Aztec Priests Appease Mictlantecuhtli, Aztec God of Death

Aztec priest draw blood from their bodies with skewers and knives to appease Mictlantecuhtli, Lord of the Underworld. Priests often performed self-sacrifice whereby they perforated their tongues, earlobes, legs and arms. Mictlantecuhtli, in Aztec mythology, was a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan, the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He was one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and was the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld (see also Chalmecatl). The worship of Mictlantecuhtli sometimes involved ritual cannibalism, with human flesh being consumed in and around the temple. No source or date information given

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Aztec Aztlan Deity Icon Iconography Legendary Mesoamerica Mesoamerican Mictlan Nahuas Nahuatl Owls Priests Sacrifice Spiders Underworld

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