The Festival of Toxcatl was the fifth month of the Mexica solar calendar, and it was one of the most important and most elaborate festivals of the Mexica religious year. The month was dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, the god of the night and the patron of fate and sorcery, and the festival involved a series of elaborate rituals that lasted for the entire month. The most distinctive feature of the festival was the selection of a young man to represent the god for a year, and his sacrifice at the end of the festival.
The Selection of the Victim
The most distinctive feature of the Festival of Toxcatl was the selection of a young man to represent Tezcatlipoca for a year. The young man was selected a year before the festival, and he was required to undergo a long period of preparation. He was chosen for his physical beauty and his moral character, and he was expected to be a worthy representative of the god.
The young man was treated as a god for the year, and he was given all the honors and privileges of the god. He was dressed in the finest clothing, he was attended by servants, he was given the most beautiful women as his companions, and he was allowed to wander freely through the city. He was also given four wives, who were the most beautiful women in the city, and he was required to learn to play the flute and to sing the songs of the god.
The Life of the Victim
The young man who represented Tezcatlipoca during the year was treated with great respect, and he was allowed to enjoy all the pleasures of life. He was given the finest food and drink, including chocolate and pulque, and he was allowed to attend the most important religious ceremonies. He was also given a retinue of servants and attendants, who waited on him hand and foot, and he was the object of admiration and respect from the people of the city.
The young man was also required to perform a series of religious duties, including the playing of the flute and the singing of the songs of the god. He was also required to walk through the city, accompanied by his retinue, and to receive the homage of the people. The young man was a symbol of the god, and his presence in the city was believed to bring the favor of the god to the people.
The Sacrifice
At the end of the year, when the Festival of Toxcatl arrived, the young man was sacrificed at the Templo Mayor. The sacrifice was performed with elaborate rituals, and the young man was treated with great respect. He was first taken to a small temple near the sacred precinct, where he was married to four young women. The marriage was a symbolic act, and it was believed to represent the union of the god with the four directions of the universe.
After the marriage, the young man was taken to the top of the Templo Mayor, where he was sacrificed by heart extraction. The heart was offered to the god, and the body was thrown down the steps of the temple. The head was placed on the tzompantli, the great skull rack. The sacrifice was a public event, and it was witnessed by thousands of spectators. The sacrifice was believed to ensure the favor of the god and the continuation of the cosmic order.
The Significance of the Festival
The Festival of Toxcatl was one of the most important festivals of the Mexica religious year, and it had a profound impact on the Mexica sense of time, of history, and of the human condition. The festival was a powerful demonstration of the Mexica belief in the need to honor the gods with the most precious of all offerings, the life of a human being. The festival was also a public affirmation of the political and religious authority of the Mexica state, and it served as a powerful symbol of the unity of the Mexica people and their subject peoples.
The Festival of Toxcatl has been the subject of much scholarly analysis, and it remains the most important rituals of Mexica religion. The festival has been compared to similar rituals in other religious traditions, including the Christian ritual of the Eucharist and the Greek ritual of the sacrifice of Iphigenia. The festival is also an important part of the modern Mexican national identity, and it is widely remembered in Mexican popular culture and in the national mythology.
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