Aztec Quiz

[Nahuixtelotzin]

1. Who was the mythical leader of the Aztecs when they left their original home of Aztlan? [Stefan H.]
2. How did the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan use to call themselves?
3. What city dominated Anahuac (the land around Lake Texcoco) before the Aztecs?
4. Who is considered the most successful Nahuatl-Poet? (Bonus: Who was he?)
5. Name the three main “Lands of the Dead”.
6. Name the four “cardinal daysigns” which correspond to the cardinal directions.
7. The wind-god Ehcatl was an avatar of which main god? [Stefan H.]
8. Which god can easily be recognized by wearing a human skin?
9. Who ruled the Aztecs briefly after the death of Motecuhzoma II? [Stefan]
10. Which groups of people faced the same afterlife as soldiers who were killed in battle?

 

[Stefan Haertel]

1. Who was the mythical leader of the Aztecs when they left their original home of Aztlan?

Huitzilopochtli (sp?) (or Tenoch?)??

2. How did the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan use to call themselves?

Mexicans?

3. What city dominated Anahuac (the land around Lake Texcoco) before the Aztecs?

Teotihuacan?

7. The wind-god Ehcatl was an avatar of which main god?

Quetzalcoatl

9. Who ruled the Aztecs briefly after the death of Motecuhzoma II?

Cuitlahuac II

 

[Nahuixtelotzin]

1. Correct (Huitzilopochtli)
2. I let it count (Mexica) German: Meschika
3. I meant DIRECTLY before the Aztec rise
7. Correct
8. Cuitlahuac is right, but there wasn't a first AFAIK

 

[Stefan Haertel]

8. Cuitlahuac is right, but there wasn't a first AFAIK

That's a bit confusing- H. Prem mentions a Cuitlahuac I. was a woman... I didn't quite get it either...

 

[Nahuixtelotzin]

I'll look it up. Which title of Prem did you use?

 

[Nahuixtelotzin]

Oh, now I see it. Answer to question 2 was Tenochca(meh), but anyway, that was too difficult I guess...

 

[D.Shaffer]

Boy I wish I had my books here...

3: Wild guess...Texcoco? (It was ONE of those other cities...)
5: Shoot, cant remember the exact names for all of them Mictlan: Land where almost everyone went.
Tlalocs 'Water' paradise where those who drowned or died of certain 'watery' diseases went too.
The afterlife for babies who died in childbirth/stillborn with the trees that they could suckle on...
And the 'good' afterlife were they wander around as hummingbirds and butterflies all day

6: The 4 Tetzcalipoca? Red, White, Green, and Black?
8: Isnt this Xipe Totec?
10: People who were sacrificed.

 

[Nahuixtelotzin]

3. Wrong
4. Mictlan is correct, I give you the second one too (Tlalocan). The babies' place was not subject of the question as it cannot be put into cosmology without problems. Its name is Xochatlalpan or Tonacaquauhtitlan btw.
The last one you explained only very sketchy...
6. The 4 Tezcatlipocas as the 4 Tlalocans or 4 Chacs (Mayan) also represent the cardinal directions, but they are no daysigns...
8. Correct
10. Correct, but still 2 groups to go... And, to tell sth. interesting: Not all sacrificed people were given that honor, only those who were sacrificed for Tonatiuh (the sun) and probably those who were sacrificed at Templo Mayor were given that honor

 

[Stefan Haertel]

The book I have is "Die Azteken Geschichte, Kultur, Religion" by Hanns J. Prem, which is from the series "Wissen" from the Beck'sche Reihe (They should be for sale in Austria too, they cost € 7,50 each), Munich, 1996.

 

[D.Shaffer]

3: Either Azcapotzalco or Texcoco
4: The Alcohua king Nezahualcoyotl
5: 'Heaven of the sun' is the one I left out. (In inchan tonatiuh ilhuicac?)
6: Uh...Not the four gods? Tonatiuh iquizayampa, mictlampa, Cihuatlampa, and Huitzilampa?
10: 2 others? Ok, I know mothers who died in childbirth went their to..but what's the last group?

 

[Nahuixtelotzin]

3. Correct, I meant Azcapotzalco
4. Correct, the Acolhua king Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco
5. Correct, the House of the Sun, sometimes referred to as the Heaven of the Sun, although I don't know it in both forms at the same time (you only added an "n" to ichan, beside that it's correct)
6. You're still on the wrong trail, you just named the cardinal directions themselves: Think of the 20 signs of the aztec "months" or trecenas...
10. Yupp, one more correct. The last group are Pochteca or traders who died "at work", i.e. when they were abroad. They had a crucial function as "embassadors", messengers and spies, thus at the beginning of a war, they were often killed. Thus they were given the same honor as warriors.

 

[Nahuixtelotzin]

Last open answer for
6. Name the four “cardinal daysigns” which correspond to the cardinal directions.

Answer was: Acatl (Reed=East), Tecpatl (Flintknive=North), Calli (House=West), Tochtli (Rabbit=South)