[Aztlan] 1491 and Quetazlcoatl redux

[Sam Edgerton]

Listeros: The most respected proponent of the C as Q legend was the late 
H.B.Nicholson, I am trying to locate a copy of his
"The Return of Quetzalcoatl: Did it Play a Role in the Conquest of Mexico?" 
(Labrynthos, 2001) from which to re-present some of his arguments.  In any 
case, I believe {from personal conversations with Nick that he would have 
seconded many of Dave Hixson's comments about the universal human urge to 
launder history in favor of local politics ("History is not immutable.  It 
is based within a constant dialogue with the present"), and as Dan Deneen 
reminded, "these [C as Q] theories may have crept up during
various stages of the conquest (or even post-conquest)."
I have recently read a remarkable book relevant to this thread: "Kingship" 
by Francis Oakley (Blackwell, 2006) which, even though it concentrates on 
the history of "cosmic kingship" in the West from ancient classic times 
through the Christian era, reveals how closely the concept was thoroughly 
associated with divinity in whatever form everywhere in the pre-modern 
world including pre-conquest Mesoamerica. He includes a brief chapter on 
the latter and even has as the cover illustration for the whole book, the 
famous bust of Janaab Pakal I as Young Maize God (as photographed by Jorge 
Perez de Lara!).
Sam Edgerton