Download Aztec Religion File

 Very
religious
 Many gods
 Represented natural phenomena and human
existence
 Discussion



Name a religion that has only one god.
Name a religion that has more than one god.
Religions can be divided in monotheistic, and
polytheistic. Which one do you think has many
gods? Why?


Questions:
Hint: Think about poly-juice from Harry Potter.
How do you explain natural phenomena without
gods?
 Discussion



Questions:
What is the difference between phenomena and
phenomenon?
What should a god of fire look like?
What other natural phenomena might a religion
connect to a god?
 Recognize
their power
 Keep them happy




Build monuments/ceremonial centres
Rites
Human sacrifice
Ritual of bearing pain
 Discussion



questions:
In Christianity, what is a ceremonial centre?
In traditional Indigenous spiritual belief, what is
a ceremonial centre?
What do you think an Aztec ceremonial centre
might look like?
 The
priests would cut out the heart
 Blood would feed the gods
 Without blood, the world would end
 Wars were fought to gain prisoners to
sacrifice
 As
much as possible, I have taken pictures
from scans of codices (singular=codex).
 These are copies of books that the Aztecs
wrote before contact with the Spanish.
 The Spanish thought that the Aztecs books
were a crime against God.
 They burned everything they could.
 There are no Aztec books that survived, only
these copies.
 They are the best pictures we’ve got.
 Pronounced:
whets-eel-oh-Poch-tlee
 Tribal
god
 Warlike
 Encouraged Aztecs to seek Valley of Mexico
 Needed blood to overcome night’s darkness
 Discussion Questions:



What other god encouraged people to leave one
place, wander through the desert, and settle
somewhere else?
What were the people called?
How is Huitzilopochtli like Blade?
 Pronounced:
tez-cah-tlee-POH-kah
 Most powerful god
 Name means “smoking mirror”

Mirror used for see visions of the future
 a.k.a.
Lord of the Night Sky
 Eternal struggle with Huitzilopochtli
 Discussion Questions:


What was the name of the most powerful of the
Greek gods?
If he was the most powerful god, then why
didn’t he ever win his struggle with
Huitzilopochtli?
 God
of wind
 Name means “Feathered Serpent”
 Priests offered him:



Flowers
Incense
Birds
 Lost
a fight to Tezcatlipoca
 Sailed east on a snakeskin raft
 Priests prophesized he would return to
destroy the Aztec empire
 Discussion



Questions:
How can you connect his name “Feathered
Serpent” with his story?
Can you compare this story to another one that
you know?
Hint: Think about a powerful being, or god, that
was defeated, exiled, and threatened to come
back to destroy a civilization.
 God
of rain
 Unleash floods or hold back rain
 He was feared
 Discussion Questions:


If he were a geographical feature, what would
he be?
Hint: Think about holding back the rain, and
causing floods.
 Name
the four gods that we discussed.
 What were they associated with?
 What was the purpose of human sacrifice?
 Discuss how Christianity is similar.

Hint: think about:



wandering in the desert
blood
Sacrifice
 Discuss
how traditional Indigenous spirituality
is similar.

Hint: Think about connections to natural
phenomena.