Key Info

- Fights the 5th Sun (Tonatiuh) over his refusal to move in the sky.

- Hit by Tonatiuh's darts during the fight and is transformed into Itztlacoliuhqui.

- Several other gods sacrifice themself during the war to force the Sun to move which begins the 5th era.

Brief Bio

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli plays a significant role in the creation of Tonatiuh, the Fifth Sun in the Aztec creation narrative.

Motolinía's Memoriales, and the Codex Chimalpopoca relate that the Toltec ruler Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl became the morning star when he died. Quetzalcoatl throws himself into a bonfire after adorning his regalia. Once he started burning, his ashes were lifted and various beautiful birds were sacrificed until Quetzalcoatl's spirit leaves his heart as a star and becomes a part of the sky.

The Annals of Cuauhtitlan gives his year of death as 1 Reed, one 52-year calendar cycle from his birth.

In the second section of the Codex Chimalpopoca (called Legend of the Suns), Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli becomes angry when Tonatiuh, the sun god, does not move across the sky after being created. He shoots Tonatiuh with atlatl darts, but misses and is hit by Tonatiuh's darts, being transformed into the god of obsidian and coldness, Itztlacoliuhqui. The rest of the gods present: Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, Nochpalliicue, Yapallicue and Xochiquetzal sacrifice themselves in Teotihuacan to make the Sun move across the sky, starting the contemporary era.