In the years before the Spanish conquest in the early 1500's, the Aztecs of Mexico ritually sacrificed at least 20,000 people per year. The Aztec Indians of Mexico practice human sacrifice and cannibalistic acts to pay the highest respects to the gods of their polytheistic lifestyle. The act of sacrifice involved a hierarchy: the gods offered to, the performers of sacrifice, and the victims of sacrifice.
Whatever symbolic meaning the god represented would bring gifts such as rain, a good crop season, etc. If the rain god Tlaloc was pleased with his offering, rain would bring an end to drought. The Tlaloque, Tlaloc's offspring, controlled all rivers, wells, snow and hailstorms. Xipe Totec, known as "Our Lord the Flayed One", was one of the creator gods of the Aztecs. Xipe was the god of both goldsmiths and a prosperous spring growth. His victims or offerings would be striped, the breaking of the skin being symbolic to the splitting of the seeds in the earth when the seeds germinate.
The performers of sacrifice were dedicated priest who wore distinctive clothing and had a definitive style. The priests wore unwashed black robes and their bodies" were painted with a mixture of rubber tree sap, spiders and scorpions. The black hair and the nails of a sacrificial priest were never washed or cut, making the hair occasionally come to the length of the ankles and the nails being long, curved and claw like.
The Aztecs used war and crime as a way to find captives for sacrifice and cannibalism. Almost all of the Aztec sacrificed victims were members of guilty classes including prisoners of war, slaves, and criminals. Public debtors, persons of extreme poverty and children were subject to human sacrifice when needed.
In order to please the Aztecs" insistent gods, the Aztecs would follow their sacrificial rituals to accommodate each need of the god that was being offered to. The dedicated priests who performed sacrifices followed the code of dress required by wearing certain black robes and not cutting or washing neither their hair nor nails.
But sacrifice also afforded atonement to the Aztec sacrificer. ... ("The Mystery of Aztec Sacrifice"). ... If the Aztecs could not find a willing sacrifice, they would take prisoners and slaves to sacrifice. ... Aztec human sacrifice was a necessary part of their culture. ... Aztecs also took part in cannibalism after the sacrifices. ...
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico. ... The Aztec religion was mostly based on keeping nature in balance. ... Human sacrifices were a big and very sacred thing in the Aztec religion. ... Animals and humans were used as sacrifices. ... The culture of the Aztecs was a unique and diverse culture. ...
To understand how and why human sacrifices were practiced, it is crucial to understand the fundamental ideas of the Aztec people and their religion. The Aztec religion called for a daily performance of human sacrifices in order to please the Gods and give them quality honoring. ... When the famine finally ended and healthy crops began to grow, the Aztec priests and rulers believed that the sacrifices were necessary in order to uphold the prosperity of the valley. From then on, the Aztec practice of human sacrifice took on a high role of importance. ... Aztecs were known to prepare their mal...
The Aztecs believed that this fifth world they were living in was created at the ancient site of Teotihuacan through the sacrifice of a god who flung himself into a fire in order to reappear in the sky as the sun. For this reason, the primary focal point of the Aztec religion is to please the gods for the sacrifices they made. The Aztecs performed various ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices as a means of communicating with the supernatural based on their ritual calendar. ... Several cruel forms of sacrifice can be found, dependant on the deity to be pleased. ... In Aztec religion there ...
The Aztecs praised and admired remarkable athletic talent. ... The Aztecs built canoes to be able to fish and hunt. ... The Aztecs had a rather intense view of games and play. ... The vast majority of Aztec games involved betting. ... The Aztec ball game was rather intense too, for it was often linked with human sacrifice. ...
Would you typically see a priest sacrificing a human to the gods right now? ... In the past, the Aztecs would experience this life usually. ... Moreover, to satisfy the gods even more, the Aztecs were widely known for human sacrificing their people to the gods to help save everyone. The sacrifice happened while the priests stood at top of a pyramid and stretching the victim, later cutting out its heart with a flint obsidian knife to put the heart in the "quahxixalli," the place to burn it with copal incense. The reason behind the dramatic human sacrifice was, "The Aztecs believe...
The Aztecs The Aztecs came from Azatlan, which is the mythical place of origin (Aztecs of Lost Civilization). ... There were religious ceremonies daily in which acts of sacrifice to the gods were taken. It was a great honor to be sacrificed to the gods (Los Aztecas). A sacrifice was when a person reached an alter and was stretched across a convex stone. ... An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people were sacrificed a year (Aztecs). ...
The Aztecs were also great warriors. ... The Aztecs state was authoritarian. ... Many Aztecs lived in small, adobe homes and wealthier Aztecs lived in larger ones. ... They used it to perform human and animal sacrifices. ... Then he went to the Aztecs city. ...
Cultural Anthropology Ethno profile: The Aztec Aztec Introduction In this ethno profile we will be taking a look at the Aztec people of Central America. ... The stall this from happening human sacrifices had to be made. ... Most sacrifices were captives of war and in special case honored people were slain. ... Tlaloc was also known for receiving children sacrifices but it was better if the child cried before the sacrifice to help promote rain. ... Death to the Aztec was most honorable in sacrifice and in battle and was thought to be the greatest journey anyone will take. ...
