Aztec Mayan Gods

QUESTION: Aztec Mayan Gods - What role did the legends of the Mayan-Aztec gods play in the creation of the world?

ANSWER:

According to the Aztecs, the world and man were created several times, with a cataclysmic event that destroyed mankind each time. Some traditions state that the first destruction was by a flood and men were changed into fish; the second by fire, and men were changed into birds; the third, by wind, and men were changed into monkeys; and the fourth, by jaguars, who devoured the giants, leaving the world depopulated.

While not all traditions agree on the order of the different creations, the world first began with the creator gods, Quetzalcóatl(Mayan Kukulcan) and Tezcatlipoca. A cosmic battle ensues between the two -- earth vs. wind, matter vs. spirit. As a beneficent god to all mankind, Quetzalcóatl descended into the world of the dead, gathered the bones of past generations, and sprinkled them with his own blood, thereby creating mankind. A Toltec legend states that this ancient god-king sacrificed himself, but he would return one day, heralding the end of the world forever.