Aztec Human Sacrifice
It may be a startling fact for us to know some of the unusual ways that the people of the olden times lived their lives, particularly with respect to their beliefs, rituals, and practices. The Aztecs, considered as one of the most controversial groups of people that we can find in our history had lived in Mesoamerica. Their practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism, which according to their culture are part of their religion and belief, would make even the historians find it difficult to comprehend the rationales behind such practices. The Aztec practice of human sacrifice can be regarded as a history of violence.
It was estimated that there were approximately 20,000 lives that are being offered and sacrificed by the Aztecs to their gods. To have a continuous supply of human lives as sacrifices, the Aztecs were in constant war with other tribal groups (MNSU.com).
The ritual of human sacrifice was being conducted by the Aztecs on a stone table on top of pyramids. There, they would cut out the chest of the victim and rip out the heart. The Spaniards witnessed this gruesome practice when they first came to Tenochtitln, Mexico. The city that they thought was an inspiring one because of the vast white buildings it has soon turned as a place of terror after witnessing the horrific ritual of the Aztecs.
The rationale behind the strange and horrific practice of the Aztecs rooted from their belief in the concept of tonalli or also called as "animating spirit." The tonally, which was believed to live in the blood stream and concentrates in the heart (Pettifor, 1996), is the element why the sun stays in motion. By sacrificing a human life,...
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