Because of my previous post about the Aztec Priest, this article about scientific examination into drug use in MesoAmerican human sacrifice rituals caught my attention. Once again, I am not searching for historical verification, but it’s always illuminating when science clarifies a mystifying event. In the case of the Aztec Priest, (as always a placeholder name, not a historical designation) scientific research points to the significant use of drugs in these rituals, and the historical basis for their importance.
Capacocha rituals served different purposes for different parts of the Empire. Local communities organized them to prevent natural disasters like droughts, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions…It is believed that Inca children consumed psychotropic substances in order to get in touch with the supernatural during the moments leading up to their sacrifice. This would make sense considering that, after their deaths, their contemporaries would go on to worship them as mediators between the world of people and the world of huacas.
In reality, however, it seems more likely that the victims were given these drugs to make them more compliant, as well as to help with the anxiety and depression they must have felt upon realizing their days were numbered. Evidence for this is both anecdotal and scientific. For one, several Spanish observers wrote that the drugs were used to dull rather than heighten the senses of the victims.
(Reinhard and his co-authors conclude this) suggests the children were given drugs not to induce visions but improve their mood.
It’s affirming to receive historical verification of the use of these ritual sacrifices to “prevent natural disasters such as droughts.” From my notes:
I knew in my heart that I was a showman, that I had no control over the crops or the weather. I also knew that someday bad weather and a failing crop would have me become the sacrifice…
I did wonder why the Aztec Priest didn’t report on how the chosen sacrifice victims were given drugs in preparation for their ceremony, and my thought was, “That wasn’t the High Priest’s job. He had other people to select and prepare those chosen.” I remember how it was stressed that:
I had guards to do the dirty work of opening the chest cavity so I could access and remove the heart.
Unless there is more to the story and I was only given what I could handle at that time. I remember my present-day discomfort upon learning about how much death was involved in that “job,” and I felt my “Other” life personality’s pain and his constant drug use* to cope with that horrific aspect of his position. When an article like this comes to my attention I use it as an opportunity to revisit and ask more questions about an “Other” life. Or just add to the ever-growing list of questions on file.
https://bigthink.com/the-past/inca-ayahuasca-human-sacrifice/
*I thought I wasn’t drawn to the Ayahuasca experience because of all the vomiting involved. I did a few Kambo sessions and puked enough to fulfill my regurgitation quotient for my present life.