tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407624264627208128.post6366811862668690898..comments2024-01-26T21:38:25.924-08:00Comments on Duane's PoeTree: Scott Thomas Outlar writesDuanesPoeTreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17053093400086634552noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407624264627208128.post-1142460568380420792018-03-20T18:53:23.138-07:002018-03-20T18:53:23.138-07:00The central focus of the Rivera mural is Quetzalco...The central focus of the Rivera mural is Quetzalcoatl. He is wearing a headdress of quetzal feathers and a conch on his chest, a symbol of the wind god, and carrying a curved baton, the scepter of the 7 stars or constellations. Behind him are the pyramids of the sun and moon in the city of Teotihuacan, the great political and religious center of pre-Hispanic Mexico which became the modern Ciudad de Mexico. But the upside down sun indicates the decline of the pre-Hispanic culture. On the left, the plumed serpent, a divine form of Quetzalcoatl, rises from the erupting volcano's mouth; on the right, the god takes the form of the morning star Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, which appears near the sun at sunrise. He was mythologically predicted to return to earth. The left side depicts subject peoples bringing tribute: the huge bales, a grand victorious warrior colorfully dressed, and a prisoner of war wearing a garment with bone designs waiting to be sacrificed. The bottom left shows a battle between gloriously attired Aztec warriors and others. On the far right, dancers and musicians engage in a ceremony before the corn harvest. Various plants are represented which refer to hallucinogens used in rituals. Below the dancers are farmers planting corn. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma II initially believed the landing of Hernán Cortés in 1519 was Quetzalcoatl's return, an attitude which prepared the way for the Spanish conquest of his kingdom. According to Bernardino de Sahagún in libro XII of his "Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva España" (General History of the Things of New Spain) [1576], the king told the conqistador, "You have graciously come on earth, you have graciously approached your water, your high place of Mexico, you have come down to your mat, your throne, which I have briefly kept for you, I who used to keep it for you.... You have graciously arrived, you have known pain, you have known weariness, now come on earth, take your rest, enter into your palace, rest your limbs; may our lords come on earth." DuanesPoeTreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053093400086634552noreply@blogger.com