What is religion? Religion is the human being’s relation to that which they rega

What is religion? Religion is the human being’s relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of special reverence.Religion and ignorance sometimes tend to go hand in hand; but why does religion and ignorance play an important role in cultures? Since many years ago, religion has been part of many people’s daily lives; regardless of who does the individual worships, what rituals they practice, or what their beliefs are. It is well known, that those in power use religion and faith as a way to manipulate and control people that are considered to be inferior or who do not have the capacity to think for themselves; people that are easy to brainwash. During the Mesoamerican culture, religion was the fundamental reason for many tribes/clans; such as the Mayans and Aztecs, to be stripped from all their wealth. Their belief in gods, made them vulnerable in front of an unknown foreign culture; that combined with the submission to which they were subjected by their own leaders, ended up making these Mesoamerican cultures an easy prey for the abuse and deceit of the foreigners. This foreign culture were the Spaniards, whoexploit and took advantage of the faith, beliefs and ignorance of the Aztecs, in order to bend them to their will and demands. Despite the fact that the Aztecs were known to be perfect mercenaries, and very well advanced in some sciences, they were never prepared for the supposed return of their god; a god that ended up being an advanced and superior culture that caused the Aztecs’ misfortune. Because of this, the theme and purpose of this assignment is to explain how religion and ignorance affected the Mesoamerican cultures. To back up my claims, I am going to use the movie Apocalypto, ProfessorGuzman’s lecture modules, and the readings from Chasteen’s book.
The movie Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson, isbased on the Mayan Civilization; it develops during the time that warriors wererobbing, killing, and destroying the surrounding peaceful tribes while searching for slaves that could be used for human sacrifice or to build temples. According to the Mayan leaders’ beliefs, the Mayan leaders needed to continue to extend their temples, and sacrifice more people in order to please the Gods. This way the Gods could be satisfied with them, and in exchange, the Gods would provide them with an abundance of crops so the Mayan people could continue with their legacy. Throughout the movie, many religious aspects are portrayed. The main character in this film is a hardworking indigenous villager, family man and hunter, whose name is Jaguar Paw.Prior to his capture, the first scene of the movie depicts Jaguar Paw’s tribe and him in the jungle, joking with each other. All of a sudden, another peaceful tribe asks them if they can grant them permission to cross the jungle, because they had been pillaged and are looking for a new start. As the movie continues, the same thing ends up happening to Jaguar’s tribe; his tribe gets pillaged as well. However, in his despair to protect his pregnant wife and child, he takes them to a big, deep, and dark underground cistern; promising his wife and child that he will return to save them.Despite all his efforts to defend his tribe, he along with the rest of the members get captured, and taken to the Mayan leaders to be sacrificed to the gods. While they are on their way to get sacrificed, they encounter a little girl that is suffering from a disease that is being caused by a plague.This little girl approaches them and puts a curse on the warriors; by predicting that someone among them will be their doom.As Jaguar Paw and the rest enter the Mayan’s territory/ city, they get their bodies painted blue; just like the sacrificed people displayed on paintings they see on the walls. Eventually, Jaguar Paw witnesses the sacrifices of one of his tribe members, and one from a different one. Consequently, Jaguar Paw accepts his predestination, and waits for the highest priest to rip his heart out. Surprisingly, the little girl’s prophecy becomes true at that precise moment, because an eclipse occurs and the Mayan priest decides not to kill Jaguar; because according to him, the gods are finally pleased.Thus, Jaguar gets a chance to escape and ends up killing his enemies with the help of the little girl’s prophecy that was seen as a bad omen for the enemy.Given these points, it is clear to see that the prophecy was not really an omen; it was something that needed to happen, regardless of the outcome. The priest and Mayan leaders would control all events and everything that occurred around them. This was their way of manipulating and to keep the commoners submissive to them.
Likewise, the Aztecs were also stripped from their property and wealth; due to their ignorance and beliefs. In fact, Professor Guzman explains on three different modules, the fall of the Aztec empire, which depicts the theme of the movie Apocalypto. Similarly to the Mayans, the Aztecs were polytheistic because they believed in different gods and even prophecies. They were known for their fighting skills, and because of this, they were known as the best mercenaries.However, regardless of their brutality and aggressive skills, the Aztec leaders were strong-minded among other native tribes, but were naïve against the Spaniards. The Aztecs’ religion consisted of many deities; yet,Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl were two of the most important ones, or most well known in the Aztec history. Huitzilopochtli was the one that showed the Aztecs the ‘promised land,’ and Quetzalcoatl was the god that the Aztecs were waiting for, to fulfill the prophecy.While the Aztecs were waiting for the return of Quetzalcoatl; Tlacaelel, who was the prime minister to Itzcóatl, became an important person to the Aztec empire because he shaped the Aztecs’ society in regards to politics and religion for 70 years.The Aztec leaders took advantage of the commoners’ loyalty and submission. Due to this, the leaders used religion to justify their brutal actions.These brutal actions included human sacrifices that were done with the capture of soldiers from other tribes; by doing mock battles that were known as Flower Wars. The leaders arranged these battles, without informing their soldiers that everything had already been arranged. Therefore, the commoners continued to believe in everything that the Aztec leaders told them, and simply accepted their fate; they did everything possible to have the gods content.However, when Tlacaelel died, Moctezuma II rise to power and became the ambitious and arrogant Aztec king.Though, he made the commoners believed that he was a living god, he became easy influenced byNezahualpilli; who predicted the Aztec collapse and made Moctezuma II believe him. As a matter of fact, in 1517, when Moctezuma II knew that the Spanish had arrived, he immediately remembered Nezahualpilli’s words about the return of Quetzalcoatl. Because of Moctezuma’s naïveté with the outer world, he ended up welcoming the Spaniards, and offering their gold. According to the story, Moctezuma’s actions increased the Spaniard’s ambition, and since the Spanish ate the Aztec’s food, and accepted the gold, then left; Moctezuma thought that Quetzalcoatl was pleased. Because of this, he continued with his life, but in 1519, Hernan Cortez arrived and decided to stay.
Chasteen writes in his book Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America, how the well-known story of Moctezuma and the return Quetzalcoatl, could be a simple myth created after the arrival of the Spaniards.If truth be told, Chasteen emphasizes that the only reason why the Aztecs were defeated was not because Moctezuma thought Cortez was a god; it was more because the Aztecs did not know who the Spaniards were, but the Spaniards did know who the indigenous people were and what they wanted to obtain from them.The author implies that if it wasn’t for the surrounding tribes that were tired of the Aztecs, the Spaniards would have never defeated the Incas and the Aztec empire. However, one thing that is true though, isthe fact that since the Aztecs had never seen a white-skinned man before, nor had they seen shiny armors, weapons, horses, steel blades, dogs, and ships, the Mexica named the Spanish Teul (god).Unfortunately, the Mexica were too overconfident and naïve, that they did not see the malice or bad intentions of the Spanish troops. Neither did they know that other Nahuatl-speaking city states were forming an alliance with the Spaniards; because those Nahuatl speaking cities no longer wanted to pay tribute to the Aztecs. As a matter of fact, they were eager to end the Aztec rule. Conversely, these Spanish-alliance tribes ended up being victimized twice; by the Aztecs and by the Spaniards, who ended up just using them and later made them pay tribute to the Spanish overlords.With this in mind, it is clear to note how the Spaniards took advantage of the hatred and grudge many tribes/clans felt towards the Aztecs; because of the way the Mexica had sacrificed them and the many years they had endured the mistreatment that the Aztecs imposed upon them. Whether or not Moctezuma II truly believed that Cortez was Quetzalcoatl, the Aztecs were defeated because of ignorance and religious practices. Their constant religious sacrifices made with the capture of other tribe members, angered these tribes to such extent that they got eaten up with hatred. Ignorance is bliss, but in this case, it destroyed the lives of many individuals.
In conclusion, religion did not help the Mayans, Aztecs, or other tribes to defend their culture, ideologies, beliefs, and the daily rituals they made to please their gods. Just like the Mayan leaders, the Aztec leaders never visualized themselves as being defeated. Hence, they did not prepare themselves against the Spaniards’ power or their arrival. Their belief in the return of their gods blinded them; it did not allowed them to see beyond the end of their nose, nor accept the reality of what was happening. It is such a pity that these brave warriorsended up being dominated by a foreign culture. Once again, they had become part of the human servitude, and lost everything that they had fought for; including their ‘promised land.’