By the time of the Spanish Conquest much of the Aztec Empire’s activities were centered around this god, who was credited with helping and protecting the Aztecs, but demanded a great deal in return. Central to the migration myth is the god Huitzilopochtli, who was once a minor god but grew more important to the Aztecs over time. The migration was probably a real one, but embellished later, as most epic stories like this are. How much of this origin myth is real or made up for political or propaganda purposes is still unknown, but linguistically, the Aztecs are connected to the peoples of the American Southwest. Please see Mexico Unexplained Episode #18 to learn more about the stories about the land of Aztlán. The Aztecs were once a fierce and nomadic people who lived in a place called Aztlán, located somewhere north of central Mexico before they migrated south to what the Spanish would come to know as the homeland of the Aztec Empire. The scene describes the Aztec myth of their own origins. The time is the early part of the 1300s, about two centuries before the Spanish conquistadors arrived on Mexican shores. There is no doubt among the people that this supernatural being has guided them and protected them on their long and danger-filled journey. The priests claim that the god has spoken to them in dreams or has whispered directions to them. At the front of the caravan are priests, warriors and nobles, and as if part of a grand procession at the head of it all is a feathered and cloaked effigy of a god. They are headed out of the northern deserts of Mexico and into the more temperate and fertile highlands in search of a new home. Imagine this scene: Tens of thousands of people on the move, a caravan over 12 miles long.
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