The things we choose.
Consider this. All sorts of companies name themselves after the Aztecs. I often wonder why. Anything from Aztec brand tortillas to Aztec floor machines to Aztec clothing.
So who were they, exactly? The Aztecs were a northern Mexican tribe. And they ruled a vast empire. They lived in hot Mexico before the Spanish conquest of the 16th century. And then, kaput.
I learned the word ‘Aztec’ means “someone who comes from an unknown location in Mexico.” They didn’t call themselves Aztecs, though. They went by Mehika or Mexica.
The Aztecs were around for a long time, and their society thrived for over two hundred years. They tromped around their Mexican territory during the 14th and 15th centuries. They conquered rivals. On the other hand, they often made trade agreements and friendships with other tribes.
The hierarchy was pretty straightforward. A king ruled over the entire empire. Craftsmen built things like buildings and even towers for the gods. Farmers grew food to feed the masses. And warriors fought their wars, as they had plenty of enemies.
The Aztecs believed in many gods of all shapes and sizes. One of the most important in their belief system was Tlaloc — the rain god.
So here is the awful thing. To keep the gods happy, they made lots of sacrifices. And this included humans.
I’ll give them this. Aztec history is fascinating. But it is also a bit horrible.
Here is how one version of the sacrifice would go. Aztec priests would hold down a person, alive and kicking, and ritually slice open their chests. The priest would then offer their still-beating hearts to the gods.
Of course, without a heart, the victim quickly died. And, with no further use for the corpse, they would simply throw them down the steps of the Templo Mayor. To clarify, the Temple Mayor was their main temple located in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which, by the way, is modern-day Mexico City.
The huge temple had a whole lot of steps as the entire structure was more than ninety feet high. It featured two grand staircases that led up to twin temples. One side was dedicated to their go Tlaloc — the rain dude. The other temple was for the god Huitzilopochtli — a war god.
Not only did they slice people up for their hearts, the Aztecs also practiced ritual cannibalism. And this must have been a constant revolving door, as they sacrificed up to 20,000 people every year to keep the gods from ending the world.
Okay. Here is more of the “horrible awful,” as if all that wasn’t bad enough. They often sacrificed their own children. The Aztecs believed the gods needed the tears of children to produce rain. And with that, they would torture their own children before killing them. This was all done to ensure they could collect as many tears as possible.
It is kind of like the premise for Monsters, Inc — making the kids scream for energy. But unlike the cute Monsters Inc monsters, these people seemed a bit like real monsters to me. If I had a company, I would not name it for the Aztecs. No way. No how.
But there it is. They believed what they believed. All of us do. Sometimes, we get it wrong. On other occasions, we get it right. And then there are a good portion of our beliefs that we’ll never know about, one way or the other.
Whatever it may be, I think kindness and compassion should be at the heart of our beliefs. Even if this means making sacrifices of our own kind.
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“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”
– Gaylord Nelson.
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“The most sublime act is to set another before you.”
– William Blake.
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“The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.”
– Charles Du Bos.
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The horror of the sacrafice, in this case.
