Huey Aztectl Tlatlacah: Great Aztec People

The Aztec empire, like many countries today, was made up of several different tribes which inhabited most of southcentral Mexico. These tribes, along with the Mexica ended up becoming the culture that reigned most of central Mexico from as early as 11th century up until the 16th century when Mesoamerican civilizations fell to Spanish conquest and disease. A mixing pot of different cultures and beliefs all bounded together by similar interest and language gave birth to a Civilization rich in culture and tradition.

The Mexica along with other tribes which allied themselves for strength and power created what was then and now called the Aztectl banded together by common interests they dominated tribes, took prisoners for sacrifice and demanded tribute from their conquered neighbors.

The Aztec capital known as Tenochtitlan was founded in the early 14th century by the wandering Mexica tribe. A message from Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec sun god of war, lead them to settle in an island located inside lake Texcoco.

A message of an eagle perched on top of a cactus plant showed the Mexica their new home. Huitzilopochtli was one of many deities which the Aztec people worshiped. As with their norther neighbors and other civilizations across the globe, the Aztecs had many different gods which ruled over different aspects of life. The Aztecs dedicated a temple to the sun god Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the rain god. Many ritualistic sacrifices happened at the top of this religious pyramid. Thousands of people were sacrificed to their god Huitzilopochtli in the belief that he was in constant battle with darkness.

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These sacrifices gave him power and allowed the sun to rise again. A ceremonial knife made of flint would be used to make an incision in the chest of the victims and then the hearts of their victims would be pulled out while still beating. The heart would then be divided and eaten amongst the priests, royalty, and commoners. Their heads would be cut off and put on display in racks for everyone at the sacred precinct to see. A line from the book The Broken Spears details accounts of how the Spanish reacted when seeing such human sacrifices, “When the white men saw this done, they were filled with disgust and loathing. They spat on the ground, or wiped away their tears, or closed their eyes and shook their heads in abhorrence.” Some historians believe that the Aztec death whistle was used at these ceremonies.

They believe that the whistle was used to summon the wind god, Quetzalcoatl, during ritualistic sacrifices. Others believe that the whistle was used to strike fear into the enemies of the Aztecs prior to battle. The Aztec death whistle is a type of ocarina that is made from clay and shaped to resemble a human skull. Ocarinas were widely used in the Aztec empire. The ocarina, made of ceramic, were molded to resemble a variety of figures, from birds, to jaguars, and even human skulls.

They were a type of wind instrument that was hollow on the inside with several different finger holes throughout the body of the instrument that were used to change the pitch. Another instruments that the Aztecs used was the Huehuetl. This was a standing drum that was made of wood and animal hide. This instrument was often played alongside the Teponaztli, another type of percussion instrument. This drum laid horizontally and had a slit cut along the middle to divide the drum into two striking areas. The Teponazoani, the word the Aztecs called a person who played this instrument, would then use two mallets to play this drum.

Works Cited

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3. Roos, Dave. “Human Sacrifice: Why the Aztecs Practiced This Gory Ritual.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 11 Oct. 2018, www.history.com/news/aztec-human-sacrifice-religion.
4. Woodman, Stephen. “Here’s Why the Aztec Death Whistle Is Mexico’s Most Terrifying Musical Instrument.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 20 Apr. 2018, theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/heres-why-the-aztec-death-whistle-is-mexicos-most-terrifying-musical-instrument/.