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Perhaps the most gruesome and violent aspect of the Aztec civilization, and certainly one of the most misinterpreted aspects, ritual human sacrifice had a place of honor and duty in the Aztec worldview. It was a payment of debt (tlaxtlaualiztli) long owed to their gods as a blood sacrifice that they believed was crucial to their very existence.
The Aztec creation myth tells of gods who had sacrificed themselves to create the world and all humans, thus humans needed to give thanks with the essence of life—human blood. The Aztec had an underlying fear that everything would cease to exist—the sun would stop shining and moving across the sky and life would come to an end—if the gods did not receive an adequate amount of human blood. This need impelled the Aztec to aggressive wars against their neighbors to capture warriors, slaves, noblewomen, criminals and even children.
Most sacrifices were conducted on a sacrificial stone at a temple. The sacrifice ritual beings with the cutting off the sacrifice’s hair (as a sign of power of the priest over the individual). Then the victim would be dressed, fed and treated in glorious manner befitting of a god, sometimes for up to a year! Warriors were often forced into a ritual gladiator battle with Aztec warriors until his skin was flayed. An obsidian knife (right) would then be used to remove the heart. The bodies of the sacrificed would then be prepared and cooked under strict procedures and shared in a banquet. This was done with the belief that it was actually the gods partaking of the sacrificial victim. Thus, the Aztec saw the act of cannibalism as an opportunity to commune with the gods. It was so important that a family’s entire harvest or earnings could be spent on this celebration.
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