working silver, gold and copper. He also banned the practices of human and animal sacrifices, welcomed outsiders who embraced religious beliefs and attempted to put an end to the continual warfare with surrounding territories. However, many Toltecs were greatly disturbed by this “heresy.” Their traditional religion had required warfare and resulting human sacrifices as a means to appease their blood- thirsty gods. If angered, these deities would surely withhold rains and other blessings required for ample crops. Plots against the leader were hatched among various dissidents and political and religious rebellion ensued. Finally the once-powerful ruler was unseated and forced to flee the capital, taking with him a cadre of his faithful priests of the order of Quetzalcoatl. They journeyed east to the religious center of Cholula, near the present day city of Puebla, where apparently other practitioners of the cult held sway. Some years later, he traveled to the coastal area of Veracruz, promising to return to the highlands on the date of Ce Atl, which represented a specific point in the calendar. His travels then took him to the Yucatan where Mayan chronicles indicate that he arrived sometime between 987 and 1000 A. D. Here he was called Kukulcan and is said to have settled in the city of Chichen Itza, another prominent religious center. Did he, as some historians surmise, seek out Mayan followers of his priestly order? Or were the Mayan legends and codices dedicated to the plumed serpent the result of his visit? Surprisingly, many of the images of Quetzalcoatl in Yucatan have been dated back to the same period of Topiltzin’s arrival. Some chronicles indicate that he did indeed return to the highlands, but legends give varying accounts again blending probable historical events with folklore, or adapting one to the other. The most widespread of the legends of Quetzalcoatl is a primary
example of this, and is based on his promise to return from the east on the date, Ce Atl. By fantastic coincidence Spanish conquistador, Cortes, arrived from the east to the shores of Veracruz on approximately the same date some centuries later. Another coincidence was that of the appearance of Cortes. Quetzalcoatl of myth and legend was described as fair skinned, bearded and of taller than average stature. Cortes came very close to matching this description. The rest is well-documented history. Appalled at the apparent fulfillment of the 500-year-old prophesy, the Aztec ruler, Moctezuma, concluded that it would be futile to fight off a god, so he sent gifts--including gold-to appease the invader. This, of course, only incited the gold-hungry Spaniards to press on to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, which they eventually overthrew in their conquest of the Aztec empire. But the enigma remains. How much of the legend is myth and how much is history? To what extent did the legend mirror actual events? And to what extent did mythology influence them? Only one thing is certain. If indeed Cortes was the reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent’s qualities of kindness and humanity were lost somewhere in the transition.
Saw you in the Ojo
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