THE INDIGENOUS QUETZALCOATL: WATER, PLUME AND SYMBOL

Authors

  • Jane Duran, Ph.D.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63315/cjnsoa.v42i1.2899

Abstract

The concept of the plumed serpent and its importance as a cultural construct for the region that is today México is examined with an eye toward comparison with similar objects of veneration in Hindu India. The work of Baldwin, Sejourne, and Zimmer is alluded to, and a detailing of aspects of both serpent and raptor veneration is given.


Le concept du serpent à plumes ainsi que son importance en tant que construit culturel pour le territoire aujourd’hui connu sous le nom du Mexique est examiné de manière comparative avec des objets de vénération similaires en Inde hindi. Les travaux de Baldwin, Sejourne et Zimmer sont mobilisés et une description détaillée des aspects tant de la vénération du serpent que du rapace est offerte.

Author Biography

Jane Duran, Ph.D.

Lecturer in the Department of Black Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.  She received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Rutgers in 1982.

References

Baldwin, Neil. Legends Of The Plumed Serpent: Biography Of A Mexican God. New York: Public Affairs, 1998

Carrasco, David. City of Sacrifice. Boston: Beacon Press, 1999, p. 216.

Feild, Virginia M., Pohl, John M.D. Pohl, and Lyle, Victoria I. Lyall, Children of the Plumed Serpent: the Legacy of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico. Los Angeles: LACMA Catalogue, 2012.

Paz, Octavio. The Labyrinth of Solitude. New York: Grove Press, 1959.

Rowland, Benjamin. The Art and Architecture of India. Baltimore: Penguin, Ltd., 1967.

Sejourne, Laurette. Burning Water: Thought and Religion in Ancient Mexico. New York: Grove Press, 1960.

Zimmer, Heinrich. Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization. New York: Pantheon, 1963.

Downloads

Published

2025-06-06

How to Cite

Duran, J. (2025). THE INDIGENOUS QUETZALCOATL: WATER, PLUME AND SYMBOL . Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 42(1). https://doi.org/10.63315/cjnsoa.v42i1.2899