For Most People The Rite Of Human Sacrifice May Be The Most Well-known And Least

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Term Paper Title	For Most People The Rite Of Human Sacrifice May Be The Most Well-known And Least
# of Words	2191
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	8.76

       For most people the rite of human sacrifice may be the most well-known and least understood aspect of the Aztec culture.  The various forms in which the Aztecs carried out the ritual have been described and written about ever since Hernando Cortes and his men first witnessed them.  However, very little has been written or said about why the Aztecs carried out these acts, which have always seemed so gruesome and cruel to outsiders.  Some may simply assume that they were a cold and bloodthirsty people who enjoyed executing
others in the most heartless and antagonizing ways imaginable. Others actually know that the sacrifices were offerings to the Aztec gods and that it was all an integral part of the Aztec religion. Though correct, simply knowing or assuming this is not enough if one truly wishes to understand the Aztec reasoning behind human sacrifice.  In order to gain any real insight into this Aztec practice, it is necessary to learn about what the Aztecs believed regarding themselves and the world around them. The Aztec rite of human sacrifice was based on their belief that they were the chosen people of the sun and the collaborators of the gods.  Their religion harbored many gods which represented and controlled many different aspects of nature and their everyday lives.  They believed that these gods could not sustain themselves and needed to be nourished by humans on earth.  The gods had chosen the Aztec people as their servants and it was their sacred responsibility to make sure that none of the deities ever went hungry or grew weak.  It was thought that the only way to feed a god was by sacrificing a human life in his or her honor.  The deity to whom the Aztecs offered the most sacrifices was the sun god Huitzilopochtli.  The story of this god's birth and his important daily role clearly explain why this was so.
According to legend, Coatlicue, the old goddess of the earth, had become a priestess in the temple, living a life of retreat and chastity after having given birth to the moon and the stars.  One day while sweeping, she found a ball of down which she tucked away in her waistband.  When she finished her tasks, she looked for the ball of feathers, but it had disappeared.  Then she suddenly realized she was pregnant.  When her children, the moon, Coyolxauhqui, and the stars, called Centzonhuitznahuac, discovered this, they became so furious that they determined to kill their mother.
Coatlicue wept over her approaching death as the moon an...

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