4 - Quecholli

Quecholli is devoted to Mixcoatl, or Cloud Serpent, also called Camaxtli, who is the Lord of the Hunt. During the dry season of Tonalco, when the fields are dry and the harvest is at an end, our ancestors devoted themselves to the hunt. Therefore deer and the hunt are masculine, dry, hot activities, associated with the metztin of Tonalco. During Quecholli we give thanks to the deer and the other creatures who give up their lives for our sake, so that we can eat their flesh and flourish. 

Most of us live in an urban environment, in which hunting is an activity which is no longer relevant to our daily lives. For the consumption of meat, we rely on farm animals. In the past, the only domestic animals were dogs and turkeys. But today, many of us eat cattle, pigs, and chicken as well. While these beings were unknown to our ancestors, it is appropriate to give them honor during Quecholli, for they, like us and the deer which our ancestors hunted, are in possession of consciousness, will, and teyollia, or heart-souls, and suffer and die for our sake. Just as our ancestors gave thanks and praise to the deer, we must give thanks to those creatures who die for us, and become our flesh. We must always remember that they are our brothers, and are as beloved by the Teteo as we are. 

Because it is the feast of the hunt, it is also the feast of arrows. Ometeotl is all things. All things emerge from Their body, like waves emerge from the sea, each distinct, yet each a part of the ocean. Thus, just as living beings possess Teyollia, which is the spirit of Ometeotl, so too do objects. We give honor to the arrows who fly to their prey and bring down our brothers the deer, rabbit, and waterfowl. We give the arrows offerings, who are the instrument of death which brings us life. If you are a hunter, you ask the arrow, or the bullets and gun, to fly straight and true, and to bring death without suffering. If you are not a hunter, the arrow symbolically represents the death of the beings you consume. Remember that our ancestors practiced the honorable harvest. They gave thanks to the corn, and to the animals who die for our sake, and honored them as brothers. Perhaps this is a time to refrain from eating meat, and to contemplate the terrible suffering our animal brothers and sisters suffer, in the factory farms in which they live and die. Through the symbol of the arrow, it is a time to remember the honorable harvest, and to seek ways to return to the wisdom of our ancestors, who understood that the dying creature is not simply an animal we eat, but a brother who died so that we might live. 

During Quecholli, we give offerings to soldiers who have died in war. They were chosen by Tonatiuh, Our Lord the Sun, and descend to join us at our altars. We honor them for their sacrifice.

Finally, we give honor to Huitzilopochtli during Quecholli, who is a manifestation of the Sun. Quecholli means “spoonbill,” which is a kind of water bird. The Roseate Spoonbill is pink, and its feathers were used to adorn the regalia of the Lords of the Sun. Therefore the name of the metztli refers to the Sun, light, and fire. During the dry season of Tonalco Huitzilopochtli, who is fire and light, reigns, and we give Him honor.

The Ceremonies of Quecholli

The ceremonies of Quecholli are different for hunters than for other people. If you are a hunter, it is a time to give honor to the instruments of the hunt, to the bow and arrow or the gun and bullet, which did not exist in the world of our ancestors, but which is the way most hunters now kill our animal brothers. They possess powerful spirits, and must be thanked for the work they do. If you are an arrow maker, it is the time to make your arrows, and to make them offerings. They ask of you your own blood, in payment for the blood of the animal brothers they are to spill, pulled from the earlobes, fingers, and other fleshy parts, with maguey thorns. 

If you are not a hunter, arrows or paintings of arrows should nonetheless be placed on the altar. The arrows represent the deaths of our animal brothers, and remind us of their suffering and death for our sake. On the altar are placed images of the animal beings we eat, of the deer, cow, turkey, chicken, fish, and other creatures. They have died for us, and are one with us, as part of our very flesh. We adorn their images with ribbons and paper flags and streamers, and beg their forgiveness for the suffering they endure, and thank them for their gift of life.

During Quecholli, warriors who have died in battle, or others who have died in the defense of a just cause, descend to the earth in the form of hummingbirds and honor us with their presence. To recognize their sacrifice, we make small arrows, no more than the length of the hand, and tied to form a cross. We place these upon the altar, together with offerings of sweet tamales. At the end of Quecholli these crosses are burned, and if we have a loved one who died in battle, the ashes are buried at their grave.

If a loved one has died as a soldier in war, we take a dry maize-plant, and tie it with 9 ribbon knots. The maize-plant is adorned with paper flags and streamers, and is dressed with a paper tilma, maxtlatl, and shield, or with the uniform of the dead soldier. A clay or paper hummingbird is hung from the plant, and bunches of white feathers which symbolize sacrifice. The soldier has become one with the maize, and nourishes their community with their death. During Quecholli they descend to the altar from their home in the paradise of Our Lord the Sun, and join us in our feasting. We give honor to them, and to all the brave men and women who have died in the defense of justice, or who died after having dedicated their lives to such causes. 

The altar is hung with spanish moss, and on it, in addition to the arrows and offerings for the dead, are placed images of Mixcoatl, Cloud Serpent, who is the Lord of the Hunt, and of Huitzilopochtli, the Hummingbird on the Left, who is a warrior and a Lord of the Sun. Those who battle in defense of just causes pray to Huitzilopchtli to guide them, and hunters and farmers who raise and kill our animal brothers pray to Mixcoatl to guide them towards the sustainable harvest. Beside Mixcoatl is placed an image of Coatlicue, Serpent Woman, who is His wife. He is the stars in the milky way, while She is the earth, and together They bring us all life. Her image is dressed in paper regalia, and paper weaving instruments are placed before Her. Her paper clothes and weaving tools are burned at the end of Quecholli by the women of the household, and honor is given to Her, for She weaves our destiny. 

4 - Quecholli - Platalea - 3 al 22 de diciembre, 2022

Quecholli se dedica a Mixcóatl, la Serpiente de Nubes, también llamada Camaxtli o Camaxtle, Señor de la Cacería. Era en Tonalco, cuando los campos están secos y la cosecha ha terminado, que nuestros antepasados se dedicaban a la caza, asociando esta actividad con el venado, lo masculino, lo seco, lo caluroso. En Quecholli se agradecen a los ciervos y a otros animales que se entregan para que comamos su carne y crezcamos. 

En la actualidad, las poblaciones se concentran en las ciudades, donde la cacería no juega un papel importante. Nuestro consumo de carne depende de la ganadería, que en la antigüedad no era una actividad trascendente, contando sólo con perros domésticos y guajolotes. Hoy en día, sin embargo, consumimos ganado: cerdos, reses y pollo, animales que nuestros ancestros no consumían, pero que en la actualidad merecen nuestro respeto, en especial durante Quecholli. Estos animales, al igual que el venado y al igual que nosotras y nosotros, tienen consciencia, voluntad, una teyollía o espíritu del corazón, y sufren y mueren cuando lo decidimos. De la misma manera en que en el pasado se rendía culto al venado, agradecemos a las criaturas que mueren por nuestro bienestar y se integran a nuestros cuerpos. Son nuestros hermanos y nuestras hermanas y reciben de las y los Teteo el mismo amor que la humanidad.

Siendo una celebración de la caza, es también ocasión festiva de las flechas que, como seres vivos, poseen una teyollía, espíritu de Ometéotl. Se honra a la saeta que alcanza a su presa y derriba a venados, conejos y aves acuáticas. Se dan ofrendas a las flechas, instrumentos de muerte que dan vida. Las personas que practican la cacería piden al arco y a la flecha que conserven su rectitud, causando una muerte con el menor sufrimiento posible. Para quienes no cazan, la flecha representa el sacrificio de los seres que consumimos, considerando siempre obtener su carne a través de un sacrificio honroso. Quienes nos precedieron daban gracias al maíz, a los animales, y se les daba el trato de hermanas y hermanos. Es, quizá, momento de abstenerse de consumir carne y reflexionar sobre el sufrimiento que infringimos en hermanas y hermanos a través de la industrialización de la obtención de carne. La flecha nos recuerda que debemos buscar el retorno a la sabiduría antigua, a la comprensión de que la criatura que muere no es solamente un animal que comemos, sino que es un igual que muere para darnos vida.

En Quecholli damos ofrendas a quienes han muerto en la guerra, personas seleccionadas por Tonatiuh, el Sol, quienes descienden a los altares para unirse a nosotros. Honramos su muerte y su sacrificio.

Se rinde culto, finalmente, a Huitzilopochtli, una de las manifestaciones del Sol. Quecholli es el nombre antiguo que refiere a las aves de la subfamilia platalea, también conocidas como espátulas. Las plumas de la espátula rosada, parte de la fauna presente en el Lago de Texcoco, forman parte del atuendo de las deidades solares. El nombre de esta metztli alude, pues, al Sol, al calor y la luminosidad. Durante la estación de Tonalco, rige Huitzilopochtli, quien es la luz y el fuego.

Ceremonias de Quecholli

Las ceremonias de Quecholli son diferentes según quién las lleva a cabo. Las personas que se dedican a la caza dedican este tiempo a dar honores a sus instrumentos, poseedores de un gran poder, a quienes se les agradece por su trabajo. Las personas que fabrican flechas aprovechan esta temporada para presentarles la sangre propia en pequeñas cantidades (extraída de los lóbulos de las orejas y las puntas de los dedos con espinas de maguey) como ofrenda en retribución por la sangre de los animales que será derramada por ellas.

Quienes no practican la caza colocan flechas o representaciones de éstas en su altar, simbolizando la muerte de las hermanas y los hermanos animales, quienes sufren para darnos de comer. También se colocan imágenes de estos animales, como venados, reses, pescados, aves de corral y cerdos. Ya que mueren por nosotras y por nosotros, se vuelven parte de nuestro cuerpo y conforman nuestra carne. Estas imágenes se adornan con listones y banderas de papel como petición de perdón por el sacrificio de estos seres.

En Quecholli descienden a la Tierra los guerreros muertos en combate, así como las personas que han fallecido defendiendo causas justas, tomando la forma de colibríes. Para honrar su sacrificio, se fabrican pequeñas flechas,aproximadamente del tamaño de una mano, y se hace una cruz con ellas. Se colocan en el altar junto con ofrendas de tamales dulces. Al final de Quecholli se queman estas cruces y las cenizas se esparcen sobre los sitios de entierro de las personas queridas que murieron luchando.

Si en una familia un integrante murió en la guerra, se anuda una caña seca de maíz nueve veces y se le decora con banderas y tiras de papel, se le viste con una tilma, un máxtlatl y un escudo de papel, o en su defecto con el uniforme de la persona fallecida. Un colibrí de cerámica o de papel se cuelga del tallo junto con bolas de plumas que simbolizan el sacrificio. La persona muerta se une así al maíz, nutriendo a su comunidad con su muerte. En Quecholli estos individuos descienden a los altares desde la morada del Sol y se unen a quienes hacen penitencia. Se les rinde honor junto con las mujeres y los hombres que murieron en defensa de lo justo o tras haber dedicado su vida a causas nobles.

Junto con el heno, las flechas y las ofrendas, se colocan imágenes de Mixcóatl y de Huitzilopochtli en el altar. Se ora a estas deidades para que nos guíen en nuestras luchas y para que las cosechas y los sacrificios de los animales se realicen sustentablemente. Junto a Mixcóatl, que representa a las estrellas, se coloca la efigie de Su consorte, Coatlicue, la Mujer Serpiente, quien es la Tierra. En conjunto, las dos deidades son fuente de la vida. La imagen de Coatlicue se viste con ropajes de papel y las mujeres queman sus instrumentos de tejido al final de Quecholli, honrándola como tejedora de los destinos.