The Sacrifice Ceremony (also called the Presentation Theme) is part of what scholars have come to call the Moche Warrior Narrative. The Warrior Narrative has been pieced together from fineline drawings and murals such as this one from the El Brujo Complex.
In the Warrior Narrative, warriors go to battle, wage hand-to-hand combat, take prisoners of the losers and strip them of their arms and clothing. The prisoners are then marched back to the ceremonial precinct, where they are presented to the Warrior Priest. Then, as described in the previous panel "The Sacrifice Ceremony", The Warrior Priest and other priests and priestesses cut the throats of the prisoners and drink their blood from special goblets. Finally, prisoners are dismembered, a scene which was played out at least once, at Plaza 3A at the Moche site of Huaca de la Luna.
This mural from the El Brujo Complex illustrates the defeated warriors being led back to the ceremonial precinct prior to their sacrifice.
In the Warrior Narrative, warriors go to battle, wage hand-to-hand combat, take prisoners of the losers and strip them of their arms and clothing. The prisoners are then marched back to the ceremonial precinct, where they are presented to the Warrior Priest. Then, as described in the previous panel "The Sacrifice Ceremony", The Warrior Priest and other priests and priestesses cut the throats of the prisoners and drink their blood from special goblets. Finally, prisoners are dismembered, a scene which was played out at least once, at Plaza 3A at the Moche site of Huaca de la Luna.
This mural from the El Brujo Complex illustrates the defeated warriors being led back to the ceremonial precinct prior to their sacrifice.
More Information and Sources
- El Brujo Complex
- Huaca de la Luna
- The Warrior Narrative
- Donnan, C.B. & D. McClelland. 2000. Moche Fineline Painting: Its Evolution and Its Artists. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles.
- Donnan, Christopher B. n.d. Moche State Religion: A unifying force in Moche political organization. Unpublished mss.
