In Aztec mythology, Coxcox was the only male survivor of a worldwide flood.[1]
The Aztecs believed that only Coxcox and his wife, Xochiquetzal, survived the flood. They took refuge in the hollow trunk of a cypress, which floated on top of the water and finally banked on a mountain in Culhuacan.[1]
They had many children, but all of them were mute. The great spirit took pity on them, and sent a dove, which attempted to teach the children how to speak. Fifteen of them succeeded, and from these, the Aztecs believed, the Toltecs and Aztecs were descended.[1]
Another account
In another account, the Nahua god Tezcatlipoca spoke to a man named Nata and his wife Nana, saying: "Do not busy yourselves any longer making pulque, but hollow out for yourselves a large boat of an ahuehuete (cypress) tree, and make your home in it when you see the waters rising to the sky."[1]
When flood waters came, the Earth disappeared and the highest mountain tops were covered in water. All other men perished, being transformed into fish.[1]
The legend in art
Ancient Aztec paintings often depict the boat floating on the flood waters beside a mountain. The heads of a man and a woman are shown in the air above the boat and a dove is also depicted. In its mouth the dove is carrying a hieroglyphic symbol representing the languages of the world, which it is distributing to the children of Coxcox.
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