I believe that it is well-established by now that the Aztecs - particularly their learned elite and priests - did not hold their gods to be literal entities, but complicated metaphors to express the interaction of forces in the world derived from the universal truth known as 'teotl', similar to the Brahman of Hinduism and almost pantheistic in its view.
If this is true, then why was there such a strong emphasis on human sacrifice? Flesh and blood sacrifices tend to be directed at deities that are much more literal and anthromorphized. Plus, if these gods were actually just metaphors for the interaction the 'teotl', then why would these need blood?
Is it all just a 'Black Legend' type of thing perpetrated by the Spanish? Or am I missing something?
according to early accounts sacrifices went extremely willingly. those 'saved' by the spanish were appalled by not being allowed the prvilege of sacrifice and sometimes committed suicide or begged to be killed
The hindu legends are largely allegories but people still try to burn widows in remembrance of Sati
>>1373143
This isn't particularly the point of the thread. My question is why sacrifices would exist on the scale they did if the elites themselves held their deities to be non-literal abstractions and metaphors.
>>1373146
I'm not particularly versed on the culture or history of India, but I thought Sati was uncommon, even in ancient times?
>>1373234
Well, was Sati very prevalent? Or was it simply a glorified ideal that only occurred rarely?
>its just a metaphor bro
This is the worst meme ever.
>>1373245
I don't get what you're trying to say. This question is a point of contention for Mesoamerican scholars, since it's difficult to reconcile the abstraction known as 'teotl' with the supposed sacrifices that took place.
>>1373234
Haha no
It goes back to the 4th century BC
Nice try Sanjay
>>1373244
It was mostly done by/forced on queens and other high society noble women in north western parts of india
>>1373399
Retard
>>1373426
Well, so the question remains: how much was Sati influenced by the Hindu religion?
>>1373432
I have never heard about burning the widows in the scriptures and other books.
So I've always assumed it was a reaction to the invading forces which were more prone to slaughter destruction and rape than previous ones.
You can find out more yourself if you want Im not going to google it for you
>>1373447
I see. So this largely defeats the previous poster's assertion that Sati - a largely secular idea - had anything to do with Hindu religion in his comparison to tie Aztec pantheistic religion and sacrifice.
Gods were still real, they weren't metaphors, they were "manifestations", if anything.
Also a lot of people believed in a simpler, polytheistic world.
>>1373245
But it's not a meme, really. It's a perfectly good explanation for a lot of religious mythology. Our ancestors weren't stupid.
After few centuries of doing the sacrifices I don't think any priest or clergy person would be willing to go like "Aight lads, you know this whole sacrifice business and shit? Well it was a metaphor joke taken bit too far..."
Also very conventional if not long-term sustainable method of population control.
>>1373130
I'm gonna turn your question upside down and ask, if the universe is just a manifestation of
>universal truth known as 'teotl', similar to the Brahman of Hinduism and almost pantheistic in its view.
What is to point of clinging to your individual ego, specially if it's believed that sacrifice can bring benefit to the community and confer status?
>>1373130
>>1373154
>This isn't particularly the point of the thread. My question is why sacrifices would exist on the scale they did if the elites themselves held their deities to be non-literal abstractions and metaphors.
They weren't, they were just more complicated and abstract then mainstream modern western popular consciousness commonly interprets them to be, like all pagan deities
>>1373130
>Flesh and blood sacrifices tend to be directed at deities that are much more literal and anthromorphized.
Were there deities that didn't receive human sacrifices besides Quetzalcoatl?
