Ōmeteōtl (Nahuatl pronunciation:[oːmeˈteoːt͡ɬ]ⓘ) ("Two-God") is a name used to refer to the pair ofAztec deitiesOmetecuhtli andOmecihuatl,[2] also known asTōnacātēcuhtli andTonacacihuatl.[3]Ōme translates as "two" or "dual" inNahuatl andteōtl translates as "Divinity". Ometeotl was one as the first divinity, andOmetecuhtli andOmecihuatl when the being became two to be able to reproduce all creation.[4]
Multiple Nahuatl sources, notably theFlorentine Codex, name the highest level of heavenŌmeyōcān or "place of duality" (Sahagún specifically terms it "inōmeyōcān inchiucnāuhnepaniuhcān" or "the place of duality, above the nine-tiered heavens)."[5] In the {Histoyre du Mechique, Franciscan priestAndré Thevet translated a Nahuatl source reporting that in this layer of heaven there existed "a god namedOmetecuhtli, which means two-gods, and one of them was a goddess."[6] TheHistory of the Mexicans as Told by Their Paintings (Historia de los mexicanos por sus pinturas) names the inhabitants of the uppermost heavenTōnacātēcuhtli andTonacacihuatl (Lord and Lady of Abundance).[6]Sahagún concurs that these are epithets of "inōmetēuctli inōmecihuātl", giving as another name ofōmeyōcān "intōnacātēuctli īchān" ("the mansion of the Lord of Abundance").[5]
There is some evidence that these two gods were considered aspects of a single being, as when a singer in theCantares Mexicanos asks where he can go given that "ōme ihcac yehhuānDios" ("they, God, stand double").[7] TheHistoria de los Mexicanos por sus pinturas reports of the two that "se criaron y estuvieron siempre en el treceno cielo, de cuyo principio no se supo jamás, sino de su estada y creación, que fue en el treceno cielo" (they were raised and had always been in the thirteenth heaven; nothing was ever known of their beginning, just their dwelling and creation, which were in the thirteenth heaven).[6]
As a result of these references, many scholars (most notablyMiguel León-Portilla) interpret the rare nameōmeteōtl as "Dual God" or "Lord of the Duality".León-Portilla further argues thatŌmeteōtl was the supremecreator deity of the Aztecs, and that the Aztecs envisioned this deity as a mystical entity with a dual nature.
Other scholars however, notably Richard Haly (1992), argue that there was noŌmeteōtl,Ometecuhtli orOmecihuatl among the Aztecs. Instead, he claims, the names should be interpreted using the Nahuatl rootomi ("bone"), rather thanōme ("two"). Haly further contends thatOmitecuhtli was another name forTonacatecuhtli andMictlantecuhtli, both gods related to the creation of humans from dead bones. He argues that, of the five sources used byLeón-Portilla to argue in favor of the existence of a single creator god among the Aztecs, none contains a clear reference to a god of duality.
First,León-Portilla cites theFranciscanFray Juan de Torquemada, who affirms in his chronicle that the "Indians wanted the divine Nature shared by two gods". In his translation of theCantares MexicanosLeón-Portilla introduces a reference to the "God of duality" where it is not explicitly found in the original text, which reads "ōme ihcac yehhuān Dios".[7] Haly argues thatLeón-Portilla erroneously unites "stands dual" with the Spanish loanwordDios ("God") to invent this dual deity.[8][9] Another example given byLeón-Portilla is from theHistoria Tolteca-Chichimeca: "ay ōmeteōtl ya tēyōcoyani", literally "two-god, creator of humanity."[10] Haly, reading the interjectionay as part of a longer (and similarly unattested)ayōmeteōtl, argues that this should rather be translated as "juicymaguey God" as the text talks about the imbibing ofpulque. TheCodex Ríos has a representation of a god labelledhometeule — iconographic analysis shows the deityHometeule to be identical toTonacatecuhtli.[11][12] The fifth source is theHistory of the Mexicans as Told by Their Paintings which Haly shows does not in fact readōmeteōtl, but rather "omiteuctli, ("bone-lord") who is also calledMaquizcoatl" and is explicitly stated to be identical toHuitzilopochtli.
James Maffie in his bookAztec Philosophy poses the argument that Aztec religion waspantheistic, centered on the entityTeotl. As a result of the pantheism proposed by Maffie that he claims was practiced by the Aztecs, it is by definition not possible that Ometeotl can be a “God of Duality” that is separate from Teotl, which is contradictory to the way in which Leon-Portilla talks about Ometeotl as a transcendental creator god.[13]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
