thiS iS Avery, Avery everywhere
A strange nickname for a young boy, right?
But wait until you hear how he got it. Just by blinking his eyes, Avery is transported to another country... AND ANOTHER TIME IN HISTORY!
Some say he just has an overactive imagination. Yet, if you believe Avery, everything he says REALLY DOES HAPPEN TO HIM!
Some hiStory on the AztecS
The gods tell the Aztecs to leave mysterious Aztlan in search of a new home.
Acamapichtli is the first Aztec king.
The Aztecs arrive at an island in Lake Texcoco and found Tenochtitlán (the site of present-day Mexico City).
The cities of Tenochtitlán, Texcoco, and Tlacopan form an alliance that will lead to the development of the great Aztec Empire.
The fifth version of the Great Temple is built on top of the previous four structures. Montezuma becomes emperor.
Our story starts here, during the reign of Montezuma!
The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés lands on the coast of Mexico with a small army.
An epidemic of smallpox spreads, weakening the Aztecs who are then easily defeated by the Spanish.
The Spanish, led by Cortés, destroy the city of Tenochtitlán; this is the end of the Aztec Empire.
YOU TWO ARE HIDING SOMETHING FROM ME!
A buSy liFe
I am the one who does all the housework and looks after the children and the grandparents. I do all the cooking, and I weave and sew clothes for the entire family. IT’S AN AWFUL LOT OF WORK!
When I get old and my children have grown, I can help raise other people’s kids and organize weddings.
I COULD ALSO BECOME A HEALER AND CURE ILLNESSES USING HERBS AND PRAYERS TO THE GODS.
the mArriAge rite
Marriages are arranged by parents. The father of the boy looks for a bride and then leaves the organizing of the ceremony to an elderly woman. This go-between then carries the young girl on her back to her future husband’s home to perform the wedding. During the ceremony, the couple’s clothes are knotted together (as a symbol of their eternal union), and then there’s a big party with a rich banquet and lots of gifts.
GIRLS GET MARRIED WHEN THEY ARE SIXTEEN, AND BOYS WHEN THEY ARE TWENTY. THE COUPLE INITIALLY LIVES WITH THE GROOM’S PARENTS, THEN THEIR CLAN (CALPULLI) GIVES THEM LAND WHERE THEY BUILD THEIR NEW HOUSE.
It’s easy to get lost among thousands of canals!
tenochtitlán
This is one of the largest cities in the world; almost 200,000 people live on the little island in Lake TEXCOCO . Due to its size, the city is divided into smaller sections. Each one has temples and schools, and the inhabitants themselves see to distributing the land and paying tributes to the nobles. Each area also has its own market; the largest one is in TLATELOLCO
THERE IS A SACRED AREA IN THE CITY’S CENTER WITH THE RICHEST AND MOST MAJESTIC TEMPLES, WHERE HUMAN SACRIFICES ARE MADE TO THE GODS.
whAt’S it like to live on An iSlAnd?
TENOCHTITLÁN is surrounded by chinampas, which are floating gardens. These man-made islands are built using reeds planted on the lake bed and held together with ropes. This creates a rectangular container that is filled with earth, lime, and rubble in order to cultivate corn, peppers, beans, and tomatoes. These floating gardens allow food to be grown for Tenochtitlán, whose population is growing, though with the passing of time the island’s inhabitants will be able to dedicate themselves to other activities (such as crafts and trade) as it will be the conquered populations who send food to the city as their tribute.
DRINKING WATER, ON THE OTHER HAND, COMES FROM THE NEARBY MOUNTAINS, THROUGH A LONG, IMPOSING STONE AQUEDUCT.
the legend oF tenochtitlán
The Aztecs lived in the mysterious AZTLAN until one day HUITZILOPOCHTLI , the god of the sun and war, appeared and commanded them to go look for a new land. And so, the tribe of warriors, led by the priest TENOCH , set out on their journey.
It was a long and tiring march (because back then the Aztecs had not yet discovered the wheel and had no carts), with much suffering and clashes with other populations. In the end, Huitzilopochtli sent a sign to Tenoch; when they got to LAKE TEXCOCO they saw a cactus growing on a rock. At its top an eagle was devouring a snake that was clutched in its talons.
THIS WAS THEIR FINAL DESTINATION!
It certainly wasn’t a very hospitable land, as the island was a marshy area where they could only catch fish, frogs, and insects. What’s more, they also had to pay rent to the TEPANECHI who were already settled in the area.
And so, the Aztecs formed an alliance with the cities of TEXCOCO AND TLACOPAN , on the banks of the lake, and together they conquered the entire area. With the spoils of war and tributes received from the defeated populations, they finally managed to build TENOCHTITLÁN , a new home, which soon became the capital of a vast empire.
Are you absolutely sure?
the SAcriFiceS
The gods give the gift of their bodies and blood through the rich harvests of corn and abundant rains, but they are not infinite, you know! So, if we don’t want the SUN to run out and the world to end, we Aztecs must make regular sacrifices of our meat (flesh) and water (blood) to the gods in order to “recharge” them!
AND SO, EVERY MORNING, I PRICK MY EARS AND TONGUE WITH A CACTUS THORN AND DONATE A COUPLE OF DROPS OF MY WATER TO THE GODS. FOR THE SAME REASON, LOTS OF HUMAN SACRIFICES ARE ALSO REQUIRED...
And whAt hAppenS AFterwArd?
The spirits of people who die normal deaths must journey for four long years through the first eight levels of MICTLAN , where they face difficult challenges (like crossing a mountain covered in obsidian blades and an icy desert).
Once they reach the ninth level they can rest in peace.
However, the spirits of warriors who die heroically in battle and the people sacrificed on the altar of the temple have the great honor of being guided to the gods by butterflies and can accompany the sun on its daily journey through the heavens.
The boys of noble families study at CALMECAC , schools where they learn war and combat, but also other important subjects, such as poetry, astronomy, the calendar, and religion
The students can then decide whether to become warriors or TLAMACAZTON , apprentice priests. In the latter case, they must learn to donate a little of their blood every day and to name newborns on a day when the stars bring good fortune so that they won’t become wastrels or drunks (behaviors that are severely punished) when they grow up. They also study medicine and the chants and rites of the ceremonies (and they bathe in freezing water to boost their resistance!).
OMETEOTL is the creator of life. He is both one god and a dual deity because he is made up of OMETECUHTLI and his wife, OMECIHUATL .
the moSt importAnt divinitieS
TLALOC is the god of rain and is greatly feared as he can cause floods, drought, and lightning storms. He lives in a sacred mountain named after him, MOUNT TLALOC , and looks like a blue sea monster, with round eyes and sharp claws.
OMETECUHTLI
QUETZALCOATL is the god of wind who protects the priests and knowledge, markets, and agriculture. Even though he assumes the terrifying form of a feathered serpent, unlike HUITZILOPOCHTLI he doesn’t want human sacrifices. He’s happy to receive flowers.
OMECIHUATL
Chapter 5
the greAt celeStiAl Archer
It takes Izel and Avetl half the time to go down the steps as it did to climb them!
Now they are standing before the imperial palace, a truly gigantic two-story building. The problem is that King Montezuma (whose name means “the great celestial archer”) has forbidden common people from entering the building, and it’s hard not to get noticed with their simple white clothes!
However, the pair doesn’t give up. They sneak up to a ground-floor window and peek inside. There is no one in sight! So, they climb in.
“Now what?” Izel whispers.
“We can pretend to be servants,” answers Avetl, less convinced than he would like. “Let’s try over there!”
The room leads...outside.
“Wow,” murmurs Izel. They’ve end up in one of the many inner gardens
of the palace. A flock of pink flamingos are sleeping, all on one leg, in a man-made lake whose waters flicker with silvery darting fish. All around, the songs of thousands of birds rise from large aviaries. There is even a zoo with jaguars and wolves. Here and there, busy gardeners feed the animals and pick up fallen feathers from the ground.
It’s best not to be seen!
Avetl takes Izel by her arm and slips in through the first door. The girl stiffens beside him, petrified with fear.
“Oh no!” he stammers.
They have gone into the king’s throne room by mistake!
There is a figure on the throne wrapped in a turquoise cloak, his fingers around a golden cup full of smoking chocolate.
It is Montezuma in person!
The king moves his bored gaze over to the pair, ignoring the group of nobles and jesters who are trying to entertain him.
Avetl gulps. This day that had started out so badly could finish even worse.
Forget about playing; they need to study!
writing
First of all, you need a lot of paper, which is made from tree bark. Each sheet is then tied to another, thus making a kind of accordion-style book that can be over 30 feet (10 meters) long. And each book is written, or rather drawn, on both sides.
Actually, the Aztecs don’t have an alphabet but instead illustrate concepts using images (known as GLYPHS or PICTOGRAMS ).
For instance, a cactus on a rock indicates the city of Tenochtitlán; a line of footprints means the person depicted is moving.
However, sometimes there is no image to express what you want to say, so the scribes have to improvise a bit, matching up various glyphs that can somehow let the readers grasp what they want to say.
The pictograms are always placed in a very specific order so that they can be easily understood, but there are so many of them...so, learning to read and write means studying very carefully and with great concentration. This is why only priests and nobles become scribes.
the 12 dAyS oF the new Fire ceremony
When TONALPOHUALLI and XIUHPŌHUALLI align anything can happen, even a period of instability! So, all the fires are brought out of the houses and left to burn out in order to appease the gods. The priests study the sky and wait for the Orion constellation to rise, a sign that the world will go on. Then a new fire is lit, and all the people light their torches from it to reignite their hearths.
the volAdor
The VOLADOR is a spectacular ceremony linked to the calendar. Four men dressed as birds climb up a really high pole. When they get to the top, they tie themselves to a rope and jump off, while a fifth man beats a drum. The men tied to the ropes try to swing around the pole 13 times and go so fast that it’s hard to see them!
The number of loops completed by the four men together (13 x 4) comes to 52, the number where the calendars align!
I hate time-wasters!
how bArter workS
If you want to buy fish from a merchant you must barter something for it, for example the corn you grow in your field. And what if the fishmonger prefers PULQUE in exchange? You must first find someone at the market who can exchange your corn for this alcoholic drink and then go back to the merchant to get your fish.
IT CAN TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET YOUR GROCERIES! COCOA BEANS ARE USED AS MONEY FOR CHEAPER OBJECTS.
odd purchASeS
Some of the most bizarre objects found at the market include handcrafted masks; these are actual skulls covered in turquoise mosaics. Others are made of pure gold!
Warriors can buy shields covered in colorful feathers that are stuck on with glue made from bat guano. Feathers are also used to decorate cloaks, headgear, and fans.
Some feathers are worth much more than gold, such as green QUETZAL feathers, which can only be worn by the TLATOANI.