Tepoztlan, The City of Wonder
Tepoztlán, The City of Wonder, has struggled with anonymity for centuries. Nestled under the protecting shadow of Tepozteco, it survived the ravages of the Conquest, the Inquisition, and the isolation of the mountains.
However, the city recorded its own miracle, from pre-Conquest times. The miracle is a combination of the story of Leda and the Swan (Zeus), in the form of a pajarillo (a small fast bird, thought to be a kite) who seduced his nameless mother. México's own version of the story includes the baby abandoned on an ant hill where the ants fed it the honey of the maguey, then placed on a cactus, and found the next day protected by the spines and shaded from the desert sun. In desperation the grandparents, not wishing to acknowledge the child set him in the river much like Moses in the basket on the Nile. Finally, México has the heroic version of the Minotaur; where, not young virgins are sent to be eaten, but old, useless people. A very practical solution to the dilemma "What do we do with the aged when they are too old to care for themselves." The savior/ruler-to-be was a young fifteen year-old by the name of Tepoztécatl, who insisted that he be sent in place of his elderly step-parent to Xochichalco so that the monster Xochicálcatl could eat him alive. On the way to the city, he encountered his magic friends Texcatepetl, Texihuiltepetl and Tlamatepetl. With their help, Tepoztécatl was able to slay the dragon and send a message home saying that he was safe. The last part of the story-line is similar to the Greek myth of King Aegeus and his son Theseus, who because he forgot to change the sails of his ship from black to white, became ruler of Crete by default. His waiting father, seeing the black sails, thought his son had died and committed suicide. México had a better version. The son sent a message that said he was safe and everyone was happy.
The multi-faceted fable is a great cover-up for the real purpose of the "temple" on the mountain-top. But in order to appreciate the myth and the purpose of the building, one must climb the mountain to the top. One cannot appreciate its intent unless one stands in the temple to view the surrounding countryside from its ramparts. Was the building necessary? Yes! Was the calendar found on its walls necessary? Yes! Was the entrance to the "temple" precincts near the end of the trail protected by a removable ladder? Yes!
A removable ladder and a calendar were essential if the occupants of the "temple" precincts were to transfer information from one location to another, such as to receive the news of a successful mission by its future ruler. They could also relay the movements of troops across the land and the results of its passage. A signal tower on the highest, clearest mountain-top, with the ability to cut-off invaders so that important information can continue to be sent even while they themselves are under attack. The method of concealing information on the real use of the "Temple"? The method noted at the end of the myth of Tepoztécatl was smoke fires. White smoke for good news and black smoke for bad from one mountain top to another. Or to be more precise, from Xochicalco to Tepotzlán. Highly polished stone reflectors could also have been used.
The Mexican story also identifies another purpose for this "temple:" "para poder mirar al sol en el día, y en las noches, a las estrellas." (for the ability to view the sun during the day and the stars during the night.)
The myth itself is a combination of many myths Europeans take for
granted. These myths are rag-tag tumbled together at the beginning of the
tale and because of latent memory, distracts the mind as it attempts to
"remember" just which part of which familiar story is being told. When the
end of the tale is related, the mind fogged by the effort, accepts the
conclusion as just one more thing to "look up." So the actual purpose of
the mountain citadel is lost within the turmoil of the mind: that of an
observatory and that of a signal station. Primitive Technology and not so
primitive subterfuge here is in its purest form.