The sharpened spine of the maguey (agave) plant is the implement most frequently named in Aztec sources for autosacrifice, the ritual letting of one's own blood as an act of reciprocity with the gods. Rulers, priests and commoners alike used it to pierce the ear, tongue, calf or penis; the conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo recorded witnessing Aztec priests and nobles piercing themselves with maguey thorns and obsidian blades during religious ceremonies in Tenochtitlan in 1519, and the Florentine Codex records priests prescribing bloodletting penances following confession to the goddess Tlazolteotl.
Facts
Use
Who May Handle ItAnyone; it is offered to the public 1 ConsecrationNot consecrated; an instrument, not a consecrated object 1 Identity
Category of Sacred ObjectA bloodletting implement used in Aztec penitential ritual. 1 Connections
Associated With
This source names Tenochtitlan directly: "blades during religious ceremonies in Tenochtitlan in 1519, and the Florentine Codex records priests prescribing bloodletting penances following confession to the goddess Tlazolteotl."
Source An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the MayaMary Miller and Karl Taube
The Florentine Codex records priests prescribing maguey-thorn bloodletting penance following confession to Tlazolteotl, to whom the practice is tied.
Source An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the MayaMary Miller and Karl Taube
Belongs to Tradition
Source An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the MayaMary Miller and Karl Taube
Sources
1. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya
Mary Miller and Karl Taube, Thames and Hudson, 1993on Aztec autosacrifice and the maguey thornView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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