Religion Of The Aztecs Carasco Summary

In chapter three, Religion of the Aztecs, Carrasco paints an interesting picture demonstrating the complex and mystifying nature of Aztec religion. Much of what was practiced in Aztec religion had some connected to the god, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl or the Plumed Serpent. Most communities included ceremonial centers dedicated to demonstrating the importance of Quetzalcoatl. At the same time, the cosmos also played a large role in how the Aztecs worshiped. One example of this is how the human body was regarded as one of the most sacred spaces due to certain body parts being assigned to different aspects of the world (pg. 88, 89). Language was also a major factor in religion as the Aztecs put in a great deal of effort trying to create "eloquent speech forms and profound metaphorical context" (pg. 98). Speech was used to "raise philosophical questions about human nature" (pg. 99), direct people to live a moral life, and determine intelligence.

Carrasco mentions how the Aztecs had groups of specialists called tlamatinime, who were dedicated to posing questions regarding the nature of humans and how they related to this idea of the "ultimate truth" (pg 99). The tlamatinime usually painted manuscripts or wrote poetry reflecting the essence of human existence. One interesting thing to note is verbal art in the Aztec empire was developed by the elites and for the most part the verbal art reflected the lives of the elites. The most important achievement the tlamatinime accomplished through verbal art was linking poetry and personality with divine duality which they did by suggesting that "the inner self was deified or filled with divine energy" when using verbal art (pg.