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teejaystumbles — Chapter04-20
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Published: 2014-02-18 20:14:53 +0000 UTC; Views: 3388; Favourites: 32; Downloads: 0
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For anyone who missed my last notice: UPDATES HAVE BEEN RE-SCHEDULED: UPDATES WILL BE ON TUESDAY FROM NOW ON!Thanks for understanding.
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Aaaand there he's off again like smoke on the wind.
Tez, you mean bitch. Don't play dumb.
As for the ixiptla, yes, he has been beheaded. His head will be placed on a skull rack (tzompantli), his body will be flayed and his flesh will be distributed among the nobles of the city and eaten.
The warcaptive who was to be the next impersonator of Tezcatlipoca also took part in the flesh and probably also wore the skin of his predecessor.
I'm telling you because we're gonna skip that part. It's not of particular interest to the story.
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Comments: 10
Well....I did write a big long thing about how Aztec/Maya culture should not be understood as one and the same considering they worship different gods for different reasons. (but it didn't post, so have this one lol) The Maize God of the Maya people, while sharing similarities to Quetzalcoatl is not the same thing nor was Quetz "inspired" by the Maize God. Mayan people only sacrificed themselves in the form of bloodletting. Sacrifices were much less frequent than the Aztec people, and it only ever happened to their enemies, sometimes after the ball game (which is rumored to be rigged considering they never sacrificed their own people-which I note: DUH! lol )
The Olmec culture was the earliest culture formed in Mesoamerica, followed by the Zapotecs who sort of helped spread the similarities, then the Maya, Toltecs, and finally, the Aztecs. If I went into extensive detail about all of them, this would become a novel, so instead of doing that, I encourage you to continue to research these cultures, even if you take creative freedom in your comics by combining some aspects. I think, fictionally, that's fine but it's important to not bunch these different cultures/practices/locations of life and time periods in which they occurred into one little simple box because of Apocalypto or a quick Wikipedia read. I'm warning you right now, both are SEVERELY misinformed and make them seem the same. Apocalypto is an accurate depiction of what a Mayan/Aztec combined time period might look like, but it's not a realistic depiction of solely Maya or Aztec rituals or beliefs.
The Aztecs are the most brutal worship practices in the history of Mesoamerica/Mexico because of the amount of gods they sacrificed to, and the amount of those sacrificed. It's VERY important to note that their capitol was considered "The Impossible City" based on it's geographical location. Finding resources was incredibly hard and they felt the only way they would survive is to appease the gods in mass sacrifice to different ones. They believed in the largest amount of Gods conceived in Mesoamerican history. Once you understand how absolutely difficult it was for them to survive, and how desperate they were to find meaning in the difficulty, sacrifice doesn't seem very strange at all. They felt they were meant to be challenged and give the Gods everything they could to deserve their life.
Maya people predated Aztecs and were located in more lush areas, where their greatest resource was Maize, henceforth why there is such an emphasis on the Maize God, the life bringer. The Mayan Codex is extremely informative and when comparing it to Aztec beliefs, it is remotely different in who and what they believe in.
While Aztecs did use some of the land the Mayans once ruled, the Maya culture had long since vanished and morphed into something else. (that's why the idea these people "disappeared" is ridiculous- they didn't, their culture changed as it does in history around the world. the people were still there, but these were now grandchildren and great grandchildren of the Maya, with their own ideals).
The history is so intensive and I encourage you to research it A LOT while you continue to work on this comic, even if it isn't meant to be historically accurate, because the point is, you are using an entire complex belief/cultural system as the base and two Aztec gods as the points of interest for the main character. You should be able to specify your inspirations, because when it comes to Native people of both North and South America, their past is kept in the shadows, and there are people who STILL believe in these gods, but usually offer sacrifice in the form of bloodletting, fasting, food offering, etc.
The Aztecs were betrayed by the colonials, the people they thought would help them live better lives in such a hard environment based on their belief Quetzalcoatl was going to come back in a form of help they wouldn't recognize. These people had their monuments destroyed and replaced with Christianity, and were immediately treated as if they had no say in their own lives. Even as an empath, I cannot imagine how horrifying that must have been to them. While these people from across the sea were calling their religious beliefs barbaric, they were being invasive, intolerant, and controlling. Watching the world as you know it be stolen by intruders you trusted is something I don't think we can fully understand the true horror of.
Native American people are barely acknowledged in the United States and indigenous people in Canada lack the resources they need and are also barely acknowledged. It is important that we understand the impact of history and why people did what they did/believed what they did instead of slapping them in a "one size fits all box-pretty much the same". There's a reason they aren't all called the same thing, in the same way there exists many kinds of tribes in Native America/Canada. Try grouping them into the same thing just because they all believe in spirits, honoring the ancestors, and totems and watch how much backlash you will receive. I'm not saying you made those comments to be purposely offensive, but it IS offensive either way. I know it's been awhile since you made those posts and I sincerely hope you have expanded your knowledge since 2014.
I don't want to come across as passive aggressive though. I have loved your comic since 2012 and am glad that in 2016 you are working on it still. 
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thank you for this extensive comment. while it is very informative, i'm not sure to which of my comments you are referring. i don't believe i ever put maya and aztecs in one box, i'm not sure what i did to possibly offend. Didi I ever compoare Quetz to the mayan maize god? I'm not sure what you're on about, wuite honestly.
i never watched apocalypto, i only watched the sacrifical scene to reference how it could be done. that a movie like that is not representing indigenous cultures correctly is obvious, and I have no interest in watching it completely.
i would appreciate it if you could tell me where I did what wrong/offensively, instead of filling my inbox with tirades about the lack of rights of native american people. i know all that. It is not related to me making comics in any way, especially since this is not even about the Spanish invasion. I do not mix maya and Aztecs or Inca or Olmecs together. I believe that a lot is and will always be unknown about these cultures and their practices, since almost all records we have today were made after the Spanish invasion, so they are not 100% reliable. The so-called "Aztecs" were a conglomerate of many different tribes, having absorbed and changed traditions, it's impossible to tell it all apart or say that they believed exactly this or that. Nobody knows that for sure. No one is alive to tell. All i can do, and I think it's working, is make people be more interested in Aztec history and culture, and make them research for themselfes. But this is and will always remain a work of fiction, which will never be accurate. that's not something I can change. Sorry if I'm rambling but your comment just confused me, because I can't see where your coming from/what triggered this.
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I know I already answered this on your tumblr, but my comment was directed to those that were talking about Apocalypto as a Mayan movie, when it cannot be accurately called that as the Maya no longer existed when the colonials invaded. I didn't mean for my comment to sound so aggressive, it was meant to just be passionate and informative. It really scares me when people bring up Apocalypto to reference a culture. I was surprised to learn how different they were when we covered that topic back in 2013. My art history teacher is also super passionate about it and had us watch the sacrifice scene in Apocalypto as it IS considered the most accurate depiction of the sacrifices, it's just a situation of wrong god, wrong culture. Mel should have just made this an Aztec movie, because so much of it is accurate to Aztec culture but as a director and human being, his ignorance frustrates me entirely. It's still a fantastic movie that I think is worth watching, I just want people to be sure to take it with a grain of salt.
Everything I mentioned is directed at the common misinformation public schools in North America teach people, or fail to even mention. I know not everyone lives in this region but still, Apocalypto is a VERY popular movie and I just wish there was a movie equally popular that was more true to the region and people represented. I think me using the word "you" to address the situation seemed like I was frustrated at you, but I was just stating how much I hope you continue to use those cultures as inspiration. Your comic is absolutely wonderful and I admire your knowledge and style. The reason it seemed so aggressive on accident was probably due to the fact I had already typed my long response and deviantart made me re log in and I lost EVERYTHING and was getting ready to go to bed. I wanted to make sure I touched base on everything I originally said but I was tired and mad at the situation. I'm sorry that my frustrations rubbed off and seemed like an attack post.
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I already answered you on tumblr, and as I said, I'm happy that this was a misunderstanding. I totally agree with you. All I can hope to do with a shallow comic like mine is make people at least recognize that there were different cultures in mesoamerica over different periods of time and do some reading for themselfes if they're interested.
I understand how you lost patience afte dA deleting everything, it has happened to me before, also I often answer comments in the rush of the moment and often come across as aggressive or defensive myself, I guess. Sorry for that.
let's carry on loving mesoamerican cultures together
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Sounds like a plan! 
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This is possibly my favorite part of Aztec culture, and it took me forever to become comfortable with it. It's just so different and ballsy but, it really proves how dedicated they were to pleasing their gods and just how strong their faith was.
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Tezcatlipoca you oblivious idiot, you know damn why Itzli enjoy inflicting pain on you like that.
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