beliefs
Did the Aztec believe in life after death?
The aztecs believed in life after death. They believed those who were drowned, were struck by lightning, anyone whose death had been caused by disease went to Tlalocan.
Warriors killed in combat, people who died during a mission,women died during child birth- they would accompany the sun into the sky. The warriors reappeared on earth in the form of humming birds
Those who died a normal death, their soul will pass through 9 levels of underworld before reaching Mictlan.They also believed in 13 heavens and 9 hells.
What was the purpose behind sacrifices?
The aztecs believed in life after death. They believed those who were drowned, were struck by lightning, anyone whose death had been caused by disease went to Tlalocan.
Warriors killed in combat, people who died during a mission,women died during child birth- they would accompany the sun into the sky. The warriors reappeared on earth in the form of humming birds
Those who died a normal death, their soul will pass through 9 levels of underworld before reaching Mictlan.They also believed in 13 heavens and 9 hells.
What was the purpose behind sacrifices?
The Aztecs believed god provided things for humans only if the gods were nourished by them. They developed the idea that the gods were nourished better by the living hearts of the captives. If the captive was brave, the better the sacrifice. They believed that the god would turn against them if they didn’t give human sacrifices. This belief led to many wars to find victims both captured in war and those paid to the Aztecs as tributes by the people who were conquered.
The Aztecs also made the sacrifices to make the sun rise the next day. They thought if the sun gods were not fed human hearts and blood, the sun would not rise and the world would end in destruction. The sun needs a steady flow of blood, if the sun does not receive blood, it would stop and the whole world would be plunged into darkness and death. They believed the sun fought darkness every night and rose to save mankind. When performing the sacrifices, Priests would dress up as the supreme gods and wait on the top of an extinct volcano. When the saw the moon reach the top of the sky, the high priest would light a fire on the victim's heart and tear it out. Then, the priest would hold the heart to the sun, and then put it in a sacred dish. Lastly, the bodies were rolled down the temple stairs to lie in a heap. Even after that, most victims were happy to die because they thought they would go straight to heaven.
They also believed that the special purpose in life was to prevent destruction.