A little history lesson here, if you will bear with me, derived from my research and then strained and filtered through my perceptive faculties. The Aztecs originated from a place called Aztlan, somewhere in the northern part of Mexico. They became nomadic wanderers living on the margins of civilized Mesoamerica. Sometime in the 12th century their wandering led them on a journey that by the 13th century left them settled in the central basin of México. Continually dislodged by the small city-states that fought one another in shifting alliances, the Aztecs finally found refuge on small islands in Lake Texcoco where, in 1325, they founded the town of TENOCHTITLAN (modern-day Mexico City). Life got good for the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan, and the ancient Aztec culture thrived until the arrival of the Spanish explorer, Hernan Cortes, in 1519. Guns and diseases (not to be confused with the 20th century rock group, “Guns & Roses”), Spanish greed & guile and some rather bad judgment calls by Aztec leader Montezuma pretty much decimated the Aztecs and on August 31, 1521 the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was finally destroyed. The final attack was led by the Spaniards who had 400 men with 150,000 native allies. Yeah, the Aztecs made a few enemies over the years...stuff happens, ya' know? Anyway, Quetzalcoatl was one of the main “Gods” of this culture. Legend has it that Quetzalcoatl and his twin brother Xolotl, descended to hell and retrieved human bones. Then “Quetzel” dripped his blood onto ‘dem' bones and human resurrection began. Pretty good stuff so far, huh? Men therefore, are the children of Quetzalcoatl, so he was always presented as benevolent. Hey, why not - he taught men science and the calendar and devised ceremonies. He discovered corn, and all good aspects of civilization. Wow! Whatta Guy, Whatta Culture...BUT...as much as I'd like to sympathize with their plight, I really wouldn't want to be held to their Religion, either, becuz...They took the gifts of their Gods very seriously and so the existence of the Gods and their goodwill were maintained by offering up the most valuable human possession, life...bummer....so, this then, was the origin of human sacrifice and the ritual of bearing intense physical pain, which believers intentionally caused themselves. This belief is thought to be the point of origination of most of today's “Self-Help” books and publications...Yeah, this was a long intro, I hope it was worth your time in reading it...