Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl were spiritual entities adopted from the Toltec legacy when the Azteca lived among the Chichimeca.

As with many Aztec myths, there are multiple versions of the Chīmalmā story depending on which tribe and time period is examined.

According to the Manuscript of 1558, section 7, the begetting of Quetzalcoatl happened in this way: "And then when Mixcoatl went to... Huitznahuac, the woman Chimalman came out to confront him... She stood naked, without skirt or shift."

When his efforts to approach her failed, he became angry and shot five arrows at her, all of which she caught in her bare hand.

After praying on the altar of Quetzalcoatl, the priest told Chimalman to swallow a small precious stone, after which she became pregnant.