Ancient Aztec Religion

1. Aztec religion is the Mesoamerican religion of the Aztecs. Like other Mesoamerican religions, it had elements of human sacrifice in connection with a large number of religious festivals which were held according to patterns of the Azteccalendar.
2. 
   Ancient Aztec religion hymn:
   Huitzilopochtli is first in rank, no one, no one is like unto him: not vainly do I sing (his praises) coming forth in the garb of our ancestors;
   I shine; I glitter.
   ~The Hymn of Huitzilopochtli (trans. by Daniel G. Brinton)
   
   Ancient Aztec religion was a complex interaction of gods, dates, directions and colours. It seems that most of the preoccupation in the religion had to do with fear of the nature, and a fear of the end of the world.
   
   By the time the Mexica's Empire (Mexica is the proper name for the Axtecs) was at its height, the political and religions systems were in close interaction. The actions of the ruling classes and common people can be best understood if we look way back to the Mexica understanding of the creation, or rather creations, of the world. Because the religion was a mixture from various peoples, there are variations. We'll give a general overview here.

Aztec Gods & Goddesses

The Aztecs brought their many gods and goddesses with them.As a farming people, the Aztec knew the forces of nature and worshiped them as gods. Most important was their sun god, Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs also used him as their god of war. They believed that their 'good' gods should be kept strong to keep away the 'bad' gods. They kept them strong by making human sacrifices. They had many stories about their gods.   Read some of them.

The gods & goddesses who created the world

Tezcatlipoca	Quetzalcoatl
Tlaloc	Chalchiuhtlicue

 

Through time these gods and goddesses created the sun and the world.

They even created the underworld, a place for the dead.

  

The Gods created a fifth and final sun.

The Aztec's main god was HUITZILOPOCHTLI.It was he who told the Aztecs where to build their city. He was the Sun god who they fed with human sacrifice. He was the god of war .... an important god!

Then there was Xipe - Totec ... one of the 'farming' gods.  He was quite a gentle god compared with some of the others.

What Happened To Aztecs?

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The Aztecs wandered around Mexico for about 200 years before they settled down in the Valley of Mexico. Other tribes were living in the area. Rather than start a war for a place to live, the Aztecs settled down in the swampy land around Lake Texcoco.

They were clever people. They adapted to their environment. They built canoes to fish and hunt. They filled the marshes with a combination of reeds and stones and dirt to create more farmland. They built dams and dikes to free even more land. Their engineers successfully built a bustling city, with wide plazas and many shops, on a swamp.

After they had settled in, the Aztecs began conquering neighboring tribes. Soon, the entire Valley of Mexico was under their control. Other tribes had to pay tribute to them in the form of food, clothing, goods, and captives to feed the hungry Aztecs gods. The Aztecs believed in human sacrifice. That was one of the many reasons the other tribes hated and feared the Aztecs. But the Aztecs seemed unstoppable.

It was not until the 1500s, when the Spanish arrived, that the Aztecs were conquered. The Spanish brought guns, dogs, horses, and disease. It was disease that conquered the Aztecs. The Aztec Empire collapsed. The Spanish took over the entire region.

Today, in Mexico, there are about one million descendants of the ancient Aztecs, living and working. Human sacrifice is no longer part of their festivals, but beautiful Aztec art and clever Aztec games

 are still enjoyed today.

Ancient Aztec History Part 4: The Power Of The Empire

The ancient Aztec government did not rule an empire in the way we often think of the word. The control didn't stretch into every corner of life - rather, conquered lands were forced to pay tribute, but left a certain amount of freedom. Warriors made small attacks on surrounding peoples and took prisoners which would be sacrificed. Read more about the concept of the Aztec empire here.

Although the expansion of the empire was often good for the conquered people - better trade and infrastructure, for example, the conquered people still obeyed in fear. Their hatred would cause many of them to turn on the empire when the Spanish gave them the chance.


Ancient Aztec History Part 3: The Huey Tlatcani

In the leading city of Tenochtitlán, the city leaders led the empire. The city council has been compared to the Roman senate. The leader was known as the Huey Tlatcani, or Great Speaker. This was the emperor, who was worshipped as a god. His rule was supported not only by the city council, but also the priests, judges, governors, and a host of other officials. Moctezuma II is the famous Huey Tlatcani who ruled when Hernan Cortes arrived in the New World.

The Huey Tlatcani did have absolute power in a sense. However, he did come to power by a semi-democratic system, and he could be removed from power. How this position was decided upon is not fully understood - it doesn't seem to have been hereditary, but family lines did play some part.

Ancient Aztec Government Part 2: The Calpulli

After the family, the basic unit of ancient Aztec government was the calpulli. Families didn't individually own land, the land was owned by a group of families, the calpulli. This structure of local government existed long before the Aztec empire. The leadership in the calpulli would be responsible for the basic needs of the group. They would set up the telpochalli, a school for common citizens (read more about the telpochcalli and other aspects of Aztec culture). They were also responsible to make sure taxes were collected from the group.

In the cities, calpullis became less family-related and more regional. As is the case today, city life brought many different individuals of different race and culture together.


Ancient Aztec Government: Part 1

Ancient Aztec government got its structure from units of society that existed long before the Aztec empire was founded. First, of course, was the family unit, as a basic structure of society. The government was built up from there