Revisiting the powerful AZTEC god HUITZILOPOCHTLI in 9.31 mins!

Message to all our viewers before we get started on today's video. It has come to our attention that over 90 percent of our regular viewers are not subscribed to the channel. We request you to please click the subscribe button and also the bell icon so that you can be notified when the next video from Midwork is out. The bigger the channel gets, the better the quality of videos that we do for you also gets. So please help us make some amazing videos by supporting the channel Thank you, now over to the video. Hello listeners and welcome to another episode of Mythloke with your host Myth in Mind. Now at Mythloke what we try to do is introduce you to as many different mythologies and mythological characters from around the world so that you develop a more world view in terms of how we all came about, what our origin is and how we are all intrinsically connected although so different from each other in any imaginable possible way. Now as part of the whole initiative we explored different mythologies and today we are going to step into South American or Mesoamerican mythology by focusing on the Aztecs. The Aztec civilization was considered to be one of the most advanced of its time and was predominantly focused around Southern Mexico and Central America. The cultural system of the civilization that evolved from Mesoamerica, Mexico, Central America and even Southern America did have a lot of similarities which we cannot disregard. And now the fact that we have North American mythology which truly focuses on the Inuits, Native Americans and Native Canadians, it is quite distinct that there is a difference in the kind of mythology, the pantheon and even the way they were worshipped in the world that we need to take into consideration. That's why the Aztecs are good under Southern American mythology. And now when we looked at the Aztecs, one of the most important things that come to mind are the relics or the important historical structures that are still active today. Now most of us are aware that the South American cultures disappeared suddenly especially with the Spanish Inquisition and how or why they completely ceased to exist has always been a mystery. Now with the Aztecs what we want to focus on first or the god that we want to discuss today is Huitzilopochtli. Now Huitzilopochtli was a god of the Aztecs and was considered to be the supreme god of the Mexita. He was named Cetepatl and was associated with gold, warriors and rulers. The Aztecs believe that the battle between Huitzilopochtli and Tolohachil was a recurring theme that explained the daily exchange of strike and show. Basically the battle between night and day. The Mexica revered Huitzilopochtli for what they believed was his long journey from the Aztlan cave. During this time the priest had carried a massive idol of the god and promised the Mexica the great wealth and success if they were soon to be worshipped. The migration was marked by a rebellion incited by Copal, the son of Huitzilopochtli's sister. The Mexica settled at various locations during the migration but finally settled at Tenochtitlan where an eagle sat on a cactus and marked the location for them to build their huge empire. When we look at the physical traits that has been associated with Huitzilopochtli, it becomes difficult for us to determine how exactly he was dressed in his complete royal or divine rigour but most depictions were created in wood instead of stone as he was likely young at that time and didn't have a lot of time left. When he is depicted he is carrying a fire spitting spear. The god could also be seen carrying a shield and darts of feathered arrows and painted with blue eyes and legs which gave him the alternate moniker, the hummingbird god. When we look at the family of Huitzilopochtli, we already mentioned Copal and his mother but unlike other Aztec deities, Huitzilopochtli had no clear equivalent to the earlier versions of the Ometotl. Also, unlike other great Aztec gods, he was not considered the brother of one of the great Mesoamerican goddesses. Huitzilopochtli was the son of Omichihuatl and Ometetutli. Additionally, the god is an offspring of Quatrical supreme earth gods. He was also considered to be the brother of those other great Mesoamerican gods Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Cipetotle. It is believed that Huitzilopochtli killed his mother Quatricu by beating her with her three siblings on Mount Cotopec. He also gave birth to a child with feathers under his mother's breast. When her children attacked her, he was also present but when they decapitated Huitzilopochtli, she sprang from her corpse and lopped off her sister's head. There have been various theories of how she was supposed to act but this is the more commonly accepted version of what transpired during that event. Huitzilopochtli also dismembered his sister's corpse so that its torso fell to the ground which became the moon. He then dealt with his other siblings and separated them into the heavens and stars and cosmos that we see today. Huitzilopochtli was the Aztec god who was the most important among the Aztecs. His place of worship was at the center of Tenochtitl where he had a shrine and a statue near the temple mayor pyramid. The god's temple was on the south side and marked with winter solstice and dry season which was the traditional time of war and the steps leading to Huitzilopochtli's temple were painted bright red to symbolize blood and war. It is also considered to be the way to disguise the amount of blood that flew during human sacrifices which was a regular part of worship that the Aztecs used to follow. Those who were sacrificed for Huitzilopochtli were killed for the god's benefits. Most of the time victims came from war prisoners whose hearts were removed and they were dismembered and decapitated. The body parts were then thrown down the base of the pyramid. Flowers and quail eggs were also offered to the god and images of him were strung with garlands and women danced the traditional serpent dance. The god was worshipped in the same months as Frank Huitzilopochtli. During this time an effigy of Huitzilopochtli was made from dough and eaten as part of the regular worship. Now you can see different similarities between the various different cultures especially the Incas and the Mayas who have stories of gods and practices that are similar to what you've seen in Huitzilopochtli but the Aztecs had their own version and their own stories that go with the character that mark them as a distinct character within their extended mythology. We would be focusing on more of the other South American and Mesoamerican gods and other characters in the days to come and even focus and dwell more deeply into Aztec mythology where there are a lot of powerful characters which we really need to explore and try to find what's the basis of these characters their origin and how they are depicted in modern times. Now one of the main mythologies that ancient astronaut theorists use to talk about how these gods are probably aliens who visited us from other planets tend to come from South American mythology because of the vibrant drawings that are present and the lack of written language which makes these drawings and sculptures and carvings very much open to interpretation from any different angle. We would not be dwelling into those theories but focus purely on the characters and who they are and what they represent and what they mean to the cultures for whom they are a big part even today. Thank you very much for tuning in to another episode of The Myth Logue with your host Nitin Nair. Stay tuned, share this podcast, get your children to listen, get your friends to listen and let's all come together as one big huge happy family.