The imagery of decapitated female lunar deities is a recurring theme in Aztec cosmology. These images symbolize politics in relation to events of the solar calendar, such as lunar and solar eclipses. Among the Aztec cultural group as a whole, there were three variations of the story of Coyolxauhqui's decapitation. According to the Mexica, the founders of Tenochtitlan, Coyolxauhqui plotted with her brothers to kill their mother, Coatlicue, who was mysteriously impregnated by feathers. Upon hearing of this plot, Huitzilopochtli, the Sun god associated with warfare, came forth from his mother's womb and decapitated his sister, then proceeded to devour the hearts of her, his brothers, and 400 Southerners who attempted to assail him at Coatepec.
In the Cronica X version of the story, Huitzilopochtli decapitates his sister on the ballcourt and devours her heart at midnight, the time lunar eclipses occur. This version of the story suggests that the decapitation is not a metaphor for the daily triumph of the Sun over the stars, but eclipse imagery. One theory suggests that Coyolxauhqui represents the waning moon, but scholars have refuted this by explaining the common Mesoamerican anthromorphic interpretation of the waning moon being an elderly woman. Coyolxauhqui is depicted with a full set of teeth and her mother is young enough to give birth, therefore, the lunar goddess must be a young woman. This goddess is also often associated with a "moon-shaped stone" and bright, golden bells. This suggests the image of a full moon, the only phase at which a lunar eclipse occurs. In one sculptural representation of Coyolxauhqui, she appears to have to been "bathed in blood", same as the moon would appear during a lunar eclipse. A piece of evidence that deters any possible theories of Coyolxauhqui's association with the lunar phases is that she is not shown as having undergone any gender transformation like many of her lunar deity affiliates. All three variations of this myth take place on a ballcourt, suggesting a possible point on the celestial sphere, located near the ecliptic, where the lunar eclipse
During this yearly festival, prisoners were taken atop the temple where their hearts were extracted, and their bodies dismembered over the sculpture of Coyolxauhqui. The installments of Coyolxauhqui sculptures can be chronologically tied to the occurrences of lunar eclipses as well as periods of misfortune in which political leaders would feel a need to assert their authority and affirm the origins of the Aztec peoples. Another example of the effects of these cosmological beliefs is the way that the Aztecs feared many "eclipse monsters", such as the
A well-known Meso-American deity, Huitzilopochtli, is the Aztec god of war and human sacrifice. It is written that he had a constant battle with evil within himself and required human sacrifice for nourishment. It is believed that Huitzilopochtli’s mother, Coatlicue, an Aztec earth goddess, conceived him after she kept a ball of hummingbird feathers in her bosom that had fallen from the sky. Huitzilopochtli’s sister, Coyolxauhqui, plotted to kill her mother after discovering the shameful way she had become impregnated. When his mother was decapitated, Huitzilopochtli burst from the womb and killed his sister Coyolxauhqui ...
The religious beliefs of the Aztec’s was bloody they believed they had to make many sacrifices to appease the gods. The sacrifices were an important aspect of the Aztec religion. At the root of these interesting rituals, were the beliefs that the gods needed to be nourished by human beings. This was accomplished through human blood. They did this by a practice called bloodletting. Bloodletting is intentionally harming and drawing blood from the body. Those who were higher in status within the Aztec religion were expected to give the most blood during these Aztec rituals.
The religion and culture of the Aztecs played a role in the way the way they thought and fought. They worshiped the war-god Huitzilopochtli. He was identified with the sun and was called "the Giver of life" and "the Preserver of Life" (xxxix). The religion carried some ridiculous rituals such as human sacrifice along with using magicians and wizards to cast spells. In war conditions, human sacrifice played a big role because the Aztecs would not fight to kill,...
Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs:An Interpretation is an outstanding book dealing with investigations into how the Mexica peoples may have veiwed the world in which they lived. From the daily life of a commoner to the explosively, awe inspiring lives of the priests and warriors. Clendinnen has used thoughtful insights and a fresh perspective that will have general readers and specialist readers alike engaged in a powerful and elegantly written interpretation that is hard to put down without reflection upon this lost culture.
It is the 1450s. Foreigners have invaded your land, and they’re capturing the citizens living there for their lethal rituals. (Doc. A) You are unlucky enough to find yourself kidnapped, along with your family. Your mother is taken away quickly, but your father is forced to become a human sacrifice for the Aztec gods. What does this mean, exactly? According to The History of the Indies of New Spain by Friar Diego Duran, your father’s chest is severed, and his heart is taken out of his body. This is all while he is still awake, and before the time of pain medication. He slowly bleeds to death on the temple stairways - and you’re watching it all. This sounds terrible, does it not?
The Aztec Calendar stone has become one Mexico’s national symbols. After decades of Latin American Art being degraded, underappreciated, forgotten, and abused, it has become one of Mexico’s most national treasures. After years of research from the Codex Mendoza, the Calendar, and documents by the Spanish conquistadors, it has gradually become clear as to how the Aztecs truly lived and how art played such a huge role in their society. It has not only given researchers insight to the Aztec culture and religion and has also given influence to modern and the mainstream media today such as fashion and graphic design.
...es (kneeling) and daily rituals of weaving and cooking symbolized the power of Aztec women. Moreover, the power of a god was bestowed upon them only when they were depicted with armor. The women would spend long days on their knees performing their duties. The ritual of kneeling before the gods, were sought as being in a higher state. For example, I found it very interesting how these women were associated with religion while performing their daily tasks but had to replace their skilled tools with military instruments.
A major element of Aztec life was religion, as often is in the case in ancient civilizations. The Aztecs were a polytheistic people, and they often made use of human sacrifice to please their gods. Diaz often makes reference to the blood-stained walls of the Aztec temples in his account of the conquest. In reference to the success of Cortes and his soldiers, an anci...
There has been evidence of over two hundred human sacrifices in just one general area of Mesoamerica. Not just in an area of a city – but a “building”. Many pyramids, temples, and art forms such as sculptures were made and used just for the purpose of sacrifices and blood-letting rituals. Such violent rituals are shown in art and architecture to show the effect of symbols on the humans of Ancient Mesoamerica. The question that will be uncovered is, how far did the Mesoamericans go? To what extend do symbols effect Mesoamerican art and architecture? These effects could of course lead to the stronger subjects, specifically human sacrifices. The extent of symbols on the architecture and art therefore is reflected as the extent it had on ancient Mesoamericans. It will first be evaluated how Architecture is made to reflect their beliefs on the lives of their gods. Second, how architecture and art can depict symbols will be revealed, and lastly it will be discussed how architecture and art shows the effect of symbols on ancient human lives and interactions. Finding these things will answer the research question by revealing how much effort believers would make to please their symbols, how Mesoamericans believe their gods to be, and how far they would go with tradition or rituals.
Religion was very important in Aztec civilizations. They worshiped hundreds of gods and goddesses. They all stand for different things like, the sun and water to death. According to Ian Mursell/Mexicolore Aztecs believed “the gods created and controlled the world and kept the sun moving.”
The Aztec civilization was a very complex society that was feared and known well for their various gory sacrifices done to please their many gods in their polytheistic religion. The much feared civilization began by the exile of one of the two Toltec leaders, which lead to the decline of the Toltec state that was later replaced by Mexica, or the Aztecs. According to the Aztecs, the land chosen to build their main city was chosen by the portrayal of an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. Through military might, the Aztecs managed to become the most powerful civilization in the mid-fourteenth century. They maintained their power through military might and the fear they caused other civilizations because of the human sacrifices they performed on their captured victims.
When the Spaniards massacred the Cholultecas, the Cholultecas called on Quetzacoatl to destroy them; the Spaniards, in return, called on St. James. (Portilla, 44-5) When the Spanish defeated them, they began to question the strength of their gods. This is especially concerning because the Aztec gods were warriors – if the warrior gods the Aztecs had been worshipping for so long could fall so easily to this Saint they had never heard of, what did that mean for the Aztecs? The rituals the Aztecs had practiced in the past were based on taking captives, not lives. (Clendinnen, 86) The Spaniards did not care about keeping enemy soldiers alive for sacrifice. Since the entire Aztec religion (and thus society) is centered on human sacrifice, this was extremely strange for the Aztecs. Not only did these newcomers easily take over the Aztec’s territory, their gods did not require sacrifices. The initial encounter with the Spaniards pressured the Aztecs to reconsider their religious beliefs.
The downfall of the Aztec Empire was a major building block of the Spanish colonial empire in the Americas. Spain’s empire would stretch all the way into North America from the Southwest United States all the way up the Pacific Coast. The unfortunate side effect of this was the elimination of many nations of indigenous people. The three major themes shown in this conquest really give deeper look into the anatomy of this important historical event. Without context on the extent of native assistance given to Cortez in his fight with the Aztecs, a reader would be grossly uniformed. The Spanish conquest was closer to a civil war than an actual conquest. Until reading detailed personal accounts of the fighting it is difficult to judge the deadly effectiveness of the Spaniards technological superiority. Without it is difficult to imagine 500 conquistadors holding thousands of native warriors at bay. Once the greed of Cortez and greed in general of the Europeans one understands that if it wasn’t Cortez if would have just been a different man at a different time. Unfortunately fame and prosperity seem to always win over cares about fellow human beings
The statue was important to not only the Aztecs but to the Spanish as well for Catholics seen she as being related to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Coatlicue is seen as wearing a serpent skirt given the name of her meaning of the serpent skirt. Serpents meant childbirth and blood to the Aztecs which is why it is important that she wears a serpent skirt as it represents the childbirth of Huitzilopotchi and the blood from the decapitation of her head from the two serpents. In the Aztec culture, man trained to for battle while woman were the child bearers. Those who died during childbirth were believed to have become goddesses which relates to the Aztec myth. The Coatlicue’s face has been carved in many monuments to keep in touch with the earth since she was the goddess of earth and fire. The Aztecs were the largest army in Mesoamerica and took in many prisoners of war. They believed in ritual sacrifice so that their god would not desert them and their world would not come to an end. Thought to have been through four different worlds already, they believed to have lived in the final world that the gods sacrificed themselves for. The prisoners captured by the Aztec were mostly
Coatlicue was one of seven deities it the Aztec culture including, Ometecuhtli, creator god, Qpetzalcoatl, Feathered Serpent or god of twins and learning, Tezcatlipoca, god of the night sky, Tlaloc, god of rain and fertility, and Xipe Totec , god of vegetation, torture, and sacrifice. Coatlicue’s was the mother of Coyolxanuhqui, goddess of the moon, and to over four hundred son’s whom would later become the stars in the sky. Cloatlicue’s was also the mother of, Huitzilopochtli, sun god or war god.