ABSTRACT
Ritual may be defined as the expressive aspect of religion. Militarism and war are often justified in religious terms, and may actually be waged for what are ostensibly religious reasons. The theory of games has a special and peculiar relevance to militarism. Games theory is concerned with the ways in which a series of operations are designed to provide a solution to a particular situation. One can think of this in regard to recreational games such as chess or card games, but it is also useful as a tool for describing, and even analysing, more serious concerns such as war and conflict. In studying models of this kind it is important to distinguish between interactional games and non-interactional games. In Aztec society, war games became more serious still. They organized 'Wars of the Flowers' which were festivals of fighting held in honour of the deities. These ceremonial combats sometimes escalated into genuine hostilities if there was some underlying political rivalry.
