Teomoxtli (Divine Book): Corpus of knowledge containing the teachings of Toltec wisdom.
A Toltec Tale about the Origins of the World
Here begins what is said about the foundation of Toltecayotl, as we heard and received it from our ancestors through their words, Huehuetlatolli, the word of the elders, when they taught us in secrecy and advised us on how to pass it on orally to our children, so that in turn, they could make their future generations understand and feel it.
Listen and know that in the beginning, there was nothing, nothing existed, only He, Ometekuhtzintli, has always and forever existed.
But Ometekuhtzintli is truly all-powerful and self-sufficient to create, and He created.
And then He said:
“Let all that is created have life and be creators themselves. And if they do not create, let them perish.”
And Ometekuhtzintli, after creating many things, created the heavens and the Earth.
But in the beginning, the Earth had no form because form did not yet exist.
But Ometekuhtzintli created the Will, which is invisible because it is only a force, and He called it, and we call it, Huitzilopochtli.
And Huitzilopochtli gave form. And with that Form, He made the mountains, the valleys, and the rivers. The lakes and the seas. And when He could no longer create, feeling close to perishing, He prayed for the first time.
His attitude pleased Ometekuhtzintli, and because of this, Ometekuhtzintli created light. He then created heat and cold, clouds and winds.
And then lightning and storms.
Then rain began to fall on the Earth, and little by little, plants and animals that live on land and in water were born.
But at first, the herbs and trees had no color, the flowers lacked aroma, and everything that existed on Earth remained still and silently.
Then Ometekuhtzintli created Intelligence, which He called, and we call, Ketzalkoatl, and He associated it with Huitzilopochtli. Together, they brought forth the first color.
Then smell, taste, and finally, sound.
Then, Huizilopochtli and Ketzalkoatl traveled across the Earth from the cold region to the hot region. That is, from the direction where the sun rises to where it sets.
In this way, they painted the plants and trees green, giving aroma to the flowers and flavor to the fruits.
Then they called and gathered all the birds.
They dressed some in colorful feathers, while others they taught to dance.
Finally, they painted the celestial gourd with the sapphire color of the seas, and feeling close to perishing, they prayed.
They prayed, and everything that already had life on Earth also prayed.
Then the still waters became agitated, and their plants stirred, murmured, and the rivers leaped for the first time.
The birds with colorful feathers flew above the trees. Those who knew how to sing sang, and the others started to dance.
The flowers transformed into butterflies and flew, flew everywhere and in all directions.
But the ones that flew upward were extinguishing the light as they ascended. And when they reached the Cosmos, the light went out completely.
That’s how night was born, while the Earth began to dance.
The butterflies that reached the sky didn’t want to return to Earth and transformed into stars, and until now, there they are, flapping their wings.
All these events pleased Ometekuhtzintli, and that’s why he created Memory, whom he called and we call Tezcatlipoca, and associated it with Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl, dictating this destiny to them: “You shall live always close and together, and your union shall be called Tlokenahuake.”
The three created powers did not want to remain inactive to avoid perishing.
Therefore, they acted hastily…
But with such hastiness, an enormous incoherence arose among them, causing Quetzalcoatl to withdraw, and Huitzilopochtli also moved away.
Then Tezcatlipoca was left completely alone.
Afterward, a great drought came.
The lakes and rivers, the grass and trees dried up.
The animals perished, the Earth became barren, and the light went out.
Later, Ometekuhtzintli called them to his side, and humbly, they made their way to Omeyocan where everything is created.
And being there, this happened in their presence, and Ometekuhtzintli acted upon it. A large drop of blood emerged, falling slowly until it reached the first dimension of the cosmos, where it remained floating.
Then that drop of blood shone.
And with its brightness, it illuminated the firmament and lit up the Earth, beginning to fertilize it.
That’s how our Father the Sun, Tonatiuh, was born. Tonatiuh sends his rays toward Tlali, the Earth, and fertilizes it. From this union, the first beings were born.
Next, he painted them with the color of the earth, and by his powerful will, they began to grow and kept growing for thirteen months.
And then, the first being was born.
Thirteen days later, the last one was born.
As they were being born, they felt very alone.
Loneliness infused them with fear that grew more and more, turning into terror that made them scream in desperation and cry a lot.
But the father Sun comforted them with his caresses, and once calm, each of them felt the desire to be close to the others to fulfill their destiny.
And through painful efforts, they tried to get closer and closer.
And when the distance that separated them was no longer much, each of them wanted to communicate with the others, but it was impossible because One Eagle Kuauhtli could only see.
Two Jaguar Ozelotl could only hear.
Three Serpent Koatl only had touch.
Four Rabbit Tochtli could only taste, and
Five Deer Mazatl could only smell.
This caused them great surprise, which later turned into fear, and as it intensified more and more, it became terror.
Then each of them wanted to violently separate and flee from the others, but in their attempt, the terror became even stronger, so each one decided to approach the others.
Through extended and painful efforts, they made progress, then another and another, noticing that each new advancement became shorter, and the effort required became more intense.
And so, without resting, they spent many years until one day their efforts became so intense that their bodies bled, and their bloods mingled, forming a large drop. Drawing closer, they all drank from it. After this, they felt so tired that they fell into a deep sleep and in their dreams, they saw Father Sun among them and heard him say:
“Ometekuhtzintli wants you to be close and together until you become one being.”
Then they woke up and upon looking at themselves, they noticed a great resemblance among them.
With painful efforts, they continued to struggle to get closer to each other more and more, noting that after each advancement, their resemblance became more pronounced.
Thus, many years passed for them.
But one day, when their effort was more intense, their bodies bled significantly until they had no more blood.
Their blood then mingled, forming a large drop that they all drank until it was consumed.
Then, upon seeing each other, they found themselves so similar that it frightened them, and seeking refuge among themselves, they embraced each other hurriedly.
And their embrace tightened more and more as they felt death approaching.
And in their agony, suddenly, they felt great comfort and then great serenity.
Then they tried to extend their arms in a cross to separate, but no one could do it anymore because they were no longer five, they were one: Tlokenahuake.
Tlokenahuake remained alone for one day, deeply asleep. In his dream, he saw Father Sun again and heard him say:
“Ometekuhtzintli says that your mission is to discover and create, and if you do not discover or create, you will perish.”
And much later, this happened:
In his dreams, Tlokenahuake saw Father Sun near him again and heard him say:
“Tlokenahuake, Ometekuhtzintli wants the Earth to be populated.”
Then he woke up startled and went to bathe, and upon returning, he found a bouquet of five flowers on his bed. He admired their colors and delighted in their fragrance; then he took them and rubbed his body with them until nothing remained in his hands. He lay down again and fell asleep, and in his dreams, he saw the flowers emerging from his body to form the bouquet once again.
He wanted to take it, but it disappeared, and at that moment, a beautiful woman, Makuilixochitl, Five Flower, appeared in his arms, smiling kindly at him.
Amazed, he contemplated her and tenderly caressed her, but remembering Ometekuhtzintli’s mandate, he sowed in her eight hundred times, planting with each time a drop of blood, with fragments of his flesh and bones.
Tlokenahuake saw how he was gradually disappearing until he vanished completely and ceased to exist.
At that very moment, Father Sun rose and saw four hundred pairs of men and women rising from their beds.
Those four hundred pairs were the first generation of our race.
Here it ends, here concludes the ancient word that we received from our ancestors. Now we transmit it to those who come after us so that they may know it, respect it, and preserve it, and in turn, verbally transmit it to successive generations, so that our race may not be lost but rather rise again and fulfill its destiny.
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