Mictlantecuhtli - Aztec God of the Dead | Pantheon Mythology

Deep down in the depths of the Aztec underworld, the land of the dead, is a deity so feared that the Aztec empire would make human sacrifices to appease him. A six foot tall, skeletal being, with empty sockets where eyes should rest. Those that perish face a four year journey through the nine levels of the Aztec underworld to meet him. This god played a vital role in the Aztec creation myth, and had he not been fooled by a fellow deity, humanity as we know it, would not exist. Hello, and welcome to Pantheon Mythology. Today, we're exploring the background of the Aztec god of death, Mictlanteculti. There, smashed it. Drop us a like and subscribe for that, surely. Mictlanteculti was the god of the dead in the Aztec pantheon, the underworld in which he ruled, known as Mictlan. After death, it was believed that there were four possible destinations for the soul. The sacred orchard of the gods, the kingdom of the sun, a paradise called the mansion of the moon, and the place of darkness, Mictlan. It was here that, unfortunately, most ended up. Do you like obstacle courses and challenges? Well, today's your lucky day. According to Aztec legend, Mictlan is a nine-leveled hellscape with an average completion time of 1,461 days, or four years. The goal of any poor souls that find themselves here is to get to the end, meet the king and queen, and hopefully find eternal rest. The Nine Levels of Mictlan The first stage of the journey requires a white or red dog, called Xoloitzcuintle, to help you cross the river Apanahuihua. This was a place of darkness. The dog's colour was the only way to see and make it through. Stage two, known as Tepememonamictlan, is a mountain range where the hills move and collide. Souls need to wait and time their movements to pass safely. The third stage, Iztepetl, is where one must cross a downhill path of razor-sharp obsidian. Kehueloyan is the fourth level. Eight mountains covered in snow. The winds here are so cold and strong, capable of slicing a body. Here, souls remember the saddest part of their lives on the surface. Panquetlacahoyan comes next, a place cursed with winds so strong that many are blown away and lost forever. In level six, you'll enter Timiminaloayan, where you must survive an onslaught of arrows, each arrow representing a person of influence in your lifetime. Once clearing level six, souls would encounter a jaguar whose purpose was to remove the heart, removing the last link to the land of the living. Next up, in the eighth level, Apanohueloyan. The departed would witness their life pass before them before entering the ninth and final level. Chikonahueloyan. It is here souls will be greeted by Mictlanticulti and his queen, Mictecasuhuatl, and rewarded with eternal rest. Standing at six foot tall, Mictlanticulti has always typically been depicted as a skeleton-like figure with eyeless sockets and often wearing a headdress with owl feathers and paper banners. Around his neck he wears a necklace made up of human eyeballs. Ruling the underworld with his wife and queen, Mictecasuhuatl, they lived in a windowless house, ready to welcome those that had made the four-year journey to them. According to the Aztec creation myth, Mictlanticulti and his wife were placed in the underworld to rule for eternity. In a mission to recreate mankind after a horrendous flood had wiped out the fourth cycle of humanity, Quetzalcoatl delved into the depths of the underworld to retrieve some bones from previous generations. The king agreed to grant permission. However, Quetzalcoatl was tasked to traverse the underworld four times over while blasting tunes from a conch shell trumpet. Our sneaky little Mictlanticulti, though, thought he'd got the better of old Quetzalcoatl as he supplied an ordinary conch shell, making it soundless. The dirty little trickster. Not to be outdone, Quetzalcoatl called up worms to drill holes through the shell before summoning bees to enter it, to make it musical. Succeeding with his mission, the god of the dead agreed that the bones could be taken. However, he had one more trick up his sleeve and ordered his minions to dig a pit that Quetzalcoatl would and did fall into, leaving the bones scattered. Despite this, Quetzalcoatl eventually made his escape and went to mix the bones with his own blood and maize, thus creating the fifth cycle of humanity. Because the bones were shattered during his fall, this is why, according to the Aztecs, humans come in all shapes and sizes. Being the god of the dead, it was only natural that the Aztecs would fear him, and to appease him, human sacrifices were a common occurrence during the height of the Aztec empire. Those who would lose their lives in honor of the deity were dressed to resemble him and their lives taken in temples known as Tlaxcico. When Hernán Cortés landed on the shores of Mexico, Moctezuma II, the Aztec ruler at the time, predicted that it was the end of the world and increased the number of sacrifices, wanting to ensure those that passed away would avoid as little suffering as possible. To a degree, he was right, as Cortés played a pivotal role in the fall of the Aztec empire. While less is known about Aztec folklore in comparison with other pantheons, such as the Greek, the tales of Aztec deities are still extremely fascinating. The Aztec empire dates back to 1345, but many traditions and beliefs live on to this day. El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead as we know it, is perhaps the most famous. This is a day in which every year lost relatives resurface to spend time with their loved ones and is fitting for the tale of Mixtlanticulti. If you enjoyed today's tale, consider dropping a like and subscribing, as we release new videos on global mythologies every week. Also, feel free to have a check out of the Aztec pantheon on our clothing brand, Pantheon Apparel. We'll leave a link in the description. Watch this video on screen now if you're on a binge, but most important of all, thank you for joining us.