Before I begin this post, I need to include a few disclaimers:

First, the Spanish Conquistadors were very effective in destroying Meso-American culture. Now, there were sympathetic Spaniards, often times clergy, who helped preserve the handful of codices (manuscripts) that have survived. However, far more was lost than was retained, which makes understanding Olmec, Mayan, Aztec and other pre-Columbian cultures as much an act of reconstruction as it is one of recovery. In other words, there’s a lot of educated guess work, and filling in of blanks.

This means that finding the original, definitive story, or what is sometimes called the ur-myth, is a difficult task at best. What scholars have found is often contradictory; my attempt here is tell an engaging story, based on the most prevalent versions of these myths. Any faults of omission or commission are mine.

The other disclaimer is that this tale is unapologetic in…