Tonatiuh

Tonatiuh rose into the sky, then stopped. The days could not pass. The gods had already agreed that some of them must die to create a dependable sun, so they sought a way to set it in motion.

They called for a deity willing to carry the burden and bring the dawn. Tecuciztecatl, the deity of seashells, offered himself. When the gods asked who else would come forward, the others hesitated because they were afraid. Nanauatzin, also written Nanahuatzin, eventually joined him. Both entered the great fire, and the Sun and Moon rose from their sacrifice.

Tecuciztecatl became a second bright disk. The two suns filled the sky with so much light that no one could see properly. One of the gods threw a rabbit at Tecuciztecatl, dimming his brightness. He became the Moon, and people later said that the rabbit’s shape could be seen on its face.

The Sun still did not move. The gods decided to follow the example of Tecuciztecatl and Nanauatzin by sacrificing themselves for future humans. In one account, Quetzalcoatl cut out their hearts one by one, including his own, and threw them into the fire. The gods then leapt into the flames. Their deaths supplied the force that the Sun needed, and Tonatiuh began to travel across the sky.

The gods could feel pain and die, but they could also be reborn and return to the cosmos. They did so later. Their sacrifice created a debt for humans, who were expected to repay it with blood and hearts so that the Sun would continue its course.