Some possible topics for my final project:
1. Quetzalcoatl - Quetzalcoatl is a pretty well-known figure in Mexican culture, though there are also related versions of him in other parts of Central America, like in the Quiché tradition of Guatemala. He was the mythical ruler of the Toltec civilization in what is now Tula, in the state of Hidalgo (a few hours northeast of Mexico City). The name Quetzalcoatl means "feathered serpent" in Nahuatl, the language of the Maya, and today there is actually a species of bird found in Mexico that is called the quetzal (meaning "feathered" in Nahuatl) for its bright green feathers. Versions of Quetzalcoatl in Mexican indigenous legend were associated both with wind and creation in general. There are a few different legends floating around about him, and it is even rumored that the indigenous peoples who witnessed the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s thought that the infamous conquistador Hernan Cortes was the god returned. I think it would be really fun to do more research and do a storybook about Quetzalcoatl and his antics, and to explore that rumor about Cortes.
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| The quetzal bird, native to Mexico. (Soure: Joya Energy) |
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Xolotl - Another Mexican deity I think it would be fun to write about is the god Xolotl from Aztec tradition. We read a little bit about trickster gods in the beginning anthology earlier this week, and will likely read more about them in the coming weeks. Xolotl was one of those gods. He was supposedly the Aztec god of fire, lightning, deformities, and death, and included shape-shifting amongst his hobbies. He is often depicted as a dog, but my interest is in Xolotl's alleged modern form: the axolotl. The axolotl is a salamander native to Mexico (and also apparently very endangered), and is honestly the cutest thing in the world to me. I'll include a picture so everyone understands where I'm coming from.
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| An axolotl found at a pet story (personal photo). |
According to Aztec myth, after the gods created the sun, they realized it needed nourishment to move along the sky. The gods decided they would be the first to sacrifice themselves (which may be part of the reason Aztec peoples at some point practiced human sacrifice) to get the sun into motion. Xolotl, being a slippery little coward, decided he did
not want to sacrifice himself, and apparently cried so much his eye sockets became hollow (dramatic, but okay). He turned himself into a few things to escape sacrifice, first a corn plant, then maguey (the plant used to make tequila), and then finally into this adorable little amphibian, now called the axolotl. There are other variations on this myth, some saying he turned into the amphibian in order to escape "political" banishment, others offering other explanations, and they're all really interesting. Having actually encountered this animal in real life, it would also be really cool to be able to write about the god that gave it its name.
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Pele - The goddess Pele is found in Hawaiian mythology. She is the goddess of fire and the creator of the Hawaiian islands. There seem to be a lot of stories of Pele and her siblings (the fought a lot, as siblings do); the creation of the Hawaiian islands seems to be a product of one of her temper tantrums. Pele comes across to me as very headstrong and impulsive, which are two words that don't come close to describing me at all, so I thought it could be interesting to explore her story for my final project. The internet is filled with stories of Pele's antics, and some people claim even today to have encountered her on the islands.
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| Image taken from personal copy of Legendary Ladies, by Ann Shen (digital copy) |
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Ixchel - Ixchel is a part of Mayan legend, though she is lesser-known than other Mayan gods, like Quetzalcoatl. Ixchel is known in Mayan lore as the goddess of the moon, also associated with water, fertility, and fate, often symbolized by the dragonflies that mourned her body when she fell to Earth and died (part of another family drama, like Pele). She is thought to be a protector of women, especially those living on her sacred island of Cozumel. That appeals to me, but I am also interested in Ixchel's life for another reason. I watch a lot of gaming playthroughs on YouTube in my free time, and one of my favorite games to watch is the newest
Tomb Raider game, in which Lara Croft journeys first to Mexico and then to Peru in search of a world-shattering artifact. While in Peru, as part of a ritual meant to save the world, Lara invokes Ixchel (though I don't get how that happened, since Peru is dominated by Inca culture and not Maya), the goddess of the moon. So when I stumbled across Ixchel in my look through Mayan mythology, I thought it would be another interesting possibility to write about this semester.
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