Native American Mythology and Folklore
Many Native American peoples are reported to worship deities named after the Aztec ruler, and often a part of the myth is that someday the deified Moctezuma shall return to vindicate his people. In Mexico the modern day Pames, the Otomi, Tepehua, Totonac and Nahua peoples are reported to worship earth deities named after Moctezuma. The name also appears in Tzotzil Maya ritual in Zinacantán where dancers dressed as a raingod are called "Moctezumas"
A mythological figure of the Tohono O'odham people of Northern Mexico and some Pueblo people of New Mexico and Arizona by the name Montezuma, can possibly be traced back to the Aztec ruler.
Hubert Howe Bancroft, writing in the 19th century (Native Races, Volume #3), speculated that the name of the historical Aztec Emperor Moctezuma had been used to refer to a combination of different cultural heroes who were united under the name of a particularly salient representative of Native American identity.
Read more about this topic: Moctezuma II
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