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I was just listening to my voicemails. You may find this one interesting.
“Hello, Mr. Miano. My name is Milo from Ottawa, Canada, and I was just
wondering your opinion on stories like that of Viracocha and Quetzalcoatl in South America,
stories of bearded white males who came to South America and gave the locals things like
civilization, astronomy, and advanced building techniques. I was wondering if you think that
these are simply deific manifestations of things like the cosmos or whether perhaps
some real cultural exchange happened at some time in South American history, and if so,
if you have any ideas on who this mysterious culture could have been, and if this perhaps
can help explain incredible monuments of Peru like Sacsayhuaman and Tijuanaco. So thank you.”
And thank you for your question, Milo. This gets brought up to me occasionally,
so I think other people will want to hear me respond to this as well.
Let’s start with Quetzalcóatl, a god from Mesoamerica. The important
thing to remember about him is that there are two chief versions of him.
The one most people have heard of is Quetzalcóatl the feathered serpent god. Quetzalcóatl means
‘feathered serpent.’ It’s a Nahuatl (Aztec) name. The earliest depiction of this god may come from
the Olmec civilization, though he wouldn’t have been called Quetzalcóatl at the time.
At the site of La Venta, a carving of a beaked, feather crested snake is surrounded
by two quetzal birds (these were vibrant green birds that were hunted for their feathers).
Images of this feathered serpent god can also be seen at Teotihuacan on
the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. After the collapse of Teotihuacan,
the feathered serpent god seems to have emerged as an important pan-Mesoamerican deity.
Later Mayan war glyphs may also contain depictions of this god (Kukulkan,
they called him, meaning “plumed serpent”),
and they serve as a valuable primary source, but these glyphs are difficult to interpret.
Apart from the glyphs, the earliest written source for
the legend of Quetzalcoatl is a pre-colonial Mesoamerican codex called the Borgia codex.
This is Ehécatl Quetzalcóatl, a version of the feathered serpent that incorporates Ehécatl the
wind god. Ehecatl Quetzalcoatl was an important deity associated with a range of phenomena,
including creation, wind, fertility, rain, the star Venus, merchants, and the arts.
What I have shown so far are primary sources of information on Quetzalcóatl. Everything else
is either a translation, interpretation, or alteration of the original resources.
The majority of resources on Quetzalcóatl come from colonial translations, transcriptions,
and interpretations of indigenous stories and codices. Because of this, we need to understand
what motivated Spanish conquistadors to translate anything indigenous. We know they often burned
codices instead of transcribing them, so why did some get translated and not others? Luckily,
the Spanish kept meticulous records, and we have a pretty clear picture of their
motivations behind the selective recording of indigenous stories. I’ll get to that in a minute.
We find in these accounts many origin stories for Quetzalcoatl the god. A
snake that slowly gains feathers, a son of an androgynous god named Ometeotl,
or (as he was later known to the Aztecs) one of the four sons of Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatl.
Myths are often inconsistent. Quetzalcóatl was celebrated for discovering maize, creating fire,
teaching music and dance, domesticating animals, and even curing eye ailments.
Societies often attributed their oldest and greatest technologies and practices to gods, as
well as their most important laws. It adds gravitas to these customs.
The other version of Quetzalcoatl is a man. According to some Spanish accounts,
a figure named Cē Ācatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl lived and operated as the ruler of the Toltec, the
predecessors to the Aztecs. This would be around the late 9th to early 10th centuries CE. Is he
named after the god Quetzalcoatl? Probably. Quite a story was built up around this fellow. The deeds
ascribed to him range from the ordinary to the supernatural. He is described as someone with
the prototypical attributes of ruler, priest, and hero. His reign is said to have been peaceful and
prosperous, and his love for the Toltec people led him to forbid human sacrifice and promote
bloodletting in its place. This decision to use bloodletting, and to sacrifice only snakes, birds,
and other animals upset the god Tezcatlipoca, who sent Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl on a journey away from
his capital in Tollan (known at the time as Tula by the Toltec), to Tlillan Tlapallan, the land of
black and red. Tlillan Tlapallan is most likely a site on the gulf coast and may refer to the entire
Yucatan peninsula. Once in this magical land, Cē Ācatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl either disappears,
burns himself and turns into the morning/evening star, or builds a canoe out of snakes and
sails away to the east, vowing to return one day to reclaim his throne.
I know of no early account of his originally being from somewhere across the sea. As you can see,
Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl is depicted as the inventor of many of the prototypical attributes
of civilization, including the founding of the first great city of Tollan, and the seed for all
subsequent legitimate dynasties. He served as a symbol of a pious and just ruler. Religious
rulers that came after Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl adopted his name and took the plumed serpent
as their animal companion in order to direct social life and operate as a sort of man-god.
In the eyes of their subjects, these rulers could transform into Quetzalcoatl and become temporarily
divine, which cemented their authority and made them worthy of worship. As the origin
and purveyor of just and pious leadership, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl played a central role
in this new geopolitical order as archetypical ruler and source of political legitimacy.
Mythical accounts tracing the migrations of this individual across Mesoamerica,
and his role in the foundation of cities and ruling dynasties,
was a central component of an emergent political ideology based on fictive descent from Topiltzin.
But was he a real person? Nobody knows. It is certainly within the realm of possibility that
the legendary figure is based on an actual historical ruler but then was conflated
with the god Ehecatl Quetzalcoatl and took on some of his attributes.
Many sources conflate these two, adding a great deal of confusion to interpretations
of the role of this deity in Mesoamerica and his connection with changing political
systems and religious movements. The nature, social meaning, and mythology
of this figure have been a source of considerable debate even among Mesoamerican archaeologists.
But I think it is important to point out that the human version, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, is
said to have lived in the 9th or 10th century. There is no ground for placing him at a much
earlier time, as some with vest interest have been inclined to do. All the evidence
suggests that the supernatural version of Quetzalcoatl preceded the human version,
not the other way around. If Topiltzin actually lived, he would have taken on the name of the god.
Now what about this claim that he was white? You’ve probably guessed by now,
but colonial translations of codices into Spanish are where we find the most connections
to white savior figures. This should come as no surprise. The Spanish had a strong desire for,
or at the very least interest in, cultural revision in favor of a Catholicized new world.
In 1552 Francisco López de Gómara, chaplain and secretary to Hernando Cortés, published an
account of Cortes’ conquest of Mexico. Gómara, who himself had never been to America, wrote:
“Many [of the natives] came to gape at the strange men, now so famous, and at their attire, arms and
horses, and they said, ‘These men are gods!” Later the story became more embellished: the Aztecs had
believed in a god named Quetzalcoatl, who long ago had disappeared in the East, promising to return
from that direction at a certain date. And it just so happened that Cortés appeared off the coast in
that very year, and the Aztecs mistook him for Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl supposedly was white,
and so were the Spanish. Maybe you have heard some version of this story. But here’s the thing: there
is little evidence that the indigenous people of Mesoamerica ever seriously believed the Spanish
were gods, nor that a story about the return of Quetzalcoatl ever existed before the conquest.
Quetzalcoatl was gradually turned into a Christ figure in the Spanish accounts. He is said to
have been a benevolent lawgiver who provided the moral basis for the society; he was a white,
bearded man wearing a long white robe, and he left with a promise to return and rule again.
While all of these traits have roots in the native legend, each one has been altered by the pressures
of the Conquest. The most striking aspects of these traits--those which suggest that the
legends referred to an appearance of Christ--are all Spanish elaborations on native legends.
Might it be possible that the whiteness of Quetzalcoatl was based on a native tradition?
Yes. One possible connection between Quetzalcoatl and a white savior may stem from Quetzalcoatl’s
connection with the god Tezcatlipoca. Tezcatlipoca is considered an omniscient, omnipotent,
jealous/unpredictable god, and a representation of death, while Quetzalcoatl is considered
humanities savior, and he constantly works to thwart Tezcatlipoca’s attempts to wreak havoc
on the lives of humans. The two are locked in an endless struggle, but Quetzalcoatl’s deeds outlast
Tezcatlipoca’s wrath, because humanity keeps the knowledge they receive from Quetzalcoatl,
and endure the wrath of Tezcatlipoca. The later Aztecs split Tezcatlipoca into four
separate deities, associated with four different colors, one red, one black, one blue, and one
white. Quetzalcoatl apparently was the “white Tezcatlipoca”. Also, the Maya had used colors
for different compass directions, and white was usually associated with the north. If Quetzalcoatl
had been linked with the north, that may be why he was referred to as white. Or if, in some areas,
east was associated with white, that may be why the Spanish thought they heard something about a
white god from the east. But note in these cases, white is a symbolic, rather than a literal, color.
A white savior of humanity that hails from the east/represents the eastern wind,
fated to return to reclaim his throne, and who battles an evil black god associated
with death is about as good of propaganda for a colonist like Hernán Cortés as you can get,
and with Spain’s goal of converting indigenous populations to Catholicism,
it is likely that scribes took a special liking to the white savior trope.
Viracocha But what about Viracocha? Well, one of the
big issues with studying Viracocha is simply that neither the Incas, nor ANY other Andean peoples
at the time had a system of written language. To be fair, The Inca used a highly complex knotted
cord system known as quipu to record information, but the information stored in quipus could not
be adequately translated without the oral message that accompanied it (pg.47). This means that until
the quipu and the information stored within are fully understood (which may never occur), we have
no primary sources on Andean religion outside of their artwork (textiles, metalwork, and ceramics).
One of his earliest representations of Viracocha is at the ruins of
Tiwanaku. The god is sculpted on the lintel of a massive gateway,
wearing a crown with rays of the sun shooting out, thunderbolts in each hand,
his tears representing the rain. Tiwanaku was conquered by the Inca. Viracocha was
worshipped by earlier peoples of Peru before being incorporated into the Inca pantheon.
Tiwanaku was conquered by the Inca.
In Inca society, temples and statues were dedicated to Viracocha, and sacrifices
were made to the god on important ceremonial occasions. These sacrifices were mostly llamas,
but sometimes humans, including children.
Viracocha was principally worshiped by the Inca nobility,
and then usually in times of political crisis. Other gods were more important to the commoners.
But again, our earliest written sources here are by the Spanish. This is what they tell us.
Viracocha (sometimes called Illa Ticsi Viracocha, Apu-kon-tiki Wiracocha) means the first one, the
bright one, the creator of all things, or possibly the foam of the sea.
Viracocha is considered the creator god for the Inca (although Inti their sun god seems to hold a
similar position). Viracocha worked and reworked humans until pleased with them. Then, Viracocha
traveled across South America and instructed humans on how to live, before disappearing
across the ocean. This tidbit of info about Viracocha’s departure marks one of the largest
differences between Viracocha and Quetzalcóatl, which is that they leave via different oceans!
Viracocha leaves via the pacific, with his formal send off in Manta, Ecuador,
while Quetzalcóatl leaves the Yucatan and heads east across the Atlantic!
Now, the main historians cited for claiming Viracocha was a male ‘white bearded god” come from
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa and Juan De Betanzos. These also happen to be the men who wrote the
majority of Inca history and myth as we know it today. They too would have been caught up
in the biases of the day and motivated to find justifications in Inca stories for
Spanish retention and control of Inca land, as can be seen, for example, in their knack
for “discovering” European connections within Andean religion. Because Andean religion includes
a pantheon of Gods, the Spanish were eager to find a creator god that could stand in for their
Christian god while they laid the groundwork for native evangelization. The Christianization of
Viracocha is very similar to the Christianization of Quetzalcoatl. What’s interesting is that in
Inca art, Virococha is spoken of as having both male and female characteristics, even physically,
but the Spanish describe Viracocha very much like their conception of Jesus.
Juan De. Betanzos was likely from a lower-class Spanish/Arab speaking background. Once in Peru
he worked primarily as a scribe, translating texts from Quechua to Spanish. It wasn't until
he married Francisco Pizarro's consort and Incan royalty Cuxirimay Ocllo (Doña Angelina)
that he transcended his position into that of Lengua. Even in this esteemed position,
it is not clear how much Quechua he actually understood. Betanzos’ melting pot background
helps explain his haphazard combination of foreign terms, and frequent use of Antillisms (Caribbean
words that are not a part of the Andean languages like Quechua or Aymara) in his transcriptions.
According to Betanzos, the Inca believed Viracocha rose from Lake Titicaca (or sometimes the cave of
Pacaritambo) during the time of darkness to bring forth light. He made the sun, moon, and the stars.
He made humans by breathing into stones, but his first creation were brainless giants that
displeased him. So he destroyed them with a flood and made new, better people from smaller stones.
After Viracocha disappeared across the Pacific Ocean (by walking on the water), and never
returned. He wandered the earth disguised as a beggar, teaching his new creations the basics
of civilization, as well as working numerous miracles. He wept when he saw the plight of
the creatures he had created. It was thought that Viracocha would reappear in times of trouble. Note
the similarities with the Spanish version of the Quetzalcoatl myth and with elements of the Bible.
The other guy, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa Pedro was tasked with writing the history
of the Inca by the fourth viceroy of Peru, Francisco de Toledo. Toledo was the first to
begin the systematic resettlement of Andeans into Spanish style redducciones (meaning a reduction in
indigenous property in favor of closely packed, grid pattern style settlements). Sarmiento wrote
that Viracocha was described as “a man of medium height, white and dressed in a white robe like
an alb secured round the waist, and that he carried a staff and a book in his hands.”
Sarmiento was equally creative with his European American connections,
going so far as to claim that Peruvian society was founded by Atlanteans and
therefore previously a part of Europe. As such it could be considered the property of the Spanish.
This whole situation is a bit of a Russian nesting doll problem, because just like the Aztecs,
who repurposed the Toltec version of Quetzalcóatl and his origin/role in the Mesoamerican pantheon
(along with many earlier gods) to better suit their political claim to power, so too did
the Inca rewrite their origin story to cement Inca rule over the multitude of Andean cultures
that existed at the time. So, we have not one, but at least three separate conquerors, (Aztec
over the Toltec, The Inca over the pre-Inca, and the Spanish over both) all constructing
and reconstructing their understanding of history and myth to suit the current regime.
Could there have been foreign visitors that visited from across the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean?
It’s possible, but the legends of Quetzalcoatl and Viracocha are not strong evidence for that.
I hope that answered your question. And if you, viewer, would like to leave a question on my
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