The Complex Nuances of Mesoamerican Religion: Potential Monotheistic Developments in Aztec Religion

Abstract

This thesis examines the complexities of Aztec religion throughout the Aztec Empire (1350 – 1521 AD) to evaluate potential monotheistic tendencies. This thesis uses Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl’s theory on Tloque Nahuaque and Miguel León-Portilla’s theory on Ometéotl to examine the potentiality of Mesoamerican monotheism in the Aztec religion. Currently, most Mesoamerican scholars describe Aztec religion as polytheistic due to arguing that the Aztecs believed in various deities that oversee different aspects of life, i.e., Tlaloc governing rain and water or Huitzilopochtli being the Aztec patron god of warfare and the sun. Also, it is often recognized that many historical sources view Aztec religion from a primarily European lens; two prominent examples include Bernal del Diaz Castillo’s The Real History of the Conquest of Mexico or Bernardino de Sahagún’s General History of the Things of New Spain. Yet, what happens if we analyze monotheism from a Mesoamerican point of view? This thesis aims to investigate Alva Ixtlilxóchitl’s theory of Tloque Nahuaque and León-Portilla’s theory on Ometéotl as possible forms of Aztec monotheism by identifying their forms of monotheism and then combine both theories for a broader understanding of monotheistic phenomena on a global scale through a Mesoamerican perspective.