Bloody sacrifice: 10 creepy ritual rituals of human sacrifice among the Aztecs

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

During the reign of Emperor Tlekelel in the Aztec Empire, Huitzilopochtli was proclaimed the supreme deity, revered as the god of the sun and the god of war. Human sacrifice rituals became widespread, and hundreds of thousands of people were killed by numerous bloody rituals. Modern scholars know how some of these terrible rituals were performed.

1. Wars of the Aztecs for the capture of captives

The insatiable gods needed more and more sacrifices, and there were already not enough captives to sacrifice. Then the Aztecs agreed with the rulers of the neighboring city-state of Tlaxcala that they would wage wars among themselves only for the purpose of capturing prisoners. Now, when the battle was over, the soldiers of the defeated army understood what fate awaited them, but, nevertheless, resignedly obeyed the enemy.

2. Voluntary self-donation

The Aztecs considered it an honor to be sacrificed to the gods. On the sacrificial altar, captives, criminals and debtors voluntarily offered their lives. The captive Aztecs, whom the Spaniards once were about to release, were enraged by this, as they were deprived of the opportunity to die with dignity. Prostitutes also sacrificed themselves in honor of the Goddess of Love. During periods of prolonged droughts, many were forced to sell their children into slavery in exchange for 400 ears of corn. The owners had the right to resell children who did not work well. A twice resold slave could already have been sent to the sacrificial altar.

3. Toshkatl holiday

The Toshcatl festival (from the word toxcahuia - drought) in honor of the god Tezcatlipoca was held in the fifth month of the Aztec calendar in honor of the harvest and was intended to ensure a good harvest in the future. A year before the holiday, a young handsome youth was chosen, usually from among the captured warriors, who was to be honored almost like a god for the next year. The chosen one lived in a palace, studied singing, playing the flute, and oratory. And on the day of the holiday, at the top of the pyramid, a ritual ceremony was performed - on a long sacrificial stone, the priests opened the unfortunate chest, pulled out the beating heart, and threw the body down to the crowd, where he was beheaded. And the festivities began, accompanied by the eating of the victim's meat and dancing.

4. Sacrifices in stone

Usually this ceremony was performed on a long sacrificial stone at the top of the pyramid. The victim was laid on a stone, the priest opened the chest and pulled out of it the still beating heart. Then the heart was torn into pieces and laid on the altar, later it was eaten by the priests. The body itself was thrown down from the pyramid, there it was beheaded, dismembered, and dishes were prepared from the meat for the upcoming feast.

5. Ritual cannibalism

The meat of the victims was used to prepare various dishes for the priests and nobles. Most often they cooked meat baked with corn. The bones were used to make tools, weapons, and household items. The recipe for one of these dishes - pozole soup, which was prepared for the emperor from the thigh of a victim - has survived to this day, only now pork is used for its preparation. Christians forced the Aztecs to replace human meat with pork.

6. Mass sacrifice in Tenochtitlan

During the reign of the Aztecs in Mexico, about 250 thousand people were sacrificed every year. But the most massive sacrifice known was in celebration of the completion of the Great Pyramid at Tenochtitlan. This sacred temple was under construction for many years, and in 1487 it was erected. For 4 days of celebration, an incredibly large number of people were killed - 84 thousand.

7. Feast of Skinning People

Tlakashipeualiztli - one of the most terrible Aztec holidays, held in honor of the god Sipe Totek, "lord without skin". 40 days before the start of the holiday, several captured warriors and slaves were chosen, dressed them in expensive clothes, and after that they lived in luxury, but only for 40 days. And on the first day of the holiday, lasting 20 days, a mass sacrifice took place, during which they were stripped off their skin alive. The first day was completely occupied with skinning, and the second with dismemberment of bodies. The bodies were later eaten, and the skin was worn by the priests for 20 days, after which it was given to them for storage, and the priests used it during their ritual dances.

8. Gladiator fights

During the Skinning Festival, some victims were given a chance to escape. To do this, they had to defeat the famous Aztec warriors, armed to the teeth, with only a wooden sword in their hands, which, of course, did not give them the slightest chance of victory. The battles took place on the round sacrificial stone of Temalacatl. But according to legend, one of the captives still managed, having killed 8 soldiers, to win this battle. The Aztecs were so impressed by this outcome that the winner was offered to command an army as a reward. But he did not accept their offer, considering it insulting to himself, and preferred to die with dignity, being sacrificed to the gods.

9. The attitude of the Aztecs towards twins

The Aztecs were very ambivalent about twins. In some myths, they are presented as heroes or even deities, while in others they are creepy killers. However, in real life, the twins were unequivocally treated with disgust, considering them ugly. The god Sholotl was considered the patron saint of twins, the god of thunder and death, who, having a very unpleasant appearance, was himself one of the two twin gods. The birth of twins was believed to be life-threatening for their parents. Therefore, often only one of the twins was left alive, and the other was given as a sacrifice to the gods.

10. Child sacrifices

The Aztecs, for the sake of their religion, did not spare even children. In one of the temples in honor of the god Tlaloku, who controls the forces of rain, thunder and lightning, during a drought, the most terrible ritual was performed. In order to beg God for rain, children were brought to the temple as sacrifices and killed there. Many of the children did not want to go and cried loudly as they climbed the stairs to the top of the temple. Those who did not cry themselves were forced to do so, as their crying was a necessary part of the ritual. The heads of the children were cut off at the top of the pyramid, and their bodies were taken out of town and stored in a special pit under the open sky. This was done so that a blessed rain could fall on them too.

And in continuation of the topic more 24 facts about the Aztecs, the last of the great Indian civilizations.