How Did Aztecs View The Afterlife And Its Significance?

The Aztecs cosmology was a unique combination of mythology. Their beliefs about themselves and their purpose were not something they took lightly. “The mystic-militaristic approach characteristic of Aztec religion…felt that the purpose of man’s creation was to provide blood for the maintenance of the Sun’s life” (Leon-Portilla, Aztec Thought & Culture, 122). With this perspective of themselves, the Aztecs believed that human sacrifice was not only justified but necessary for the lives of civilization. Simply put, mankind was “food” for god.

Finally, in the Aztec myth, Quetzacoatl, the creator of humans, dies by burning himself out of remorse, his heart becoming the morning sun. His death preserves the life cycle since his rebirth as the sun becomes as a central part of growing and dying. In general, each rebirth of a god is symbolic of a similar rebirth in nature, their deaths becoming other forms of life. Through these examples, it is quite evident how the natural cycle of life is reflected in ancient

When the Spaniards under Hernan Cortez gazed upon the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in Mexico in 1519, the scene before them amazed them. There, in the middle of a wide lake was a shimmering city with bright white walls of vast buildings sitting on an island in the middle of a large lake with causeways linked to it. The astonishment of those first Spanish visitors soon turned to horror when they saw the vast scale of ritual sacrifices made by the Aztecs.

Huichols or Wixarika are a group of indigenous people live in the rough and rocky terrain of central Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountain whose rituals and traditions have endured all the way through the centuries, even in the countenance of absurd unusual. In spite of the efforts to change them to Catholicism follow by the Spanish invasion of Mexico, the Huichols’ immobile live today is quite related to the time as their ancestors lived many centuries ago. Huichols’ religion engages in recreations of central role in their everyday lives. From the most ordinary job, to the majority consecrated rites, each activity has special symbols and those symbols allude to Huichols’ belief system “myth”. Myth is defined as “a sacred story that people

Inga Clendinnen has had a fascination for the MesoAmerican area and it's history for over 30 years. Having wrote many books on the peoples and history of the region, her knowledge makes her well qualified to write a book such as Aztecs. The book is not one based on historical facts and figures, but one which is founded on interpretations of

The gods and goddesses played an important part in the lives of the Aztec people. One of the Aztec god was Mictlantecuhtli who was the protector of the underworld. He was also the god of death. There is no myth on how Mictlantecuhtli was created. He was worshipped during the Aztec month Tititl at the temple of Tlaxiaco.

In Northern Mexico, a group of people known as the Aztecs arrived and became the dominant tribe in the region. Since the 13th century the Aztecs developed their capital city of Tenochtitlan as well as controlled their capital city of Tenochtitlan and their rival’s city-states. However in the 16th century invaders from Spain led by conquistador, Hernan Cortez, put an end to the Aztecs after taking Tenochtitlan (“Beyond Human Sacrifice”, 2002; “Montezuma, II”, 1998). Though the Aztec’s civilization crumbled, much of their art remains to tell stories of their religion and rituals that they practiced. Their art included statues of gods, ceremonial clothing, and illustrations depicting a warrior society built upon human sacrifice.

The Aztec culture was one of the most complex and detailed cultures that has ever been around to date. Just how complex the culture was the religion followed suit. The Aztec religion was an intricate part of their way of life. The Aztec’s believed in a completely different way than most religions are today. We will discuss some of the early beginnings of the religion and how it got started all the way to the details of what and how they believed and “prayed”. As most people know the Aztec’s as well as the Mayan culture believed heavily in a many gods, sacrifices, and all nature around them. We will focus on each aspect of their beliefs and what it entailed.

Ever wondered what Aztecs were anticipating the moment they were about to die? THESIS: Aztec afterlife was not seen as death but just as another level of consciousness and existence, and learning

In the Aztec world, there are three main worlds that exist which include, “the earth world on which humans lived, an underworld which belonged to the dead and the upper plane in the sky.” Humans can enter either the earth or the underworld as they were welcomed to be a part of those worlds since the upper planes was not meant for humans to enter. The Atzec underworld was called Mictlan, which meant place of death. The upper planes was known to be in nine layers because Mictlan preferred different mythical beings for that world. One place was called Tlachon which was known as, “a verdant spring-like place with abundant water where people who drowned had their afterlife and Tamoanchan, a mythical place of the origin of the gods they were well

The most important part of the Aztec religious life was human sacrifice. It was practiced in all of Aztec history. The god provided needs for human, so in return a sacrifice was to be made. The Mayan priest had many ways of nourishing there gods. This was done through blood caused by piercing of the tongue, ears or genitals. Other sacrificial practices was through prayer, food offering, sports and even drama. The relationship between the religion and its society was a strong believe in life after death. Aztecs believed death was more important than life, the way they lived their life would determine where they would end up after death. There was two determining factor and it was whether they would go to the sun god or the dark underworld. If

In Aztec legends, worlds were formed as powerful deities fought among themselves. These gods often took form through associations with common items such as numbers, colors, directions and even calendrical events. Aztec spiritual life ranged from the crafting of small pottery statues in representation of the gods to large scale events like attending elaborate public ceremonies involving human sacrifice.

The daily life as an Aztec was very demanding; as they were in a constant state of war in order to please their God’s and conquer more territories to expand their

I was born an Aztec and my young life was a blur but I remember my mother she offered to be the human sacrifice and she brought up the sun. Every day since I have seen her face in the sun and my dad protected the tribe from the Incas when they attacked and he was killed when he was ambushed when he was out on a patrol and he fought to let the others get away he died in honor and he fought them off like a lion and one stayed back to watch him fight them off and they tried to stop him and run with them but he told them to run and they refused but my father insisted and the finally left him to cover their backs he died so all of the others could escape and he fought and one came at him on his left he swung his club and knocked that one dead than

The infamous Aztec empire ruled the Mesoamerica through terror and religious wars from the 14th century to the 16th century. Their capital was the floating city of Tenochtitlan that was founded around 1325 until it the Aztecs were conquered by the Spanish in 1521 (Hilary Dockray, The Aztec Perspective on Death and Afterlife.) Unlike the Christian Europeans, the Aztecs did not fear death. “…the Aztecs saw their lives as being. They did not fear death as the harbinger of judgment, resulting in condemnation or reward. They believed they were collaborators of the gods, chosen to support and nourish the gods, who were crucial for the survival of the world in general, and for the flourishing of the Aztec people in particular” (Mexico and Death, Modern and