Messiah and Smoking Mirror: Tezcatlipoca and Jesus

Youth, Temporary Death, and Forgiveness

One of the many attitudes that distorts the ‘common knowledge’ view of mythologies is attempting to seek out a single Jesus like personage and a single Devil like character. This leads to many mythical figures being aggressively type casted as villains and striped of all nuance in fiction, tainting their modern day reputation, like the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca.

In the case of Tezcatlipoca this is especially ironic, as despite popular culture designating Quetzalcoatl as the ‘Aztec Jesus’ figure while demonizing Tezcatlipoca, it is Tezcatlipoca who developed an intimate relationship with Jesus and other Christian figures after the conquest.

As an important clarification, I am no scholar myself, merely someone with an interest in Tezcatlipoca who has read the academic sources I could acquire. But I seek to relay and synthesize the knowledge I have gathered to the extent of my current ability, so that it can be spread further.

Establishing the connection

In order to demonstrate the most clear cut case of a link between Jesus and Tezcatlipoca, I must first introduce one of Tezcatlipoca’s many names and aspects. Telpochtli is among the many names given as a title for Tezcatlipoca, one linked to its own cult and statues, yet still Tezcatlipoca.

Telpochtli is sometimes translated as the Young Man, because he is a figure defined by his lasting young age, essentially Tezcatlipoca as a child. And it is through this aspect that Tezcatlipoca has the most direct link to Jesus, to the point of becoming difficult to distinguish.

“The association between Telpochtli and Christian figures is still present today among certain indigenous groups, such as in the Sierra de Zongolica, where Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán (1985, 168) emphasizes “the intimate relationship that still exists between Telpochtli and Jesus Christ in the religious thoughts of the converted Nahuas.” Thus the most extreme care should be exercised before we assimilate the figures of young men present in the sources with that of Telpochtli, the “Young Man,” as he was seen by the ancient Nahuas.”

-Olivier, Guilhem. Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God Tezcatlipoca, “Lord of the Smoking Mirror.” Translated by Michel Besson, University Press of Colorado, 2008, p. 26

Additionally we have sources showing at least one Christian missionary declared Telpochtli a caricature of ‘the true god.’ So we have even direct enemies of Aztec culture confirming this association through how threatened they felt by it.

This connection was not limited to Jesus however. Terms of address that were used for Tezcatlipoca became terms of address for the Christian god after the conquest. Saints such as John the Evangelist also had a syncretic relationship with Telpochtli (with virginity cited as the connecting factor for John the Evangelist specifically).

Now that I’ve established that one of the definitive scholarly sources on Tezcatlipoca shows this relationship, I want to offer mostly original analysis on points of similarity between Tezcatlipoca and Jesus. To show that there would be overlap even without such explicit proof that they became near indistinguishable.

Toxcatl Interpretations

A key component of the Aztec religion were ixiptla, impersonators or embodiments of deities. These people would be sacrificed to the same deity they acted as, to themselves. Colonial sources drew parallels between this practice and the crucifixion. Though this practice and associated comparisons were not unique to worship of Tezcatlipoca.

However, Cecila Klein, in her article Gender Ambiguity and the Toxcatl Sacrifice draws comparisons between the representation of Tezcatlipoca’s ixiptla before his sacrifice at the feast of Toxcatl and Jesus during the crucifixion. Her conclusion is that both were depicted androgynously to show “the youth had become much more than just a man. (p. 155)”

Meanwhile Guilhem Olivier has posited in Mockeries and Metamorphoses the interpretation that Toxcatl signified a temporary break in communication with the gods.

As he ascended the pyramid to be sacrificed, Tezcatlipoca’s ixiptla stepped on and broke a flute with each step. Music is the means of communication with the gods, brought to the people by Tezcatlipoca. The death of Tezcatlipoca‘s ixiptla paired with the shattering of flutes breaks the connection he established through the gift of music, and the appointment of a new ixiptla reestablishes it.

While Olivier does not draw the comparison himself, I argue that this interpretation creates another point of similarity between Tezcatlipoca and Jesus. The time between the death and resurrection of Jesus could similarly be considered a temporary break or disruption in connection between mortal and divine, restored when Jesus rises on the third day.

A forgiving deity

One trait of Tezcatlipoca that may have made him particularly compatible with Christian figures is a link to forgiveness.

There was a ritual where once in a person’s lifetime, they could confess wrong doings to Tezcatlipoca and seek forgiveness. For all the obvious differences in the ritual’s actual procedure, there are some clear connections to draw with Christian rituals like Baptism and Confession. Take for example this passage in the Florentine Codex, part of the speech given to the one who has confessed wrong doings as part of the ritual.

And as to this: now thou hast given it, thou hast manifested it to the lord of the near, of the nigh. Thou hast consulted, thou hast revealed it to the bather of people, the washer of people. Perhaps it is not in jest, perhaps this is no little thing, for thou hast descended where the blue waters, the yellow waters, the deep green waters rest, where the lord of the near, of the nigh, washeth one, batheth one.

-Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 6: Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy", fol. 25r, (Anderson & Dibble 1953–1982) nahuatl translation Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/6/folio/25r?spTexts=&nhTexts= Accessed 20 December 2023

The lord of the near and nigh is yet another title for Tezcatlipoca of course. However, as the Florentine Codex is a post conquest source it should be taken with a grain of salt when its contents seem especially similar or compatible with Christian values or traditions.

Even if this account prioritized creating similarities to baptism over veracity, that still doesn’t mean it was invented wholecloth. In fact Tezcatlipoca has other attested links to forgiveness and penance, which lends credence to this baptism like instance of it.

For all people

Jesus and Tezcatlipoca care for the same set of people, everyone, from the highest to the lowest of the low. What drew me to Tezcatlipoca in the first place was that he had both royal associations and was a protector of slaves. He was patron of the school for commoners as well. On all levels of society, he was present with specific functions for that class.

For children in particular, we have this example of a saying concerning Tezcatlipoca’s relationship with children.

““The children, the youths, the maidens are the real friends, the really beloved of the lord of the near, of the nigh. They live with him; they rejoice with him; he maketh friends of them.””

-Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God Tezcatlipoca, “Lord of the Smoking Mirror.” Guilhem Olivier trans Michel Besson p.27 footnote 51

Compare this to a certain fairly well known verse from the Bible.

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

-The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2024. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew-19-14/

Final Notes

Having detailed several aspects of Tezcatlipoca here, I have one question. Where is this Tezcatlipoca today when we talk about mythology? Even in works of fiction praised for supposed focus on Aztec mythology, all I see are colonialist caricatures of him. A Tezcatlipoca who despises or is apathetic towards humanity and craves violence for its own sake is clearly no Tezcatlipoca, yet ‘supervillain’ appears to be the only role modern writers care to give such a nuanced figure.

And the fact that Quetzalcoatl is the one people paint as a Jesus figure is equally damning of modern attitudes, as this attitude depends on a myth that couldn’t be a more obvious post conquest invention if it tried.

The image of the virtuous white anti human sacrifice Quetzalcoatl and his malevolent archenemy Tezcatlipoca is the colonized version of Aztec mythology, and that is what dominates the typical depiction of it today, despite not holding up to any examination of the sources for Pre Columbian religion and mythology.

Tezcatlipoca will be depicted well, in a way that recognizes why he gained such an intimate relationship with Jesus, when people learn to actually engage with and respect Aztec culture.

Sources Cited

Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 6: Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy", fol. 25r, (Anderson & Dibble 1953–1982) nahuatl translation Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/6/folio/25r?spTexts=&nhTexts= Accessed 20 December 2023

Having the entire Florentine Codex in a free digital format with multiple translations is a great help for research.

The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2024. www.kingjamesbibleonline.org.

Most of my quotes and sources concerned Tezcatlipoca, as Jesus is a figure who needs no introduction, but for their attitudes on children I felt properly quoting the verse concerning Jesus’s attitude, even though most know it to some degree, would help illustrate the point.

Klein, Cecila. “Gender Ambiguity and the Toxcatl Sacrifice.” In Tezcatlipoca: Trickster and Supreme Deity, edited by Elizabeth Baquedano, University Press of Colorado, 2015, pp 135-161

All of the articles in Tezcatlipoca: Trickster and Supreme Deity are insightful, but it was only Cecila Klein’s that had direct relevance to the focus of this article. While initially not fond of her chapter due to some claims not discussed here that I felt rushed ahead of themselves, rereading it for this post gave me newfound appreciation of it.

Olivier, Guilhem. Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God Tezcatlipoca, “Lord of the Smoking Mirror.” Translated by Michel Besson, University Press of Colorado, 2008

This was by far my main source due to its extensive focus on the subject matter and being what first made me aware of the associations between Tezcatlipoca and Jesus. Many of my quotations came from early in the book due to that being where Jesus is discussed as a point of comparison. I advise anyone who wants to know more about Tezcatlipoca to read this.