In the life of the Aztecs religion occupied an extremely important role. It was interrelated with all spheres of their everyday life: advancements of their architecture were related to the necessity of building huge temples for appraising their gods, wars were conducted with a view of enslaving people for sacrificing them to their deities, their culture was tightly connected with religion which was the source for new ideas and was the background for developing new cultural concepts, etc..
The religion of the Aztecs was polytheistic. They believed that the deities commanded the forces of nature and human actions. Aztec gods were depicted similar to humans, but with grotesque, monstrous, even animal features. Aztec polytheistic pantheon included many gods and goddesses. Among the demiurge gods, there are mysterious, unpredictable Tezcatlipoca, the god of fire Xiuhtecuhtli and the famous Quetzalcoatl, who gave Aztec people the maize. Because the life of the Aztecs was largely dependent on agriculture, they worshiped the gods of rain, fertility, maize, etc. Gods of war, such as Huitzilopochtli, were associated with the Sun.
Visions of magic and occult forces prevailed in the minds of religious functionaries of Aztec civilization. The numerous stratum of priests and priestesses was associated with the cults of various gods. They interpreted the predictions, performed rituals and ceremonies performed to appease their gods. Great success of them among their people was guaranteed due to the hallucinogenic plants which were given to common people by priests. Their empirical knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants caused in other people belief in the supernatural powers of the priests, which resulted in the emergence of magic within the Aztec society.
In the honor of every deity, the Aztecs were erecting temples, where priests and priestesses glorified cults of the gods. The main temple, Tenochtitlan, was 46 meters high and contained two sanctuaries dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the god of rain. Sophisticated were the religious rituals that included festivals, chanting, dancing, burning incense, as well as the ritual of sacrifice, often with human sacrifices. However, the true extent of sacrifice is hard to measure, as “early Spanish observers systematically exaggerated the number of sacrifices as part of their attempts to make the Aztecs seem more savage-like” (Smith, 2006, p.5). On the other hand, Aztec sacrifices were extremely blood full: ruler Ahuitzotl (1468-1502) is said to have sacrificed 20,000 people after a battle in Oaxaca (“Religion”, 2010).
In Mesoamerica and South America during the heyday of the Aztec state, sacrifices were widespread. However, the Aztecs practiced them in an extremely large scale, sacrificing people during each of the 18 celebrations in their sacred calendar. Self-sacrifice was also practiced: during special ceremonies people injured themselves, performed ritual bloodletting, and wore special spikes permanently injuring the body. Blood was central in the cults of Mesoamerica. A lot of myths are known in which Aztec gods sacrificed their blood in order to help humanity. It explained the reason of sacrifice of people – all victims were executed for maintaining the energy of the sun, which, according to the Aztecs, needs blood).
Usually the victim's skin was colored into blue color (color of sacrifice), then the person was led to the upper platform of a huge pyramid. There the victim was laid on a stone slab, and victim's abdomen was ripped open ritual knife. Then the priest was removing the victim's heart and raised it up to the sun. After that, the heart was burned in a special reservoir, and the body was dumped down the ladder, where other priests dragged it away. Sacrifice was considered (and usually was) as voluntary, but not in the case of prisoners, and if there was not enough faith, drugs could be used to becalm the victim of sacrifice.
The Aztecs were conducting the so-called “flower war” – special raids for capturing prisoners to be sacrificed in the name of gods. It was such a “debt payment to the gods”, so that the sun could shine in the next 52-year cycle. The Aztec population was obliged to welcome the returning soldiers with flowers in their hands (one of the reasons that gave the name to “flower wars”).
Religious beliefs of the Aztecs impress and even terrify with their complexity and violence, as it may seem nowadays. We ensured that the religion in the Aztec society was of greatest importance. It was that moving force that vitalized their state for centuries, it was that paradigm which obliged its followers to live an altruistic life, sacrificing much, or even a life, to the gods and, consequently, to the State.
References
Religion. (2010). Aztec. Retrieved from
http://aztec.com/page.php?page=religion
Maestri, Nicoletta (n.d.). Aztec Gods. Retrieved from http://archaeology.about.com/od/aztecarchaeology/tp/Aztec-Gods.htm
Smith, E. Michael. (2006). Aztec Culture [PDF document]. Retrieved from ASU Website http://www.public.asu.edu/~mesmith9/1-CompleteSet/Smith-AztecCulture-WWW.pdf
