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Tonatiuh or Fifth Sun, was one of the most revered Aztec gods. He was the god of the sun and was associated with warriors and human sacrifices, as he relied on them to appear in the sky every day.
Meaning of Tonatiuh
The name of Tonatiuh, means “the one who is shining” and derives from the Aztec verb tona , which means: “to shine” or “to illuminate”. In Nahuatl, the word Tonatiuh literally means “sun”, “day”, “solar star” and “east”. This god was also sometimes called teocuitlatl , the Aztec word for “gold,” which meant “excretions of the gods.” This term was used in reference to the color of the sun and the belief that the golden light emanating from it were excretions of the god. The Mixtecs also called him the “Lord of Turquoise” because they believed that he was made of that material.
Characteristics and attributes of Tonatiuh
Tonatiuh was the god of the sun, fertility and war. He was characterized as a benign god who granted his favor to humans, providing heat and light essential for the growth of life on Earth. However, Tonatiuh was also a cruel deity who needed many people to be killed in order for him to play his role and enlighten the world. Because of this, in addition to his attribute as a creator god, he is considered the god of war.
Generally, he was represented as a man with red and ocher skin, colors that symbolized sunlight and energy. At times he would wear a blonde wig, circular earrings, and a yellow headband with jade rings. Tonatiuh was also surrounded by a sun disk with rays, and as his tongue he had the blade of a knife. His hands were claw-like. Because he soared in the sky every day, on occasion he also illustrated it to her with the shape or feathers of an eagle.
Sometimes Tonatiuh appeared as a squatting man carrying a sun disk on his back. At times, he also represented it to him simply as a sun disk. In some rituals, a person imitated the god and wore a sun disk on his back.
Other older representations of Tonatiuh that come from the Toltec civilization show him with a red humanoid figure, with a sun disk and an eagle feather headdress.
Some of the best-known images of the sun god Tonatiuh are found in the Borgia Codex and the Sun Stone.
The Borgia Codex
The Borgia Codex is a pre-Columbian codex made of leather, dating from the 16th century, and contains illustrations of different gods and ritual elements of the Mexica religion and calendar. Its name refers to Cardinal Stefano Borgia, who acquired the codex in the 18th century.
On page 71 of the Borgia Codex, which has been in the Vatican Library since 1804, Tonatiuh appears receiving different offerings.
The Sun Stone
Another of the most popular representations of Tonatiuh is found on the Piedra del Sol, an ancient Mexica sacrificial altar or Cuauhxicalli. In its center the face of Tonatiuh is engraved.
In this stone structure, Tonatiuh is represented with eyes and eyebrows, an outward-looking tongue in the shape of an obsidian knife, two hands with a bracelet each, holding a human heart. Around him are the symbols of the other four eras and their suns.
Due to the importance of observing the sun for the Mexicas, they developed their own solar calendar that marked the different movements of the stars and other astronomical phenomena.
Tonatiuh in Aztec mythology
The Aztecs were peoples from Aztlán. In the fourteenth century AD. C. some Nahua tribes migrated to Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico and established the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan there on some islets in the year 1325 d. C. This civilization called itself Mexica.
The Mexica worshiped various gods, such as the hummingbird god, Huitzilopochtli, and upon arriving in this region they also adopted some of the pre-existing local deities and beliefs, such as the gods Tlaloc and Quetzalcóatl.
The Mexicas believed that nature, the world and the gods were part of a whole in which all the elements were related in a complex and intricate way, creating a balance. When this order was lost, disastrous events occurred. To regain balance, protection and harmony, people had to behave in a certain way and offer offerings to the gods, which in many cases included making human sacrifices.
The myth of creation and the legend of the Fifth Sun
There are several legends in Aztec Mexica mythology about the creation of the cosmos and the world as we know it. One of them suggests that Ometéotl, the dual creator god who created himself, appeared at the beginning of time. In turn, Ometéotl was formed by two deities Ometecuhtli and Omecíhuatl, from which the gods Xipe Tótec, Yaótl, Quetzalcóatl, and Huitzilopochtli were born. These divinities gave rise to the rest of the gods.
Another myth that explains the creation of the world according to the Mexicas is the legend of the Fifth Sun. According to this belief, in the beginning there was no life in the world, and everything was dark. In order to create the world and end the darkness, a sun god had to arise.
The first sun god had been Tezcatlipoca, god of the night and the constellations. This god ended the first world by sending jaguars that devoured all living beings on Earth. The second god was Quetzalcóatl, the hummingbird god of life and fertility. He destroyed the world with a strong wind. The third god of the sun was Tlaloc, god of rain, and he also ended the world by sending a rain of fire. The fourth divinity of the sun was Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of water. However, this goddess caused a great flood and also destroyed the world.
The Mexicas believed that they were going through the fifth era, that is, that they were living in the fifth world where the fifth sun, Tonatiuh, reigned. This era was characterized by the great development of agriculture and the cultivation of corn. As in the previous phases, the Mexica believed that the world they lived in would be destroyed as well, probably by an earthquake.
The origin of Tonatiuh
At the moment of creating the world for the fifth time, the gods met in an assembly in Teotihuacán. There they had to decide who would be in charge of illuminating the world again. This process would take place through the sacrifice of a god at the Teotezcalli stake.
The first volunteer was the god Nanahuatzin or Nanáhuatl, who was the god of humility. The second volunteer was Tecciztécatl, the god of pride. However, at the moment of sacrifice, Tecciztécatl hesitated. Nanahuatzin, who was a humble, sick and poor god, threw himself into the bonfire without hesitating and was reincarnated as the new sun. In this way, Tonatiuh, the fifth sun, was born. Tecciztécatl sacrificed himself after Nanahuatzin and became the god of the moon. This myth explains why then the sun illuminates the day and the moon, the night.
The new world arose on Cipactli, a giant, floating serpent that is the home of all the gods. In his head thirteen heavens were formed, in the center of his body the earth was created, and finally, in his tail the nine underworlds arose.
Tonatiuh and human sacrifices
Although the creation of the fifth world and the appearance of the sun god in the east had been a success, Tonatiuh refused to move across the sky. To fuel his movement, the gods sacrificed their hearts and gave them to Tonatiuh. Thus, the sun god began his daily journey.
Following the example of the gods, men also had to sacrifice themselves to maintain the presence of the sun throughout the day. This caused countless wars where prisoners were obtained who were later sacrificed. His heart and blood were offered to Tonatiuh. In this way, its appearance was guaranteed every day.
The myth of Tonatiuh, the Fifth Sun
Tonatiuh was a god who traveled every day through the sky. He was born in the east and died every night in the west when the goddess of fertility of the earth, Tlaltecuhtli, swallowed him. The next morning, Tonatiuh was regurgitated by a monster and was reborn. In order to carry out this journey, Tonatiuh needed blood and human hearts.
Tonatiuh was the protector god of all warriors and related to them for various reasons: every day he fought a battle against darkness; he possessed a great thirst for blood; and he depended on the warriors to obtain sacrifices to continue his movement.
The cult of Tonatiuh
Taking this need into account, the cult of the god Tonatiuh was based mainly on human sacrifices. For this, a ritual known as Huey Teocalli was performed , where the hearts of prisoners of war were removed.
This required the Mexica to carry out special battles aimed at capturing future sacrificial victims. These wars were known as “flowery wars” and consisted of capturing prisoners alive whose hearts would later be removed to give it as an offering to Tonatiuh.
Tonatiuh was venerated throughout Mexico and Guatemala, but the main centers of worship were the great cities of Tenochtitlán and Teotihuacán, the “City of the Sun.”
Other Aztec sun gods
Tonatiuh was one of the most important sun gods for the Mexicas. However, other similar deities also existed throughout the history of the Aztec civilization. In many cases, the worship of Tonatiuh and other sun gods was simultaneous, depending on the geographical location. For example:
- Huitzilopochtli was another god of the sun and war venerated in Tenochtitlan at different historical moments.
- Nanauatzin was the one who gave rise to Tonatiuh, which is why at times he was also considered the sun god.
Other curious facts
In addition to the interesting history of Tonatiuh, there are other curious facts related to this god and Mexica mythology:
- During the Spanish conquest of Mexico, the Mexica called the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado (1485-1541) “Tonatiuh”. There are several versions of this curious nickname: some suggest that the natives saw this character as the incarnation of the sun god, partly because of his reddish hair and beard. However, another version suggests that the nickname was due to the reputation of cruel and ruthless that Pedro de Alvarado had.
- In the movie Apocalypto , produced by Mel Gibson and released in 2006, there are several scenes where a flowery war and human sacrifices are represented, which allows us to have an idea of what these rituals were like.
Sources
- Ferrando Castro, M. (2021, April 7). Who is Tonatiuh in Aztec mythology? The sun god . RedHistory. Available here .
- Unknown Mexico. Aztec gods: how many and what are they . Available here .
- EcuRed. Tonatiuh . Available here .
- Cartwright, M. (2017, March 30). Tonatiuh . Available here .
- Digivatliv. Borgia Codex . Available here .
- INAH. (2009, March 9). Findings in the Aztec Calendar . Government of Mexico. Available here .
- INAH. Great Nahuatl Dictionary. Available here .
