Mictlan

From nahuatl mic- 'death' and -tlan'place of' 
The Ninth infraworld where Milctlantecuhtli, Lord of the common dead rules, is a dark and cold place where the smoke has no way out. 
Vatican Codex 3738 


Del náhuatl mic-'muerte' y -tlan'lugar de' 
El Noveno inframundo donde reina Mictlantehcutli, el Señor de los muertos comunes, es un lugar frío y oscuro donde el humo no tiene salida. 
Códice Vaticano 3738 

"I offer an inhuman image of man, and I know that the air about me grows irrespirable. In saying that the bloody fantasies of sacrifice had meaning, I have justified our Molochs at their darkest. Although my voice does blend with those of untold choirs throughout time, it has, I am certain, a hostile ring. No one, of course, is going to claim that I wish to start new cycles of holocaust; I am only supplying the meaning of ancient customs. 

The cruelties of the past filled needs which we can satisfy in ways other than those of savages. I do, however, say that life is worth the gift of the self, and that the gift leads to mortal anguish. I am of that number who pledge men to something other than a constant increase of production, and who provoke men to sacred horror. And this demand, in conflict with common sense, must be justified by something more than vague notions about the stars.

But the fathers of "the quiet man" did offer sacrifice. And I have just remarked of these massacres of men and beasts -which did take place - that they are the enigma he must solve, if he has the will to survive, if he wishes to remain as he is: a quiet, reasonable man! How was it that everywhere men found themselves, with no prior mutual agreement, in accord on an enigmatic act, they all felt the need or the obligation to put living beings ritually to death? "The quiet man," before replying, has only to hear me out. He must feel the weight of this enigma- as strongly as I do. He must recognize, with me, that he has a link with death, tragic terror, and sacred ecstasy; he must admit that for want of an answer, men have remained ignorant of what they are" 

Sacrifice Author(s): Georges Bataille and Annette Michelson Source: October, Vol. 36, Georges Bataille: Writings on Laughter, Sacrifice, Nietzsche, Un- Knowing (Spring, 1986), pp. 61-74 Published by: The MIT Press

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