BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NAME QUETZALCOATL AND THE TOLTEC ANCESTRY OF THE ORDER
Quetzalcoatl (from the Nahuatl words quetzalli, meaning precious feather, and coatl meaning
snake or serpent) is the name of a great Mesoamerican deity. He was a god of many Nahua
peoples, a legend in their stories and the name taken and used by a great leader of the Toltec
nation. However, the image and worship of a feathered serpent preceded the Toltec, and the
later Aztec/Mexica versions of him by many centuries. A Mayan version of the feathered
serpent called Kulkulcan in Itza Maya (Yucatan) and Gukumatz in K’iche’ Maya (northern
Guatamala) existed contemporaneously with the Quetzalcoatl cult in central Mexico.
The first indications of a cult of the feathered serpent appear in the art and painting of the Olmec culture (1400 BCE-400 BCE), specifically at Monument 19 in La Venta (Tabasco) and a painting in the Juxtlahuaca cave (Guerrero). Since the Olmec culture is believed to be a “mother culture” to most of the succeeding civilizations of Mexico, the spread of a cult of the feathered serpent may indeed have begun with the Olmecs. The most extant representations of a feathered serpent deity exist on the Temple of Quetzalcoatl pyramid in Teotihuacan. Since the Teotihuacanos (200 BCE – 650 CE) left no written records, it is impossible to determine what the feathered creature sculpted so many times into the Q Pyramid was called. Likewise, the Toltecs (“master craftsmen” in Nahuatl) (750 CE-1150 CE), who assumed control over Teotihuacan after the collapse of the preceding civilization, left no written records and what we know of their religious practices and their worship of Quetzalcoatl comes from the Aztec/Mexicas via Spanish translations of Nahuatl iconographic codices and oral legends.
Quetzalcoatl
The name Quetzalcoatl comes to modern scholars through the translations of several Spanish interpretations of Aztec/Mexica codices and stories, such as Sahagun’s Florentine Codex, and from the records of some of the conquistadors, all of which refer to the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl, as well as other gods in the pantheon of gods, such as Huichilopoxli, the God of War and Tlaloc, the Rain God.
The Toltec capital of Tula (Hidalgo) contains numerous representations of Quetzalcoatl on their pyramids and monuments and it is safe to say that Quetzalcoatl was a god holding great importance for the Toltecs. So great was the stature of this god that a leader of the Toltec nation took the name Quetzalcoatl as part of his identity. Topolitzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, son of a Toltec chieftain, Mixcoatl and his wife Chimalma, ruled the Toltecs in Tula as a priest and philosopher-king during the tenth century CE from approximately 927 to 969 CE. His rule was marked by relative calm, peaceful relations with neighboring tribes, the cultivation of the arts, the crafts and the sciences, and a ban on blood sacrifices. Although other Toltec rulers may have later assumed the title of Quetzalcoatl, it is Topolitzin that the Order honors as the model and ideal for the upright, honorable and charitable behavior of its members.
Thus, the Order’s namesake has two sources of its identity: a feathered serpent god who represents the union of heavenly and earthly attributes
in one creature, and the noble ruler who taught his people creative skills, nonviolent sacrifice, co-existence with neighboring tribes and a peaceful harmonious lifestyle helping others and preserving the dignity of people.
It should be noted that mention or evidence of the Maya version of the feathered serpent, Kulkulcan or Gukumatz, is rare in Maya classic civilization (250 CE-900 CE). It is only in the first chapters of the Popul Vuh (compiled by Father Francisco Ximenez in 1701) that a K’iche’ feathered serpent, Gukumatz, is given credit for helping to create the cosmos. The Itza Maya version, Kulkulcan, is generally thought to be derived from the Toltec architectural and religious practices brought to the Yucatan by Toltec ex-patriots following Toplitzin’s departure from Tula after expulsion by Tezcatlipoca and his followers. Thus, the great Pyramid of El Castillo in Chichen Itza is a good example of Toltec inspired architecture displaying the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl, now called Kulkulcan in the Itza Maya language.
Whether one regards Quetzalcoatl as a myth, a man, or a god, he represents for the Order the basic Masonic traits of Brotherhood, Charitable Relief and Truth. In the ancient rites and rituals practiced by the Toltecs under the leadership of Quetzalcoatl, one can find many parallels to the Masonic code of conduct worthy of emulation. He stood for all that was good in the world: peace, art, science, wisdom and prosperity.