The gods gathered again, concerned about the fate of humanity. They asked each other who would live on earth now. And finally they made a decision. It was necessary to bring the bones of dead people from Mictlan - the World of the Dead, and from these bones to create new people. This task was very dangerous, so the gods decided that only Quetzalcoatl could cope with it.
Quetzalcoatl went to the Underworld. On his way he encountered many dangers. He crossed mountains and deserts, defeated the monsters guarding the path - the Great Snake and the Insidious Lizard. On the dog's back he swam across the dark river separating the Earth from the Underworld. And finally, after four years of travel, he arrived in Mictlan, the mysterious kingdom of the dead, a place where it is always dark and from where there is no way out.
There the last test awaited him - a meeting with the Ruler of Mictlan.
Quetzalcoatl saw him sitting on a throne of bones and said:
“I came to take away from you the bones that you keep.”
And Mr. Mictlana asked him:
“What are you going to do with them, Quetzalcoatl?”
The Feathered Serpent answered him:
“We will make new people out of them.”
The God of Mictlan, deceitful and evil, nodded his head to him, as if in agreement. But he was preparing a trap. And said:
- Okay. I'll give you the bones if you make my shell sound.
Quetzalcoatl agreed. But when he picked up the shell and was about to blow into it, he discovered that there was no hole in it. Then he realized that Mr. Mictlana had deceived him.
But still he found a way out, calling on earthworms and bees for help. The worms made holes in the shell, and the bees flew into it, and the shell began to sound.
When Mictlantecuhtli, the lord of the dead, heard the sound of the shell, he became terribly angry, but did not show it, and told Quetzalcoatl to take the bones.
Quetzalcoatl saw that on one side lay the bones of men, and on the other, the bones of women. He picked them up and wrapped them in his cloak. At this moment, the Ruler of Mictlan shouted:
- Gods of Mictlan! He takes away precious bones! Quickly dig a hole in his way so he can't carry them away!
The gods who inhabited Mictlan quickly did this, and as Quetzalcoatl fled, pursued by the birds that Mictlantecuhtli had also sent, he tripped and fell and let go of the bones from his hands.
When he got up, he saw with sadness that the bones had scattered on the ground. Many were missing, and the rest broke or were pecked by birds.
Then he said to himself: “I didn’t complete the task. But if I bring these remaining bones, maybe something can still be done.” And then he picked up the bones and set off on his way back to where the other gods were waiting for him.
The goddess Cihuacoatl, the Snake Woman, crushed the bones and put them in a vessel. And then Quetzalcoatl sprinkled these bones with his blood. This is how new people arose who populated the earth
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru