ABOUT BLOODY TIME

The Aztecs had 2 calendars, the standard or farmers’ Xiuhpohualli (365 days) and the ceremonial Tonalpohualli (260 days). Every 52 Xiupohualli years and 73 Tonalpohualli years they matched each other in a ‘Binding of the Years’ ceremony. Unsurprisingly this involved lots and lots of sacrifices....

The Xiupohualli had 18 months of 20 days each. Each day was named after one of 20 Aztec symbols, and children were named after their date of birth until they became adults - if they lived that long! The day names were:

1 = Snake’s Head

2 = Wind

3 = House

4 = Lizard

5 = Serpent

6 = Death

7 = Deer

8 = Rabbit

9 = Water

10 = Whetstone

11 = Monkey

12 = Wild Grass

13 = Cane

14 = Jaguar

15 = Eagle

16 = Buzzard

17 = Earthquake

18 = Obsidian Knife

19 = Rain

20 = Flower

Thus a child born on April 11, the 9th day of Huey Tozoztli, the Dog, would be known as Water of Dog. Children would also have a special symbol made up of their day and month names. There were six special days when the two names matched. Children born on these days were thought to be very lucky, and would never be sacrificed:

Apr 2: Flower of Flower

Apr 24: Wind of Wind

Jun 25: Lizard of Lizard

Aug 6: Death of Death’s Head

Nov 19: Monkey of Monkey

Nov 29: Snake’s Head of Snake

There were also 5 days left over, which were known as the Nemontemi or ‘Useless Days’ (Jan. 28 - Feb. 1). Aztec parents would usually abandon or sacrifice a baby born then.

Aztecs believed that their gods had had their hearts ripped out to get the Sun moving across the sky. Of course this meant that the Sun needed a regular supply of hearts to keep going. Often they would use spies to encourage their enemies to attack them, so they could defeat them and use their hearts!

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