The Coati is the collective name for the Oxlahuntiku and the Bolontiku, two races of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings who were once worshipped by the ancient Mayans and Aztecs from about 2600 BC to 1500 AD. They have very few worshippers today, but many of their names and ancient rituals have survived in modern Mexican culture.

The Coatli dwell in the dimension of Xibalba, a cosmology of interconnected lands and realms adjacent to Earth; an interdimensional nexus between Xibalba and Earth exists somewhere underground at Tulai Zuvai, the cave near Tamoanchan in modern Mexico from which the first humans departed Xibalba for earth. Because the access point to Xibalba was located underground, later myths described it as an underground realm. The human worshippers of the Coatli in the later Aztec Empire called these gods by different names than those by which the gods were originally known in the Mayan Empire: for example, the Mayans called the king of the gods Itzamna, whereas the Aztecs called him Tonatiuh. The Mexican gods no longer have or actively seek worshippers on Earth. However, certain Mexican gods, notably Quetzalcoatl, Xochiquetzal and Huitzilopochtli, still take active interest in the welfare of humanity. 

The precise origin of the Mexican gods, like that of all of Earth's pantheons of gods, is shrouded in legend and further complicated by the various versions of their later worshippers. The earliest Mexican gods were Hunab-Ku (known as Ometeotl to the Aztecs and Ah Mucencab in the Late Mayan Codex) and Coatlique. It is believed that Coatlique was actually Gaea, the primordial earth-mother who had survived the destruction of the Elder Gods of Earth by infusing her life into the life-giving essence of the Earth. Many of the Elder Gods had degenerated into demonic status and were destroyed by Atum or had fled Earth for other planes of existence. Atum had been born from Gaea by mating with the sentient biosphere of the Earth known as the Demiurge. Atum later departed the earth after shedding the excess demonic energies of the Elder Gods he had slain; some of these energies becoming demonic beings like Mephisto, Satannish, Surtur and Mikaboshi, who became the eternal enemy of the Japanese gods. Whether Hunab-ku was another form of the Demiurge or of Atum himself is unrevealed.

According to ancient myths, Coatlique mated with Hunab-ku and gave birth to the first generation of the Coatli, known as the Oxlahuntiku or Mayan gods. Among them, the sun-god Itzamna outshone his siblings and was allowed to become ruler of the gods. He took the sun-goddess, Ixchel, as his wife and they sired several children, among them, Hurakan, the wind-god, and Chaac (Tlaloc) the water-god. According to Mayan myth, Hurakan, Gukumatz and Chaac created the first human beings from the soil, but upon finding them imperfect, they washed them away in a flood. They then created mankind from wood, but these beings lacked intelligence and they sent birds to drive them away. With the help of the gods Xpiyacoc and Xumcane, they finally created four brothers named Balam Agab, Balam Quitez, Iqi Balam and Mahucutah. The brothers, however, turned out to be too perfect so they rendered them mortal and gave them wives, sending them to Earth with their own individual balam (idols) to father the Mayan people. The earth-gods, Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatli, meanwhile, sired four sons who were originally perceived as nature deities and guardians of the four cardinal points of the compass but were later identified as the four chief gods of the later Aztec Empire. These sons were Tezcatlipoca, Mixcoatl, Camaxtli and Xipe Totec. Mixcoatl and Camaxtli later mated with Coatlique and sired the gods, Quetzalcoatl and Huitzilopochtli, who overshadowed their father's roles and in later myths, were considered as siblings of Tezcatlipoca.

Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatli were also credited with creating the Aztec calendar and giving fire to Oxomoco and Cipactonal, the ancestors of the Aztec and Mayan people. (Some myths claim the first couple were mortal descendants of the gods, but other stories claim they originated from a  foreign realm known as Aztlan, identified with the ancient continent of Atlantis, suggesting the Aztecs and Mayans were descended from Atlantean refugees. Whether or not these claims are accurate are unrevealed.) Oxomoco and Cipactonal became the parents of Piltzintecuhtli, ancestor of the divine Aztec kings, who in turn had four sons, each of whom were bequeathed one balam who represented the patron deity of their ancestors. (Whether or not these sons are the same brothers described above or just a separate quartet of brothers is unknown.) Each of the Balam represented a separate son of Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatli, each son was the tutelary deity of their people The descendants of one of these sons became the ancestors of the Aztec race guided over by Tezcatlipoca, the tutelary deity of the Aztec Empire.

After the Mayan Empire began to wane, Tezcatlipoca lead the Aztec people to seize control over their predecessors and claim much of Ancient Mexico. Itzamna had departed Earth by this time for the other-dimensional world of Omeyocan, where he presided in Tonatiuhican, while on Earth, his worship was eclipsed by the god, Tezcatlipoca, who ruled over Earth from the city of Teotihuacan. Tezcatlipoca encouraged the Aztecs to engage in regular blood sacrifices to prove their loyalty to him. According to the Aztec/Mayan calendar, Tezcatlipoca reigned over the gods for 676 Aztec years (the exact conversion rate to the modern calendar is unrevealed), before he was overthrown by Quetzalcoatl, who would become his greatest rival. Opposed to blood sacrifice, Quetzalcoatl transformed Tezcatlipoca into a jaguar and tossed him into the ocean. Over the years, the two gods would oppose and quarrel with each other for centuries over control of the gods. 

Quetzalcoatl reigned under the Aztec/Mayan calendar for 676 Aztec years before he was overthrown by Tlaloc, the rain-god, who had supported Tezcatlipoca as ruler. Creating a large storm to force the younger god from power, Tlaloc caused a flood where mortals fled back to Tulai Zuvai to wait out the rain covering Earth. Afterward, Tlaloc took over sovereignty of the gods for himself, but he was overthrown himself by his own wife, Chalchihuitlicue, the water-goddess,  who deposed him and chose Quetzalcoatl to rule by her side. After Tlaloc had reigned for 364 Aztec years, Chalchihuitlicue and Quetzalcoatl ruled together for 312 years, bringing the Aztecs to greater prosperity. At its zenith, worship of the Aztec and Mayan Empires covered most of Ancient Mexico and Central America. They established the city of Tollan on Earth as the center of the Aztec civilization and introduced maize to mortals for the first time. Chalchihuitlicue and Quetzalcoatl had two children, Quetzalpetlatl, the wine-goddess, and Nanauatzin, the sun-god. To gain immortality, Nanauatzin jumped into fire to be reborn as god of the sun, while his half-brother, Tecciztecatl, the son of Tlaloc and Chalchihuitlicue, followed him to gain immortality, but because he didn't shine as great as his brother, he became god of the moon instead.

By now, Tezcatlipoca returned and cast a curse on Quetzalcoatl to embarrass him. He seduced Quetzalpetlatl in order to become Quetzalcoatl's son-in-law and successor and gained the favors of Huitzilopochtli, the war-god, to have the Chichimec tribes invade Tollan and depose the Aztec ruler Huemac around 1000 AD. The Chichimec tribes had by now established the city of Tenochitlan as the center of their empire near the ruins of Tollan and now conquered the area. Quetzalcoatl departed Earth for Tlillan-Tlalpen in self-imposed exile before departing Earth. By now, the Third Host of the Celestials occurred, and Tezcatlipoca and Itzamna were approached by Odin, Chieftain of the Asgardian gods, to meet with the rulers of the other gods once worshipped on Earth to discuss the threat of the Third Host of the Celestials. The Celestials had threatened to seal off the portals of each of their godly realms unless they promised to stop interfering in mortal affairs. Both Tezcatlipoca and Itzamna swore to this pledge and even made a vow to Odin to donate the necessary life energies to the Asgardians slain during the Fourth Host of the Celestials. When Thor came to Omeyocan and Xibalba to petition a portion of the required life energies as part of this vow, Itzamna saw that a debt had been paid to his realm and offered Thor the necessary energies to restore the slain Asgardian gods to life. 

Without the interference of their gods, the Aztec lands and properties were invaded and seized by the invading Spanish Conquistadors lead by Hernando Cortez, who they had confused with Quetzalcoatl returning to Earth. Several of the Aztec and Mayan gods had by now departed Earth for the different worlds of Omeyocan and Xibalba. The Spanish meanwhile introduced their native Catholicism upon the native Mexican tribes, but many of their ancient Aztec and Mayan rituals, such as the Festival of the Dead, survived as Mexican rituals. 

Until recent years, the vast majority of the Coatli have had little contact with humans although representatives such as Quetzalcoatl and Huitzilopochtli have had dealings with both Thor, a member of the Avengers, and with the Justice League of America through human agents. Itzamna and Tezcatlipoca have been associated with the other godheads of Earth's pantheons to discuss and deal with later threats to Earth, such as Demogorge, Thanos and Akhenaton.  

In ancient times, the Coatli were confused with a race of beings known as the Ahau (an Olmec word meaning "lord,"), a tribe of Mayans who had acquired superhuman powers through Terrigen Crystals. Impersonating their gods after the Coatli had departed Earth, they demanded blood sacrifice from the other Mayan who worshipped them as gods before they were finally driven from Earth, possibly by the Coatli, but this is unconfirmed. General Thunderbolt Ross encountered these beings as they recently tried returning to Earth and were once again exiled from the Earthly dimension.

Relationship to other pantheons: The Coatli are believed to have probable connections with the Ennead of the Egyptians and the Anasazi gods of North America, considering their common practice of creating pyramids, but this trait could also be connected to earlier possibly Atlantean contributions. Archaeological evidence comparing the architecture of the Aztecs and Mayan also possibly resemble Oriental styles of architecture suggesting the Ancient Chinese might have had connections with Ancient Mexico, but it is not for sure if this could connect the Coatli with the Xian or the Kami. Relations with the Incan Gods to the south are ambiguous. It is not believed the worshippers of the Aztec or Mayan Gods traveled much more south than Costa Rica or Panama. 

==Characteristics== 

Body Type: Humanoid
Avg. Height: 6' 0"
Eyes: Two
Hair: Normal
Skin: Normal
Limbs: Two
Fingers: Five with opposable thumb
Toes: Five
Special Adaptations: The Coatli or Mexican gods are exceptionally long-lived, but they are not immortal like the Olympian gods; they age very slowly upon reaching adulthood, but they are not invulnerable to death. They are physically more durable than human beings; their skin, bone and tissue being three times more durable and dense than similar tissue in human beings.

==Powers== 

Avg. Strength Level: All Coatli are superhumanly strong with the average male being able to lift (press) about 30 tons under optimal conditions and the average female being able to lift (press) about 25 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Powers: The Mexican Gods possess superhuman strength, stamina , longevity and resistance to harm. They are also inclined to tap and manipulate mystical energies for feats of magic, mostly for altering their appearance, communicating over long distances, teleporting through dimension barriers and casting spells. The scope of their powers mostly limited to one object, idea or field, usually tied into their personality. For example, as the Aztec god of the underworld, Xolotl has dominance over a variety of mystical forces just short of power over the dead, controlled by Ahpuch, the god of the dead. 
Known Abilities: The majority of the Coatli have renowned skills in combat and warfare as well as intense ritualistic practices invoking the powers of the earth.

==Miscellaneous== 

Type of Government: Monarchy
Level Of Technology: Magic
Cultural Traits: The Mexican Gods were worshipped as gods in the ancient Olmec, Mayan and Aztec Empires covering most of modern Mexico, Guatemala and Central America down to Nicaragua and even parts as far north as modern Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. Their culture resembles that of Pre-Columbian Mexico.
Names of Representatives: Ahpuch, Camazotz, Chalchihuitlicue, Chamer, Chantico, Cihuacoatl, Ekchuah, Gucumatz, Huhuecoyotl, Huehueteotl, Huitzilopochtli, Hunahpu, Huracan, Itzamna, Ixchel, Ixtab, Mayahuel, Quetzalcoatl, Quetzalpetlatl, Tezcatlipoca, Tlacolteol, Tlaloc, Tochipa, Xilonen, Xochipilli, Xochiquetzal, Xolotl, et al.

==Trivia==

• Mexico comes from the name "Mexica," the ancient name of the Aztec people.
• "Coatli" means "dragon" or "serpent," but it is used in this text to represent the Mexican gods as a whole. Other words that appear often in the names of the Aztec gods are "cihuatl" (woman) and "cuhtli" (man).
• In Meso-American Myth, the Mexican Gods are also referred to (at different times in their chronology) as the Bacabs, Chaac, Chicchan, the Oxlahuntiku and the Bolontiku, but these names are actually meant to specify smaller groups of gods in the much larger pantheon.
• In the Marvel Universe, the Aztec/Mayan gods are erroneously identified as the Teteoh; while "teteo" or "teotl" is an old Nahua word meaning "god," it has never been used in mythology to identify the Mexican Gods.
• "Ahau" is an old Olmec term meaning "lord;" it has erroneously been used in the Marvel Universe to refer to the Mayan gods as a separate pantheon from the Aztec gods.
• Considering the over-lap in their worship rites and repetitive aliases, the Aztec/Mayan gods are among the most difficult deities to form a consecutive family tree much less a chronology.

==References==

• Ancient Myth: Mexican Gods by James Parent and Tricia Strauss
• Book of Goddesses & Heroines by Patricia Monaghan
• Dictionary of Ancient Deities by Patricia Turner and Charles Russell Coulter
• The Flayed God by Peter and Roberta Markman
• Goddesses, Heroes & Shamans by Kingfisher Books
• Mythologies of the Ancient World by Samuel Noah Kramer
• Mythologies of the World by Matt Shapiro and Rhoda Hendricks
• Native American Myth and Legend by Mike Dixon-Kennedy
• South & Meso-American Mythology by Ann Bingham
• South & Mesoamerican Mythology by Patricia Ann Lynch

==External Links==

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