Tezcatlipoca

(Tezcatlipoca from the Codex Borgia)

Dr. John Friedman
4/8/12

In the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, his name translated as the “Smoking Mirror”.
 He was associated with the evening star, Venus, jaguars, obsidian, temptation, dissention, death, war and sacrifice, to name a few. He anthropomorphic depictions show him with a face painted in black and yellow paint, and he’s usually missing his right foot, which is replaced by an obsidian mirror. He was also the primary rival and evil twin of the deity, Quetzalcoatl.

His name is Tezcatlipoca.

Known throughout Mesoamerica from the Toltecs to the Maya, Tezcatlipoca is revered in numerous stories that depict him anywhere from a god of creation cooperating with Quetzalcoatl and other notable deities, a sacrificial god who lost his foot fighting Earth Monster, to a jealous god forever fighting Quetzalcoatl for control over the world ages. Mythology also spills over into the legend of Tula where Tezcatlipoca overthrows the city’s ruler, Ce Acatl Topiltzin (Also known as Quetzalcoatl).

(Tezcatlipoca mask from the British Museum,
http://www.britishmuseum.org/)

Despite being depicted as a deity with a dark side, Tezcatlipoca was worshipped across most, if not all cultures of Mesoamerica. In the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan (which now lies buried beneath Mexico City today) Tezcatlipoca had his own set of temples. Feasts and rituals were also performed in his honor. One such feast entitled a young man of handsome features to personify Tezcatlipoca for a full year during which he was adorned in precious stones, given wives and attendants and worshipped as the deity himself. During the feast at the end of the year, the young man was led to the top of the temple where he was sacrificed and his body eaten.

It’s difficult to sum up the various forms and personalities of Tezcatlipoca of which only a few have been presented here. Perhaps nobody but those who worshipped him can capture the true essence of the deity. There is no doubt, however, that this colorful character added drama to the New World awaiting a new world age.