And now again people inhabited the earth, but it was dark because there was no sun yet. Again all the gods gathered together to choose who would be the Sun. But no one wanted to become the Sun, because for this it was necessary to sacrifice life.
The gods asked many times if anyone wanted to become the Sun, but no one dared to do so. Finally one richly dressed gentleman stood up and said:
- I will be the Sun!
And the gods asked again if anyone else wanted to become the Sun, and another god came out. He was poor, he had only a loincloth on, and his body was covered with sores. But he boldly said:
- I will be the Sun.
The rich man's name was Tecusiztecatl, the poor man's name was Nanahuatzin.
Then both the poor and the rich left to prepare for the ceremony. For four days they had to fast and bring gifts to the gods.
Tecusiztecatl brought gifts of precious quetzal feathers, gold bars and jewelry made of jade and coral. He really liked the idea that when he became the Sun, everyone would worship and admire him.
Nanauatzin brought gifts of pine branches, nuts and agave thorns, moistened with his own blood. It was all he could sacrifice, but he had a pure heart and truly wanted to help people. Most of all, he wanted to justify the favor shown to him by the gods, who allowed him to become the Sun.
When four days and four nights had passed, the gods lit a large fire on the top of the mountain and stood on both sides of it. God, who wished to become the Sun, had to throw himself into this fire in order to undergo purification by the flame and ascend to heaven.
Tecusiztecatl, dressed in the best clothes, with a richly embroidered cloak and a decoration of white feathers on his head, walked haughtily before the gods, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Nanauatzin was so poor that all his clothes and jewelry were made of paper.
Finally the ceremony began. First was Tecusiztecatl's turn. He approached the fire to throw himself into it, but the heat was so strong that the god could not overcome his fear. He retreated and approached again, but again he lacked the courage. Four times he tried to jump into the fire, and four times he failed.
It was Nanahuatsin's turn. Poor Nanauatzin did not hesitate. He closed his eyes and threw himself into the fire. At the same moment, tongues of flame shot up to the sky.
The rich Tecusiztecatl was ashamed of his cowardice and threw himself into the fire after Nanahuatzin. The fire consumed him too.
They say that at that time an eagle flew past, and huge tongues of flame scorched its feathers; since then, eagles have black feathers at the ends of their wings. An ocelot also passed by and sparks hit its skin, so from then on all ocelots have spotted skins.
All the gods knelt down and waited in silence for the sun to emerge. They looked in all directions because they did not know where the Sun was supposed to come from.
Soon one of the gods exclaimed: “Look! Look! Everyone turned their heads to the east, to where this god was pointing. The sky was red like fire, and the Sun shone brightly in the light of its golden rays. No one could look at it, it was so bright and hot. Its rays penetrated everywhere. It became light and warm on the ground.
But when the Sun had made its way, to the great surprise of the gods, a second Sun rose. It was Tecusiztecatl, who threw himself into the fire after Nanahuatzin. This second Sun did not shine as brightly as the first, but still gave a lot of light. There was no more night on earth.
Then one of the gods caught a rabbit running past and threw it into the Sun-Tecuzistecatl. This reduced its shine and made it look colder and duller. This is how the Moon appeared. That's why moon spots resemble a rabbit.
Then both the Moon and the Sun stopped. And then the gods decided to sacrifice their own blood. Both the Sun and Moon began to move again.
This era was to end in the fourth year of the Movement (4 Ollin)
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru