ILLUSTRATES Icarus Yuji
1) No other civilization was as dedicated to improving religious sacrifices as the Aztecs, who lived in Central America. For them, the gods sacrificed themselves every day to keep the world going. In gratitude, and to ensure that the planet remained in one piece, they killed people – in large numbers and violently
two) You temples were built to facilitate the process. The pyramids had a flat stone area at the top where people were killed, and channels in the side of the stairs for the blood to run down to the spectators. Generally, in addition to people, many rabbits, jaguars, eagles and dogs were sacrificed on the same day.
3) The ritual was accompanied by the entire population of the city, who were in a frenzy with screams and hypnotic dances, stimulated by music and a drink made from vine. On their own, many offered parts of their own bodies as sacrifices: at the foot of the temple, they plucked out ears, tongues, fingers or toes or genitals.
4) In one of the most commonly used sacrifices (especially to please Huitzilopochtli, god of war), four priests they held an Aztec warrior or a prisoner of war lying on an altar. A chief priest would open his belly, insert his hand through the viscera and pull out the heart.
5) To the victims varied according to the god pleased. For Tlaloc, from the rain and the plantation, were drowned crying children. Teteoinnan, mother goddess of the Earth, fed on young women, whose skin was removed while they were still alive. Throughout the year, there were 18 dates for the rituals – one for each calendar month.
6) The heart was kept: after the ritual, it was placed in the hands of a statue of Huitzilopochtli, in the center of the city. The rest of the body was thrown downstairs, and picked up on the ground to be broken up and distributed. Organs such as the lung, considered part of the divinity itself, were eaten. Others were used as souvenirs – the Aztecs wore the skin and carried the skull at certain religious festivals.
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CONSULTANCYWalter Burkert, Professor of Classical Antiquity at the University of Zurich, Patricia Smith, Anthropologist at the Hebrew University, Miranda Aldhouse-Green, Archaeologist and Professor at Cardiff University, Jonathan Tubb, Archaeologist at the British Museum, Jan Bremmer, Professor of Religious Science at the University of from Groningen
SOURCESBooksCity of Sacrificeby David CarrascoDying for the Godsby Miranda Green SuttonThe Highest Altarby Patrick Tierney, andJapanese Death Poemsby Yoel Hoffmann, and filmThe Straw Manby Robin Hardy