God of war, son of Coatlicue. Principal god of the Aztecs. When Coatlicue became pregnant with Huitzilopochtli, her daughter Coyolxauhqui incited her brothers, the Centzon Huitznahua (the Four Hundred Stars) to destroy Coatlicue, because her pregnancy brought disgrace on the family. Still in the womb, Huitzilopochtli swore to defend his mother and immediately on being born put on battle armor and war paint. After defeating the Four Hundred Stars, Huitzilopochtli slew his sister and cast her down the hill at Templo Mayor where her body broke to pieces on striking the bottom. Priests at Templo Mayor killed prisoners in the same way, these sacrifices being replicas of mythical events designed to keep the daily battle between day and night and the birth of the God of War ever in the minds of the people. Often considered synonomous with QUETZALCOATL.

wEE tsEE lO pOch tlEE] Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of cult of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god. (p. 403)

In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli, (IPA: ("Hummingbird of the South", "He of the South", "Hummingbird on the Left (South)", or "Left-Handed Humming Bird" – huitzil is the Nahuatl word for hummingbird), was a god of war and a sun god and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan.