Toltecayotl is a

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

word derived from " tōltēcātl" which as used by the Nahuas to refer to the members of the Toltec civilization that preceded them in the basin of Mexico, as well as a generalized meaning of "artisan".

Modern use

The introduction and dissemination of that title in the academic world is due to

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...

Miguel León-Portilla Miguel León-Portilla (22 February 1926 – 1 October 2019) was a Mexican anthropologist and historian, specializing in Aztec culture and literature of the pre-Columbian and colonial eras. Many of his works were translated to English and he was ...

who, in 1980, published a book titled ''Tōltēcayōtl, aspects of the Nahuatl culture''. León Portilla's interpretation of the concept of Toltecayotl is based on a set of principles that were collected in the '' Huēhuehtlahtōlli''Must point out that the "Huehuetlahtolli" is a series of texts collected from Nahua informers by Spanish missionaries: by the 16th century, the archaeological Toltec had disappeared. or 'book of the ancient words', which includes traditional parliaments preserved by oral tradition and other documents. The main are the following:

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-Xicocotitlan Tula ("Tollan-Xicocotitlan") (Hidalgo, Mexico). Not used in University environments, nor in archaeological analysis (see "''Tōltēcayōtl, aspects of the Nahuatl culture''" from

, 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 National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

.) 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 gods in the Anahuac. 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 inhabitants of Mesoamerica. 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 New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

groups claim very disparate things to justify the native use of the term Toltec: Currently, the term "Toltec" is used by various

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

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 Popper's

falsifiability Falsifiability is a standard of evaluation of scientific theories and hypotheses that was introduced by the philosopher of science Karl Popper in his book '' The Logic of Scientific Discovery'' (1934). He proposed it as the cornerstone of a s ...

principle

Neo-Shamanism

The idea of neo-shamanism groups, derived from the author

Carlos Castaneda Carlos Castañeda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an American writer. Starting with ''The Teachings of Don Juan'' in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that purport to describe training in shamanism that he received under the tu ...

, 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.

References

External links