Warrior Religious studies - Pantheon of Gods that each warrior chooses a deity from to worship for life. There is no good vs Evil, it is all just part of life and the earth, creation and destruction. Listened to readings of an explanation of Aztec religion.
Presentations
Sina- orally presented her prepared outline on the Mayans.
Zander - orally presented his 5 facts on Terascans along with sharing a map that compared their territory in comparison to that of the Aztec.
Ayden - orally presented his findings on Mixtec and passed around a picture of some of their art.
Ben- shared some of his findings of Toltecs.
Liam - shared his researched findings on the Olmecs
Deitrich - read through his research on the Zapotec.
Cadence - shared her findings on the top 5 Mayan cities.
House of Youth - Code of Conduct
Read through the life of an Aztec child; the rules, expectations and punishments of the ages as a child developed. http://malinche.info/blog/?p=81
We looked through some pictures of the forms of punishments on the child in Aztec civilization; holding a child over a fire with hot chiles burning so they will consume(eyes and throat) the smoke for 1-3 minutes, binding a childs hands and feet and leaving them outside in a cold puddle of water.
We overviewed our agreed upon punishments at our Telpochcalli:
First offense - 1 minute in the corner.
Second offense - 1 minute planking in the corner.
Third offense - 1 minute Electric chair in the corner.
As a group, they debated and determined our list of rules/code of conduct.
1. No interruptions
2. Always obedient and respectful
3. No public flatulence
4. No being obnoxious
5. Always listening and attentive
6. Sitting in your seat properly
7. No horseplay
8. No "durping"
9. Always using appropriate language
10. No prejudices
We performed our Oath to our Code of Conduct.
We discussed the Beginnings of the Aztec/ Chichimeca/ Mexica; their journey from Aztlan as a nomadic tribe guided by priests and priestess' looking for their sign the prophecy will show them of their promised land where they will build a glorious civilization. Anytime they settled for short times they would be chased away by their neighbours due their 'barbaric' ways. After being forced to endure hard living conditions of the desert amongst the snakes and elements, they grew stronger and more fierce. Their laws started to form to keep all members in check. And their harsh, unbending laws and punishments cemented.
After some time, the still fearing neighbours started to respect them for their fierce ways and hired them as mercenaries to fight their enemies. They started to partake in trade and in the surrounding civilizations (Mayan and other tribes). One Mayan leader wanted to extend peace to the Mexica and offered his daughters hand in marriage.... let the kids explain where that lead!
After being chased away again, they found themselves in the salt marshes, and the sign they were waiting for (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in it's mouth) appeared. And they new, this would be their new home where their great civilization would begin.
The Pantheon
We read through the top Gods in the Aztec Pantheon of Gods.
We discussed the impacts that their beliefs had on them (they thought they were being very honourable in sacrificing the Mayan princess). We also discussed why some of these stories may have began... to explain the unexplainable.
Everyone broke out to explore the Aztec Gods and to discover their God that they would research and worship for this series.
Ayden: Huetzilopochtli "Hummingbird to the Left"
Ben: Tezcatlipoca "The Smoking Mirror"
Cadence Itzpapalotl "Obsidian Butterfly"
Cosiniye Xochiquetzal "Precious Flower"
Deitrich Quetzalcoatle "Feathered Serpent"
Dylan: (please pick one from the list)
Liam: Mictlantecuhtli "Lord of the dead"
Zander: Huehuecoyotl "The old, old coyote"
We watched:
Assignment:
1. Come up with a myth or story about something unexplainable, undefined or uncertain. Write a story using mythical characters, deities, gods or goddesses that would help "explain" why this (your unanswerable question) is so. Be prepared to read your 'myth' to the class. Feel free to get creative and make up your own Gods and Goddesses. You can also get creative in how present your story; You can write out your myth in a codex (we will be learning of these, but basically they are Aztec style books ...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_codices), a comic, a picture, a story book, an essay style story, spoken and recorded for us to listen to, an animation... get creative, have fun!
2. Research your Aztec god or goddess that you picked in class. http://www.amoxtli.org/cuezali/deities.html
This god or goddess is who you are going to worship for your Aztec House of Youth class. Give a small presentation explaining the attributes of your god or goddess (maybe bring in a printed out picture or drawing of your God to pass around.)
Ayden: Huetzilopochtli "Hummingbird to the Left"
Ben: Tezcatlipoca "The Smoking Mirror"
Cadence Itzpapalotl "Obsidian Butterfly"
Cosiniye Xochiquetzal "Precious Flower"
Deitrich Quetzalcoatle "Feathered Serpent"
Dylan: (please pick one from the list)
Liam: Mictlantecuhtli "Lord of the dead"
Zander: Huehuecoyotl "The old, old coyote"