Aztec Religion - Literature review Example

Aztec Indians – Religion Aztec Indians history is very fascinating and interesting as it provides linkages to all the four-corners ly Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada (Althoff, Habeck and Hegseth). Even today many people living in the Mexico and California can trace back their linkages to the Aztecs. In the 15th and the 16th century the Aztec Indians had the most powerful Mesoamerican Empire that comprised of the multi-lingual and multi-ethnic people(Schmal). It is because of this mixed ethnicities and population that in the Aztec culture a lot of creativity is seen in the form of their art, poetry and music. It was through their art that they expressed religion and warfare which was portrayed in the form of paintings, sculptures and temples. In addition the Aztec Indians had a very structured society that was based on agriculture, and religion served as a guide that pervaded their every aspect of life (Schmal). As religion served to be their guiding principles, the Aztecs took their religion very seriously. They worshiped different Gods that were meant to represent different natural forces that according to their belief were important for their agriculture-based economy. Some of the important deities of the Aztecs were the god of rain: Tlaloc, the patron god of Aztec tribe: Huitzilopochtli, the god of civilization and culture hero: Quetzalcoatl and the god of fortune and destiny Tezcatlipoca who was also responsible for the war and sorcery. In the Aztec Capital – Tenochtitlan, each of these gods had their own temples where the Aztecs performed their religious practices and rituals (Wikipedia). These deities were mostly represented in human form however they were given different forms too where the face was given of an animal and the body of a human. At times the same deity was given different representations as well. Each of the Aztec cities had a giant stone pyramid on which the temples were made. The most important feature of the Aztec religion has been the Human Sacrifice (Schmal). This attempt of human sacrifice was practiced in order to please the Gods in situations where it was expected that they are angry, whereas it was also believed by the priests that it gave the Gods human sustenance and is requirement to fulfill the needs of their supernatural deities (Unknown, Aztec Indians). It was also a common belief that without sacrificing humans, the world would end and so will their lives. The common practice followed by the Aztecs on sacrificing an individual was to climb to the top of the pyramid wearing a mask, the person was then made to stretch out over a convex stone, and then in this position using a knife the priest would cut out the heart. According to the Aztec myths this practice was carried out because it was believed that the gods themselves sacrificed themselves in order to create the world, moon, sun and the people therefore by sacrificing themselves the people were repaying the god. Other than this offering food, other goods and incense were also very common (Smith). The Aztecs took this practice to an unprecedented level, however the number of sacrifices were dependent upon the crisis situation faced especially in the event of a drought. Because the Aztec economy was agriculture based, therefore in the season of good harvesting the number of sacrifices was low, however in a drought situation this number could increase to hundreds. This was also common among warriors for whom the two most honorable ways to die were to be slain in battle or by presenting themselves to be sacrificed at some important ceremony. Human sacrifice was also varied depending upon the social position of a person for example the sacrifice of a warrior was done on important ceremonies whereas in less important sacrifices, the prisoners were presented to the gods. There were also certain conditions applied to the individuals who were to be sacrificed, these included abstaining from any sexual activity, eating only one unseasoned meal a day for four days until the day of the event. This practice of sacrifices was considered very noble and sacred for the Aztec civilization and continued for until its demise. According to the anthropology researches on the Aztec sacrifices it’s estimated that about a quarter of million people had been sacrificed each year by the Aztecs (Thurmond, Kucher and Esposito).  The religious beliefs of Aztecs were quite varied and vast; they also had the concept of heaven and hell. However for them there existed about 9 hells whereas the number of heavens was 13. They had a strong concept that the sun wrestled with the darkness each night therefore to keep the sun strong in order to fight darkness they strongly emphasized on worshiping their god Huitzilopochtli. It was believed that this god provided the sun strength which made it strong for about 52 years. The religious calendar of the Aztecs included 260 days, which was a combination with the scientific calendar of 365 days and together the complete cycle made 52 years. As a ritual on the 52nd day a large number of sacrifices were made in order to keep darkness away from the world and those who volunteered to be sacrificed believed that they are giving themselves to the god to keep darkness away. Also included were celebrations by putting out their hearth fires and then lighting the new ones, feasts also followed. The Aztecs were also a very creative civilization; their creativity was visible through their temples which were created to appease their gods. These temples also included the pools serving as ceremonial cleansing, included the living place for the priest, beautiful gardens and also had an area dedicated for the storage of the skulls. In the Aztec culture, the concept of life-thereafter was quite different to that of today however they strongly believed in the afterlife. They believed that the person’s afterlife was largely dependent upon how he lived in the world and therefore the way you died determined the place you would end up. For example, it was believed that the person who died fighting in a war would go directly to the sun god; this same place was also given to a woman who died while giving birth to a child. However those individuals, who died due to any other reason, had to travel through the underworld before they could reach their final destination of the dead(Unknown, the Aztecs) Since the Huizilopochtid was considered to be the head of the gods, therefore this god gave them the indications for settling at a place which according to them was, that while wandering if they come across an eagle sitting on the cactus with a serpent in its mouth, that area would be claimed to be theirs and this is what is now known to be Tenochtitlan. The priests also held a very important position in the Aztecs life as they served various duties like of a doctor, teaching arts, music, writing, astrology etc. the other common practice of the Aztecs was their confessions. In their religion anyone who had committed a sin, if he confesses it would immediately be forgive as if it never happened. However the condition applied that once you confess a sin, you cannot do the same type of sin again. There was no forgiveness for those who committed the same type of sin more than once. Their religious rituals also included another important aspect that was impersonation of the deities. In this the priest or those individuals who were specially elected would dress up to achieve a likeness of a specific deity. The person who had the charge of impersonating a deity was called “ixiptlatli”and was given the same level of respect and honor as was given to the actual god, unless the god’s likeness had to be sacrificed under festivities or great circumstances. The Aztecs religious beliefs were quite complex and based on a lot of myths. However religion had an important place in their lives where all their everyday routine was based on religious activities. There beliefs were based upon their perception of nature, the time, cycles and space. Since they were too concerned with the destructive aspect of the nature and their economy was agriculture based therefore all their rituals are based upon pleasing their gods in order to avoid any destruction. They worshiped different gods who they believed ruled their activities and the course of nature. The important part of their religious rituals was human sacrifice as a gesture to repay the god and thanking for life and all the good. Works Cited Althoff, Chris , Randy Habeck and Brad Hegseth. "The Aztec Culture." n.d. angelfire.com. 02 12 2011. Schmal, John P. "The Rise of the Aztec Empire." n.d. History of Mexico. Smith, Dr. Michael E. "Aztec Culture : an Overview." Arizona State University 2006: 1-6. Thurmond, Wesley, Meghan Kucher and Will Esposito. "Aztec Civalization." n.d. Truman.edu.. Unknown. "Aztec Indians." n.d. American Indian Articles.. —. the Aztecs. n.d. . Wikipedia. "Aztec Religion." 2011 11 November. . Read More