I love the way Michael Wood tells a story as he walks in the Conquistador footsteps. However, he rarely mentions the source of the stories.
In particular, he tells the story of Cortes and Montezuma having a dialogue about each others gods at the top of an Aztec pyramid, and over a bowl of still warm human hearts fresh from sacrificial victims. Does anyone know the source of this? Did Cortes leave memoirs with this detail in it?
Tnx,
- J
Let me answer my own question. The source is "The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico" by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, who was a foot soldier that accompanied Cortez in his expedition. He wrote his memoirs in 1562 and they were published post humously.
An excerpt from Chapter 92 follows:
On the left hand stood another figure of the same size as Huitzilopochtli. Its face was very much like that of a bear, its shining eyes were made of tetzcat, the looking-glass of the country. This idol, like its brother Huitzilopochtli, was completely covered with precious stones, and was called Tetzcatlipuca. This was the god of hell, and the souls of the dead Mexicans stood under him. A circle of figures wound round its body, resembling diminutive devils with serpents' tails. The walls and floor around this idol were also besmeared with blood, and the stench was worse than in a Spanish slaughter-house. Five human hearts had that day been sacrificed to him...share
Besides all this, the stench was everywhere so abominable that we scarcely knew how soon to get away from this spot of horrors. Our commander here said, smilingly, to Motecusuma: "I cannot imagine that such a powerful and wise monarch as you are, should not have yourself discovered by this time that these idols are not divinities, but evil spirits, called devils. In order that you may be convinced of this, and that your papas may satisfy themselves of this truth, allow me to erect a cross on the summit of this temple; and, in the chapel, where stand your Huitzilopochtli and Tetzcatlipuca, give us a small space that I may place there the image of the holy Virgin
In our eyes these are good divinities: they preserve our lives, give us nourishment, water, and good harvests, healthy and growing weather, and victory whenever we pray to them for it. Therefore we offer up our prayers to them, and make them sacrifices.