4

This is a follow-up question to: "Why did druidesses vow perpetual virginity?"

What was the Aztec religion's view of virginity? Did they, like the Romans with their vestal virgins, view virginity as a sort of stored-up power upon which their civilization depended? Or did they think the survival of their civilization depended primarily upon human sacrifice?

The 1531 apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin Mother of God, ushered in the end of human sacrificing for the Aztecs and the baptism of 9 million within a span of 3 years. Did the Aztecs begin honoring virginity after 1531?

Geremia
  • 495
  • 3
  • 14
  • Do note that a Vestal Virgin's virginity only seemed to work for c. 30 years after which a new Vestal was chosen. And even then the Vestal Virgins where not always virgins, although selecting a Vestal Virgin without her chastity intact would be considered unlucky. – Tom Sol Jul 21 '20 at 19:03
  • 1
    @Tom Yes, they weren't all perpetual virgins. – Geremia Jul 21 '20 at 22:28
  • I'm kind of bummed, no one has given a better answer. I did do research for the question, and I think it's close to right. This is part of the problem with ultra-picky demands for answers - I gave an approximate but imperfect answer, got voted down, and yet no one has done better. I've been reluctant to contribute to mythology since then. Let me know if you have found anything more substantial for the question. – DWKraus Dec 19 '20 at 19:04
  • @DWKraus "_Let me know if you have found anything more substantial for the question. _" No, I haven't. What are you looking for specifically? – Geremia Dec 20 '20 at 04:29
  • I was just interested to know if you had found answers to your question, since no one else gave one. I was curious. – DWKraus Dec 20 '20 at 06:07
  • I have by chance found a book in a cheap second hand bookstore called : . "Sexual Politics in the Aztec Palace: Public, Private, and Profane". Anthropology and Aesthetics. If I find the time I'll write up an answer. The book is 23 years old though so it might not be up to date – Tom Sol Mar 24 '21 at 08:25
  • What did your own research reveal, please? Why does such a vague Question deserve tagging with "sacrifice" or "goddess", maiden or otherwise? Why would there be a binary choice between "virginity as a stored-up power" and "human sacrifice" for civilisation's survival? I only now noticed the date, and does none of that suggest why there have been so few Answers? – Robbie Goodwin May 14 '22 at 23:36
  • @RobbieGoodwin See the last, new ¶ I added to my question. – Geremia May 15 '22 at 21:40
  • @Geremia Oh, good grief|! What could that usefully mean? Were you Asking about what he Conquistadores did to the Aztecs, or quite separately about what the Aztec's view was? Either way, how do you think anything about Mary - or, still, the Vestals - had anything to do with virginity as a concept – or don't you? – Robbie Goodwin May 15 '22 at 21:47
  • Shouldn't this be in the history stack? I'm not seeing any mythological connection here. – cmw May 16 '22 at 12:52
  • @cmw The Aztecs did not have any maiden/virgin goddesses in their mythology? – Geremia May 16 '22 at 17:08
  • @Geremia Ah, I was thinking religion as more than just myth. So you're looking more specifically about the relationship between myth and religion with respect to virginity, or religion as a socio-cultural expression? – cmw May 16 '22 at 18:58
  • @cmw Did their mythology have any virgin goddesses? Who were they? What was their role in the Aztec religion? (I only know about their mother-goddess Tonantzin, but I'm don't know if they considered her a virgin mother.) – Geremia May 16 '22 at 19:59

1 Answers1

1

1950's conservative:

While I'm not an expert, from what I can find, the Aztecs had an attitude about sex that would have fit in the 1950's. Virginity was expected of women when they married, less so for men. Prostitutes were semi-official, but infidelity was punishable by death, as was homosexuality or sodomy of any kind. Naturally, "punishable by death" takes on a gruesome definition for the Aztecs; read up on it at your own peril.

It looks like there had been a thought at one point historically that virginity had something to do with human sacrifice, but the attitude on the subject has changed. Also, a lot of the understanding of Aztec sexuality has been filtered through the Catholic church, which documented much of Aztec practice.

https://historycollection.com/16-enlightening-truths-about-how-the-aztec-culture-handled-their-desires/

https://www.ranker.com/list/love-and-relationships-in-aztec-empire/katia-kleyman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Aztec_civilization

DWKraus
  • 226
  • 2
  • 10