Topic 1: Places and Religion The Mayas and Aztecs or Mexicas shared many religious features. For example, both cultures had polytheistic religions and their pantheon of gods is similar. Both cultures, revered the sun, moon, maize, death, and rain among other natural elements. Additionally, their pantheons included younger Gods and ancient Gods, who were related to their origins. They also shared great respect for animals. For the Aztecs the eagle and the serpent were especially sacred, while the Mayans revered the jaguar the most. Moreover, these two Mesoamerican cultures, believed in human sacrifice for religious purposes. In addition, the main religious roles of priests, chiefts, and dignitaries were in hands of men, but women were in charge of keeping the sacred fire alive. With this purpose, the “doncellas” were consecrated at a very early age and must remain virgins for the rest of their lives. …show more content…
For them nature must be respected and fear. Furthermore, they share the beloved that gods needed blood to remain strong and powerful. Then, to maintain their grace, the Aztecs threw their victims into pyres to honor Tonatiuh, the sun’s god; cut off maiden’s heads to Xiloxen, the God of maize/corn (Cunningham, Reich, and Fichner, p. 558). Aztecs also used to cut their victims hearts to offer them to Huitzilopochtli, their God of will and Sun. However, Mayans sacrificed virgins by throwing them into the “Sacred Centos”. As part of their religion practices, Mayans and Aztecs utilized especial masks, richly decorated with vivid colors and other ceremonial materials. Finally, everything for them was dualistic as Cunningham’s indicates on page