In Nahuatl, “left-handed hummingbird” or “southern hummingbird.” He is the God of war and the main guide of the Mexica or Aztecs from the beginning of their pilgrimage to their establishment in Tenochtitlan.
It has two aspects: as "Hummingbird of the South" it is one of the warriors killed on the battlefield who, transformed into hummingbirds, go to the paradise of the Sun in the east and thus drink the honey - the blood - from the precious flowers human hearts obtained in the Florida War; and that of self-sacrifice from the tongue and ears pierced with maguey thorns. The word opochtli, at the end of his name, was used to refer to the alter ego, the "other self", which in Mexica mythology was what they called the nahual. In this case the hummingbird was the nahual of the god of war.
The other aspect of this deity is that of the Celestial Warrior, represented by the eagle in the hieroglyph of Mexico-Tenochtitlán and in the national coat of arms, he is the son of the Moon (Coatlicue) and the young Sun, son of the old Sun who was born in the The East kills the 400 stars with its 400 arrows to make the new day triumph.
The story of her birth is curious: Coatlicue, her mother, found a ball of feathers while sweeping that she put in her breast, resulting in her becoming pregnant. Indignant Coyolxauqui (also daughter of Coatlicue and also goddess of the Moon) managed to convince her brothers that their mother had to be killed, but inside her womb, Huitzilopochtli spoke to her mother so that she would not fear that he, her son, I would defend her.
With Coyolxauqui in front, the 400 brothers advanced against their mother, but the moment they arrived the fully armed god was born: with a stick and a blue dart, his face painted, a feather stuck to his head and a snake made of firebrands with the one that wounded Coatlicue leaving her headless and with which, finally afterwards, she defeated all her brothers.
Fray Bernardino de Sahagún considers that the name of the deity was necromantic and that is why the Mexica deified him and offered him human sacrifices.
The worship of the god was carried out in the main temple, which was a twin construction where Tlaloc, the god of Rain, was also worshiped.
The Mexicans had great devotion to him and celebrated great festivals in his honor in the months Tlaxochimaco and Panquetzalixtli.
