Among Quetzalcoatls many attributes, he was also considered to be the god of priests and merchants. In order to put the students more in character with the nature of this particular storytelling, they will be introduced to Aztec merchants called the pochteca, who most likely accounted for the widespread belief of Quetzalcoatl. The pochteca were wealthy merchants that also functioned as emissaries, ambassadors, spies and warriors. As a result of their efforts, Aztec trade expanded greatly although often by nefarious means. The pochteca traveled to new territories and disguised themselves in order to blend in with local culture, surreptitiously taking inventory on desirable goods, such as bird feathers, animal pelts, and precious stones. If discovered and attacked, they returned to inform their own ruler, whereupon war was frequently declared upon the hostile region. If the Aztecs won -- and they usually did -- they imposed unfavorable trade conditions on the losers. (Illustrated Dictionary of The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, p. 112.)
In Mexican and Central American Mythology, Nicholsen gives a more romantic view of the pochteca as followers of Quetzalcoatl with ethical principals that forbad them to accumulate wealth. On the surface, they would appear as such in their humble -- however feigned --behavior and their generosity in their offerings of great feasts and lavish gifts. But as Miller suggests in Gods and Symbols, this attitude was more protective than pious; protecting their wealth rather than flaunting it.
Students will be asked to imagine that they are a group of pochteca giving a great feast in a Mexican village. During the feast they will tell their stories of Quetzalcoaltl. A poem from a lesser Chilam Balam manuscript (Mexican and Central American Mythology, p. 94; see excerpt below) describing the mission of the Pochteca will be read to students so that they may visualize their characters more clearly.
-
You are the wanderer,
-
entering and departing
-
from strange villages . . .
-
. . . something you will achieve,
-
something the Lord of the Universe
-
will assign you.
Lastly, having rehearsed their work a few times, they will present the fruits of their labor to another class, or possibly offer it as a Library Media Center presentation for a larger audience.