The Aztecs were now in the lands of the Tepanecs. Their ruler let them live on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, a swampy marsh. In return, they were required to pay tribute and help the Tepanecs fight their enemies.
As they huddled in the marsh, the Aztecs finally received the sign for which they had been waiting. One of their priests had a vision of Huitzilopochtli. The god told the priest to have the Aztecs look for an eagle that lived in a prickly pear cactus and fed on brightly colored birds, scattering their feathers. On one of the marsh islands, the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus. The cactus grew on the exact spot where the heart of the sorcerer Copil had landed after the Aztecs killed him. In the eagle’s claws was a bird with bright feathers.
Diego Duran (ca. 1537-1588), a Spanish priest, later recorded the Aztecs’ story of what they felt when they saw the priest’s vision fulfilled: “How did we merit so much good fortune? Who made us worthy of such grace and goodness and excellence? . . . We have found our city and site. . . ” (quoted in The History of the Indies of New Spain).
To the Aztecs, the eagle represented the sun and their sun god, Huitzilopochtli. The cactus stood for the hearts that they would
The national flag of Mexico features an eagle-and-snake design that recalls the mythical founding of Mexico City by the Aztecs.
Offer to the god. And the bird in the eagle’s claws represented the fallen enemy warriors who would provide the hearts. The location was special, too. The reeds of the swamp reminded them of the city of Tula, the old Toltec city the Aztecs had reached during their travels. Tula’s name meant “place of rushes.” Near the cactus, the Aztecs built a temple to Huitzilopochtli. On this site, they would later build the Templo Mayor, or Great Temple, in honor of their sun god.
The Aztecs gained several new names once they ended their travels and settled in central Mexico. The people who lived in the capital of Tenochtitlan were called the Tenochca. They took their name from the city, which means “place of the prickly pear cactus.” The Tenochca, together with the people of the neighboring city of Tlatelolco, formed the people known today as Aztecs.
World History
