Introduction      

Characters:

Edmond – Huitzilopochtli

Stephen – Hunter gatherer (Chikahua)

John – Hunter gatherer (Coatl)

Eric – The eagle eating the snake also narrator

Narrator: This is a legend about how Tenochtitlan, the great city in the lake, came to be. Chikahua and Coatl are hunting for food, when the god Huitzilopochtli appears!

Huitzilopochtl: Behold! For I have chosen you as the chosen people to leave this place and build a magnificent city on Lake Texcoco.

Chikahua: The gods have spoken! We must depart immediately for this place!

Coatl: Right away! The will of the gods must be done!

Huitzilopochtl: Halt! Do you know where this place is?

Coatl: No, I do not!

Huitzilopochtl: But you will when you have gotten there when you have seen the eagle eating the snake while perching on the cactus!

Chikahua: Aye! We must get going! The gods will not be happy if we were to disobey!

Narrator: And they walked and walked and walked. They saw a lake, but there was no cactus. So they trudged onwards. They saw another lake with an eagle eating a snake, but there was no cactus.  

Coatl: This is pointless! Are the gods tricking us?

Chikahua: No. Blasphemy! How could you think so ill of them? The will of the gods be done, as you said.

Coatl: Wait…what is that?

Chikahua (squinting): What?

Coatl: It is! I have been wrong. Forgive me! For there is the eagle eating the snake perched on the cactus! We have succeeded!

Chikahua: And there’s Lake Texcoco! Let us start building this great city here, my liege!

Coatl: Don’t forget to build a temple for Huitzilopochtl – if there was only a way to repay him for this.

Narrator: And that was how the great city of Tenochtitlan got started.   

The Report

You are probably thinking…how do build a city in a lake? But rather, we lived ON the lake. Inventions such as chinampas, which were floating gardens (shown here), and huts made of the surrounding materials (reeds and mud) helped us adapt to our new environment. Hence, Tenochtitlan became the nervous center of the empire. At first, we were just another tribe moving to a new land, but our military prowess helped us gain power throughout the region. In fact, we formed the TRIPLE ALLIANCE with two other tribes, thus gaining more military strength. Probably two of the greatest emperors we had in our history were Montezuma II and Ahuizotl. Both conquered other tribes for us, while Montezuma ruled during the year of our civilization’s peak, and downfall – 1520.     

            Our government was adapted from the Mayans. There were five main levels of society. The Emperor, or Huey Tlatoano, meaning Great Speaker, ruled the people directly, and was chosen from the Royal family by a council of nobles. Priests and priestesses performed religious ceremonies such as sacrifices, and dominated a good deal of the peoples’ lives. They taught the young science, art, music, counting, astrology, and astronomy. The nobles assisted in advising the Emperor and governing territories. They lived in splendor compared to commoners. The commoners lived simple lives farming the floating gardens near their small huts. Serfs had fewer rights then commoners and were bound to the land they farmed, which was usually owned by a noble. They had very few necessities and lived off the land of their noble. Below the serfs were the slaves. Slaves were captured prisoners of war or criminals that were lucky enough not to be sacrificed. Despite that, their children were born free.  

            Ever heard of education for everyone? We were among the first people to come up with that sort of thing: where boys and girls got an education. Kids studied history, civics, and religion at a calmecac or a temple school. Boys were trained in the military, while girls advanced to homemaking skills and herbal medicine. In a typical Aztec family, women actually had rights – basic rights such as owning property and remarrying if their husband dies. Jobs were pretty decent too – she could become a priestess, a weaver, a midwife, and a musician. But even with all those options, women still spent time making food and clothing. Men did physical labor and were drafted into the army during war time. Children were expected to do chores and respect their elders. If they didn’t, they were severely punished.

We worshipped a variety of gods – from sun gods to gods that deal with games! And we believed that sacrificing people to the gods kept the gods pleased and the universe in motion. Where the people came from? Eager volunteers but mostly captured war criminals. Warriors that fought wars helped supply the war criminals for sacrifices, and were highly regarded. We also built giant temples for the gods, sometimes in the form of a pyramid. Quetzalcoatl was the god that gave us maize, one of the main components of our diet. We believed that there were 13 heavens and 9 underworld layers – basically.   

Finally…the best for last. Our achievements were noticeable, mostly thanks to the Spanish who invaded and conquered our civilization and the Mayans who predated us. Most of you wouldn’t be sitting here if we hadn’t thought up the idea to educate boys and girls, but we admit we weren’t the only ones who came up with the idea. If you ever go to the movies, thank us for the popcorn and chocolate. But remember that they added the salt and sugar in Europe. Next time you chew gum in class, remember that we introduced gum to the Spanish. We had a version of the 365 day calendar – except with 18 day months and five days leftover at the end of the year. As with every major civilization, they come to an end. We were finally conquered in 1520 by the Spanish. That concludes our presentation. Thank you, and have a nice day.