104: a VERY special age for the Aztecs...

Senior Mexican historian, scholar and member of our Panel of Experts Alfredo López Austin explains:-
’Today’s Nahuas [descendants of the Aztecs]... speak of the great animistic force of old people, something that can turn them into dangerous beings. The “shadow” of the elderly, according to the Nahuas, becomes more powerful as the years go by... The elderly are also said to hoard heat in their hearts...*
’The idea of the tonalli force appears as energy of a “hot” nature and related to honour and distinction... Because of their age they deserved honours, considerations and privileges... The usefulness of men of advanced age in sedentary [settled] communities made it necessary to surround them with a protective halo founded on respect. But fear accompanied admiration, a fear based on the very nature of the force old men continued to acquire with years and reputation...
’It sometimes happened that a man, after reaching old age, completed another cycle and achieved the age of 104. Then “they were frightened and avoided him, saying he was no longer a man but a fierce animal.”’

Stone figure of an old Mexica man, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City