The Aztecs, as a society, believed that everlasting life could only be achieved
by the practice of human sacrifice. They believed ones death, and the manner in which it was
carried out, was the key to a continuous existence. The Aztecs believed in many Gods that
controlled every aspect of their lives. They also viewed the world as one that had been
destroyed by darkness many times before. Their God Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent, and
his twin Xoluti would travel in to the darkness of the dead sun to the ninth and lowest level of
the underworld to renew not only the World but every person that had died in the past life.
Quetzalcoatl would sacrifice his own blood by dripping it over the bones of the dead allowing
them to enter the new world and live again. Know as the compassionate God rarely were
human blood sacrifices offered to him. The flesh of those sacrificed was considered to be the
flesh of the God because their blood gave it new life. The skin was often consumed by the
Priests and others at the time of sacrifice. The act was viewed as a way of allowing the God
entry into ones body. Human blood was known as chalchiuhuatl, a nectar for the Gods. The
God of the Sun, Huitzilopochti, required not only the blood sacrifice to be made but the Heart
of the sacrificed would be removed, and cast into a fire. The feeding of the Sun God was a
task assigned to warriors. Many times prisoners of war were given in sacrifice. Once sacrificed
the victim became sacred. As many as 20,000 people would be given in sacrifice at on time.
A man’s fate after death did not depend on how he lived life. His death and the sacrifice of his
blood and Heart to the Gods insured a continuation of all life.
