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Blood and human sacrifice for mesoamerican indians theology religion

While it may non hold ever been clear why blood was a necessity for worlds to last, it was ever worshiped unlike anything else. Practically every folk and civilisation throughout Mesoamerican history has participated in some kind of blood or human forfeit. Even though each group of people may hold had really different beliefs and even different rites, blood was cardinal portion in many ceremonials. However, the extent to which blood had been used was highly different. While some civilisations sacrificed 1000s of worlds, some merely participated in animate beings forfeits, and others had no forfeits at all. Blood ceremonials happened for a figure of assorted grounds, anything from a coming of age, to the initiation of a new male monarch, to the building of a new temple. Most frequently forfeits were made to pacify the Gods, as a mark of piousness and could be performed by anyone from a lowly retainer to a male monarch. While the Aztec, the Maya, and the Kuna were all really different people populating at different times in Mesoamerica with wholly different ceremonials and beliefs, all used blood as an built-in portion in many of their rites.

The Aztecs, besides known as the Mexicas, were a group of culturally united people that largely spoke Nahuatl and lived and ruled in Central Mexico during the 14 to sixteenth centuries. They ruled from a big metropolis called Tenochtitlan, which is now the contemporary location of Mexico City. Out of all of the Mesoamerican civilisations, the Aztecs had the most fecund blood rites and human forfeits. They particularly thought it was of import to give worlds, at least one time a month so that they could pacify the Gods and convey good fortune to their land. However, research workers have found that human forfeits in the Aztec imperium were done much more frequently than one time a month. Even many of the Aztec myths surround human forfeit. The “ Legend of the Five Suns ” efforts to explicate the formation of all of the Gods and why there is a demand for human forfeits all in a individual narrative. It begins with the God Ometeotl making four boies who would be the four central waies and who would besides make all other Gods that the Aztecs worshipped. These four Gods created people and when they did they had to make a God that would function as the Sun every bit good. Unfortunately the Gods that would be created for the Sun were non be perfect and kept combat and the Sun God kept altering which kept killing all of the people on Earth. Finally Quetzalcoatl decided that he would non allow the people that he created be destroyed so he went to the underworld to steal their castanetss and raise them. At the same clip created for them a new Sun called Huitzilopochtli. This is the Sun that the Aztecs believed was in the sky over their caputs. They besides thought that every clip it turned dark Coyolxauhqui, the goddess of the Moon, and the stars were contending with Huitzilopochtli to seek to take his topographic point. In Tenochtitlan: Capital of the Aztec Empire Jose Luis de Rojas emphasizes the decision of the myth: “ The myth dramatizes the victory of the Sun over the Moon and the stars when it rises each twenty-four hours ” ( pg. 16 ) . Additionally, the human forfeits performed by the Aztecs were supposed to assist give Huitzilopochtli the strength to contend back and to lift once more each forenoon. In The Aztecs: New Perspectives Dirk R. Van Turenhout explains the importance of forfeits: “ The Aztecs shared with other Mesoamerican peoples the belief that forfeit to Gods was necessary to guarantee the continued being of the existence ” ( pg 188 ) . Without human forfeits there could be no life sustained on Earth.

Even the initiation of Tenochtitlan is a fable based on the human forfeit of a princess. It is said that when the Mexica, or the Aztecs, foremost came to Central Mexico they were forced to settle in Chapultepec, a part with really hapless resources and populating conditions. Here they fell under the regulation of another metropolis called Culhuacan whose swayers were said to be posterities of the Toltecs. After the Mexica metropolis helped Culhuacan get the better of an enemy the King of Culhuacan gave away his girl for matrimony to one the Mexica leaders. Unfortunately when he arrived for the matrimony ceremonial to Chapultepec, to his incredulity he saw one of the Mexica priests have oning his girl ‘ s tegument over his caput. Upon being questioned the priest explained that their God, Huitzilopochtli asked for them to give the princess. Outraged the King forced all of the Mexica off of the land. They wandered aimlessly for hebdomads seeking for a topographic point to settle when Huitzilopochtli came down from the celestial spheres and told them to settle down when they see an bird of Jove perched on a cactus killing a serpent. They came across this scene in the center of a fen and at that place founded their shortly to be great capital of Tenochtitlan. Just like this one many of the Aztec myths are based on human forfeit, or at least have human forfeit, showing how of import of a ritual it was in their lives.

For the Aztecs most of the human forfeits were performed by a set of five or six priests. The victim would be dragged up the stepss to the top of the temple where a few of the priests would keep him down on a rock slab and one priest would do an scratch in the victim ‘ s venters with a granitic knife. He would so make in and rapidly draw out the still beating bosom for all to see. The bosom would so be placed in a bowl which would be offered to the Gods and the organic structure would be pushed down the steps. Meanwhile all of the witnesss were expected to execute some kind of bloodletting ritual themselves. While this was the most standard signifier of human forfeit each God had a specific sacrificial rite that had to hold been followed. In the Handbook to Life in the Aztec World Manuel Aguilar-Moreno describes the different human forfeit rites of the Aztecs:

“ Types of forfeits included extraction of the bosom, beheading, taking apart, submerging, or piercing by pointers, to call some illustrations. Instruments of pick included, but were non limited to, a techcatl, which was a sacrificial rock ; a cuaubxicalli, a container to keep Black Marias ; a teepatl ( granitic knife ) , which was used to knife the topic ” ( pg. 154 ) .

The Aztecs used the most luxuriant ways they could believe of to kill their victims in order to demo their obeisance and regard to the Gods. The Aztecs performed the most ghastly and monstrous human forfeit rites in Mesoamerica.

Out of all adjacent civilisations the Aztecs held the largest human forfeits and in recent times research workers have speculated about the causes of these mass forfeits. They have come up with a figure of grounds, though the most of import three seem to be spiritual, political, and ecological. The Aztecs seemed to believe that giving worlds to the specific Gods would convey them anything that they wanted, from a season of good rain, to a well-built temple, to a triumph against an enemy. If things were non traveling the manner they were planned it was frequently thought that the peculiar God was non pleased with the forfeit so more would hold to be made. For illustration when constructing the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan the Aztecs sacrificed more than eighty 1000 captives, about 10 per minute during the four twenty-four hours constructing procedure. Many of the forfeits could hold had more backing by political grounds though. In The Aztecs: New Perspectives Dirk R. Van Turenhout writes: “ Modern bookmans of Aztec faith are convinced that the frequence with which these forfeits occurred had the extra facet of propaganda ” ( pg. 190 ) . It is believed that the Kings would give as many people as possible to show their strength and influence every bit good as brand sure that all of the retainers obey. The Aztecs held a batch of land at their extremum that was occupied by people who were non Aztec posterities so they had to be kept in line ; the 1000s of human forfeits could hold been the one-year testimonials that these small towns each had to pay to remain protected by the Aztec imperium. Not merely did this hold a strong consequence on the people populating in the civilisation it could besides hold been an bullying factor for the civilisations around. In his book, City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization, David Carrasco explains the function of the forfeits in transfusing fright in the encompassing populations ;

“ The ritual extravaganza was carried out with maximal theatrical tenseness, gear, and panic in order to astonish and intimidate the visiting very important persons who returned to their lands trembling with fright and convinced that cooperation and non rebellion was the best response to Aztec imperialism ” ( pg. 75 ) .

Some even think that the Numberss of sacrificed could be much lower than is believed and reported by the Aztecs because the figure of deceases were inflated to frighten their enemies.

The Mayans were a really advanced civilisation populating on the Yucatan peninsula in Mesoamerica get downing during the pre-classic period and making its extremum between 250 and 900 AD. The Maya were a really progressive civilisation for their clip holding making a written linguistic communication every bit good as mathematical and astrological systems. Unlike the Aztecs, the Mayan people were non every bit inclined to take part in human forfeits, yet they frequently had blood rites. The Mayans had a big figure of spiritual festivals and rites throughout their calendar twelvemonth but as research workers have found none included the forfeits of worlds. The festivals based off of the calendar had a few carnal forfeits and most significantly all had some kind of bloodletting ceremonial. These bloodletting rites could be performed by practically anyone, such as a immature male child or a servant male but for the big assemblages it would be the male monarch or the priests preforming public bloodletting. In Handbook To Life In The Ancient Maya World Lynn Vasco Foster explains the importance of bloodletting in Maya civilization: “ Despite the hurting, the Maya elite carried out bloodletting rites for a assortment of intents. They believed they could track cosmic boundaries in bloodletting rites, and Maya swayers could reach divinities and ascendants ” ( pg 191 ) . The bloodletting would be done by lodging a barbed rod through the lingua, ear, or prepuce and blood would be collected on a piece of parchment and so burned for the Gods. The prepuce or the vagina was the most common topographic points where blood would be taken from because of the great significance of these organic structure parts. For obvious grounds the blood from these locations was considered to hold fertile qualities and was used in ceremonials concerned with the works life and the growth of harvests.

One of the most of import grounds for bloodletting and any blood rite was to see the Vision Serpent. The snake was by far the most of import societal and spiritual symbol for the Mayans and the Vision Serpent was the most of import of all snakes. Often the intent of the bloodletting was to reach and pass on a asleep relation or a God. During a successful bloodletting the participants would see the Vision Serpent and out of its oral cavity would organize the caput of the God or ascendant they are reaching. The Vision Serpent was a direct nexus for the Mayan people from the physical universe to the religious universe. In Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization Arthur Andrew Demarest mentions the importance of bloodletting in art: “ The importance of bloodletting is confirmed by archaeological grounds, every bit good as iconographic representations and carved texts ” ( pg 188 ) . One of the most celebrated word pictures of bloodletting from the Mayans is found on a limestone carving called Lintel 24 which was discovered in Yaxchilan by a British archaeologist named Alfred Maudslay in 1882. This header depicts the swayer Shield Jaguar keeping a torch while Lady Xoc pulls a rope with sherds on it through her lingua to bring forth the vision snake. The hieroglyphs province that the carving dates back to the 28th of October 709 and besides give the names of the two represented. Word pictures like these were popular in Mayan civilisations and adorned many graves showing the importance of these rites.

Though harmonizing to enter the Mayan people seldom had human forfeits during the calendar festivals, they may non hold been as “ guiltless ” as the Spanish conquistadors thought. During diggings of assorted pyramids and other influential sites organic structures were found that told a really different narrative. The Mayans were a really aggressive civilisation and frequently participated in war, even with other Mayan groups. When this would happen any captives that would be taken would normally be sacrificed in grandiose jubilations. In The Ancient Maya Sylvanus Griswold Morley explains the importance of these rites: “ These forfeits were seemingly indispensable to the sanctifying of of import rites, such as the startup of a new swayer, the appellation of a new inheritor to the throne, or the dedication of a new edifice ” ( pg. 543 ) . These forfeits were a manner to invest a new male monarch or merely demo how powerful and successful a current male monarch was. Often after a male monarch died, his boy would non be allowed to govern until he brought back captives from an enemy folk and sacrificed them. If during this adventure he would be murdered himself, that would be his destiny and the following in line for the thrown would hold to make what he failed to carry through. While both the Aztecs and the Maya had really luxuriant blood rites, both were really different. The Mayans merely used human forfeit as a manner to show that a King was worthy of governing the metropolis, otherwise for the most portion human forfeits were shunned. While the Aztecs would give 1000s to inquire the Gods to assist them build a great pyramid the Mayan people chose to give animate beings alternatively. In comparing with the adjacent civilisations of the same magnitude the Mayan people can be considered to hold had really mild blood rites.

Unlike the Mayan and Aztec dead persons, the Kuna folk of today still take part in the same, or at least really similar, blood rites as they had before the Spanish invasion. The Kuna people live in small towns in present twenty-four hours Panama and off of the seashore on the San Blas Islands. A important difference between the Kuna and most other Mesoamerican folks and civilisations is the great accent that they put on adult females in their society. The Kuna are matriarchal and adult females are held as the ultimate symbol, take parting in many tribal determinations and assemblages that would in most other instances be entirely for males. Similarly, most ceremonials are centered around adult females and in a few of them blood plays a significant function. The inna tunsikkalet ceremonial is the 2nd largest ceremonial that revolves around Kuna adult females. This is a two twenty-four hours pubescence ceremonial which is this first in a series of coming of age rites and is really similar to the inna suid rite, or the hair cutting ritual, that is held subsequently one time the miss is ready to be married. Unlike many other Kuna rites, the inna tunsikkalet is a “ household and family event ” ( 280, The Art of Being Kuna ) . During this clip the immature misss are isolated from the remainder of the community and are non allowed to touch the land with their pess and have to be carried if they need to go forth their room for whatever ground. During this ceremonial it is believed by the Kuna that the immature misss are acquiring rid of all of the bad in their organic structures through this blood. They are throw outing any evil liquors from their organic structures through the flow of blood. A few months after the Kuna misss have been secluded from all others and hold finished their first menses the miss ‘ s household sponsors a “ corporate imbibing turn ” ( 280, The Art of Being Kuna ) during which the misss are once more stray. This clip they are put in a surba, or a little, rectangular, wooden enclosure where they are painted in a black dye from the genipa fruit. Alexander Moore writes that after they have completed their rite “ the pubescent misss, so, have emerged in this modern community as the paramount symbol of community life ” ( 276, The Art of Being Kuna ) .

In comparing with the Maya and the Aztec the Kuna did non take part in any carnal forfeits nor did they see it necessary to give worlds to pacify the Gods. The usage of blood in their ceremonials was strictly symbolic and was non forced out of the organic structure in any manner. Unlike the other people of Mesoamerica the Kuna did non see a demand to experience hurting or demo repentance during their blood rites and in this manner can be considered a more advanced and civilised folk of their clip. The differences between the Kuna and the other people of Mesoamerica can be attributed to the little communities that ne’er fought, but besides were ne’er conquered. They ne’er saw any ghastly conflicts or bloodshed and for the most portion have been a peaceable folk. For this ground many of their blood ceremonials and rites are non every bit utmost as the Aztec or Mayan forfeits. Yet blood was still an all of import portion of their lives, without it there would be no inna tunsikkalet, or puberty rite.

Blood played an built-in portion in merely about every civilisation and folk throughout Mesoamerican history. Though, this does n’t come as a surprise ; blood ceremonials, in some manner, have been a portion of practically every individual civilization from the beginning of clip until the present. From the tremendous, public gladiator conflicts and executings in the Coliseum during clip of the Roman Empire in the 70 AD to the symbolic imbibing of Christ ‘ s blood during the Eucharist under Christian divinity in today ‘ s universe, blood has and will ever play an of import function. While human forfeits have long been gone from our universe, some faiths, such as the Santeria, still take part in carnal forfeits as a manner of mending. One of the possible accounts for the importance of blood in so many different civilizations and societies over such a long period of clip is that blood is practically the same in merely about everyone. Whether one was a Mayan male monarch or a low retainer he still had blood that flowed in precisely the same manner. Anyone who wanted could take part in these blood rites and demo their piousness to the Gods, even if it did non intend a public ceremonial. Blood is besides cosmopolitan, every individual individual who has of all time walked this Earth had blood flow through their venas. For this ground it is safe to presume that most people were cognizant of it and for most it was something of a enigma, something that could intend the difference between life and decease, something that could be worshipped. Whether it is for spiritual, cultural, or medical grounds, blood will ever play a important function in our lives. Blood is every bit of import as air, H2O, or nutrient, without it we would non last.

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