Tamoanchan – The Journey to Paradise
Heaven, nirvana, Zion — whatever you want to call it, religions and cultures around the world differ in their beliefs about where we go after we die.
For the indigenous peoples of Mexico, they had a bit of a different view of the afterlife. Instead of automatically landing a place amongst the clouds or stars, a deceased person had to do some work to earn a spot in paradise in a place known as Tamoanchan, or the “place of the misty sky.”
What is Tamoanchan?
Tamoanchan is a mythical paradise that, depending on who you ask, is associated with Aztec or Mayan culture. Like many other cultures, these indigenous peoples believed after a person died, he or she would eventually end up in Tamoanchan. They also believed Tamoanchan was a home to the gods and the birthplace of mankind, time, and the calendar.
Tamoanchan is mentioned in the Tovar Codex, a work by Mexican Jesuit Jovan de Tovar. In the Codex, he describes Tamoanchan as “the Aztec equivalent of the Garden of Eden.”
However, there are some key differences between Tamoanchan and comparable concepts of the afterlife. Unlike heaven and similar places, Tamoanchan is not located in the sky — rather, it’s a place on Earth, situated on top of a mountain. This parallels the concept of Mount Belukha, being the gateway to the Buddhist paradise of Shambhala.
Secondly, the indigenous peoples did not believe one automatically went to Tamoanchan after death except under very rare circumstances. Instead, after dying, the deceased began a journey that would ultimately lead them to Tamoanchan.
The Journey to Tamoanchan
To reach Tamoanchan, the deceased had to first pass through a dark underworld called Xibalba, or “place of fright.” In Xibalba, they would encounter difficulties as the residents there would attempt to trick them into staying and not moving on to Tamoanchan.
According to legend, the Tree of Life sprouted from Xibalba and extended all the way up to Tamoanchan. After successfully passing through Xibalba, the deceased would then move up through a series of other worlds on the Tree of Life and eventually reach eternal paradise in Tamoanchan.
Under very rare circumstances, some individuals were exempt from the journey and could go directly to Tamoanchan after death. These circumstances included:
- Human sacrifice – Human sacrifice played a big role in Mayan culture. The Mayans had a cyclical view of life, believing people never truly died. Rather, they believed death was simply a part of life, and sacrifice was a surefire way to land a seat amongst the gods.
- Suicide – Suicide was also considered an honorable way to die in ancient Mesoamerican culture.
- Death in childbirth
- Death in combat
- Death on the ball court – The Mayan game Pok-a-tok was a sacred ritual that represented the struggle between life and death. The winning team had the privilege of being sacrificed to the gods, granting them direct access to paradise in Tamoanchan.
Tamoanchan: Fact or Fiction?
There are some who believe Tamoanchan isn’t merely a myth but an actual place. This draws back to the idea that Tamoanchan was located on Earth rather than in the heavens.
Researcher Alfredo López Austin claims Tamoanchan could have been located in several places, including Cuernavaca and near Iztactepetl and Popocatepetl. Other historians allege the mystical place was near the Gulf Coast.
Despite the many theories of Tamoanchan’s location, no one can be certain of its existence. There are many books out there about Mesoamerican mythology and history that can serve as resources, should you decide to conduct your own research on this fascinating topic.
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Were the Gods of the Sumerian Kings List Real?
Our history books are continually being tested and challenged, but few discoveries have thrown a wrench into the officially accepted narrative of man’s origin like the DNA of Alfred Perry. Thanks to a chance submission of this one man’s blood to a genealogy laboratory, scientific theories of our species’ origin have been turned upside-down.
The story began in 2013, when a female relative of Alfred Perry, a South Carolina man, submitted a sample of his DNA to trace the family’s genetic roots. It turned out Perry’s DNA was not only rare, but it reset the entire timeline for human existence on this planet. Perry’s Y chromosome contained a signature unlike any other.
Y chromosomes represent the genetic factor that determines the male gender, and from Perry’s DNA, scientists were forced to admit that the common ancestor for his lineage was roaming the earth some 340,000 years ago. Previous to Perry’s DNA sample, scientists believed the origins of humankind traced to an original “Adam” somewhere around 140,000 years ago.
Perry’s DNA may support the theory that this planet has been home to earlier human civilizations that somehow became extinct—or nearly extinct—and that humanity may have been involved in a reboot, so to speak. This theory is supported by an ancient artifact known as The Sumerian Kings List—a written history of kingship in ancient Mesopotamia discovered in Sumerian cuneiforms.
