Aztec Culture
This was a report I did in sixth grade (1995) about the Aztecs. We had to speak in first person. We introduced this with a skit. I thought it would be fun to post it online…Enjoy!
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.
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