Toltecayotl
Toltequity (in spanish toltequidad) is a Nahuatl term "tōl-tēca-yō-tl", transcribed as toltecáyotl, that refers to the ideological legacy of ancient cultures of Mesoamerica.
The term toltequity is a translation of náhuatl language word "tōltēcayōtl", derives from "tōltēcātl" which was also used to refer to a “person educated in practical Arts”. Over time, it became a cultural belonging title to designate artisans and scholars of Mesoamerica. The first Nahuatl language dictionary, written in the 16th century by father Molina, translated the term "tōltēcayōtl" as the “art to live”.
Modern use
The introduction and dissemination of that title in the academic world is due to anthropologist Miguel León Portilla who, in 1980, published a book titled Tōltēcayōtl, aspects of the Nahuatl culture. In his work Portilla summarizes the major philosophical, aesthetic, and theological Mesoamerican cultures tenets.[1] Investigator Guillermo Marín Ruiz asserts:
If (in the old world) they had Tao, Hinduism and Buddhism, we have the "tōltēcayōtl", the philosophical thought of ancient Mexico. If other civilizations
had Zoroaster, Hermes, Buddha, and based their nourishment on wheat, rice or potato, we have Quetzalcoatl and corn... More than a culture
or ethnicity, Toltec was a degree of knowledge of the wise men of ancient Mexico and Teotihuacan was the tōltēcayōtl generator and diffuser in all the Anahuac.
Toltequity is based on a set of principles that were collected in the "Huēhuehtlahtōlli"[2] or '[book of the ancient words ', which includes traditional parliaments preserved by oral tradition and other documents. The main are the following:
Be very careful to seek friendship from He who is everywhere and is invisible and impalpable. Be at peace with all; under no circumstances humiliate another person.
Do not waste the time which has been granted to us in this world, neither day nor night, because time is very necessary.
This way you shall become Toltec: If you acquire habit and custom to consult everything with your own heart.
It is not because of collective existence the reason why our Lord preserve us on Earth. That we get to live by my merit and yours!
I am freeing you from earth, from darkness, of the filthy and mortal. I am releasing you from the ape condition. I am the great liberator. Go ahead, enlightened, try harder!”
Mēxihcayōtl y Tōltēcayōtl
The mēxihcayōtl, translated as "mexicanity", is the ideological legacy of the cultures of the Mexican highlands, specifically the Mexica, or Aztec culture. Just as toltequity is the ideological legacy of all the "Toltec" cultures, understanding this term as "cultured and civilized" that encompasses all the Ānahuac cultures (Mesoamerica).
Criticism of the use of the term
Toltequity is also the generic name given to the tōltēca knowledge, or knowledge left by the ancient inhabitants of Tollan-XicocotitlanTula ("Tollan-Xicocotitlan") (Hidalgo, Mexico). Not used in University environments, nor in archaeological analysis (see "Tōltēcayōtl, aspects of the Nahuatl culture" from Miguel León-Portilla, anthropologist and Mexican historian and leading authority in the field of thought and literature Nahuatl. Since 1988 he is emeritus researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.)
The historical validity of toltequity as such tends to be controversial, historians do not even agree in the Toltec city which is known as such, Tula is usually considered (the settlement known as the "Chico") as the base around year 550, and is closely related to the Quetzalcoatl history, while there are four origins, all agree in that he was a King, son of Mixcōātl and Chimalma, and who later was worshipped as God, and later would become one of the main Aztec gods. While the Toltec gave rise to the founding of a legendary city called Tula or Tōllan ("Tōl-+-tlan" = Capital, the name of the Toltec city itself was "Xicocotitlan").
The Toltec sources
Toltec was a generic name applied to all Mesoamerica inhabitants of. Derived from the root "Tol-", which meant originally 'stem, Reed', which gave birth to the name of the city of Tula or "Tollan" ('(place with abundant) reeds ') and due to the cultural tradition of the Toltec City (originally ' inhabitant of Tula') came to acquire the sense of 'educated person'. Toltec ideas received the name of tōltēcayōtl 'toltequity' and were made up of religious, artistic and scientific formulas that reflected the Mesoamerican cosmovision.
The definition of the Toltecs as a historical or ethnic group is a fact established by researchers in a round table in 1941. Currently, new age groups claim very disparate things to justify the native use of the term Toltec:
Toltecatl, mechanical arts craftsman. Toltecauia, making something for the teacher. Tōltēcayōtl, art of living".
You shall be called the Toltec for having created ad formed us, oh Feathered Serpent”
The Toltec is wise, is a fire, a torch, a thick torch that does not smoke. Makes wise others faces, makes them take a heart. Does not go above things: stops, reflects, observes.
The Toltec is a mirror bored on both sides. His is the ink, the codices; He himself is writing and wisdom, path, accurate guide for others; leads people and things, and is an authority on human affairs
The Toltec is careful; respects tradition, possesses the knowledge transmission and he teaches others, follows the truth. Makes us take a face and develop it, opens our ears, and enlightens us. He is teacher of teachers
Currently, the term "Toltec" is used by various New Age groups and by neo-nagualism practitioners. On the other hand, groups who claim to rescue the national identity roots assert without proof, having recuperated the original use of the name, applying it to anyone who follows the Toltec life principles; these are not validated by the Falsifiability popper principle
Neo-Shamanism
The idea of neo-shamanism groups, derived from the author Carlos Castaneda, is summarized in that a lifestyle can be lived with respect for elders, to obtain knowledge and preserve it without harming others.
From the neo-shamanism movement point of view, Ken Eagle mentions in his book similar topics as Carlos Castaneda, with the exception that makes connection with elements of the army of United States (Rangers) rather than the term originally used by Castaneda, Stalkers. In the book the Toltec path also recounts situations that appear to be alien channels, which removes historical seriousness from the term.
Carlos Castaneda refers generically to the Toltec as "secret conservators" in his book "The second ring of power", and in recent years a movement has been created divided into two parts, on the one hand the books by Don Miguel Ruiz, that shows a series of ideas or moral principles, and on the other hand a series of courses New Age type, that advertises on the handling of a return to the roots.
Further reading
External links
Media related to Toltec at Wikimedia Commons
- Toltecayotl
References
- ^ León Portilla
- ^ Must point out that the "Huehuetlahtolli" is a series of texts collected from Aztec informers by Spanish missionaries: by the 16th century, the archaeological Toltec had disappeared.