The Departure of the Soul
When an Aztec died a common death (not in battle, sacrifice, childbirth, or drowning), their tonalli began the journey to Mictlan, the land of the dead. The body was wrapped in cloth and cremated with a yellow dog to serve as a guide, along with provisions of food, water, jade beads to pay the lords of death, and paper garments to protect against the trials ahead.
The journey would take four years. During this time, the living performed rituals on the anniversary of the death, burning offerings that would reach the traveling soul.
The Nine Levels
The path to Mictlan passed through nine challenging levels:
- Itzcuintlan - The Place of the Dog, where the yellow dog must recognize and help the soul cross a great river.
- Tepetl Monamicyan - Where two mountains clash together, and the soul must pass between them at exactly the right moment.
- Itztepetl - The Obsidian Mountain, where the soul must climb a peak covered in razor-sharp obsidian.
- Itzehecayan - The Place of the Obsidian Wind, where a freezing wind full of obsidian knives cuts through the soul.
- Pancuecuetlacayan - Where bodies hang like flags, flapping in an endless wind.
- Temiminaloyan - Where arrows are shot at the soul from all directions.
- Teocoyohuehualoyan - Where wild beasts devour hearts.
- Izmictlan Apochcalocan - The Place of Obsidian Fog, where the soul can see nothing and must navigate by feel.
- Chicunamictlan - The Place of the Dead, the final level where Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl rule.
The Lord and Lady of Death
Mictlantecuhtli, the skeletal lord of the dead, and his wife Mictecacihuatl awaited souls in the lowest level. They were not evil but simply ruled their domain of darkness. When the soul finally arrived, it offered the jade beads brought from the living world.
The soul then ceased to exist as an individual, dissolving into the collective realm of the dead. This was not punishment but the natural end of those who died ordinary deaths. It was simply the way of things.
Exceptions to the Journey
Not all souls traveled to Mictlan. Warriors who died in battle and sacrificial victims went to accompany the sun across the sky. Women who died in childbirth joined the sun on its journey through the underworld. Those who drowned or were struck by lightning went to Tlalocan, the paradise of Tlaloc, the rain god.
These alternate destinations were considered honors. Mictlan was not a place of punishment but simply the destination of common mortality. The Aztecs accepted death as part of the cosmic order, a debt that all living things owed to the gods who had sacrificed themselves to create the world.