What Was An Aztec Confession?
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - The Aztec religion offered a formal confession in case of sin or some serious crimes. According to tradition, the Aztecs had the possibility to confess their sins.
Traditionally, according to Aztec laws, crimes were treated with severe treatments; however, there was a possibility to make a confession, which automatically provided the confessor with protection. Since people were only able to make one confession during their lifetime, usually this life event took place when people were very old or knew they were about to die.
The exact date for the confession had to be established by a priest, who consulted the tonalamatl, , the 260-day sacred calendar book and the ceremony of confession usually took place during the Festival of Ochpaniztli.
This festival was an important Aztec celebration, which honored the mother goddess and the maize goddess, and was conducted with the help of five priests dressed in paper ornaments and standing on the steps of a pyramid. These priests represented the four cardinal points and the center.
The confession could only take place in front of the goddess Tlazolteotl, one of the most important goddesses of the Aztec pantheon. She was the goddess of human fertility, sexuality, purification, steam bath, midwives, filth, and a patroness of adulterers.
Another goddess who was authorized to accept the confession was Xochiquetzal, goddess associated with concepts of fertility, beauty, and female sexual power, serving as a protector of young mothers and a patron of pregnancy, childbirth.
The penitent had to confess its sins in the order he had committed them, then, he ceremonially burned incense using a copal tree, and performed an auto-sacrifice (or blood-letting) as ordered by a priest.
See also:
Viking Law And Order Was Based On The Thing System
After confessing, the person – dressed only in a paper skirt decorated with designs related to goddess Tlazolteotl - had to fast, and then go at night to one of the shrines built for women who died during childbirth. He had to leave its skirt behind, at the shrine - a symbol that they had left behind their sins.
Without sins, he went home – naked in the dark. According to Aztec tradition, being naked in public was considered shameful, so this was a serious way to show guilt.
Written by – A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesReferences:
Kroger J, Granziera P. Aztec Goddesses and Christian Madonnas
More From Ancient Pages
-
Telangana And Great Ancient Iron Masterwork Of Skilled Blacksmiths Of India
Ancient Technology | May 26, 2017 -
Rök Stone: Longest Runic Inscription Ever Discovered
Featured Stories | Nov 30, 2018 -
Controversial Discovery : 15,000 Ancient Ebla Tablets Prove Old Testament To Be Accurate
Archaeology | Oct 5, 2015 -
Napta Playa – Egypt’s Stonehenge And Its Ancient Astronomical Alignments
Featured Stories | Feb 18, 2018 -
Ivriz Relief: 3,000-Year-Old Hittite Relief – Oldest Known Symbol Of Agricultural Fertility In History
Artifacts | Jun 13, 2019 -
Terrifying Buggane: Demonic And Tyrannical Celtic Demon That Hated Churches And Set Them On Fire
Celtic Mythology | Jul 14, 2017 -
Medieval Manuscript Reveals Surprising Discovery Of Star Wars Master Yoda & Shocking Monsters
Artifacts | Apr 27, 2015 -
Significance Of Secret And Powerful Number 108 That Has Accompanied Humankind For Thousands Of Years
Ancient Symbols | Jun 19, 2017 -
The Perplexing Story Of The Seven Continents And The Seven Mysterious Races – Distant Past – Part 1
Featured Stories | May 9, 2022 -
Strange Ancient Artifacts And Foreigners Who Were Not Meant To Be In North America
Artifacts | Mar 16, 2020 -
Plutonium: Dangerous Pluto’s Gate Was An Ancient Gateway To Hell At Hierapolis That Was Real
Featured Stories | Feb 18, 2017 -
Lost Viking Village Borgund And Its 45,000 Artifacts Hidden In A Basement Examined By Experts
Archaeology | Apr 22, 2022 -
Hidden Tunnel In Tokat Castle – ‘The Dungeon Of Dracula’ – To Open Soon
News | Sep 22, 2015 -
1154 Ancient Holes At Løykja Reveal Something Extraordinary – Archaeologists Say
Archaeology | Jul 17, 2020 -
Namoratunga – Kenya’s Fascinating Megalithic Site Oriented Toward Specific Stars And Constellations
Featured Stories | Jul 6, 2021 -
Biblical Mystery Of Urim And Thummim: God’s Puzzling Communication Devices
Biblical Mysteries | Jun 18, 2017 -
Shield Maiden Freydis Eiriksdottir – Hot-Tempered Daughter Of Erik The Red Terrified Native Americans
Featured Stories | Dec 4, 2017 -
Amage: Sarmatian Warrior Queen/Regent Who Impressed With Remarkable Military Skills
Featured Stories | Sep 18, 2019 -
New Chemical Reactions To Generate Building Blocks Of Proteins And DNA – Discovered
DNA | Jul 29, 2022 -
Bronze Age Royal Tombs Unearthed In Ruins Of Ancient City Of Pylos, Greece
Archaeology | Dec 30, 2019