Pawnee Religious Rituals

Aztec and Pawnee Religious Rituals in the Early Modern Era

The religions of the Americas consisted of God(s) and ritual practices not common in

Europe, thus their methods would be engaging to share. While researching Mesoamerica and

North American societies, the research led me to explore native religions specific to these areas.

While there were a decent amount of religious practices to choose from, the Aztec and Pawnee

faith allured me with their violent, ferocious and yet, fascinating ritual of human sacrifice. Both

regions experienced change, dramatically, when they came in contact with the Europeans. The

conquest of the Aztecs by the Spanish conquistadors in 1521 is the reason for their cultural

genocide. Human sacrifices, …show more content…
to 1400 A.D.” Even though their numbers decreased dramatically from

disease, war from the expanding American frontier to the east, the Skidi practiced their morning

star ritual up until 1838. This is last known Morning Star ceremony to take place. In comparison,

both the Skidi and Aztec killed people because of their beliefs. However, the Aztec religion

sacrifices were more barbaric and cannibalistic than the Skidi. The Aztec’s human sacrifices

were seen as a repayment to the Gods for creating the world and the sun; the Skidis used the

morning star ceremony to provide for success in fertility and war.

The use of myths is central to both religions and the main reasons behind the savagery acts because they had a polytheistic belief system. “Violence is central to Aztec history and historiography, just as it was central to Aztec society”(Pennock). During the 14th century, the
Aztecs migrated from the north and settled in the Valley of Mexico. This move is believed to have provided the Aztecs with an unlimited supply of human sacrifices. The Aztec ritual brought about the deaths of thousands of individuals ranging from prisoners of war to the natives …show more content…
We know from history that the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521 ceased the practice of human sacrifice. There was a cultural annihilation and the Spanish soldiers married or had children with the Native women of the land, Mexico. This in turn led to the mixed race population Mexico has now. Many surviving Indian women married Spanish men in order to

have a life of security for themselves and their children. For over three hundred years, mestizo numbers grew profoundly and they became the majority of the population in Mexico.
The Skidi band practiced much longer than that of the Aztecs until 1817, when the US government interfered with a traditional, Skidi human sacrifice. John Dougherty was the government agent who helped Petalesharo, chief’s son, rescue a Cheyenne woman from being killed. This is when the US government took notice of the ritual and tried to suppress it. They eventually succeed after the last sacrifice of 1838. “The United States subsequently suppressed the ceremony, but it also seems that some Skiris themselves wished to stop the human sacrifice”

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