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Aztec World Creation Myth
Aztec World Creation Myth
In the beginning there was nothing. Then, the dual God Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl
created itself. This god had two natures. It was good and bad; it was
chaos and order; it was male and female. As it was both male and female, it was
able to reproduce. Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl had four children, which came to
represent the four cardinal points: The Gods were Huitzilopochtli (south),
Quetzalcoatl (east), Tezcatlipoca (west), and Xipe Totec (north).
These four Gods began to create. They created water, other Gods, and the sea
monster Cipactli. It was part fish and part crocodile, a massive creature which
was as big as all things that are now. This was a predator monster and it had a
jaw at every joint.
As the gods continued to create things, they had a problem: all of their creations
fell into the water and were eaten by the dreadful monster Cipactli. So, it was
time for war. The four gods attacked the sea monster, pulling her in four
directions. She fought back, biting Tezcatlipoca and tearing off his foot. But at
last Cipactli was destroyed.
From this enormous creature the universe was created. All the 13 heavens
stretched from her head. The Earth was created from the middle, and her tail
became the underworld.