Ancient Aztec religion was a complex interaction
of Gods, Dates, Colours and Directions and was preoccupied with the fear of nature and the fear the earth would end. The Aztec race was very religious and everyone shared the same religion which meant that there were no religious disputes in the ancient world. Unlike religion in today’s society, no one didn’t believe and everyone valued religion to a great extent. In the Beginning Aztec creation myth states that the earth took five attempts to create, and at each attempt a different god sacrificed himself to become the sun. The sun was the most important role a god could undertake as the sun brought life to the earth and controlled all of humanity but ultimately each god would fail at his job ant the earth would end. The Suns The first sun was played by the god Tezcatlipoca and the element assigned to this sun is earth. The world ended at this stage because Tezcatlipoca only managed to become a half sun. This wasn't enough to bring any life to the earth and the world was ended. The second sun was played by Quetzalcoatl and the element associated with it is air. Legend states that during this age, humans were created in our likeness but became corrupt and so Tezcatlipoca turned them all into monkeys and allowed Quetzalcoatal to send hurricanes to wipe them all out, the survivors are said to be modern day apes. The third sun was Tlaloc and the element is fire. A fight between Tlaloc and Tezcatlipoca was the cause of the end of this sun. Out of revenge Tlaloc turned all of humanity into butterflies, dogs and turkeys. After this Tezcatlipoca rained fire and ash down upon to earth to wipe out the animals causing the end of the earth for the third time. The fourth sun is played by Tlaloc’s sister Calchiuhtlicue. During this stage Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca were filled with jealousy and brought the sun down, the population was turned into fish and the earth was ended by a great flood. The fifth sun is the said to be the sun we have now and this era is foretold to end in great earthquakes. Which will once again wipe out the human race Historians have found other interpretations to the Aztec creation myth which makes it hard to know which version the Aztecs actually believed in. Keeping the world alive The Aztec religion was focused on human sacrifice. This was because the fifth sun was very weak and in order to keep the balance of earth in order, humans had to be sacrificed to keep the weak sun moving. Either ritual bloodletting or actual human sacrifice would take place so that the warrior god would have an army to fight against the darkness with. Every 52 years people were terrified the world would end, religious fires were extinguished and all across the empire people would destroy their belongings and go into mourning (Kind of like us in 2012) but when the constellation of Pleiades appeared in the sky the people were reassured that the earth was safe for yet another 52 years. The sacrifice of humans was due to the fact that every single god sacrificed himself to help keep the weak sun moving and the gods demanded the people pay back this through a blood debt otherwise they would destroy the earth. The Afterlife Entry to the afterlife in the Aztec world was a given but where you ended up was determined by your way of death. If you died after being sacrificed you would join the army of gods fighting against the darkness. There were other ways to die to ensure yourself a place in one of the underworlds seven paradises these methods of death included: dying in child birth, being struck by lightning, drowning, war or certain diseases. If you were to die in any other way you were to endure a four year trial, travelling through every one of Mictlan’s nine hells, after which some would be reincarnated into birds, butterflies and then eventually humans. Others who weren’t so lucky ended up as empty souls just roaming around the afterlife. Huitzilopochtli Huitzilopochtli was the Aztec god in charge of keeping the darkness away from earth, the warrior god who kept earth alive. Aztec religion was strongly focused on the worship of this god and the sacrifice of humans to his army. Military conquest and sacrifice were all related to the worship of this god to keep his army strong and avoid disaster every fifty two years. The Aztec Calendar The Aztec calendar was not that different from that of the Mayan calendar but it was very different from today’s calendar. There was not just one calendar in the Aztec world, there were two more or less independent systems. The first one had three hundred and sixty five days marked on it and described the rituals and days related to each season and was called the xiuhpohualli or to put it simply, the solar year. The other has two hundred and sixty days marked and was called the tonalpohualli or day count and was the sacred calendar. The system of The Xiuhpohualli This calendar consists of eighteen months of twenty days and five extra unlucky days. The system of the Tonalpohualli This system consisted of two hundred and sixty days which are separated into two wheels. One with the numbers 1-13 written on it and the other had twenty symbols. The number one combines with the first glyph and the wheel starts turning and when the wheel reaches the number one, after 13 days, the week ends and the Tonalpohualli starts again. Historians & The Aztec Religion The religion of the Aztecs is up for interpretation by any historian which makes it hard to know who’s telling the truth and who’s making up stuff. One example of an historical interpretation which can confuse people is that of the creation myth. Historians have interpreted two different versions of said myth which means it is hard to ascertain which the Aztecs actually believed in. Summary and conclusion In summary the Aztec religion was something that everyone believed in and was an intense combination of numbers, dates, colours and sacrifice. Religion in the Aztec culture was very important as it was the vein of their existence. The gods kept the world alive and in exchange for this the Aztecs had to sacrifice humans to join the army which fought against the darkness. The Aztec religion was also important to the Aztec society in order for them to know when to plant crops, go to war and most importantly when to sacrifice humans or perform ritual blood-letting to help pay back the blood debt owed to the gods. Ancient Aztec religion was a complex interaction of Gods, Dates, Colours and Directions and was preoccupied with the fear of nature and the fear the earth would end. The Aztec race was very religious and everyone shared the same religion which meant that there were no religious disputes in the ancient world. Unlike religion in today’s society, no one didn’t believe and everyone valued religion to a great extent. In the Beginning Aztec creation myth states that the earth took five attempts to create, and at each attempt a different god sacrificed himself to become the sun. The sun was the most important role a god could undertake as the sun brought life to the earth and controlled all of humanity but ultimately each god would fail at his job and the earth would end. The Suns The first sun was played by the god Tezcatlipoca and the element assigned to this sun is earth. The world ended at this stage because Tezcatlipoca only managed to become a half sun. This wasn't enough to bring any life to the earth and the world was ended. The second sun was played by Quetzalcoatl and the element associated with it is air. Legend states that during this age, humans were created in our likeness but became corrupt and so Tezcatlipoca turned them all into monkeys and allowed Quetzalcoatal to send hurricanes to wipe them all out,the survivors are said to be modern day apes. The third sun was Tlaloc and the element is fire. A fight between Tlaloc and Tezcatlipoca was the cause of the end of this sun. Out of revenge Tlaloc turned all of humanity into butterflies, dogs and turkeys. After this Tezcatlipoca rained fire and ash down upon to earth to wipe out the animals causing the end of the earth for the third time. The fourth sun is played by Tlaloc’s sister Calchiuhtlicue. During this stage Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca were filled with jealousy and brought the sun down, the population was turned into fish and the earth was ended by a great flood. The fifth sun is the said to be the sun we have now and this era is foretold to end in great earthquakes. Which will once again wipe out the human race. Historians have found other interpretations to the Aztec creation myth which makes it hard to know which version the Aztecs actually believed in. Keeping the world alive The Aztec religion was focused on human sacrifice. This was because the fifth sun was very weak and in order to keep the balance of earth in order, humans had to be sacrificed to keep the weak sun moving. Either ritual bloodletting or actual human sacrifice would take place so that the warrior god would have an army to fight against the darkness with. Every 52 years people were terrified the world would end, religious fires were extinguished and all across the empire people would destroy their belongings and go into mourning (Kind of like us in 2012) but when the constellation of Pleiades appeared in the sky the people were reassured that the earth was safe for yet another 52 years. The sacrifice of humans was due to the fact that every single god sacrificed himself to help keep the weak sun moving and the gods demanded the people pay back this through a blood debt otherwise they would destroy the earth. The Afterlife Entry to the afterlife in the Aztec world was a given but where you ended up was determined by your way of death. If you died after being sacrificed you would join the army of gods fighting against the darkness. There were other ways to die to ensure yourself a place in one of the underworlds seven paradises these methods of death included: dying in child birth, being struck by lightning, drowning, war or certain diseases. If you were to die in any other way you were to endure a four year trial, travelling through every one of Mictlan’s nine hells, after which some would be reincarnated into birds, butterflies and then eventually humans. Others who weren’t so lucky ended up as empty souls just roaming around the afterlife. Another way to avoid ending up in on the four year trial was to be cremated. This, however was usually saved for the high officials and not for common folk. Cremation was believed to change the soul and send it straight to one of the seven paradises. Huitzilopochtli Huitzilopochtli was the Aztec god in charge of keeping the darkness away from earth, the warrior god who kept earth alive. Aztec religion was strongly focused on the worship of this god and the sacrifice of humans to his army. Military conquest and sacrifice were all related to the worship of this god to keep his army strong and avoid disaster every fifty two years. The Aztec Calendar The Aztec calendar was not that different from that of the Mayan calendar but it was very different from today’s calendar. There was not just one calendar in the Aztec world, there were two more or less independent systems. The first one had three hundred and sixty five days marked on it and described the rituals and days related to each season and was called the xiuhpohualli or to put it simply, the solar year. The other has two hundred and sixty days marked and was called the tonalpohualli or day count and was the sacred calendar. The system of The Xiuhpohualli This calendar consists of eighteen months of twenty days and five extra unlucky days. The system of the Tonalpohualli This system consisted of two hundred and sixty days which are separated into two wheels. One with the numbers 1-13 written on it and the other had twenty symbols. The number one combines with the first glyph and the wheel starts turning and when the wheel reaches the number one, after 13 days, the week ends and the Tonalpohualli starts again. Aztec Priests Aztec priests were the ones in charge of making sure all sacrifice happened and that everyone was following the religion. They were vicious people who nobaody wanted to get on the bad side of. These men were also in charge of actually performing the sacrifces to ensure it was done right. Historians & The Aztec Religion The religion of the Aztecs is up for interpretation by any historian which makes it hard to know who’s telling the truth and who’s making up stuff. One example of an historical interpretation which can confuse people is that of the creation myth. Historians have interpreted two different versions of said myth which means it is hard to ascertain which the Aztecs actually believed in. Summary and conclusion In summary the Aztec religion was something that everyone believed in and was an intense combination of numbers, dates, colours and sacrifice. Religion in the Aztec culture was very important as it was the vein of their existence. The gods kept the world alive and in exchange for this the Aztecs had to sacrifice humans to join the army which fought against the darkness. The Aztec religion was also important to the Aztec society in order for them to know when to plant crops, go to war and most importantly when to sacrifice humans or perform ritual blood-letting to help pay back the blood debt owed to the gods after they sacrificed themselves for all of humanity. The ancient Aztec religion was entirely focused on the gods and human sacrifice. Creation Story The Aztec's believe that the earth was created five times, because each god that tried to be the creator ultimately failed to be any good at their only job, keeping the world alive. The First Sun The element of this first age is earth. The god Tezcatlipoca was chosen to be sacrificed to create an energy source for the planet, though he only managed to become a half sun. This didn't work out well because the only way the earth could survive is if it had a full sun. The Second Sun The element of this second age is air. Quetzalcoatl is in control in this era. Humans were created according to our current likeness and ways but became corrupt. Because of this, Tezcatlipoca, who never died after only becoming a half sun in the first era transformed them into monkeys, and Quetzalcoatl sent hurricanes to wipe the monkeys out. But there were survivors who, according to the legend, are our current day monkeys. The Third Sun The element of this age is fire and the god responsible for this era is Tlaloc, the god of rain and water. A fight ensued between Tezcatlipoca and Tlaloc when Tezcatlipoca stole Tlaloc’s wife. Out of revenge, Tlaloc transformed all of humanity into turkeys, dogs and butterflies. Quetzalcoatl decided it would be a good idea to rain fire and ash down upon the atrocities, causing the destruction of humanity for the third time, the gids wern't exactly good at being the ruler of the world. The Fourth Sun The Element of this age is water and the god who was chosen to become supreme overlord was Calchiuhtlicue. During the reign of this sun , Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca were jealous of Calchiutlicue and decided in their infinite wisdom to bring down the sun and all the humans on earth were turned into fish and this age was ended by a great flood. The Fifth Sun This is today's sun according to ancient aztec legend and the god in charge of us now is Tonatiuh and according to the legend this age will come to an end with dramatic earthquakes. It is said that this world was created through sacrifice of other gods. Human Sacrifice The Aztec religion was largley based around human sacrifce, this was used mainly to please the gods. The Aztecs sacrificed humans in several different ways, the way that you were sacrificed was particular to the god you were being sacrificed for. Some of the ways were: Ritual bloodletting The victim being placed on a slab and their heart being ripped out (while they were alive!) Shooting with arrows and even buring people! A Particular god they sacrificed to was Mictlantecuhltli (God of the dead). The way humans were sacrificed to him is as follows: They would skin an impersonater of this god at night. The skins of the sacrificed humans were than ofered to Mictlantecutli in order to stop the end of the earth. Death And The Afterlife There were certain ways to die in the Aztec civilisation in order to guarantee eternal peace. These ways were: Childbirth, drowning, sacrifice, lightning strike and dying in battle. If a person died any other way the would be sent of a four year trial through the nine hells, and if they survived this they would evenutally end up in Mictlan (the underworld) and live for eternity in darkness. Summary The Aztec religion is a religion that was based around many gods and godesses and one in which human sacrifce plays a large role in. The aztec priests were brutal people who would brutally sacrifice a human to their gods in order to ensure their survival. Human sacrifice was usually a painful and cruel process, but it ensured the world was safe for another day. Death was also a pretty painful process and peace in one of the paradises wasn't guaranteed |
Aztec Calendar
Statue of an Aztec God
|