When the Spaniards invaded our land they made an impulsive judgment on our theological practices (in their favor, of course) without even attempting to understand our way of life or our religious beliefs. They quickly claimed that the Mexica worshipped multiple gods and conducted mass human sacrifice to satisfy the gods. Now this is not to say that the Nahuatl people didn’t worship multiple gods. What we must understand is that this is only one possibility. And with the majority of our literature burned, including ALL religious documents, there may be no way of ever finding the truth. All we can do is try our best to understand the way our ancestors thought and lived, and use our own better judgement to determine what is best for us.

The Spanish intruders lied through their teeth in order to amass fallacious information on our religious practices and way of life so that the genocide of over 95% of our population would be justified. If you would like to hear an unbiased investigation into the structure of Nahua religion, then continue to read. If you want to keep believing all the bullshit they feed you in the oppressive educational system, then this is not for you.

The most commonly held belief is that the Mexica were polytheistic, and that their primary god was Huitzilopotchli. Some have concluded that the Mexica people were well on their way to having a monotheistic religion with Huitzilopotchli as the supreme god. The Nahuatl people had one God for almost every aspect of life. This ideology can be found in nearly every mention of the Aztecs, but is it correct?

Jacques Soustelle, a serious researcher of Aztec history and author of the book Daily Life of the Aztecs  supports the polytheism theory:

"There was no monotheism here, but rather a belief in a supreme god raised above all others, nameless (since the words which designate him are no more than epithets), with no history in myth, and faceless." (Jacques Soustelle)

But could he have misunderstood Nahuatl theology as so many others in the past have done? His mention of one "supreme god" would seem to give credibility to the notion of a monotheistic religion. Is that one supreme god he mentions nameless and faceless, or is it Ometeotl (Ometecuhtli / Ometeciuatl)?

Some believe that the Nahuatl people created a philosophy based on provable science, with Ometeotl as a "supreme power." Ometeotl is Nahuatl for "dual energies" or "dual cosmic energies." Ome is the Nahua representation of the number 2, and it means "dual" in this case. There are many translations for the word teotl. The original Spanish translation was "God," which they probably settled on for a few reasons:

Ometeotl is "everything" in a sense: male and female, good and evil, etc. "Perfection," as some European philosophers would use to define their "God," cannot be established by only ½ of the duality. God, if one exists, must be both man and woman, good and evil. Ometeotl exhibits all these traits. BUT do not be confused; most people believe that Ometeotl is not a God as Christians worship, but all energy. Every other "god," or form of energy, is really a manifestation of Ometeotl. All other representations of Ometeotl come from observing nature. For example, Ehecatl, the so-called God, translates to "wind." Is ehecatl the "God of wind" or one of Ometeotl's many manifestations?

The Nahua people created words and symbols to represent the manifestations of Ometeotl. When the indigenous people conducted ceremonies or danced, they were not praying to the gods, but demonstrating their gratitude toward their creator and Ometeotl’s manifestations, giving energy back to the creator, and trying to establish a harmonious rhythm with the cosmos. The idea that the Mexica worshipped Ometeotl is questionable because there were no temples erected in dedication to Ometeotl. Many would argue that there is no point to directly worshipping Ometeotl, for she/he is not a conscious being.

Other names that were devoted to Ometeotl are Tloque Nahuaque, "Owner of the near and far;" Moyocoyatzin, "The inventor of himself;" Ipalnemohua, "The giver of life."

I do not believe that the Nahua people worshipped multiple Gods. I also do not believe that teotl translates to energy. I believe teotl could be more closely translate to “supreme being or thing.” I do believe the Nahua people worshipped multiple "deities", but that their definition of these teotls did not parallel the European impression of God, so they should not be strictly classified as polytheistic.

If the Aztec people did worship multiple gods they were no less advanced and no less civilized. "Paganism" is a European term used to demonize non-Christians. With the majority of our texts destroyed we may never know the truth about the Nahuatl religion. Until then we can only try our best to interpret the ideals of our ancestors as accurately as possible.

Related Sites:

The Aztec and Monotheism 2: Confronting the Evidence - A great resource for anyone studying the Nahuatl religion. Yehecatl Quipoloa argues that the Mexica religion was polytheistic.

The Aztecs and Monotheism 1 - An introduction to Yehecatl Quipoloa's argument against monotheism.

The Mexica Movement Theology Page - The Mexica Movement argues that the Aztecs worshipped one God, Ometeotl, and that every other "god" was a manifestation of Ometeotl.