Aztec religious ceremony of renewal held every 52 years
Aztec civilization
Aztec society
Nahuatl language
Religion
Mythology
Philosophy
Calendar
Medicine
Human sacrifice
Tenochtitlan
Templo Mayor
Aztec history
Aztlán
Warfare
Codices
Aztec script
Aztec Empire
Tlaxcallan
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
Moctezuma II
Fall of Tenochtitlan
v
t
e
The New Fire Ceremony was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years—a full cycle of the Aztec “calendar round”—in order to stave off the end of the world. The calendar round was the combination of the 260-day ritual calendar and the 365-day annual calendar. The New Fire Ceremony was part of the “Binding of the Years” tradition among the Aztecs.[1][2]
The Binding of the Years occurred every 52 years, or every 18,980 days as a part of the combination of the two calendars. Arithmetically, the duration of the Calendar Round is the least common multiple of 260 and 365; 18,980 is 73 × 260 Tzolkʼin days and 52 × 365 Haabʼ days derived from the Maya calendar. During this time the Aztecs believed the sun might not come back. The Aztecs wanted to symbolically and literally purify and "renew" their lives for the beginning of the new 52 year cycle. Therefore, many items such as hearth stones were thrown out in order to not be associated with the old cycle in any way. They used this time as a "spring cleaning" to honor the old and prepare for the new. It was the fire that acted as this Binding of the Years.[3][2]
The ceremony itself entailed all the fires being put out. Then, in Uixachtlan they started a fire on the chest of a captive and cut out his heart to place it in to fuel the fire. The fire then was taken all over the city to celebrate because the sun would return. People would cut their ears and put their blood in the fire. Thus the New Fire Ceremony started the new cycle and ensured the sun would return each day for another 18,980 days.[3][2]
The New Fire ceremonies were not limited to the Aztecs. In fact it was an ancient and widespread ritual in Postclassic Central Mexico that the Aztecs appropriated to their own society.[4][5] The Anales de Tlatelolco mention the Aztecs upon achieving independence of the Tepanec state celebrated a New Fire ceremony that marked the beginning of the calendric count of the Aztecs. This suggests that the ceremony was also used as a dynastic foundation rite.[5]
^Smith, Michael E. (1997). The Aztecs. Blackwell. ISBN 1557864969. OCLC 59639052.
^ abcBernardino, de Sahagún (1953–82). Florentine Codex : general history of the things of New Spain. School of American Research. ISBN 087480082X. OCLC 59242829.
^ abVon Winning, Hasso (1979). "The "Binding of the Years" and the "New Fire Ceremony" in Teotihuacan". Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
^ abElson, Christina M.; Smith, Michael E. (July 2001). "Archaeological Deposits from the Aztec New Fire Ceremony". Ancient Mesoamerica. 12 (2): 157–174. doi:10.1017/S0956536101122078. ISSN 0956-5361. S2CID 25246053.
The Holy Fire (Greek: Ἃγιον Φῶς, "Holy Light") is a ceremony that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Saturday...
the xiuhpōhualli (solar year count) and during the NewFireceremony marking the beginning of a new calendar round; both were periods associated with the...
elevations is the Cerro de la Estrella, which was the site of the NewFireceremony. Since the pre-Hispanic period, Lake Texcoco has been drained, leaving...
same day and the Aztec celebrated the Binding of the Years with the NewFireCeremony. In order to perform the ritual, priests marched in solemn procession...
New Skin for the Old Ceremony is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1974. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound...
of fire would strike their city. The sacrifice was considered an offering to the deity. Xiuhtecuhtli was also worshipped during the NewFireCeremony, which...
and a new calendar cycle began. This calendar event was celebrated with a ritual known as Xiuhmolpilli or the NewFireCeremony. In this ceremony, old...
of fire would strike their city. The sacrifice was considered an offering to the deity. Xiuhtecuhtli was also worshipped during the NewFireCeremony, which...
can be found in stone altars built for the NewFireceremony. Another object, the Ceremonial Seat of Fire which belongs to the Eusebio Davalos Hurtado...
Huitzilopochtli, the end of the year and a cycle or "Tie of the Years," and the NewFireCeremony, day-sign "1 Tecpatl" of the year "2 Acatl," corresponding to the...
Smoking ceremony is an ancient and contemporary custom among some Aboriginal Australians that involves smouldering native plants to produce smoke. This...
the sacred fire is located for conducting the rest of the marriage ceremony. The bride and the groom sit on a new mat in front of the fire. The groom...
A naming ceremony is a stage at which a person or persons is officially assigned a name. The methods of the practice differ over cultures and religions...
Zoroastrianism, atar or fire, together with aban, water, are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies [is] regarded as the...
steel fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of camping. At summer camps, the word campfire often refers to an event (ceremony, get together...
example, the ritual destruction of ceramic vessels during the Aztec NewFireceremony) or the material correlates of religion as a totalized worldview (for...
A bride and a bridegroom in Nepal Neopagan handfasting ceremony A Muslim couple in India Fire rituals at a Hindu wedding, India Crowning during a Nasrani...
The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics...
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest...
The ceremony accompanying recitation of the Yasna Haptanghaiti seems to originate in pre-Zoroastrian times where priests offered libations to fire and...
the pre Hispanic NewFireceremony and the modern-day Passion Play. Archaeological remains include temples related to the ceremony and older structures...
and small children, the sick or frail and the elderly. Before the NewFireceremony, which occurred every 52 years, some priests fasted for a whole year;...
club's Ring of Fire Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place on that day during the halftime of the regular season home match against New England Revolution...
lit during the simulation of the Aztec newfireceremony held during the Mezoamerican period, the ceremonies here held first in the Cerro de la Estrella...
Global Information