Tezcatlipoca was primarily worshipped by the
Aztec peoples, though at the time they called themselves the
Mexica. The rough timeframe of his worship was from around 1300 to about 1521. His name spelled properly is
Tezcatl Ipoca, "
Smoking Mirror", though he has many names that he is known by. An early Mexica prince, Texcatlpopocatzin, bore his name. Tezcapoctli, is the Mexica name for the black
obsidian with a reflecting surface used in the making of mirrors. Tezcatlipoca was left handed and also known as Opoche, "He Who Has Left Handedness", one of his priests was known as "His Left Hand". Also known as Itzcaque, "He Who Has Obsidian Sandals". Also known as Ixquimilli, "A Blindfold". Titlacahuan, (He Whose Slaves we Are). However, he is not to be confused with Tlatlauhqui Tezcatlipoca, which is actually a reference to
Xipe Totec, "The Skinless One", a seperate deity entirely.
He was considered the prime deity in the
Aztec Pantheon, represented by
the sun,
not Quetzalcoatl. His domains are those of deception, pain, war, honor, and destiny. It was believed that at birth Tezcatlipoca would determine the fate of a child.
Tezcatlipoca is not a deity for worshiping, he is a deity for laying down and avoiding. Unfortunately for the
Aztec Nation and the rest of the
meso-americans, they didn't realize this. In point of fact, Tezcatlipoca was quite possibly the most cruel and vicious of deities ever to be so enthusiastically worshipped as the Primary God by any culture on
Earth. Not even
Kali or
Shiva came close to his atrocities, and horrific demands of his followers. The mildest
duty he required of his followers was a hallucinogenic enema. Ritual sacrifice and pain were his meat and drink. There were generally three ways to be sacrificed to Tezcatlipoca: the voluntary route, the involuntary route, or becoming a priest. There wasn't any particular way to avoid the fate, however and in point of fact it is a wonder there were any Aztecs left once they had sacrificed everyone else.
The first method, voluntary sacrifice, was considered the most honorable method to go and was open only to slaves and the top-ranking local officer of their military. The slaves were dressed in a huipl, or soft garment of flax (I think), and given a blunt stick with some feathers at the tip. They were then led atop the pyramid to await their competition; the highest-ranking local officer of the militia (we'll just call him Captain for convenience sake). The Captain would be wearing bone armor (usually made from his previous opponants), and wielding an obsidian sword known as a
maquahuital. The two would of course fight to the death, winner ate the heart and recieved the bones of the loser. The act of killing in this ritualistic manner was thought to be nourishing to Tezcatlipoca. Should the rare occasion happen when the slave actually win, he was given the officer's rank, position, and the responsibility of fighting any new volunteers.
The second method, and least honorable was to be dragged to the top of the temple pyramid and have the heart removed after a rather excruciating flaying process, though there were various methods used, one was cutting through the victim's belly, tearing the diaphragm, and cutting the heart ligaments from the inside, then pulling it out. Children were often sacrificed in this manner.
The third method was only reserved for two people a year. On the festival of
Toxcatl in the fifth month of their eighteen month year. A young captive, chosen for his beauty, grace, and self-control impersonated Tezcatlipoca for an entire year, from one Toxcatl to the beginning of the next. During this time, he was honored and lived a life of luxury and privilege. He was expected to wander the streets at night with his entourage, playing flutes and generally being congenial. Twenty days before the festival he was given four beautiful wives. At the beginning of the festival, he was taken quietly to a temple on a small island where, at a time of his own choosing, his heart was cut out and offered to Tezcatlipoca.
The total amount of people sacrificed to Tezcatlipoca is quite impossible to discern. However there is strong evidence to suggest that between 80,000 to 100,000 were sacrificed for a dedication ceremony for
The Great Temple in
Tenochtitlan. (almost double the total number of
Native Americans and
Anglos killed during the Indian Wars from 1775-1890 according to US Census). Keep in mind this is only
one of the deities,
one of their temples, and
one of their occasions. The actual number of total people sacrificed in the years of Aztec power could very well be in excess of half a million.
For more information on how in the name of all that is good and nice someone would ever end up worshiping this diety, please see
How Quetzalcoatl Got His Groove Back and
human sacrifice and the Aztecs. It will explain how the Aztecs even got enough power to make such things possible, and their rationale for the sacrifices. In general, this was one of those gods from the
wrong side of the tracks.