Mexica: A History Podcast
Mexica: A History Podcast
Moctezuma and the Valley of Mexico (Ep 1)
Episode 1 – Moctezuma and the Valley of Mexico.
In Episode 1, we meet the Emperor Moctezuma and learn about some of his habits and beliefs. The Tlatelolco Market comes to life and we walk the streets of Tenochtitlan.
Part 1 – Tlatoani Moctezuma
Part 2 – Tenochtitlan
Part 3 – Politics of the Valley
Part 4 – Blood Debt to the Gods
Part 5 – Prayer and a Messenger from the Coast
Episode 1 Credits
Researched, written, produced and performed by Jeremy Lipps.
~ Music ~
Intro Coda, acoustic guitar by Valentin Sosnitskiy
Fourth Imaginary City by cryptic scenery
Daniel Birch, www.danielbirchmusic.com
Storm Ambience
Early Morning Breakup
This Could All Be Gone Tomorrow
Sustained Light
Breathe
The Gates Are Locked
~ Sound Effects ~
taikodrum by tarane468
jungle-tropical-birds-and-insects by mikeypme
thunderclap by dave-welshbanshee-crying by aldebarancw
Barcelona street restaurants near Sagrada Familia by nimlos
dog barking single by inspectorj
quetzales by laurent
hummingbird strafe by gezortenplotz
banshee-crying by aldebarancw
fire2 by pushtobreak
cranes by ayamahambho
thunder-clap-owb-ky by dave-welsh
All music was sourced from www.freemusicarchive.org
Sound FX via FreeSound.org
“Tell me by what right and by what justice do you hold these Indians in such cruel and horrible servitude? By what authority have you waged such detestable wars against these peoples who lived calmly and peacefully in their own lands, where, with death and slaughter before unheard of, in endless numbers you have destroyed them? Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted, without giving them enough to eat or curing them of the illnesses they incur and die of from the excessive labor you give them, or rather, why do you kill them, to secure and acquire gold every day?” - Fray Antonio de Montesinos, December 21, 1511, Hispaniola
Episode 1 - Moctezuma and the Valley of Mexico
It is dark. From the blackness comes a hummingbird; its wings pulse in the darkness, a crest of green iridescent feathers flash, lit by electricity, it hangs in the air like magic above the head of Moctezuma, Emperor of the Aztec Triple Alliance, great Tlatoani of the Mexica people and Lord of the island-city of Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma looked at the small bird hovering over him. In the blackness of the bird’s eyes he could see the universe and all the stars. Deep in his palace he sat cross-legged on a petate, a woven grass mat, in the darkness of a black-painted meditation chamber. A small jade crown sat atop the Emperor’s head. The wings of the hummingbird beat so fast so as not to sound like many movements but one continuous hum. Moctezuma pushed his gaze deeper into the eyes of his hummingbird god, Huitzilopochtli. There he saw his beloved city Tenochtitlan, the great temple, the palaces, the houses, all in flames. His people running in terror, blood in the streets. And Moctezuma faded into the dreamworld for a night of visions and revelations. And nightmares.
Part 1 - Tlatoani Moctezuma
The Emperor awoke with angst that March morning of 1519 in the capital city of Tenochtitlan. Just 200 miles away off the coast of Tabasco, another man, Hernan Cortes, was beginning a relentless march toward the Emperor. This catastrophic culture clash would pit two societies, separated by an Ocean and 20,000 years of history, against each other in one of mankind’s most catastrophic cultural collisions. The Aztec Empire, and it’s way of life, was about to crumble.
Moctezuma, the 52 year old spiritual, military and political leader of the Mexica people, looked out from his palace at the mighty Templo Mayor lit in the morning sun. The bright red of Huitzilopochtli’s shrine at the top of the Templo was among the first structures to catch the morning light. Seeing the warmth of the new day embrace the temple of Huitzilipochtli, God of the Sun and War, was comforting to the emperor. The citrus tinged scent of copal incense caught his nose. The day’s rituals had begun and soon sacrifices would begin as defeated soldiers from neighboring nations, and the slaves of richer men, were brought to the top of the Templo Mayor, their lives given to the god Huitzlipochtli who would, in turn, continue to bless the Mexica with victory and sun. The rituals were comforting, like morning church bells, or the call to prayer for Muslims.
A morning haze hung in the crisp, cold air - part mist, rising off the high-altitude Lake Texcoco, part smoke from the thousands of hearth fires burning on the island of Tenochtitlan and in the cities on the shore that stretch out across the Valley of Mexico. Most of those communities were subject to the power of Moctezuma, meaning they owed him gold, food, skins and slaves.
Moctezuma was a tall man, sturdy but slender. He had olive skin, like most of the Mexica, perhaps a bit lighter from his days inside the palaces, away from the harsh light of the sun. He had neat black hair cut to his ears in the traditional style of the Tlatoani. He had a slim goatee. His face suggested kindness, understanding. Bodily cleanliness was important to him and he bathed daily and always dressed in new clothes.
He was a spiritual man to whom signs and omens were important, and he often sought the advice of seers and priests. And he prayed often. He also believed wholeheartedly in the power of sacrifice, human offerings to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the god of rain. It was, afterall, the gods who gave their blood to create the Mexica. The offerings of human blood were a form of cosmic recycling, giving back to the gods what they initially sacrificed for mankind. This topic divides historians, artists and fans to this day.
For his coronation, Moctezuma invited not only the lords of his allied states, but his enemies as well. Many lords and nobles came to honor him. Great feasts were held, rich gifts were given and ceremonial clothes presented. Dancers performed in the Sacred Precinct, games were held and sacrifices made. These festivities went on for weeks, culminating in four days of feasts and festivals. One of the festivals was a hallucinogenic mushroom feast which sent the celebrants into a night of visions. Moctezuma had flattered his enemies, impressed his allies and now was prepared for one more wave of inaugural action: war.
Moctezuma also understood the importance of military strength and his time as commander in the Oaxaca campaigns gave him first-hand knowledge. To secure his reign, Moctezuma waged war against several enemies. Soldiers from Tlacopan and Texcoco, as well as other tribute states marched eagerly. The war was not pointless. It was common for people to test the new Tlatoani, to make an attempt to shrug off subjugation. After his coronation in 1502 Moctezuma personally led a brutal campaign to put down uprisings against his reign in Nopallan and Ictapec. It is said his warriors dug through the walls easily, and with ladders Aztec soldiers from various provinces poured over and through the walls, killing, looting and capturing. Another account claims the people of Xaltepec murdered and drove out all the Aztecs in their region and blocked traders. Others followed suit in Michoacan, Tlaxcala, the Huastecs and more. And so the armies of the Triple Alliance marched to enforce the power of the new Tlatoani. Moctezuma came into power with a grand show of wealth and a vicious display of force against his enemies.
Moctezuma returned with five thousand prisoners for sacrifice and to streets lined with people out to see the conquering king return. Upon his arrival the new king sent prisoners to each of his lords to care for and fatten for the festivals. He called for the city’s old, poor and widowed to come for clothing and food. He had proven himself to be a valiant and noble man, worthy of the title of Tlatoani. He had proven he was a king not to be tested.
Part 2 - Tenochtitlan
The Mexica capital, Tenochtitlan, sat between two lakes. The larger Lake Texcoco to the East side, was saltwater. The city actually sat entirely within Lake Xochimilco, which was freshwater. Further to the south was a third freshwater lake, called Lake Chalco. Although Lake Texcoco was naturally saline, the divide was bolstered by the Dike of Nezahuacoyotl, which the Mexica had built severing Lake Texcoco from the freshwater Lake Xochimilco. The lake edges were marshlands, with thick mud and reeds. In the freshwater Lake Xochimilco, much of the shoreline had been converted to chinampa farmland, especially the southern end of Tenochtitlan and along the southern shores of the lake down into Lake Chalco.
These lakes themselves provided an array of food sources, including birds, fish and acociles, a common crayfish. A favorite of the Mexica and a rich source of protein was the axayacatl, related to the aquatic insect the water-boatman, familiar for their two large paddle-like legs. Its eggs, called ahuahtli, were also sought after and were farmed on submerged maize leaves. Once harvested the eggs could be dried, ground, or eaten fresh. Amphibians like frogs and the now nearly extinct axolotl were common market items.
Today these lakes are largely gone. The Spanish began diverting water and drying out the Basin of Mexico for ranch and farmland. A fraction of the chinampa culture survives today on the remnants of Lake Chalco in the small district of Xochimilco, where tourists ride boats through the few remaining canals. With the erasure of these environments came the erasure of some of these species. The axolotl is considered functionally extinct, with surveys rarely turning up any survivors in the wild. The axayacatl is also considered endangered, although both of these creatures exist in captivity for commercial purposes.
The rising sun was just beginning to fill the colorful city with a golden ochre glow. On the north side of the island was the Tlatelolco market, the biggest market in the New World, possibly in the entire world, where business carried on day and night. A citizen could secure all the wonders of the Empire at the market.
In the textile district sellers were beginning to lay out their cotton, maguey cloth, blankets, rope and clothing. Among the most popular men’s garments was the timatl, a flexible cape that could be tied over the shoulder like a toga, or around the neck like a cape. For women the huipil, which came in many lengths and patterns, was a popular poncho-like garment. On colder days huipiles could be layered, worn over a skirt or another huipil.
Mexica crops were grown in the famed chinampa gardens, or artificial farming plots built from lake mud, human waste and wooden piles. The produce was arriving at the market by boat from the outskirts of town. There were baskets of tubers, yams and potatoes of all colors and sizes, maize, onions, cherries, garlic and many varieties of beans that were carried in. They grew many different kinds of squash and melon, peppers and chillies. They even used a few familiar words like ahuacatl and xitomatl, or avocados and tomatoes. Fresh in from the lowlands came pineapple, papaya, vanilla and xicolatl, or chocolate as it’s known today. Poultry like turkey, quail, duck and eggs came from farms, or were taken from the surrounding wetlands and forests. Reptiles and small mammals also made it to Aztec menus including lizards, iguanas, small deer, dog, hare and much more.
The list of market goods also included hardware and building materials like adobe bricks, lumber, firewood and tools. Slaves, both male and female, were brought by warriors and traders and put up for sale. Household goods like furniture, jewelry, obsidian mirrors, ceramic dishes and pottery were available. All these goods were out, on display and ready for the day’s customers.
Flat-bottom boats were navigating the city’s many canals as the stone and stucco city came to life. Fishermen unloaded their morning catch of acociles and fish, which was carried to the market for sale. Soon the sun rose high over the rim of the Valley and the bustle picked up. Shoppers emerged from the adjacent neighborhoods of Nonoalco, Cuepopan and Teocali to do the shopping for their families. A pouch full of cocoa beans, a common currency, could buy most modest items at the market.
Built in the heart of the Valley of Mexico, the city of Tenochtitlan sat at the center of the mesoamerican world, politically, economically and geographically. At 7,300 feet above sea level and protected by the volcano-dotted ranges surrounding the Basin of Mexico the valley is largely shielded from the high-altitude climate. Tenochtitlan was a trade hub for almost all of the modern nation of Mexico and even beyond into Guatemala and Belize in the south and as far north as the American Southwest. Seafood came from both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by extensive trade networks. Gold and silver came in from mines in the north and west. The people of Tenochtitlan did not want for much, and luxuries were not hard to come by for most free citizens of the Mexica capital.
An elderly woman in a white cotton huipil with red trim, admired the jaguar and cougar hides of the fur vendors. In the crisp morning air she placed her tanned, aged hand on the spotted fur and ran her fingers along, feeling the coarse hair of the jungle cat. She perused the herb and spice vendors who neatly displayed bundles of fresh herbs and ground powders of every color, from bright yellow to deep green and chilli red. She had always admired the rich scents and sights of the great market, since she was a girl and would come with her mother. The market in her local Tenochtitlan neighborhood of Moyotlan was nice, but nothing compared to the depth and richness of offerings at the Tlatelolco market.
In another part of the market a Mexica man with a penchant for warm snacks and a few extra cocoa beans to spend, passed by the women who baked fresh tortillas and tamales. The scent wafted into the air, swirling with the smoke and steam of life from a vibrant and thriving city. He asked for the order of tamales his wife had requested, and picked himself up an extra for the walk home. The maize leaf wrapper of the tamale was hot in his hands, but he managed to unwrap it and scarf down the masa and pepper tamale on his short walk home. He did this almost every day, secretly, before arriving back to his wife. If she knew what he spent on secret tamales she would be mad knowing they could have saved for a rare turkey, rabbit or piece of deer meat.
This man, called Meztli, had a typical home, a small single-room built of adobe walls. The floor was of earth. A grass thatched roof, supported by wooden beams, lay at an angle across the humble structure. This simple home was insulated enough to keep three generations warm through those cold, high-altitude nights. Outside his wife sat near a fire, stirring a soup in a clay pot adorned with dog-shaped handles. He arrived and handed her the basket of tamales; one short, of course. He entered the home and greeted his two children playing in the bedding area. He glanced at the shrine built into his wall, “I’ll light your incense tomorrow, Tlaloc,” he mumbled to himself, knowing he owed the deity homage. For now he wanted a steam bath in the neighborhood temazcal, a communal bathhouse shared by neighbors.
Meztli’s comfort lay in the military dominance secured by Moctezuma and the tribute and sacrifice-driven grip they held over the region. Securing the Aztec Empire was not a pretty business. Moctezuma sat atop a vast military complex with hundreds of thousands of soldiers to keep supplied. With active campaigns in Oaxaca and other tribute cities on both coasts to tax and keep in line, the Mexica and their Triple Alliance allies had their hands full in maintaining dominance.
When Moctezuma gazed out over the people of Tenochtitlan that March morning it was not known that within two years his rule would be shattered into a million broken pieces with death and fire brought to the streets of Tenochtitlan. Despite the unknown fate that lay ahead, Moctezuma had fears of a spiritual nature in his mind.
But surely, the arrival of powerful strangers, men with hairy faces who ride mountainous boats on the sea, would have troubled the Emperor. These strangers had spoken with Moctezuma’s coastal representatives a year before. They spoke of a different god, and of a powerful king across the sea who sent them.
Despite the emperor’s fears the crops and fish still came in, the sacrifices bled to keep Huitzilopochtli, the hummingbird god of war, happy. And the sun kept rising. The Mexica people mingled and smiled and shopped below Moctezuma’s terrace, their hearts free of the worry that gripped their leader.
Part 3 - The Politics of the Valley
Moctezuma was destined to become ruler of the Mexica people, or Tlatoani. His father Axayacatl was Tlatoani as were two of his great grandfathers. In 1502 he ascended to the throne and became ruler of the Mexica people. That role also made him the dominant member of the Aztecs, which is a modern pseudonym for the more accurate Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance was a political and military alliance between three city-states, or altepetls. These were Tenochtitlan, which sat on an island in the lake; Tlacopan, on the western shore of the lake, and Texcoco on the Eastern shore. Tribute collected from subjugated cities was divided between the three members. Similarly, military burdens were shared. Tenochtitlan received the largest share of any bounty, with Tlacopan receiving the smallest share.
Most of the populations in the Valley of Mexico were descended from the same genetic pool and shared the same Nahuatl language and cultural history after centuries of intermingling. The Mexica, however, were newer immigrants to the valley. People in Central Mexico had seen many dominant groups come and go, from the early Olmec to the builders of Teotihuacan, the Culuans and on to the Mexica.
The legends tell that the Mexica group migrated from the land of Aztlan in the North, where they had been ordered to depart by Huitzilopochtli. For almost 200 years they wandered in search of a home. Along this journey they made their first blood sacrifice to Huitzilipochtli and as a result were given the name Mexica and declared his chosen people. On this founding journey they were also given the alcoholic drink pulque, the atlatl weapon and held their first New Fire Ceremony, which marks the beginning of a new 52-year calendar cycle. It was behind the strength of this ferocious and newly elevated deity, Huitzilipochtli, that the Mexica would seize power.
After years of nomadic movement around Lake Texcoco the Mexica found a role serving as mercenaries to the city-state, or altepetl, of Culhuacan. The Colhuacan leader had hoped to use up the Mexica forces as fodder in his wars, but also to be rid of them from his neighborhoods. They were seen as low-class brutes from the wastelands of the north. But they were valiant warriors and kept winning. Soon the Mexica had gained in stature among the people of the Valley of Mexico. Eventually the Mexica moved on to Chapultepec then finally, around 1330 settled on an island where they founded Tenochtitlan, named for their fearless leader, Tenoch. They were late comers to the Valley and it was on this last, unused swampy island that the wandering Mexica saw the sign they had been told to look for - the eagle on a cactus with a snake in its talons. Huitzilopochtli had instructed them to find the place where he had thrown the heart of his nephew, Copil, and that a cactus would be growing there. Over the heart of Copil, murdered by Huitzilopochtli, were the Mexica to build their capital.
The original island became the center of Tenochtitlan, and by driving wooden piles into the lake bottom, then filling the space with soil and human waste, they created land to farm. These man-made gardens, called chinampas, would eventually help to expand the island out into the lake. When Moctezuma looked from his terrace in 1519 he could see a city that covered almost five square miles of the lake’s surface, much of that hand-built by the Tenochca ancestors.
With architecture inspired by the great pyramids of Teotihuacan and by using marriage and interbreeding the Mexica were able to add nobility to their bloodline. And through brutal military campaigns and war they had managed to ascend to the top of the political structure of the continent. This growth was not without unrest and a split occurred among the Mexica with a portion of the group taking up residence on a nearby island. They would secede and establish the city of Tlatelolco to become the Tlatelolca Mexica. Eventually they would be subjugated again by the Tenochca Mexica through civil war and the two islands made one.
By the Spring of 1519 the Aztec Empire, or Triple Alliance, was stretched thin and many of the subject cities were tired and strained by the constant tribute demanded by Moctezuma and the lords of Lake Texcoco. It was, as they say before the world explodes, a powder keg.
Part 4 - Blood Debt to the Gods
The Mexica people, and most of the cultures in and around the Valley of Mexico shared similar beliefs and deities from the same pantheon. Each city had a patron deity, and for Tenochtitlan and the Mexica people it was Huitzilipochtli - the god of war, fire and sun. Although human sacrifice was practiced to various degrees in most mesoamerican cultures, and many across the globe, it seems to have gained an outsized role with the Mexica. They had a deeper connection to sacrifice than other nearby city-states.
Tlacaelel was a member of the royal caste, although he would never become Tlatoani. Born in 1397, son and brother of emperors, he became a powerful advisor to numerous rulers and a central religious figure. Despite his background role Tlacaelel managed to become one of the most influential people in Mexica history. Through his political scheming and strategy the Mexica ramped up military aggression and social castes. The role of religion and sacrifice also became more muscular. This cultural and military flex by the lords of Tenochtitlan led to the Mexica role at the head of the Triple Alliance and dominance in the Valley of Mexico.
They believed that human blood and hearts had to be offered to Huitzlipochtli, Tlaloc and other gods, to bless them with rain and victory in war, which allowed them to secure more sacrifices to secure more victory. It had become a vicious cycle, and one that demanded a near constant war effort. The Mexica had essentially created an economy of blood. The opportunity for climbing in the military hierarchy was woven into the culture of sacrifice with rank achieved by number of victims brought for sacrifice. Sacrifices of animals and jewelry were much more common, especially for the commoners who couldn’t afford slaves to sacrifice and who couldn’t capture enemy combatants. Incense was used as well. Burying or burning offerings were the main methods for transferring goods from our world to the gods.
At the center of Tenochtitlan in the sacred precinct was the main religious pyramid of the Mexica, the Templo Mayor. Two staircases, which faced West, led steeply up the face of the great pyramid. At the top there was a large patio with two temples at the rear shaped like stylized houses for the gods. The temple to Huitzlipochtli, on the right side of the patio, was painted red with white dots. In front of the temple was the sacrifice stone. A rather plain, upright trapezoid shape about waist high, this stone was where the sacrificial victims were restrained to perform certain sacred rituals.
In one ceremony the sacrifice’s heart was removed, blood would be spattered against the walls of the temple and onto the effigies of the gods inside. The body was pushed down the temple steps where it would eventually land on a large, brightly painted stone, carved in the shape of the goddess Coyolxauhqui. According to legend she was killed by her brother Huitzlipochtli and her body pushed down a sacred hill where she broke apart as shown on the stone at the base of the temple. Each sacrificial victim followed her example when they were pushed down the temple steps to land upon the image of her broken body, thus re-creating the Coyolxauhqui legend through ritual.
On the left side of the platform, painted blue with white stripes, was the temple of Tlaloc, god of rain, water and also of hail and thunder. In front of this temple, at the top of the stairs, was the chac mool altar. The chac mool was essentially a lifesize carving of a man on his back, legs and hands cradling a bowl over his belly where the hearts of victims would be offered to Tlaloc. Inside the temple was the statue of Tlaloc, his large round blue eyes peering out like goggles, his mouth open wide with two red fangs sticking out.
For the Tenochca Mexica, the Templo Mayor was the center of spiritual life and the courtyard in front the center of social life. On the plaza all the most important ceremonies occurred. The most beautiful dances and festivals were held there. The Sacred Precinct also held within its walls a sacred ballcourt and the school for elite youth, called the Calmecac. In this academy the sons of emperors were taught theology, military history and strategy, math as well as astronomy. Moctezuma was once a student at the Calmecac, himself. Perhaps this is where religion took root in the young emperor.
Spirituality was key to Moctezuma, not just in his position as Tlatoani, but to him personally. He believed in it, wholeheartedly. He sought and relied upon the advice of his seers and priests. He demanded sacrifices for victory and for guidance. The gods were crucial to his decision making. But soon the god’s answers would not come fast enough.
The sources tell of whispers from the past, visions from previous generations, omens seen in the city streets and prophecies of the return of the powerful god Quetzalcoatl from the East. It is whispered that strange sights had plagued the Mexica capital, including a comet that seems to have hung in the sky for days, lighting up the night. A wailing woman could be heard in the streets at night, terrifying the people of Tenochtitlan as she weeped, foretelling the end of the Mexica; perhaps the root of La Llorona legends of the colonial and modern era. The shrines at the top of the Templo Mayor were struck by lightning and burned. Surely a bad sign.
Other, more fantastical visions were described: a two headed man was said to have been rounded up and brought to the priests. There was a water bird recovered from the lake with a jeweled crown embedded in its head in which visions of terror could be seen.
Today these omens are said to be regurgitations of classic European fears superimposed onto Moctezuma by Catholic chroniclers. However, this is a world in which Moctezuma saw himself as divine, and part of a spiritual landscape full of deities and magic. It’s a world where every aspect of life was imbued with spiritual power. Like the pharaohs of Egypt or the Kings of England, Moctezuma was presumed to be divine by his people.
Part 5 - Prayer and A Messenger from the Coast
On this bright March morning, Moctezuma’s breakfast was delivered, an endless array of fruit platters, meats, lake shellfish, tortillas and corn cakes. He grazed lightly, concern had eaten at his appetite. Upon finishing his captains and attendants were welcome to eat from the platters. The Mexica king stood pensively in his personal chamber, attendants lingered and worked in the wings behind wooden screens. Outside the pillars of his palace Moctezuma could see part of the Templo Mayor, further back the Tlatelolco Pyramid was visible. It had been nine months since the first Spanish contact with the Triple Alliance. Captain Juan de Grijalva’s 1518 expedition had spent a week anchored at San Juan de Ulua. They had traded and exchanged information, despite a language barrier between Julian, their Maya translator, and the Aztecs, who spoke Nahuatl. These hairy and grisled foreigners had also said they represented a distant king.
Moctezuma knew of clashes the Maya of Catoche and Champoton had with Cordoba in 1517. His spies had told how these few strangers had fought violently against the Maya but had been driven out to sea again, losing 50 men in the fighting. They were mortal men, blessed perhaps by their gods, but men nonetheless. They certainly smelled as such.
The year before, Moctezuma had sent Cuitlalpitoc, a high ranking man, to the Aztec-controlled coastal region of Cotaxtla to meet with Grijalva. Cuitlalpitoc left Tenochtitlan and took gifts to present to the Spanish, including food, cotton clothes and a few gold treasures. On his way to the coast he met Tentlil and Pinotl, governors of Cotaxtla, and together they went to the coast to see these strange men who sailed on mountains. After watching from an outlook where they saw the men fishing, Cuitlalpitoc, Pinotl and Tentlil, representatives of Moctezuma, approached the Spanish along the beach with banners flying, a caravan of men behind them.
Grijalva stayed in the dunes near San Juan de Ulua for a week, trading with locals. He left with meager amounts of gold, but enough to prove it was there. Some of the Grijalva men would return in 1519 with Cortes, including Pedro de Alvarado, Anton de Alaminos, Francisco de Montejo and Bernal Diaz, whose book about the Fall of Mexico is one of the most read accounts.
In need of counsel and spiritual guidance Moctezuma announced he would go to the Templo Mayor and take part in the sacrifices of captives from Tlaxcala, their enemy to the East. Moctezuma’s assistants dressed him in a grand robe painted many colors and finished with bright green quetzal and shimmering blue hummingbird feathers. They placed on the Emperor’s head a small, triangular turquoise crown. Over his neck they placed a gold chest plate with inlaid precious stones as well as golden ear plugs and through his lip a gold labret of Quetzalcoatl’s serpent head. He walked to the courtyard of his palace where his nephews, princes of the Aztec Empire, helped him into his litter. The princes carried him out of his palace, down the steps and into the public plaza. The entourage turned to their right toward the southern Eagle Gate where they entered the walls of the sacred precinct. The morning sun gleamed off Moctezuma’s gold jewelry as if Tonatiuh the sun god himself burst from his wrists, chest and head.
Once in the sacred precinct the princes carried the king through the warriors who had returned from the most recent campaign, to the foot of the Templo Mayor. The princes helped him down from his litter and took their positions at his side to help carry him up the many steps to the top. Standing there, between the two large, green and red feathered serpents that wrapped around the foot of the pyramid, near the Coyolxauhqui Stone, Moctezuma looked up at the temple with a new fear in his heart, that perhaps these gods were slipping away. The group climbed the steps to the top where the priests of Huitzlipochtli were waiting, clad in black robes and caked in dried blood, their hair matted in clotted dreadlocks.
Four captives were there, too. Deep in a mushroom-induced hallucination they were dazed, in the dream world where the hummingbird god himself loomed in the circle of men, as real as Moctezuma and the priests who would soon rip their chests open. Through this hallucinogenic daze the men thought they were about to join the gods in the spirit world, as fearless as they were certain of their fate.
The first captive, a young farmer captured in a skirmish outside of Cholula just days before, was pulled forward. He was covered in blue paint and lost in sleeplessness and hallucinations. A priest led him to the sacrifice stone in front of the red temple of Huitzlipochtli. The royal group and several priests had gathered around the waist-high stone. Behind the priest, was the great war god himself - looming inside the temple, waiting for tribute.
The farmer glanced around at the great city below him, the lake beyond, euphoric to be part of this high ceremony. Suddenly he is grabbed by his arms from behind and pulled backward over the stone, the soft flesh of his belly pulled taught by his flexed rib cage. Above him, a noise grabs his attention as time itself melts away. The soft pulsating warmth of a hummingbird’s beating wings surrounds the young farmer; a small green hummingbird hovers above him - the wings moving as slowly as a summer cloud. Huitzilopochtli claps his wings - motionless the bird hangs in the air, time does not exist for the War God is here to take him to the afterlife.
The Tlaxcalan farmer looks into the hummingbird’s deep, black eyes, as all the stars of the universe appeared, there is peace in the darkness, in the throbbing hum of the bird’s beating wings and heart. They are one. Suddenly, searing pain erupts in his chest, the bird as quick as lightning flies away. The priest slams an obsidian blade just below his sternum, up into the chest cavity. The heart is grabbed, twisted and with one movement dragged against the blade to sever it from the flesh it once fueled.
It’s a move the priest can perform with the swift casualness of a seasoned expert. The still-beating heart, blood squeezing out of the organ as the victim bleeds out, is inspected then carried inside the temple and blood ritually spattered on the walls and gods, the heart itself placed in a brazier and burned with incense. The farmer’s body is brought to the temple steps and tossed down where it lands on the Coyolxauhqui Stone. The priest returns and the ritual is performed three more times. Moctezuma’s anxiety is relieved, for now. These rituals were not gratuitous affairs but considered essential to the function of the Aztec universe, as fundamental as eating and breathing.
At the foot of the pyramid a warrior named Itzli, who captured one of the farmers, waits for his piece of meat to be ritually eaten and shared. His family is there to take part and support their son. To bring a captive back from war was a great honor, and the rituals that went with it were eagerly participated in. The young warrior’s first capture would now mean he had joined the ranks of the Tlamani, the first rung of honor for warriors. With each successive capture he would climb until eventually warriors like him could become Jaguar or Eagle warriors, depending on their lineage. Itzli’s celebration carried on. Above him on the Templo patio a concerned Moctezuma knew the young warrior would soon face the fate of history.
The sun cracked through the morning clouds and warmed Moctezuma’s face. The Tlatoani thanked the holy men, the priests of Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilipochtli. Their work was dirty but a service to the empire and the gods. Moctezuma was then carried down the temple steps and returned to his palace where he called for his council, including the leaders of the Triple Alliance, Totoquihuatzli II of Tlacopan and Cacama of Texcoco.
It was just then, as his mind swirled with these thoughts of prophecies, gods and strangers that a messenger from the coast arrived. There were ships on the coast.
In the Next Episode: We join Cortes in Tabasco where he wages war against the Maya chief Tabscoob and the warriors of Potonchan before heading North where the Mexica await.
