ABSTRACT
With the Sun at last restored in the sky, light returned to the world. But there were still no human beings to live on the new Earth. It was agreed that the Plumed Serpent, Quetzalcoatl, should brave the trials of the underworld to bring back the materials needed to make people. This was to prove a difficult and dangerous task, as Mictlantecuhtli, the Lord of the Dead, did not take kindly to intruders. Having escaped from the underworld, brave Quetzalcoatl carried the bag of bones to the gods. They had gathered in the heaven of Tamoanchan to wait for him to return. Quetzalcoatl gave the bones to the old mother goddess, Cihuacoatl, who ground them into a fine powder which she put in a special pot. Then she asked the gods for some of their blood.
