Ometeotl

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Ometeotl is the name of the dual god Ometecutli/Omecihuatl in Aztec mythology. The suffix –teotl originally was translated as god, but most translators now prefer lord since the concept is not equivalent to the European concept of God. Some people translate teotl as energy, but this is not generally accepted. The literal translation of the name is "Lord Two", Leon Portilla interprets this as "Lord of the Duality".

Belief in Ometeotl can be traced back to theToltec^{[citation needed]}, possibly to the city of Teotihuacan.

In the Nahua/Aztec tradition, Ometeolt/Omecihualt is a dual god, male and female, who was the creator of Cemanahuatl. Ometeotl's male aspect is Ometecutli, his/her female aspect is Omecihuatl. S/he dwelled in and ruled over Omeyocan ("Two Place"), home of the gods.

There were no temples dedicated to this god, but Ometeotl is referred to in most of the Aztec poetry.

Ometeotl was also referred by other names: Tloque Nahuaque, "Owner of the Near and Far"; Moyocoyatzin, "The Inventor of Himself"; Ipalnemohua, "The Giver of Life".

Ometecuhtli ("two-lord"; also Ometeoltloque, Ometecutli, Tloque Nahuaque, Citlatonac), the male aspect, was a deity associated with fire, a creator deity and one of the highest gods in the pantheon, though he had no cult and was not actively worshipped.

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An Aztec poem declares:

The giver of life mock of us
only a dream we chase
oh my friends
our hearth trust
But he really mock of us
but with emotion we enjoy
in the green things and in the paintings
The giver of life make us live
he knows, he rules
how we, the men, will die
nobody, nobody, nobody
really lives on earth.

(Manuscript, Cantares Mexicanos/National Library of Mexico)