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| Methodological Issues: the Correspondence List as Evidence |
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Parallels are simply too easy to draw, even when there is no possible connection between the two lists. For example, in his work on Quetzalcoatl, Brundage presented a correspondence list between Quetzalcoatl and Hercules to show why Sahagún might have described Quetzalcoatl as "another Hercules": Both Hercules and Quetzalcoatl were demigods with mortal bodies; Hercules was the son of the sky god Zeus somewhat as we have derived Ehecatl from the sky dragon. Both were twins... Both Hercules and Quetzalcoatl were renowned for strength, violence and sexual prowess, and both excelled as founders of lineages in far places. Their names as first ancestors were taken with great seriousness. Hercules' feats of strength are well known. Quetzalcoatl was regularly invoked to give a worker strength in ground breaking, tree cutting, quarrying, and so forth. He was the "manly god." Both gods were peripatetic, and once for a short time in his eleventh labor, Hercules held up the sky, as Quetzalcoatl did. Both descended into the underworld, where Cerberus the dog monster can be precisely matched with Xolotl the dog monster. Finally in a climax of wonderful coincidence both heroes build funeral pyres and cast themselves into the flames, each to ascend into the heavens, Hercules as an immortal, Quetzalcoatl as the morning star. (Burr Cartwright Brundage, the Phoenix of the Western World. Quetzalcoatl and the Sky Religion, (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1981), 100-101.) The list is impressive. It is at least as impressive as many of the correspondence lists used to associate Quetzalcoatl with Christ. In this case, there is no possible connection between the Greek mythology of Hercules and Quetzalcoatl (nor does Brundage imply that there might be). Nevertheless, Brundage has assembled a nice correspondence list to show how they might have been seen as similar. The list shows an interesting parallel set of themes, but does not, and cannot, show a connection between the two. Part of the weakness of the list method is that the items in the list are often presented in a method which appears more favorable than the evidence allows. The most comprehensive list of correspondences is that given by Joseph L. Allen. I will present Allen's correspondence, and a response to each element of the list. (Allen, 1989, 159.) 1. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl were recognized as creator of all things." Response: This is an over simplification of a complex issue. In Nahua sources such as the Leyenda de los Soles, Quetzalcoatl is paired with Tezcatlipoca in the creative effort. In the Mixtec codices, particularly the Codex Vindobonensis 9 Wind is shown acting alone in some of the creative efforts. However, Quetzalcoatl appears to be associated with Tezcatlipoca in the Borgia. As a culture hero, Quetzalcoatl is credited with many cultural innovations, but not all. This particular thesis makes a poor correspondence because Quetzalcoatl cannot be considered the creator of all things. There were too many creative deities in the Mesoamerican pantheon. In this case, Allen relied upon a secondary source which provided an unsupported opinion.(1) 2. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl were born of virgins." Response: I have addressed this theme above. Allen cites a secondary source which has accepted an erroneous report of Nahua mythology. As indicated, while there was a virgin birth myth, it was attached to Huitzilopochtli, and was related to Quetzalcoatl only very late in the sources. 3. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl are described as being white or as wearing a white robe." Response: This correspondence actually combines two very separate categories. The particular passage cited to indicate the white clothing comes from Torquemada, and has been shown above to represent a later and distorted version of the Quetzalcoatl legend. As for being white, that issue has also been treated above. As indicated, the only possibility is an association with the West, but there is no obvious correlation between Christ and the West as a direction. 4. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl performed miracles." Response: This comparison is based on a reduction of the information into a statement which makes the comparison sound better than it is. Quetzalcoatl performs miraculous acts, but they typically explain an unusual feature of the land, such as marks in rocks or an unusual tree. The miracles are not the same, are not even similar, and have a completely different function than Christ's. The problem is in the facile correlation of the fact of the miracles, without any examination of the nature of the miracles. (Sahagún 1950-75, 3:35.) 5. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl taught the ordinance of baptism." Response: The citation comes from Irwin, who simply misunderstood Mesoamerican texts. There is a Nahua ritual washing at birth, which might be correlated with a baptism (certainly the early Spanish Fathers thought so), but it is not related to Quetzalcoatl's teachings. Even when the Spanish fathers used the ritual washing as a remnant of a fallen baptism, they never associated the rite with Quetzalcoatl's teaching. However, it should be noted that Quetzalcoatl is invoked during the rite. This may explain the reason that it becomes associated with Quetzalcoatl's teachings. Simply evoking the name of Quetzalcoatl may be insufficient linkage, since Quetzalcoatl's name also plays an important role in the various witchcraft spells recorded by Ruíz de Alarcón. (Hernando Ruíz de Alarcón, Aztec Sorcerers in Seventeenth Century Mexico. The Treatise on Superstitions, edited and translated by Michael D. Coe and Gordon Whittaker, Albany, New York: Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, State University of New York, Albany, 1982, 105, 123.) 6. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl prophesied of future events." Response: In Ixtlilxochitl, this is the prophecy of the coming of Spaniards. I have examined the dubious nature of that particular prophecy above. In general, however, this is too broad a correlation to have any comparative meaning. Virtually all important culture heroes (and many other mythological entities) prophesy. 7. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl were universal as opposed to just being recognized as local gods." Response: The source here is Laurette Sejourné who argues for Quetzalcoatl as a pervasive myth based on the iconographic representation of feathered serpents in Teotihuacan, as well as other locations in Mesoamerica. This is too large a generalization to be based on the evidence Sejourné uses. There are clear cases where it is not true. On the eve of the Conquest, Quetzalcoatl was a localized god with a close relation to Cholula and patronage of other groups. While he was worshiped among the Mexica, he was not their tribal god, but an adopted one. Attempts to assume differently for earlier time periods must be done only after careful reconstruction, and that work has not yet been done. There is no evidence which can support the assertion that Quetzalcoatl was a "universal" god. Regardless of the time period, the Quetzalcoatl-like deity is always part of a larger pantheon of available gods. Archaeological evidence does suggest that the feathered serpent is one of the "old" gods, but no more nor less so than the various forms of the jaguar. 8. Correspondence: "A great destruction was associated with both Christ and Quetzalcoatl at exactly the same time period in history." Response: The Ixtlilxochitl text which stands behind this comparison deals with the Legend of the Suns. While there was destruction associated with the Suns, it was associated with each of the five Nahua Suns, and is clearly not unique to Ixtlilxochitl's assertion that it occurred at the time of Christ. As for his dating of these events, it is unsupported in other documents, and is best seen as an attempt to match Nahua myth with Christian events. This is another example of evidence too good to be true. (Gardner, 1986) 9. Correspondence: "The cross was a symbol to both Christ and Quetzalcoatl." Response: Quetzalcoatl does have some affinity with a cross, which was seen on the robes of his priests. However, there is no specific connection between Quetzalcoatl and the general cross symbolism in Mesoamerica, except in the writings of the Spanish Fathers and Ixtlilxochitl, who made the connection because they assumed that the cross should be associated with Quetzalcoatl. In addition, the cross symbolism in Mesoamerican is distinctly different from the cross imagery of Christianity. The Mesoamerican cross has its closest counterpoint in a Tree of Life, but was still conceived differently from the Biblical or Book of Mormon Tree of Life. 10. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl sent out disciples to preach their word." Response: It is possible that this element does reflect a pre-conquest element of the Quetzalcoatl cycle, though the attestations are few enough to be inconclusive. However, just as with the prophecy correspondence above, this item, on its own, is a weak parallel. This element is too easily seen as independent invention. It is not unusual for a proselyters send someone to preach their word. 11. Correspondence: "Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl promised they would come a second time." Response: See the element above on the myth of the return. Even though Allen is quoting an excellent source for most of the Quetzalcoatl cycle, this particular passage is called into question by the rest of the available evidence. Perhaps the best that could be said of this element is that it is questionable, and may or may not have been part of the pre-Hispanic legend. 12. Correspondence: "A new star is associated with both Christ and Quetzalcoatl." Response: This correspondence is fascinating for the sheer imagination of it. It is true that there are stars associated with both Quetzalcoatl and Christ, but they play very different roles in the story of each. There is a star associated with Christ's birth, but Quetzalcoatl is transformed into a star (Venus) at the end of his earthly tenure. The "star" element is similar, but the context is entirely different. The differences are much more significant that the simplistic similarity. 13. Correspondence: "The children of both Christ and Quetzalcoatl will become lords and heirs of the earth." Response: This correlation depends entirely upon a passage in Ixtlilxochitl which distorts the myth of the return into a prediction of the arrival of the Spanish. As indicated above, the myth of the return is problematic, and the specifics which mention it as a predictor of the Spaniards and their deeds is only found in later and distorted texts. This element is not a reliable indicator of the nature of the Quetzalcoatl mythology prior to the Conquest. 1. "Codex Vindobonensis", in Antigüedades de México, (Mexico: Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, 1964), 4:65 [p. 47 marked on Ms.]. The Codex Borgia, ed. Gisele Díaz and Alan Rogers, (New York, Dover Publications, 1993),43 [7 or the ritual sequence in Ms]. On this plate in the Borgia, 9Wind and the figure identified as Tezcatlipoca (smoking mirror replacing a foot) are shown together. The close relationship is perhaps illustrated by Tezcatlipoca's wearing of the buccal mask which is otherwise indicative of 9Wind. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
One of the main
tools for creating a Quetzalcoatl/Christ connection is a correspondence list, where the features common between
the two are listed. Even when the list is not explicit, the implicit argument is the same - there is a set of common
features which appear to be too close to be coincidental. While this can create the appearance of a connection,
the method itself is unreliable, as John L. Sorenson indicated in the citation with which this paper began.
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