Mixcoatl, like Quetzalcoatl, also has a human counterpart who is said to have accomplished great deeds. Mixcoatl the man, was a leader of a band of roaming Teo-Chichimecs (or Tolteca-Chichimecs, depending on the version). Apparently, Mixcoatl's group was leaving Chicomoztoc, which was at the time under Toltec rule, and were heading toward Cholula as aide in their fight against the Toltecs. During their journey, Mixcoatl conquered Culhuacan. Consequently, Mixcoatl married a local noble woman (possibly a princess) named Chimaman and fathered a son named Ce Actal Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl.
There are varying versions of this myth, but they fundamentally stay the same. The only major difference is the name being used to describe the principal characters. Totepeuh, Mazatzin, and Mixcoazatin are some of the other names used for Mixcoatl; while Chimaman is also know as Coacueqe and Coatlicue.
It should also be mentioned that the city of Cholula was the patron city of Quetzalcoatl, and Culhuacan was Mixcoatl's.
While conquering Culhuacan, Mixcoatl is said to have slain Itzapapalotl and then burnt the body. She herself having slayed 400 Mimixcoas. Nigel Davies suggests that this event, which highly parallels a myth concerning the gods of the same name, was a symbolic re-enactment of this myth. In this case the warriors captured during the battle were playing the roles of the doomed mimixcoas of myth (Davies, 1971:431). This event is not unusual in Mesoamerican religion. It was common practice for sacrificial victims to be dressed in the attire of the god they were going to be sacrificed to. The act itself would be justification for why the god dies in the legend being re-enacted. It is then argued, in this manner, that some historical events were nothing more than an extreme role playing.
The event draws from the myth concerning the 400 mimixcoas (who were recognized as stars in the Southern sky). According to page 123 of the Leyenda de los Soles , the 400 mimixcoas had neglected their filial responsibilities to their mother, White Jade Skirt. Frustrated that she could not alter this behavior, she produced 5 more mimixcoas -- 4 boys and 1 girl. Their names being Mixcoatl, Eagle Dragon, Hawk Mountain, Master of the Ways, and Wolf Woman. The sole purpose of their existence was to punish their elder brothers, and they did.
In a related myth, the 400 mimixcoas are thought of as wandering Chichimecs who come across the goddess Itzapaplotl. Itzapaplotl then captures and eats them, but Mixcoatl escapes. Summoning the spirits of his dead brothers, Mixcoatl and his brethren dispose of the goddess. Itzapapalotl is killed by arrow and then her body burnt.
However, Burr Cartwright Brundage does not believe, as Davies does, that Mixcoatl was a real person. In fact, he sees the Culhuacan affair as a simply a myth. He interprets the killing of Itzapapalotl as an explanation for why warriors had customary black paint on them. "From her ashes they ground the black paint for the eye masks that thereafter distinguished the mimixcoas and all mortals when they dressed for war (Brundage, 1982:164). Mixcoatl was known as the god of the hunt. For Brundage, the myth is nothing more than an important story in the god's repertoire. In other words, the myth about Mixcoatl and the 400 mimixcoas , is like the one of the 12 legendary labors of Heracles in Greek mythology.
Returning to Mixcoatl as a historical figure, Muñóz Camargo reasserts the belief of Mixcoatl the man. However, in it Mixcoatl came not from Teo-chichimec or Tolteca-Chichimec origins. Mixcoatl Camxtli, as he is called here, belonged to the Nonoalcas, who came from Huaxteca. This would then explain how Quetzalcoatl (the god) became associated with the gods Mixcoatl and Thahuizcalponteuctli. For the Nonoalcas, Quetzalcoatl was the wind god known by his Ehecatl avatar; whereas the Tolteca-Chichimecs regarded Quetzalcoatl with Mixcoatl and Thalhuizcalpanteuchtl, who were connected to the planet Venus as the morning star.
In either case, Mixcoatl is said to have founded the royal houses at Culhuacan, however, Davies points out that some of the text states that Mixcoatl founded the royal lineage at Tollan (a.k.a. Tula and Tula, Hidalgo). Unfortunately, there is discrepancy as to when this could have occurred. Davies asserts that Mixcoatl existed at the fall of Tula, circa 9th century AD, whereas Brundage and Henry B. Nicholson (in reference to Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl) assert that it was at the birth of Tula, some time in the 12th century AD.
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