Priests
All priests were religious leaders. Some were active in the government, others were highly respected teacher. They have several privileges such as being one of the only people that knew the Aztec language N'ahuatl. They were treated as nobles and were very important to the Aztec society. However the life of an Aztec priest was very tiring and hard. They had mountains of responsibilities such as:
Below these high priests was the Mexicatl Teohuatzin who was in charge of the religious affairs in Tenochtitlan and of all the conquered tribes. Next were his assistants Huitznahuoc Teohuatzin and the Tepanteotuatzin who were priests with local authority in charge of supervising education and schools. Next was the Ometochtizn, priest of the god of Pulque (Aztec beer) and the chief of singers. Priests that are also below the high priests were called the Tlanamacac. Next were priests called Tlamacazqui and finally young men called Tlamacazton who stayed in the temple and served as apprentices.
Priests spoke in a different language from the common language of the people called Nahuatlatolli. Priests would use this secret language while practicing medicine making them seem very mysterious and admirable in the eyes of the common people of the Aztec civilisation.
- Keeping the time of the day
- Keeping track of eclipses and other planetary events
- Naming certain constellations
- Tracking the movement of the stars and planets to predict their future positions in the sky
- Reading the calendar
- Analysing the incantations to the gods and horoscopes
- Analysing horoscopes for the citizens of the Aztec Empire
- Making offerings and sacrifices to gods as well as making sure they are the correct ones in order to satisfy the gods
- Perform all sorts of ceremonies in temples to make sure that the gods were pleased so that disasters does not strike the civilisation
- Record down events in hieroglyphics
- Hear confessions as well as going to war with the warriors to hear their confessions
- Train boys that will become priests by taking them out into the dark on nightly walks to gather dangerous creatures.
Below these high priests was the Mexicatl Teohuatzin who was in charge of the religious affairs in Tenochtitlan and of all the conquered tribes. Next were his assistants Huitznahuoc Teohuatzin and the Tepanteotuatzin who were priests with local authority in charge of supervising education and schools. Next was the Ometochtizn, priest of the god of Pulque (Aztec beer) and the chief of singers. Priests that are also below the high priests were called the Tlanamacac. Next were priests called Tlamacazqui and finally young men called Tlamacazton who stayed in the temple and served as apprentices.
Priests spoke in a different language from the common language of the people called Nahuatlatolli. Priests would use this secret language while practicing medicine making them seem very mysterious and admirable in the eyes of the common people of the Aztec civilisation.
Priestess
The life of an Aztec Priestess was equally as hard and tiring. They perform many ceremonies, prayers, songs, incantations and divinations in honor of the gods as well. Their responsibilities include reading the calendar and interpreting the Sacred Calendar, analysing incantations to the gods, reading horoscope and making sacrifices and offerings to the gods. Some priestess mixed potions and offered prayers and other healed the sick with herbal medicines. Priestesses also acted as a matchmaker, often marrying engaged couples in the traditional Aztec way. Priestesses are the ones that keeps the temples clean and the fires lit. There was also priestesses who were in charge of special cults of the goddesses of the earth and some served as a mother superior.
Fun fact 4# One interesting part of the law was the "one time forgiveness law". Under this law, a citizen could confess a crime to a priest and they would be forgiven. This only worked if they confessed the crime prior before being caught but it could only be used once.