The Spiritual World of the Aztecs

Religion can be described as a shared set of fundamental beliefs and practices. “The Aztec religion was a complex set of beliefs, rituals and gods that helped the Aztec/Mexica to make sense of their world, reality and death (Maestri Nicolette, 2013)”. Today, we will explore the famous Aztec world of gods, sacrifice, and magic in an attempt to better understand their culture and worldview. The traditional Aztec religion was on that focused on the services provided by a series of gods, all to whom a debt was owed. The debt was perpetual and came to be when the gods made the decision to sacrifice themselves to enable human life. “Life for humankind was only possible with a moving sun, and this the gods provided. It then became the responsibility of humanity to feed the sun thereafter, lest it stop and the universe stop with it (Holly Peters-Golden, 2012)”. The Aztec’s shared belief in this theory gave rise to a number of traditions and ceremonies involving human sacrifice. These ceremonies were conducted frequently and were often scheduled in accordance with their ritual calendar. These rituals were sacred to the Aztecs and were performed without hesitation or remorse. In every situation, those who were to be sacrificed were held in high regard for their contribution to the continuity of human life entitled them to great honor and the promise of a rewarded afterlife. In addition, the remains of the sacrificed individuals were also seen as divine and were often consumed by nobles during ritual feasts. “Because all the numerous gods claimed their own temples, were honored by their own rituals, and made their own particular demands, each needed a host of priests to serve its needs (Holly Peters-Golden, 2012)”. Due to the high volume of demands needing met; the Aztec priesthood was open to all members of their society regardless of their gender or social rank. However, the most powerful priests were thought to be those of noble decent. Total devotion to

References: Maestri, Nicoletta (2013), Aztec Religion, The Religious Practices of the Mexica, About.com, Retrieved on July 10th, 2013 from: http://archaeology.about.com/od/Aztec-Religion/a/Religion-of-the-Aztecs.htm Holly Peters-Golden (2012), Culture Sketches, Case Studies in Anthropology, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill