The Aztecs—Their Fascinating Struggle to Survive

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN MEXICO

“THE GRAND PLAZA WAS SWARMING WITH PEOPLE, SOME BUYING, OTHERS SELLING . . . THERE WERE SOLDIERS AMONG US WHO HAD TRAVELED TO MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD, TO CONSTANTINOPLE AND THROUGHOUT ITALY AND ROME, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY HAD NEVER SEEN SUCH A HARMONIOUS, WELL-BALANCED PLAZA THAT WAS SO LARGE AND WITH SO MANY PEOPLE.”

THE description just quoted is that given by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a soldier in the army of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, when he saw the Aztec city Tenochtitlán in 1519.

According to the book The Mighty Aztecs, by Gene S. Stuart, when the Spaniards arrived, between 150,000 and 200,000 people dwelt in Tenochtitlán. Far from being a crude backwater, it was a sprawling metropolis, covering several square miles [covering somewhere between 12 and 15 sq km]. It was a city of bridges, causeways, canals, and gleaming temples of worship. As the capital, Tenochtitlán was the very heart of the Aztec Empire.

But for many readers, this idea of a peaceful, harmonious Aztec city may contradict what they have heard, the popular notion that the Aztecs were little more than bloodthirsty savages. To be sure, the Aztecs believed that their gods needed human hearts and blood in order to remain strong. However, there was much more to Aztec culture and history than bloodletting. And to understand their struggle to survive is to comprehend better the tenacious fight for survival that their descendants undergo to this day.

The Rise of the Aztecs

In truth, the Aztecs occupied just a brief period in the history of Mesoamerican civilization.a Most researchers believe that Mexico’s original inhabitants migrated from Asia across the Bering Strait to Alaska and from there worked their way south.—See Awake! of September 8, 1996, pages 4-5.

Archaeologists say that the most ancient culture known to have thrived in Mesoamerica was that of the Olmec. The Olmec civilization, according to some authorities, evidently arose about 1200 B.C.E. and may have prevailed for 800 years. But it wasn’t until 1200 C.E.—over two thousand years later—that the Aztecs came to the fore. Their culture was to last a mere 300 years. And their mighty empire would exercise dominance for only a hundred years before it would fall to the swords of Spanish invaders.

At its zenith, however, the Aztec Empire reflected a grandeur that has seldom been matched. According to one source, “the Aztec established an empire that stretched south to Guatemala.” The World Book Encyclopedia described it this way: “The Aztec had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas. They built cities as large as any in Europe at that time.”

Legendary Origins

Despite the prominence of the Aztecs, little is known about their origins. According to legend, the name Aztec is derived from aztlán—a word that is thought to mean “white land.” No one knows where the legendary Aztlán was, however, or if it ever really existed.

At any rate, according to legend, the Aztecs were the last of seven groups to depart from Aztlán. At the command of their god Huitzilopochtli, they began a long odyssey in search of a homeland. For many decades the tribe wandered, suffering incredible hardships and deprivations and engaging in virtually nonstop warfare with neighbors. But the wandering could not go on forever. According to the most popular legend, Huitzilopochtli told his followers to look for the following sign: an eagle on a cactus. This phenomenon was supposedly sighted at a muddy little island in Lake Texcoco. Here the wanderers finally settled down, building a city later known as Great Tenochtitlán (meaning “Stone Rising in the Water”). According to some, its name is derived from the name of a legendary patriarch called Tenoch. Today, Tenochtitlán is buried beneath Mexico City.

The Aztecs proved to be brilliant engineers and craftsmen. Using the lake bed as a foundation, they enlarged the city by creating landfills. Causeways of raised earth connected the island to the mainland. A series of canals were also built.

During this period of time, however, the builders were not generally known as Aztecs. According to legend, their god Huitzilopochtli had given them a new designation when they exited Aztlán—Mexicas. In time, the surrounding land and all its inhabitants would bear this name.

However, the Mexicas, or Aztecs, were not alone in this region. Surrounded by enemies, they had to forge alliances with their neighbors. Those who did not come to peaceful terms with the Aztecs soon found themselves locked in mortal combat. Actually, war suited the Aztecs. Their sun-god, Huitzilopochtli, was just one of many gods and goddesses who demanded bleeding hearts and human sacrifices on a regular basis. Prisoners of war became the main source of these sacrifices. The Aztecs’ reputation for using prisoners in this way instilled fear in the hearts of their enemies.

The Aztec Empire thus began spreading out from Tenochtitlán, soon extending down to some areas in what is now Central America. New religious ideas and customs were absorbed into Aztec culture. At the same time, items of fabulous wealth—tribute demanded of newly conquered vassals—began pouring into Aztec coffers. Aztec music, literature, and art flourished. Says National Geographic magazine: “For sheer power, Aztecs must rank among the most gifted sculptors in history.” When the Spanish arrived, the Aztec civilization was at the peak of its splendor.

The Conquest

In November 1519, the Mexica emperor, Montezuma II, peacefully welcomed the Spaniards and their leader Hernán Cortés, believing him to be the incarnate Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. The Spaniards accepted the hospitality that was bestowed upon them by the superstitious Aztecs. Naively, though, the Aztecs allowed the Spaniards to see Tenochtitlán’s treasures of gold. Cortés feverishly plotted to confiscate it all. In an act of considerable bravado, Cortés made Montezuma a prisoner in his own city. Some say Montezuma acquiesced virtually without protest. At any rate, Cortés succeeded in conquering the capital city of a huge empire without firing a shot.

But the bloodless victory did not stay bloodless for long. Cortés suddenly had to depart for the coast to handle an emergency, leaving an impulsive man named Pedro de Alvarado in charge. Fearing that without Cortés there, the people of Tenochtitlán would soon rise against him, Alvarado decided to strike first. He massacred a number of Aztecs during a festival. Cortés returned to find the city in turmoil. During the battle that then erupted, Montezuma was killed, perhaps by the Spanish. According to the Spaniards’ version of the events, however, Cortés prevailed upon Montezuma to make an appearance and appeal to his people to cease the fighting. When he did so, Montezuma was stoned to death by his own people. In any event, Cortés and a few wounded survivors escaped with their lives.

Exhausted and injured, Cortés regrouped his forces. The Spaniards were joined by nearby tribes who hated the Aztecs and were eager to shake off their yoke. Cortés now returned to Tenochtitlán. During the bloody siege that followed, the Aztecs reportedly offered up captured Spanish soldiers as sacrifices. This enraged Cortés’ men and increased their determination to win at all costs. The former vassal tribes, according to one Aztec writer, took matters into their own hands, “cruelly retaliating for the past deeds of the Mexicas [Aztecs] and ransacking all their possessions.”

On August 13, 1521, Great Tenochtitlán fell. The Spaniards and their allies now completely dominated the Mexicas. National Geographic stated: “Within a historical eye blink Mesoamerica’s great cities and ceremonial centers were left in ruins as Spaniards scoured the land for gold. Native peoples were enslaved and Christianized, and the Aztec Empire, the last great indigenous civilization, dissolved.”

Conquest brought more than political change. The Spanish brought with them a new religion—Catholicism—and often imposed it upon the Mexicas by the sword. Granted, the Aztec religion was bloodthirsty and idolatrous. But far from uprooting all vestiges of paganism, Catholicism formed a curious partnership with the Aztec religion. Tonantzin, the goddess worshiped on Tepeyac Hill, was replaced by the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Basilica of Guadalupe standing at the exact spot where Tonantzin was once revered. (The basilica supposedly marks the spot where the Virgin Mary made a miraculous appearance.) During sacred religious holidays held in honor of the Virgin, worshipers spin to the rhythm of their pagan ancestral dances right in front of the basilica.

Have the Aztecs Survived?

Although the Aztec Empire is long gone, its influence is still felt today. English words, such as “chocolate,” “tomato,” and “chili,” have been borrowed from the Aztec language, Nahuatl. Furthermore, the majority of the population of Mexico consists of descendants of Spanish conquerors and of indigenous races.

In many parts of Mexico, the old indigenous cultures continue to prevail, as some ethnic groups are trying to preserve their ancestral traditions. Altogether, there are 62 acknowledged indigenous groups and 68 registered dialects in the Mexican Republic. A recent study made by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (National Statistics Institute of Geography and Computing) concluded that over five million people aged five and older speak one of the indigenous languages. Said National Geographic magazine: “Powerless and poor through eras of colonization, dictatorship, and revolution, survivors have salvaged languages, folkways, and an unshakable vision of self-determination.”

Even so, most descendants of the proud Aztecs live in poverty, often eking out a living on tiny farms. Many live in isolated areas where education is scarce. Economic progress has thus proved difficult for most native Mexicans. And their plight is typical of indigenous people throughout Mexico and Central America. Voices have been raised in their behalf. Rigoberta Menchú, a Guatemalan Nobel Prize winner, made this stirring appeal: “We must erase the existing barriers—between ethnic groups, Indians and mestizos, language groups, men and women, intellectuals and nonintellectuals.”

Sad to say, the plight of the Aztecs—past and present—is just another sad example of ‘man dominating man to his injury.’ (Ecclesiastes 8:9) It will take more than stirring words and political rhetoric to change the lot of the world’s poor and underprivileged people. A number of Nahuatl-speaking people have thus eagerly embraced the Bible’s hope of an incoming world government, or “kingdom.”—Daniel 2:44; see the box on this page.

Some resist the idea of teaching indigenous people the Bible. They may feel that the religion of Nahuatl-speaking people—a mixture of Catholicism and old Aztec paganism—is a part of their culture that must be preserved. But those who have opened their hearts to the Bible’s message have experienced a true liberation from superstition and religious falsehood. (John 8:32) For the thousands of Aztec descendants, the Bible offers the only true hope of survival.

[Footnote]

[Box/Picture on page 20]

“I ENJOY SHARING THE TRUTH WITH THE NAHUATL”

I WAS born in Mexico in a small village called Santa María Tecuanulco, only 37 miles [60 km] from Mexico City. It is a beautiful, green place situated on the hillsides, where people make a living growing flowers. When flowers are ready to be picked, it is a delight to see many colors everywhere. Everyone in Santa María used to speak Nahuatl, an ancient Mexican language. I remember that each house had a name for identification purposes, in Nahuatl, of course. The name of my house was Achichacpa, meaning “Where Water Flows.” In order to provide my address, I would tell people the names of the houses surrounding mine. Even today, many houses have a name. I learned Spanish in 1969, at the age of 17. I think Nahuatl is a beautiful language. Unfortunately, only older village people speak it; today’s youngsters hardly know it.

I was the only person in the village who was studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Suddenly, the whole village wanted my children and me to leave. I was pressured to give regular contributions to the Catholic Church, which I refused to do. My relatives wouldn’t even talk to me. Despite the strong opposition in my village, I got baptized in December 1988. I thank Jehovah that my three daughters serve as full-time evangelizers and that my son is a baptized Christian. I enjoy sharing the good news in Santa María. I preach to older people in Nahuatl. I am determined to continue serving our loving God, Jehovah, who is compassionate to people of all races.—Contributed.

[Graph on page 17]

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COMPARATIVE CHRONOLOGY OF SOME OF THE MAIN CULTURES AND EVENTS IN AMERICA AND THE WORLD

FROM 1200 B.C.E. TO 1550 C.E.

SPANISH INQUISITION

1500 C.E.

EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE

AZTEC

“CHRISTIAN” CRUSADES

TOLTEC

1000 C.E.

BYZANTINE

500 C.E.

TEOTI-HUACÁN

EARLY CHRISTIANITY

ROMAN

ZAPOTEC

GREEK

EGYPTIAN

500 B.C.E.

MAYA

OLMEC ASSYRIAN

1000 B.C.E.

[Map/Picture on page 18]

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EXTENT OF THE AZTEC WORLD

MEXICO

Tenochtitlán

GUATEMALA

[Picture]

The great city known as Tenochtitlán lies buried beneath modern-day Mexico City

[Credit Line]

Mountain High Maps® Copyright © 1997 Digital Wisdom, Inc.

[Picture on page 15]

Aztec calendar

[Picture on page 19]

The Aztecs used the Teotihuacán Pyramid of the Sun for their worship

[Picture Credit Line on page 15]

Mural on pages 15-16: “Mexico Through the Centuries,” original work by Diego Rivera. National Palace, Mexico City, Mexico

[Picture Credit Line on page 17]

Eagle and art on page 18: “Mexico Through the Centuries,” original work by Diego Rivera. National Palace, Mexico City, Mexico