Each level is associated with a specific set of deities and astronomical objects. On the feast of Ochpaniztli all commoners participated in sweeping the streets. All aspect of human life activities were also influenced by religion including childbirth, agriculture, and the Aztec seasons. Thus it was necessary for him to participate in the religious ceremonies. Aztec religion was a sophisticated polytheistic system of beliefs which borrowed several elements from the previous Mesoamerican civilisations. The concept of the end of the world in Aztec religion was also related to the concept of the balance between the forces of nature. Their arts of the Aztecs had a part in their religion. This worldview is best described in the myth of the five suns recorded in the Codex Chimalpopoca, which recounts how Quetzalcoatl stole the bones of the previous generation in the underworld and how later the gods created four successive worlds or "suns" for their subjects to live in, all of which were destroyed. The practice of the ballgame carried religious and mythological meanings and also served as sport. Aztec mythology shares similar characteristics as the mythology in other Mesoamerican cultures. The Aztecs saw this month as a time of renewal, and it involved a large festival where a young man that had been impersonating the god Tezcatlipoca for a full year would be sacrificed. The Sun would dwell in the underworld at night only to rise anew again in the morning. After death, the soul of the Aztec went to one of three places: the sun, Mictlan, or Tlalocan. Similarly, there were prophecies about the end of the world which they thought would occur at the end of one of the 52-years cycle of the Aztec calendar. Nine of these layers inhabited by gods and mythical creatures, a layer called Mictlan. The Aztecs were popularly referred to as "people of the sun". One of these rituals was the feast of Huey Tozoztli, when the ruler himself ascended Mount Tlaloc and engaged in autosacrifice in order to petition the rains. Each of these gods had their own shrine that set beside one another on top of the largest pyramid in their capitol, Tenochtitlan. Other temples included the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the Great Pyramid of Teopanzolco, and others. Aztec scholar H. B. Nicholson (1971) classed the gods into three groups according to their conceptual meaning in general Mesoamerican religion. eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'aztecsandtenochtitlan_com-box-4','ezslot_5',262,'0','0']));One of the most important rituals of Aztec religion was human sacrifice for which prisoners of war were used. Plazas were where the bulk of worshippers gathered to watch rites and dances performed, to join in the songs and sacrifices (the audience often bled themselves during the rites), and to partake in any festival foods. The priest did however had to live very religious lives that involved fasting and penances, and there are even times when they had to take some of their own blood during sacrificial rites. In Aztec cosmology, as in Mesoamerica in general, geographical features such as caves and mountains held symbolic value as places of crossing between the upper and nether worlds. The Aztecs would often adopt gods from different cultures and allow them to be worshiped as part of their pantheon. The earth and the underworld were both open for humans to enter, whereas the upper plane in the sky was impenetrable to humans. Van Tuerenhout Dirk R., 2005, The Aztecs. But, since Cópil was his relative, Huitzilopochtli decided to honor him, and caused a cactus to grow over Cópil's heart which became a sacred place. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. The Aztec religion is polytheistic, meaning it practices in the worship of many deities, or gods. Her other children became suspicious that the baby wasn't their father's, and vowed to kill their mother. Apa 500 word essay sample essay religion and culture Aztec chevening leadership essay example how to start an essay on frankenstein, essay the rise of afrikaner nationalism. The first group he called the "celestial creativity—divine paternalism group". [citation needed]. Aztecs had two different calendars one of which was specifically related to Aztec religion and was meant to calculate the religious festivals. Ancient Aztec religion was focused on how the gods, humans and nature were interconnected. Priests could come from the noble or common classes, but they would receive their training at different schools and perform different functions. The afterlife of the women who died during childbirth was to assist the sun god in pushing the sun to bring about days and nights. Veneration of Huitzilopochtli, the personification of the sun and of war, was central to the religious, social, and political practices of the Mexica people. The temples had small stone tables upon which sacrifices, mostly human, were made and offered. The most important celestial entities in Aztec religion are the Sun, the Moon, and the planet Venus (both as "morning star" and "evening star"). The Aztecs also worshipped deities that were central to older Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmecs. Aztec Religion. Then five priests, known as the Tlenamacac, performed the sacrifice usually at the top of a pyramid. For the Mexica, this central axis was represented on earth by the Templo Mayor, the Main Temple located at the center of the sacred precinct of Mexico—Tenochtitlan.