Outside of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, Tezcatlipoca was especially revered at Texcoco and in the Mixteca-Puebla region between Oaxaca and Tlaxcala. Tezcatlipoca was an important god in the Aztec religion. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Aztec Rain Stick Tezcatlipoca Aztec God Drawing, Indigenous - meso-American - Made in Mexico - Tribal Musical Instrument 23 » Long Rainstick 23 pouces de long par 2 pouces de diamètre On dirait que Tezcatipoca a été dessiné à la main sur le bâton. Tezcatlipoca’s cult was brought to central Mexico by the Toltecs, Nahua-speaking warriors from the … He was the god of material things and of night, and was also associated with winds, the earth, magic and war. Because of this, Tezcatlipoca is depicted with a missing foot. His name is translated as ‘smoking mirror’ in the Nahuatl language of the Aztec and he is often associated with several different concepts, including: the night sky, night winds, hurricanes, the north, jaguars, obsidian, and war. Tezcatlipoca was often described as a rival of another important god of the Aztecs, the culture hero, Quetzalcoatl. [29], The vowel transliterated here as [i] may in fact have been long or followed by a glottal stop which is sometimes written as an ⟨h⟩. Originally adopted from the Toltecs, Tezcatlipoca is with the horned owl and the jaguar, the latter of which he is known to shapeshift into its form at will. After that, they created the people, and people had to offer sacrifices to comfort Cipactli for her sufferings. Every year at that time the priest selected a young and handsome war prisoner. Tezcatlipoca, (Nahuatl: “Smoking Mirror”) god of the Great Bear constellation and of the night sky, one of the major deities of the Aztec pantheon. He was involved in the earth’s creation, commanded jaguars, oversaw sacrifices, and presided over the night sky. Tezcatlipoca (Tez-ca-tlee-POH-ka), whose name means “Smoking Mirror”, was the Aztec god of night and sorcery, as well as the patron deity of Aztec kings and young warriors. POW! Under his influence the practice of human sacrifice was introduced into central Mexico. [14] There are also several references to momoztli. At the top he was sacrificed by the removal of his heart. Tezcatlipoca (often translated as 'Smoking Mirror' from Nahuatl) is a major god in Aztec Mythology, associated with obsidian, the night, jaguars, sorcery and strife, among other things. Tezcatlipoca was also honoured during the ceremony of the 9th month, when the Miccailhuitontli "Little Feast of the Dead" was celebrated to honour the dead, as well as during the Panquetzaliztli "Raising of Banners" ceremony in the 15th month. Tezcatlipoca, (Miroir Fumant), était un dieu très important du panthéon méso-américain. Affiliations: Ajak, Tlaloc, Huizilopochtli, Tetzcatlipoca's priests were the … [3] Another talisman related to Tezcatlipoca was a disc worn as a chest pectoral. The jaguar was Tezcatlipoca’s nagual , or animal disguise. Identity/Class: Aztec god. Tezcatlipoca is the Smoking Mirror. "[28] He would then be wed to four young women, also chosen in advance and isolated for a full year and treated as goddesses. As with many Aztec gods, he was associated with several aspects of Aztec religion, the sky, and the earth, winds and the north, … Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Tezcatlipoca in the form of a jaguar, carved on a granite ball player's yoke. Tezcatlipoca was one of the most important gods of the Aztecs of central Mexico. The Tezcatlipoca figure goes back to earlier Mesoamerican deities worshipped by the Olmec and Maya. For a discussion of the many interpretations of the meaning of the name Tezcatlipoca see Olivier (2003) pp. Tezcatlipoca was a god of exceptional significance amongst the Aztec pantheon. [21] The new king would claim his spiritual nakedness symbolically through words and physical vulnerability, praising Tezcatlipoca with lines such as: O master, O our lord, O lord of the near, of the nigh, O night, O wind...Poor am I. Everyone, including commoners, high priests, and the king, were involved in some aspect of the Toxcatl ceremonies.[23]. Women were sometimes sacrificed as ixiptla to honor female deities. Updates? One of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war, and strife. The two later cooperated, however, to create the 5th Sun. In later myths, the four gods who created the world, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Xipe Totec were referred to respectively as the Black, the White, the Blue and the Red Tezcatlipoca. [20] There were several smaller temples dedicated to Tezcatlipoca in the city, among them the ones called "Tlacochcalco" and "Huitznahuatl". The name Tezcatlipoca means “smoking mirror,” in reference to the obsidian mirror that he uses to foretell the future and spy on others. But she was crushed by Tezcatlipoca's words who accused her of just pretending to be kind. He was sometimes known as owner of the sky and the Earth, and Lord of the Smoking Mirror. "He had been a warrior who was captured, and he ended his life as a warrior. Il était le frère de Quetzalcoatl et surtout son principal adversaire. "Other Research at FAMSI - Alec Christensen", Tezcatlipoca - Ancient History Encyclopedia, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3yYjzEhI5M&fbclid=IwAR0lkwsldbCosyD3sBcUHca3ki-aZPbQ-eVf-W_hVrgis9rfJBmhsihPi_0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tezcatlipoca&oldid=1001319909, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Classical Nahuatl-language text, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 January 2021, at 05:03. As with many Aztec gods, he was associated with several aspects of Aztec religion, the sky, and the earth, winds and the north, kingship, divination, and war. In addition to his shapeshifting ability, Tezcatlipoca also … As discussed above, Aztec folklore is rife with parallels, much of the time depicted in deities such as Tezcatlipoca. This individual was called the ixiptla or "deity impersonator" and was chosen to ceremonially represent the god to the Aztec people. During the feast where he was worshipped as the deity he personified, he climbed the stairs to the top of the temple on his own where the priests seized him, a time in which he proceeded to symbolically crush "one by one the clay flutes on which he had played in his brief moment of glory," and then was sacrificed, his body being eaten later. For one year he lived in princely luxury, impersonating the god. He is the god of the nocturnal sky, god of the ancestral memory, god of time and the Lord of the North, the embodiment of change through conflict. Tezcatlipoca was also worshipped in many other Nahua cities such as Texcoco, Tlaxcala and Chalco. Today’s Deity: Tezcatlipoca: Aztec God of Night and Smoking Mirrors. In what manner shall I act for thy city? 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