By Eddie Montezuma
Aztec Religion
Religion played superb value in the life of the Aztecs. The Aztec Religion was a kind of Mesoamerican religion comprising different elements of animism, shamanism and - polytheism included in the framework of calendrics and astronomy. The religion of Aztecs had human sacrifice components that coincided with the a variety of religious festivals of the Aztec calendar. The Aztec pantheon was very big and ever increasing. The Aztec incorporated the religious deities of other people and geographic regions. A lot of gods and goddesses were worshipped by the Aztecs. Each of the Aztec gods and goddesses ruled one or more than one aspects of nature and human activities.
Basis of Aztec Gods
The world was divided into two components as per the Aztec cosmology- upper world and nether world. Each of this was connected with a particular set of astronomical objects and deities. The celestial objects like the sun, moon and Venus planet were really important in the Aztec religion and had distinctive religious and symbolic connotations and were related to geographical places and deities. As Aztec culture depended primarily on farming, most the Aztec gods are agricultural or agro-based. Some Aztec gods had been ancestor heroes and some had natural components like solar power or rain and some gods symbolized the elements of destiny, fortune, order, civilization, sorcery and war. The Aztecs thought that some gods had been good-hearted and some were of terrifying nature.
The belief of Aztecs was rooted in the divine recreation, will and anger of gods, ceremonial rituals for appeasing the gods and human sacrifice for the objective of religious rites.
Aztec Pantheon
The Aztec Gods can be categorized into several groups as per distinct themes. The diverse groups of Aztec gods are cultural gods, nature gods, gods of creation, gods of Pulque and excess, gods of maize and fertility, gods of death and underworld and tradegods. Several of the Aztec gods like Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca had their origin in earlier Mesoamerican civilizations and they were identified by numerous names and worshipped by lots of earlier cultures.
The Aztecs adopted gods from other cultures and worshipped them as a part of the Aztec pantheon. Xipec Totec, the fertility god was initially a god of the Tlapanec folks, and was integrated by the Aztec into their pantheon. Some Aztec gods were connected to distinct trades and several gods represented several aspects with various names, with each name highlighting a certain trait or function of that particular god. Numerous Aztec gods had been related to aspects of games, fun, excess, pulque and drunkenness.
List Of Aztec Gods
The Aztec cultural gods are: - Tezcatlipoca- shaman god, - Quetzalcoatl- god of wind, life and Morningstar, - Tlaloc-god of water, rain, storm and thunder, - Mixcoatl-tribal god of Nahua and - Huitzilopochtli- tribal god of Mexica.
The Aztec nature gods are: - Tonatiuh- sun, - Metztli-moon, - Tlaltecuhtli- earth goddess, - Chalchiuhtlicue-spring goddess, - Centzon Huitznahua- star gods and - Ehecatl- wind god.
The Aztec gods of creation are: - Ometeotl, - Huehueteotl and - Coatlicue.
The Aztec gods of excess and pulque include: - Tlazolteotl, - Tepoztecatl, - Xochiquetzal, - Mayahuel, - Auiateteo, - Ometocthli and - Centzon Totochtin.
The Aztec fertility and maize gods are: - Xipe Totec, - Cinteotl, - Xilonen and - Xochipilli.
The underworld and death gods are: - Mictlantecutli, - Xolotl and - Mictlancihuatl.
The Aztec tradegods are: - Yacatecutli and - Patecatl.
Religion played superb value in the life of the Aztecs. The Aztec Religion was a kind of Mesoamerican religion comprising different elements of animism, shamanism and - polytheism included in the framework of calendrics and astronomy. The religion of Aztecs had human sacrifice components that coincided with the a variety of religious festivals of the Aztec calendar. The Aztec pantheon was very big and ever increasing. The Aztec incorporated the religious deities of other people and geographic regions. A lot of gods and goddesses were worshipped by the Aztecs. Each of the Aztec gods and goddesses ruled one or more than one aspects of nature and human activities.
Basis of Aztec Gods
The world was divided into two components as per the Aztec cosmology- upper world and nether world. Each of this was connected with a particular set of astronomical objects and deities. The celestial objects like the sun, moon and Venus planet were really important in the Aztec religion and had distinctive religious and symbolic connotations and were related to geographical places and deities. As Aztec culture depended primarily on farming, most the Aztec gods are agricultural or agro-based. Some Aztec gods had been ancestor heroes and some had natural components like solar power or rain and some gods symbolized the elements of destiny, fortune, order, civilization, sorcery and war. The Aztecs thought that some gods had been good-hearted and some were of terrifying nature.
The belief of Aztecs was rooted in the divine recreation, will and anger of gods, ceremonial rituals for appeasing the gods and human sacrifice for the objective of religious rites.
Aztec Pantheon
The Aztec Gods can be categorized into several groups as per distinct themes. The diverse groups of Aztec gods are cultural gods, nature gods, gods of creation, gods of Pulque and excess, gods of maize and fertility, gods of death and underworld and tradegods. Several of the Aztec gods like Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca had their origin in earlier Mesoamerican civilizations and they were identified by numerous names and worshipped by lots of earlier cultures.
The Aztecs adopted gods from other cultures and worshipped them as a part of the Aztec pantheon. Xipec Totec, the fertility god was initially a god of the Tlapanec folks, and was integrated by the Aztec into their pantheon. Some Aztec gods were connected to distinct trades and several gods represented several aspects with various names, with each name highlighting a certain trait or function of that particular god. Numerous Aztec gods had been related to aspects of games, fun, excess, pulque and drunkenness.
List Of Aztec Gods
The Aztec cultural gods are: - Tezcatlipoca- shaman god, - Quetzalcoatl- god of wind, life and Morningstar, - Tlaloc-god of water, rain, storm and thunder, - Mixcoatl-tribal god of Nahua and - Huitzilopochtli- tribal god of Mexica.
The Aztec nature gods are: - Tonatiuh- sun, - Metztli-moon, - Tlaltecuhtli- earth goddess, - Chalchiuhtlicue-spring goddess, - Centzon Huitznahua- star gods and - Ehecatl- wind god.
The Aztec gods of creation are: - Ometeotl, - Huehueteotl and - Coatlicue.
The Aztec gods of excess and pulque include: - Tlazolteotl, - Tepoztecatl, - Xochiquetzal, - Mayahuel, - Auiateteo, - Ometocthli and - Centzon Totochtin.
The Aztec fertility and maize gods are: - Xipe Totec, - Cinteotl, - Xilonen and - Xochipilli.
The underworld and death gods are: - Mictlantecutli, - Xolotl and - Mictlancihuatl.
The Aztec tradegods are: - Yacatecutli and - Patecatl.
About the Author:
The writer is interested in Aztec history and has a full site featuring the Aztecs. There you are able to find facts about Aztecs such as aztec gods and religion. For more of Aztec history, see aztec gods.