Between the traditions and customs of the Aztecs they emphasize the obligatory education, great families with multiple wives and the conception of the human sacrifice like a necessary action for the world to continue.
The capital of the Aztec empire was Tenochitlan, now the site of Mexico City. The city was built on a series of lakes and was divided into four sections.
The Aztecs were very artistic people and played a lot of sports. Religion was an important aspect of Aztec life; worshiped many gods and goddesses, and each ruled some activity or aspect of nature. The Aztecs often sold their own children to slavery.
The Aztecs had peculiar customs to bury people. Most Aztecs had a habit of burying their ancestors just below and around their houses.
If an Aztec was of great importance, it was generally cremated; believed that cremation would send his soul straight to heaven.
Most of the traditional foods they consumed involved chilies, meats and corn; most of their food is very similar to the modern diet in Mexico: rich and spicy.
The 7 main Aztec traditions and customs
1- Human Sacrifice
Human sacrifice was a religious practice of Aztec civilization. Most historians believe that human sacrifice was a major part of the Aztec cult and that some victims were cannibalized.
Human sacrifice among the Aztecs was part of the long cultural tradition of human sacrifice in Mesoamerica; was also practiced by the Mayans and Zapotecs.
According to their culture, all the gods sacrificed themselves so that humanity could live. In this sense, human sacrifice was the highest level of a number of offerings through which the Aztecs sought to pay their debt to the gods; it was said that the victim had"rendered his service".
Self-sacrifice was also common; people often offered objects stained with their own blood dropping from their tongues, ears or genitals.
In addition, the slaughter of animals was also a common practice; the Aztecs raised animals specifically for this purpose. The most common form of human sacrifice was the removal of the heart.
Often, the remains of the victims were treated as relics of the gods; their skulls, bones and skins were painted and displayed, or used in ritual masks and oracles.
2- New Fire Ceremony
This ceremony was held every 52 years - a complete cycle in the Aztec calendar - to avoid the end of the world. The first ceremony was held in 1090, although there is evidence that it may have been earlier.
The last ceremony of the new fire was celebrated in 1507; the tradition ended with the Spanish conquest.
During the last five days of the cycle the preparations for the ceremony began. Preparations included abstinence from work, fasting, ritual cleansing, destruction of household objects, silence, and bloodshed.
At dusk on the last day of the year, priests climbed to the top of a volcano where they sacrificed a man. Then a large fire was lit, from which torches were lit for the temples of the city.
3- Festivals of the rain
The Aztecs celebrated the first rain festival, at the beginning of the farmer's year, in February. During the festival, the priest or shaman performed a number of rituals to ask the gods to bring rain.
The second rain festival was offered to Tlaloc and other rain gods during March, when flowers had begun to bloom; this meant the arrival of new forms of life on earth.
The third rain festival, to ask for more rain, was celebrated in the fall. In the third festival of the rain the Aztecs elaborate forms of small mountains and images of the Tlaloc, since it was thought that this God lived in a high mountain.
4- Aztec Ball Game (Ullamaliztli)
It is believed that this game originated from an ancient Olmec civilization. It became a great element of the Aztec empire, not only for its entertainment but for political and religious reasons.
When the Aztecs began a new settlement, they would build an altar to Huitzilopochtli and build a ball court next door. The court was"I"shaped, with a center line and six markers along the walls. On the sides of the court there were areas for spectators, nobles and judges.
The ball was made of hard rubber and weighed about 9 pounds; the players had protective equipment. It was played in teams and the object of the game was to pass the ball without touching the floor through a stone ring.
5- The chocolate
The cocoa bean was highly prized in the Aztec empire. In fact, the grain was used as a coin, as well as as a beverage. The beans were used to make a thick chocolate drink; since they had no sugar, the Aztecs added chiles, corn flour and spices.
The Aztecs believed that the god Quetzalcoatl had brought the cocoa beans from the tree of life to offer them to man. That is why the god was banished. When the conquistador Hernán Cortez arrived, the Aztecs believed that it was the god returning.
Even the word chocolate comes from the Aztec word chocolatl.
6- Xilonen Festival
This festival was held in honor of the corn goddess, Xilonen. Each night during the celebration, the single girls wore their hair long and loose; they loaded green corn in offering to the goddess in procession to the temple.
A slave was chosen to represent the goddess and dressed in dress to make her look like her. On the last night, the slave was sacrificed in a ceremony for Xilonen.
7- Songs and poetry
Music and poetry were very important; there were presentations and contests of poetry in almost all the Aztec festivals. There were also dramatic presentations that included artists, acrobats and musicians.
There were many genres of songs: Yaocuicatl was used for war, the Teocuicatl for gods and myths , and the Xochicuicatl for flowers and poetry. Prose was tlahtolli , also with its different categories and divisions.
A lot of preconquist poems still survive to this day.
References
- Aztec. Retrieved from wikipedia.org
- Ancient Aztec festivals, celebrations and holidays (2016). Retrieved from owlcation.com
- Aztec ball game. Retrieved from aztec-history.com
- Human sacrifice in Aztec culture. Retrieved from wikipedia.org
- Aztec culture and traditions (2015). Retrieved from prezi.com
- New fire ceremony. Retrieved from wikipedia.org
- What are some common Aztec traditions? Retrieved from reference.com