingredient: human flesh.
In the General History of the New Spain Issues, Brother Bernardino de Sahagún explains that the Mexicas used to cook pozole using the leg of a captured warrior or slaves from other tribes, which was savored by the Tlatoani, the ruler. Nevertheless, the Mexicas also ate versions that contained Xoloitzcuintle meat or turkey. After the conquest, and the banning of human flesh for personal consumption, the Mexica largely replaced it with pork.
That's a nice way to get a dose of prions. Glad they switched to pork.
this is so embarrassing, this widely accept to be purely falsified. there is no evidence of this actually happening, just imperialism furthering the narrative of “savage” indigenous ppls.
It's always a pleasure when a new video drops :)
For those in the comments that are interested there's a crunchyroll original series that is based on Aztec mythology and themes. It's a bit gory and sadly got only one season but the story is engaging if you like those shows.
Edit: Sorry, never said the name,
show is called Onyx Equinox
Hey there, so I'm glad you decided to this video, this is the story of possibly some of my Mexican ancestors... I am a first generation Mexican-American... but a few things... Nahua were present before the Mexica/Aztec arrived in the the Valley of Mexico. There were already Nahuatl speaking peoples there, and in other regions. The Aztecs/Mexica themselves probably branched off from a larger group of Chichimeca (a nomadic, semi-nomadic groups of Nahua peoples). There were already Nahuas in the area, indeed belonging to part of the Uto-Aztecan language family (including Comanche, Hopi, Nahuatl , Paiute, Pima, and Shoshone.)
A more details and correction:
Overall, the stories mentioned him are scattered through many codices. So if you're going to primary sources, you will have to go to multiple codices.
Nahuatl is pronounced Na-Watl
Fernando Tezozomoc is probably the oldest writing to use the word Aztec.
Mexica is pronounced Me-Shee-Ka.
Huitzilopochtli is pronounced Wit-zil-o-poch-tli
Ometeotl is Miguel Portilla's invention.
Tonatiuh pronounced To-na-tiuh (h making an aspiration h sound).
I researched more into ometeotl because of your comment and my mind is blown. Thank you!
"Human sacrifice? C'mon, guys.. have a heart!"
"Hey... that's not a bad idea!"
" ... "
So cool. The amount of thematic overlap between the various mythologies across all of human culture will always be endlessly fascinating to me.
Also, gotta say the parasocial easter eggs in this one were almost clever. Tread carefully.
Loved this episode and really appreciate how many of the myths of the native people's of the Americas are being presented to a wider audience and being reevaluated by academics. One aspect of the origin stories for many indigenous American groups is that when they describe their people's journeys to new lands they often reflect real landscapes that match with modern maps and match many current theories for the populating of the Americas. I had one professor present the theory during a lecture that the cold dark land many groups describe as the land they initially emerged from could reflect the Arctic and matched the crossing of the land bridge from Asia.
fun fact: one of the 3 endemic dog breeds from Mexico, the Xoloitzcuintle, derives its name from the god Xolotl, as these dogs look like him. 🖤
…and they are amazing dogs!!
I've worked in vet med for 15 years in Phoenix. I've met quite a few Xolos over the years. I've never met someone in the field, or here in Phoenix(which is heavily Mexican) that can say the full name. I sure can without hesitation and I've always been very proud of that! Spelling it is a different matter though! As a matter of fact, we have a Xolo on the schedule for tomorrow and I'm really excited to meet him.
This was super interesting!! You should do the Inca/Tawantinsuyu next!!
I like aztac myths. One of the most metal mythologies that ever existed.
I get so excited when these videos show up in my subscription feed. It's like having a little documentary break in my day.
This is exactly the episode I've been hoping for. Thank you so much!
Oh my god, I haven't heard "tight" since middle school like 25 years ago, I love it
There's an afterlife where you go on a quest with a magical dog!? Awesome!
Lol love your enthusiasm but not really. This video explains it differently but the way I was taught is that the journey through the nine levels of the underworld is harsh. Its trials are literally meant to break you so that you lose every part of who you were (personality, ego, memory, etc) so that you essentially just become a pure soul/energy essence that can be reborn into something new
I love how they try to say nahuatl differently a few times lol... Love the effort
The ending -tl is hard to do, almost like a click sound. I just say Nā-wat.
@@fallinginthed33p yeh a lot of ppl say it like that or just the L. It's the effort that's important, not really the perfection.
@@fallinginthed33p i honestly prefer when they just pronounce it as a regular t, it sounds so awkward when they pronounce like the tle in cattle lol
It made me cry seeing my culture have an amazing video made by you guys 💜 muchas gracias 🥺
If you speak Spanish, the YT channel Somos Nómadas may interest you. It is all about the ancient Mexica
Amazing! Thank you for another wonderful episode
Guys, i wanna give a big applause for trying to pronunce all those difficult names. Hell! I struggled as well when i was a kid and visited the museums.
I think an episode analyzing the presence of flood/storm myths in many religions (ancient and modern) would be cool. They seems to appear at the beginning of the world and wash away most everything before humans start to really spread
This was one heck of an episode too receive thank you so much
You guys are doing an amazing job. I request you to add some reference books, which one can read if they want to make a deep dive in the topic.
It's nice to hear something that doesn't just paint the Aztecs in the red of sacrifice. Context & proportion are always hard to grasp. Especially in the short snippets we get to remember from school or pop culture. Thanks for the video :)
But the sacrifice was special, not for everyone; like now of the reason for sacrifice (well, one of the reasons) is that " the Earth itself is a starving primeval monster that wants nothing more than to eat everything at all times..." (Overly Sarcastic Productions) there is this video by M. Laser History (Aztec Human Sacrifices) that goes into detail of this.
Absolutely love these episodes and love how child friendly they are❤
Great work! Nahua mythology is so beautifully rich!
I am SO excited for this!
Ah, the Nahua 5th Sun myth. A tale of sibling squabble that makes even Osiris and Set look tame...
It's awesome to see so many people in the comments dismantling the myths around Aztec sacrifice. Really exciting that many people are interested and knowledgeable about the Mexica and Nahua culture. Tlazocamati :))
How amazing it would be, to go back in time. It would be wonderful to be able to listen and watch, as they tell their legends!
But invisible cause you dont want to get caught amd sacrificed lol
With the recent reveal of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" adapting Atlantis as a version of Tlālōcān, I hope this video gets a lot more attention from people looking for more information about the Nahuan peoples.
Why couldn't I have had history professors like these two ladies when I was in school 🏫? Super knowledgeable.
loved how this was presented thank you thank you
Thanks to you, I have learned something impressive about my own country and mythology!
Loved the Maya and the Three shout-out!
Great work 🥳🥳🥳 Thank you 💜💜💜
So glad to see y'all do an episode on Nahua mythology AND make an effort to use proper terminology. I'm Chahta and it is always interesting to hear the stories of other Indigenous groups. Tradition holds we have common ancestors with the Maya, and though we had developed in a very different direction culturally, we have quite a bit in common with Mayan groups and only a little bit in common with Nahua (mostly seems to have been what the Nahua adopted from other Indigenous groups in the SW & Mesoamerica as they traveled South). But I had never heard about the Nahua's White Dog guardian before!
Ofi Tohbi plays important roles in a number of Southeastern/Mississippian traditions, but I had never heard of anything quite so similar from a social tradition that wasn't based in Eastern Turtle Island. Our name for the Milky Way is "Ofi Tohbi Hina" (White Dog's Path). Our conception of life after death is very, very different from Nahua traditions, but one's shilombish (spirit) travels Ofi Tohbi Hina to Aba Yakni (the 'Land Above'). Other's have mentioned in the comments the importance of being kind to dogs in Nahua tradition--that holds true across all of Turtle Island. Dogs are what the anthropologists would call a 'liminal creature,' meaning they bridge worlds.
Dr. Z! Perfect timing
love from México!! thank you for sharing our amazing history
this was the tightest video thank you
I still remember hearing the story if the founding of Mexico from the Disney movie 3 Caballeros. Love that movie and this story
Thanks for the video
Also as a writer I enjoy that the gods had to sacrifice themselves. It makes a lot more sense why they wouldn't help their people or end suffering - some of the questions we ask of monotheistic Gods
Most enjoyable class I ever took in my undergrad was a class on the Aztec Empire. I learned so much and grew so much respect for the country of Mexico and its early people.
Yesssssss more aztec related videos
Chalchiuhtlicue: It was the story of a girl who cried a river and drowned the whole world
This episode came out at a perfect time looking at Namor right now
Great video ❤
ah, my distant ancestors, if only my other distant ancestors we're less conquer-y and burn-y I might know more about their lives.
If they were less conquering like you say, you might not exist in which case you would know absolutely nothing.
Ah, the Nahua myth of the Fifth Sun... One of those sibling squabbles that makes Osiris and Set look tame .
Good stuff!
So interesting!!! Nahua, I didn't even know that name, so cool!
This is the best zoom call of the week.
We were taught about Nahua and Mexican culture in elementary school. This was the late 90s/early 00s in South Texas. After that, the education system dropped every topic having to do with Mexico, except for Texas Independence and the Mexican-American War. I’m not sure how, or if, it is taught now in public schools. Mexico is our neighbor and most Americans know nothing about it’s crazy history and rich culture.
Hi Docs,
Daunting task, pronouncing all of those names, huh? 🙂
I think the o's in Huitzilopochtli are both long ō's.
And the Que in Quetzalcóatl is pronounced like our letter K. No /w/ sound.
But tbh, you don't need the English slang ("tight", "word") to be cool. You're both cool enough already. So if you wouldn't say it on the regular, don't force it. Hope you're both enjoying summer!
And these days, those "bloody parts" require a trigger alert, so.....not as much fun as they used to be
I feel like they (esp. Dr. Zarka) could have tried a little harder on the pronunciation in this video. .
It’s interesting to see how this concept of a cycle of ages each ending in disaster gets used in modern fantasy, particularly Final Fantasy 14.
It's cool that I've heard some parts of this due to living in Texas and being interested in mythology.
Oh hey maya and the three! (Seriously such an amazing show)
I don't... I don't understand the phonecall thing...
As a Hispanic of Mexican origin this does put a smile on my face
Hispanic means extensions of Spain while excluding our indigenous native roots.. decolonize our mind
so good
A few of the things mentioned are inaccurate, but otherwise good way to expose people to a topic they would’ve probably never heard of or be interested in. I love Mesoamerican history. Food for thought: this is yet another, wholly isolated culture (as far as we know), with themes of flooding wiping out humanity and men made out of clay/dirt. Interesting how these themes seem to be almost universal across all ancient cultures.
If you know spanish, the YT channel Somos Nómadas is all about ancient Mexico. Fascinating.
The romans enjoyed to see people killing each other in a coliseum, the celtics, phoenicians and vikings sacrificed people too, the catholics killed heretics, protestants burnt witches. Even more the mesoamericans didn't killed in war, but they care for capture people alive to slavery and sacrifices, more people dead in european wars than in mesoamerican sacrifices. But the sacages we're the mesoamericans. The proble is the narrative that deshumanize native americans and represent them as savages, and to the europeans as civilizated people
Nice try to relativize mesoamerican human sacrifices.
@@spartanwarrior1 ??????
the death and rebirth of the hero twins in the ancient forerunner to the sport of football known as Tlachtli happens to be one of my personal favourites I first came to know about the ritual sport of Tlachtli from the Dreamworks movie Road to Eldorado with Dave Spader.
Great video! Some of the pronunciation was a little dodgy but you still did a pretty good job because the "-tl" sound is kind of a nightmare to get right.
Have some fiction recs featuring Aztec mythology, on me:
Obsidian & Blood by Aliette de Bodard: Noir fantasy/mysteries in 1480s Tenochtitlan.
The Jaguar Princess by Clare Bell: Aztec slave girl becomes a scribe, attracts the attentions of a nearby king and his kind younger son who just wants to be an artisan, and finds out she can turn into a goddamn jaguar.
The Sea-Ringed World by Maria Garcia Esperon and Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky by David Bowles: Fantastic collections of pre-Columbian North/Central/South American mythology.
Simon Levack's Aztec Mysteries: set in 1517 Tenochtitlan; they're detective stories, not fantasy, but mythology still plays a big part.
Tlaskamati miak! Thank you very much in Nahuatl! Thank you for sharing the stories of our ancestors. Nimomachtia tomasewaltlahtol = I’m learning our native language
this was my term paper in high school, the origin of Aztecs
Can’t complain because you got most information correct but you did get some parts wrong which is understandable thank you for making this video
All cultures are complex and involve more than what an outsider can see on the surface. But which one is the simplest? Or can something like that even be figured out?
um what were your sources and when were they written? Before or after the conquest? This is the first time I hear this version
Dope
This makes the most sense about human origin.
I hope you guys do videos on Polynesian Gods or Goddesses! I suggest Haveahikuleo the Goddess of the underworld from Tonga or Nafanua the war goddess of Samoa our first ruler
Just a question are you covering other myths too?
The eagle holding the snake in the river was weirdly mentioned in Disney's Three Caballeros which is how I know it. I love Aztec mythology especially the twin myth.
I think the twin myth you are referring to is the Popol Vuh. If that's the case, it's the Mayan creation myth, not the Aztec one.
Please make a Mapuche one
Mapuche are honestly a terrifying force to face and an amazing culture to study
what are those black boxes with a string attached?
is it like an iphone with a wire?
The Aztecs had nonbinary gods and predicted evolution,absolutely based people
Our teteoh are not nonbinary. However, each teotl has a counterpart, it’s the whole concept of Ometeotl.
@@Itzcuetlachtli 2
Any good books on aztec mythology?
FUN FACT: The totem animal to which Quetzalcoatl (feathered-serpent deity) is based upon is the Muscovy Duck which originated in Central America.
1521 is such a cursed year for both Mexico and the Philippines. 😭
I recently read a fantasy novel set in pre-colombian inspired culture, and I loved how sweet and gentle the world was presented as. I feel like we modern Americans have been raised on only hearing about or seeing the bloody parts of these cultures. I'm really loving learning more about them
That's the case with most of the world, because of colonization and genocide apologists we mostly hear about the sacrefices and not the good bits
And subscribed. ❤
Relased just as I began reaserching
Im super envious of Mexico and other Indigenous American cultures that could look back to their precolonial cultures with tangible evidences or richer fountains of knowledge. I may admit that not all of it are very accurate, but nonetheless there are concrete objects such as codices, paintings, artifacts and sculptures. Beautiful yet metal. Filipino here hahaa
Mexico was the epicenter of pre-Columbian civilizations in North America. So much history that doesn’t get the same treatment as the Aztecs
The analogue phone intro was a choice, but the rest of the episode was cool. Nahua mythology is trippy.
Word ..sweet !!
I've heard both quezocoatl and tezcatlipoca as the creators of humans but also xolotl in that particular story.
Tewantin in timexikah , Iwan tikitlatowah in mexikatlatolli, ah nawatlatolli. Niktlasohtla inin video ipampa kipiya toteowan, Iwan matilistli in totlakawan. Tlasokamati ! Ipampa Axkan nehwatl ka ahnikmati in noteowan Iwan intokayiwan.
I love these smart ladies.
there is a nahua comic, "border town". very good if you are into mythology