The Aztec Clothing

Aztecs were known for their bravery and superiority above all the other tribes in the world.  That was why they were the ruling nation in the world in the 15-16^th centuries.  However, the Aztecs weren’t JUST known for being the mighty warriors, but the way they dress and present themselves as well.

You have noticed that the Aztec clothing is starting to trend today in the fashion industry.  Its striking colors and lively patterns attract anyone’s attention by just wearing it. Their clothes is an obvious representation of how they lived, it is a testimony on how affluent their tribe was.

Clothes for Aztec people weren’t merely for protection, although warriors wore extensive form of armor to protect them during war.  The way they dress depicts how wealthy they are.  As proud people they were, they dress to flaunt and show their social status or rank to other people.  They wore dresses for many purposes.  As an advance and progressive city, Aztec Empire was the only tribe to follow a certain government, in fact they were the first to have a perfectly laid out government.  And if there is a government, there are always the rulers/nobles, the commoner, serfs, and of course, slaves. Their clothes will help you recognize which class they belong to in the early Aztec society.  

The Noble

This is also called the upper class of their society, the elite group of prestigious people, religious leaders, and noble class.

For Aztecs, the more decorated one’s clothing was, the higher rank they were perceived to have.  With this, the nobles dressed prestigiously using cotton, a common material used in noble clothing. Symbols of their ranks were embellished on the clothes they wore. The colors of their clothes also portray meaning for them, for instance, bright colors were a sign of higher status. Gold was an important noble accessory for them as well.  The Aztec upper classmen were also fond of headdresses made from feathers, their robes are also lined with brightly colored feathers as well. 

The women of the upper class wore extensive jewelries, mostly gold.  They want to decorate themselves as much as possible; from earrings, pendants, necklaces, chokers, hair accessories, to gold bangles.

The Commoner and the Serf

These classes could have probably fused in their time because their privileges were almost equal.  They were also called the merchants, the free spirits or the ordinary people who had more freedom than most people in the lower class. Commoners and serfs were allowed to dress ornately but they choose not to. Their main reason for wearing clothes is for modesty.  Men of these classes wore only loincloth which was less brightly colored than the nobles’.  Whereas for the women, they chose to wear simple cotton dresses, and given a special occasion, jewelries but lesser than that of the nobles as well.

The Slave

Slaves often use very little clothing although they had but one jewelry allowed to wear, these were jewels placed in holes in their faces.  They were not to wear cotton on any occasion; any slave who go against this rule was punishable by death.  They had handmade intricate feathered mantles which were greatly admired for their workmanship, these were probably the only beautiful thing they were allowed to have.  They dress for the purpose of convenience for their general work as slaves.

Are you in constant search for history? Or obsessed with stories of old empires? Or merely seeking for the truth about the past? If you’re one those people who long for answers, then you should be reading this blog. The world today is not what it is if not for the beliefs, practices and traditions rooted in the past. You may not see it, but our ancestors and the old empires had somehow affected our lives today. 

  

Let’s talk about one of the biggest empires in World History, the Aztec Empire, which was consisted by nomadic people who had lived the most sophisticated lives along with their complex beliefs and traditions.  The Aztec Empire was once the greatest empire in 1300-1500, with territories stretching from the modern-day Northern Mexico to Guatemala. At the height of the civilization, their capital was once the largest city in the world. This blog would also deal with one of the most striking features of the Aztec Empire,  the practice of human sacrifice.

Learn more about the Aztec people, their religion, beliefs and understand why they believed in the practice of human sacrifice.

The Long History of Aztecs

The Aztec People

The Aztec Empire consisted of migratory people, and several ethnic groups who spoke the Nahuatl Language and dominated the immense parts of Central Mexico in 14^th to 16^th centuries. People from Aztlan (the Mexicas) moved to Central Mexico and built alliances together with the true inhabitants of Texcoco and Tlacopan, the two principal states of Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan is known today as Mexico City. This triple Alliance eventually became a huge empire with a rich culture, sophisticated religious beliefs and wide political dominion over the valley of Mexico and several city states of Mesoamerica. 


Archaeological evidences suggest that the Aztec people had highly remarkable achievements in terms of architecture and art. Spanish clergymen and literate Aztecs had described the culture and history of Aztecs through written documents, native bark paper codices were also found as archaeological evidence, as well as eyewitness testimonies from Spanish conquerors.

The Aztec Culture

The primary language spoken by Aztec people was called N’ahuatl. Their alphabet system is picture writing wherein they draw symbols and pictures of nouns. These were joined together to form sentences, to write their stories and keep records. Aztec picture writing was difficult to learn. The system was primarily done by priests and scribes who were the only ones capable of reading the pictures. 


The Aztecs were fond of poetry and they had books called codices. Their books or codices are in the form of long strips of paper that were folded like an accordion, covered with a piece of wood on both sides. Graphics and symbols were written on both sides of the papers and can be read from either top to bottom or left to right.

In terms of Art, Aztecs were fond of stone carving, painting pictograms, pottery and making head dresses out of feathers. Statues were carved by stone workers out of wood, rock and bones. Pictograms were drawn by scribes and priests and they use vegetables, insects, shells, minerals and oils to color them. Pots were carved and painted by the bare hands of Aztec potters, and headdresses were elaborately made out of tropical birds by feather workers.

Their Religious Beliefs

Aztecs' Gods and Goddesses

The Aztec People had several religious beliefs. They believe in the power of the sun to fought darkness and save mankind  . Back then, they believed the world is flat. They believed in the existence of 13 heavens and 9 hells.


 They believe in the practice of offering their sun God with human blood and heart, hoping that it would rise and food will grow abundantly.

They also believed in life after death. They believed that offering themselves to the gods would lead them straight to heaven, that the way you die determines your destination afterlife. If a person died a normal death, his or her soul would go to the dark dismal underworld, passing through the nine lives of the underworld before reaching Mictlan, the land of the dead. However, if a person died in a battle or from giving birth, he or she would go straight to the sun God, to the heaven.   

The Aztecs had worshipped many Gods including Huizilopochtlid, god of war and god of sun, Tlaloc, the rain God, Tezcatlipoca, the God of Magic, and many other Gods.

Because of their great love for religion, they used human sacrifice had as a way to please their gods.

"The Practice of Human Sacrifice"

Human sacrifice was a significant part of Aztecs' religious beliefs. This ritual was performed by priests dressed as supreme Gods on the nights of the O’Nothing Days. On top of a dead volcano, the priests would wait for the evening star to reach the top of the sky. Then they would place the human captive over an altar, or a special table. The fifth priest would stab the captive’s abdomen with a ceremonial knife made of flint. He would slice open up to the diaphragm and grab the captive’s heart while it was still beating. The heart would be placed on a special bowl held high to the statue of their God as an act of offering. The dead body would be laid on temple stairs, body parts are destroyed by feeding them to the animals while the head would be displayed in the temple.

 Others forms of human sacrificing performed by Aztecs were human skinning, self-sacrifice and blood offering in which they offer maguey thorns tainted by their own blood from their tongues, ear lobes or genitals. Blood offering was practiced by most Maya Kings. 

What Else You Should Know About the Aztecs?

In this 43-minute video, witness how the Aztec people are fascinated by their own traditions, beliefs and religion. Witness the growth of the once greatest empire, the Aztec empire from 1300-1500 . 

More Interesting Facts

To Aztec people…

•          To be drunk in public was a great violation to their law, unless you were aged more than 70 years old.
•          A commoner shouldn’t wear      cotton clothes. If he or she was found wearing one, he would be sentenced to death.
•          The price of adultery, cutting down a living tree, and major theft is death
•          If a person committed kidnapping and minor theft, he or she would be sold into slavery.
•          A steam bath was a necessity to each Aztec home.
•          The major Aztec weapon could cut off the head of a horse in just a single blow.
• Hot chocolate made from pure cocoa beans were enjoyed by the Aztecs as early as 1500's. (Know more about the history of hot chocolate here)

 More Videos About Aztecs' History, Art and Culture