HUMAN SACRIFICE

Human sacrifice was performed in several ways; the most common and perhaps the most ancient was by removing the heart. The intended victim, after being stripped, painted blue (the sacrificial color), and having a special peaked headdress set on his head, was led to the place of sacrifice. This was usually either the temple courtyard or the summit of the pyramid supporting the temple. The evil spirits were first expelled an the altar, usually a convex stone that curved the victim’s breast upward, was smeared with the sacred blue paint. The four chacs, also painted blue, next grasped the victim by his arms and legs and stretched him on his back over the altar. The nacom advanced with the sacrificial flint knife and plunged it into the victim’s ribs just below the left breast. Thrusting his hand into the opening, he pulled out the still beating heart and handed it to the chilan or officiating priest, who smeared blood on the idol to whom the sacrifice was being made. If the victim had been sacrificed on the summit of a pyramid, the chacs threw the corpse to the court below, where priests of lower rank skinned the body, except for the heads and feet. The chilan, having removed his sacrificial vestments, arrayed himself in the skin of the victim had been a valiant and brave soldier, his body was sometimes divided and eaten by the nobles and other spectators. The hands and feet were reserved for the chilan, and, if the victim was a prisoner of war, his captor wore certain of his bones as a mark of prowess. Women and children were as frequently sacrificed as men.

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