Aztec Religion: Shock & Horror as cultures clash

QuetzalcoatlDescriptions of first contact with the Aztec faith can be terrifying to read by modern readers.  Men traveling with Hernan Cortes on his fateful march against the Aztecs (Mexica) described sights so terrible that it is almost impossible to believe. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who’s book about the Aztec Conquest is one of the main historical sources of the event, described coming upon small one room temples in the jungle full of dismembered children and animals, hearts stuffed into wall mounted altars and the smell of decay rampant. It is easy to understand their disgust with the native faith and their desire to impart their Christian ideals on the people.

Hernan Cortes not only brought Christianity to Mexico, he completely destroyed their faith in under two years. With roots in animism, the Aztec faith was the result of thousands of years of intermingling of cultures like the Maya, Toltecs and other Mesoamerican cultures with similar faiths. Like the Roman gods being born of the Greek Pantheon, so were the Aztec gods born of previous faiths. At the top of the hierarchy for the Aztecs was the feathered serpent God Quetzalcoatl. He was linked to wind, sunrise and learning. Other Gods relevant to the Aztecs were Tlaloc, the god of rain and water and Huitzilopochtli, the hummingbird god, god of war and the sun and patron god of the capital city of Tenochtitlan. The Aztec faith was much like Greek religion in that there were many gods with intermingling stories of love, sex and relationships.

The most famous part of their religion was the human sacrifice, which so offended the Spanish. Although it is accepted that sacrifice was an important part of Aztec and Mesoamerican culture in general, the extent to which it was practiced is unknown. The idea of sacrifice to the Aztec was a central and important theme in their creation stories, having been risen from the sacrifice of their gods, they in turn must nourish their gods through sacrifice. Individuals could also sacrifice their own blood through bloodletting. There are also many stories about the gods giving up their blood to aid humans. It was seen as a reciprocal relationship. Historians differ on the psychological purpose of sacrifice in the Aztec world, from political coercion, fear tactics and control to honest faith and a desire to placate the unruly Gods. Ultimately, their faith was their undoing.

As the superior weapons, diseases and tactics of the Spanish overwhelmed the once mighty Aztec the failure of their Gods to protect them and the introduction of Christianity ended belief in their Gods. Today the Gods of the Aztecs serve as a reminder of the greatness of the Mexican people independent of their conquering European counterparts. Mexican culture is today considered a ‘Mestizo’ culture or of mixed blood, both Spanish and Native. Aspects of the animist ways still exist in modern rituals and in remote villages, but are often combined with Christian rituals and are devoid of human sacrifice, outside of the occasional blood letting or small animal.