Huītzilōpōchtli

How to recognise Huītzilōpōchtli

1. Blue bodyHis body is painted blue, a colour the Mexica linked with sky and turquoise; Sahagún's birth account also gives him blue thighs.
2. Hummingbird-head headdressA helmet in the form of a hummingbird's head with a crest of feathers, sometimes described as blue-green, names him as the Hummingbird.
3. XiuhcoatlThe turquoise serpent, a sharp snake-shaped weapon with a fire-spitting head, recalls the weapon he used at his birth on Coatepec.
4. Darts and dart-throwerHe also carries darts and a blue dart-thrower (xinatlatl), marking him as a warrior.
5. Round shieldThe round shield (teueuelli) completes his armed, ready look as protector of his people.
6. Feathered left legIn Sahagún's birth account his left leg is thin and covered in feathers, echoing the "left" and the hummingbird in his name.
7. Striding stanceThe codices show him standing or striding in an imposing, dynamic pose, armed and ready, never laughing or mocking.

Names and titles

• Hummingbird of the SouthA common rendering of his name; scholars also read it as 'Hummingbird on the Left' (left = south)
• The Turquoise PrinceXiuhpilli, one of his names, linked with fire, turquoise and royal authority
• Our LordTotec, a form of address the Mexica used for him
• Born on Serpent MountainHis birth at Coatepec, which the Templo Mayor was built to represent
• Guide of the Long MigrationIn the Mexica account he led them from Aztlan and gave the eagle-and-cactus sign for Tenochtitlan

Feast days

• Panquetzaliztli19 December, every year

  Panquetzaliztli, "raising of banners", was the fifteenth Mexica month, given to Huitzilopochtli. Sources link it to his birth, or rebirth, on Coatepec, and to the sun's return near the winter solstice.

  How it's celebrated. Historical sources describe a fast beforehand, banners raised, a figure of the god shaped from amaranth dough and honey, and the Painal procession around the lake shore. Chroniclers differ on details, and calendar correlations place the month differently (Tena's date is one of several). I found little firm record of a single present-day observance.

  Sources: Arqueología Mexicana: Panquetzaliztli, levantamiento de banderas · Trace: Mitos y recorridos divinos en la veintena de Panquetzaliztli · Wikipedia: Huitzilopochtli (Rafael Tena's date)

• Founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan13 March, every year

  The founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the island city the Mexica settled in Lake Texcoco after the migration their tradition says Huitzilopochtli guided. This is the same celebration as the next entry, kept on a different date.

  How it's celebrated. The exact day is unknown. 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 for the city's 600th anniversary, and Mexican official calendars list it. Some groups have instead kept 18 July, a date calculated by the colonial scholar Sigüenza y Góngora. The next entry covers the 26 July date.

  Sources: Wikipedia: Tenochtitlan · Proceso: Se conmemorará la fundación de México-Tenochtitlan · Wikipedia (es): México-Tenochtitlan

• Founding of Tenochtitlan (alternative date)26 July, every year

  The founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, here kept on the date proposed by INAH researcher Lorena Vázquez Vallín: the second zenithal passage of the sun. It is the same celebration as the previous entry, observed on a different day.

  How it's celebrated. On this date in 2025, Mexico City marked the 700th anniversary with a large staged ceremony in the Zócalo, with thousands of dancers. Video-mapping shows were projected on the National Palace and Cathedral from 11 to 27 July. The date is a symbolic choice, and institutions still cite 13 March as the more widely accepted one.

  Sources: Mexico News Daily: Tenochtitlán's 700th anniversary · Yucatán Magazine: Mexico City at 700 · Proceso: Se conmemorará la fundación de México-Tenochtitlan

• Remembrance of the Toxcatl massacre22 May, every year

  A day of remembrance, not a feast. In May 1520, during the festival of Toxcatl, Spanish soldiers under Pedro de Alvarado attacked Mexica nobles gathered at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, in what was a turning point of the conquest.

  How it's celebrated. I found no established modern rite for this day. The Toxcatl festival itself, as recorded, involved dancing, offerings, and a dough image of Huitzilopochtli. Sources differ on the date (20 to 22 May), on the number killed, and on why Alvarado attacked, with Spanish and Indigenous accounts diverging.

  Sources: UNAM Noticonquista: Pedro de Alvarado y la Matanza de Tóxcatl · Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies: Telling violence: the Toxcatl massacre · Wikipedia (es): Matanza de Tóxcatl