Teotl

Teōtl ([ˈte.oːt͡ɬ]) is a Nahuatl term for sacredness or divinity that is sometimes translated as "god". For the Aztecs teotl was the metaphysical omnipresence upon which their religious philosophy was based.

As described by James Maffie, teotl "is essentially power: continually active, actualized, and actualizing energy-in-motion... It is an ever-continuing process, like a flowing river... It continually and continuously generates and regenerates as well as permeates, encompasses and shapes reality as part of an endless process. It creates the cosmos and all its contents from within itself as well as out of itself."^[1]

This is conceptualized in a kind of monistic pantheism^[2] as manifest in the supreme god Ometeotl,^[3] as well as a large pantheon of lesser gods and idealizations of natural phenomena such as stars and fire.^[4]

Similar concepts to teotl existed elsewhere in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest, such as in the Zapotec term pee or the Maya ku or ch'u. Such immaterial energy can also be compared to the Polynesian concept of Mana.^[5] In Pipil mythology Teut (Nawat cognate of Teotl)^[6][7] is known as the creator and father of life.^[8]

The gods in the Aztec pantheon, themselves each referred to as a teotl (plural teteo), were active elements in the world that could manifest in natural phenomena, in abstract art, and as summoned or even embodied by priests during rituals – all these could be called teotl.^[9]

Molly Bassett identifies major characteristics of teotl as the term is used in the Florentine Codex to get further insight on Aztec religion as described in other codices.^[10]

Whereas in most Nahuatl translations of the Bible and Christian texts, "God" (Θεός) is translated with the Spanish word "Dios",^[11] in modern translations by the Catholic Church in the 21st century, the word "Teotzin", which is a combination of teotl and the reverential suffix -tzin, is used officially for "God".^[12]

References

1. Maffie 2014, p. 23. He continues, "... There are no absolute beginnings - or absolute endings, for that matter - in Aztec metaphysics. There are only continuings. Death, for example, is not an ending but a change of status, because that which dies flows into and feeds that which lives ... in a single, never-ending process of recycling and transformation." (ibid p 24)
2. Maffie n.d., sec 2b,2c, citing Hunt 1977 and I. Nicholson 1959; Leon-Portilla 1966, p. 387 cited by Barnett 2007, "M. Leon-Portilla argues that Ometeotl was neither strictly pantheistic nor strictly monistic."
3. Maffie n.d., sec 2f: "Literally, 'Two God', also called in Tonan, in Tota, Huehueteotl, 'our Mother, our Father, the Old God'"
4. Maffie n.d., sec 2f, citing Leon-Portilla 1963.
5. Miller & Taube 1993, p. 89. For a lengthy treatment of the subject see Hvidtfeldt, 1958
6. Lara-Martínez, Rafael; McCallister, Rick. "Glosario cultural Náwat Pipil y Nicarao: El Güegüense y Mitos en lengua materna de los pipiles de Izalco" (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 199. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-27. tewt, teut, "Dios"; teot, náhuatl teotl "god, dios" (Nicaragua) [Squier]. téut, "Dios" [Calvo Pacheco].
7. Also used for the Christian God in a modern translation of the New Testament by Jan Morrow and Alan King, "Yojan 1:1". Ne Bibliaj Tik Nawat (in Quechua). 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Achtu nemik ne palabraj wan ne palabraj nemik itech ne Teut wan Teut ne palabraj.
8. Espino, Miguel Ángel (1996) [1919]. Mitología de Cuscatlán (in Spanish). San Salvador: Biblioteca Basica de Literatura Salvadorena. ISBN 9789992301784.
9. Bassett 2015, p. 89
10. Bassett 2015, pp. 194–196: "a teotl has axcaitl (possessions), a tonalli (prerogative), and a neixcahuilli (an exclusive pursuit) and is mahuiztic (marvelous) and tlazohca (beloved)."
11. Bible.is: Genesis in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl, John in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl, Central Huasteca Nahuatl, Western Huasteca Nahuatl, Northern Puebla Nahuatl, Southeastern Puebla Nahuatl, Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Guerrero Nahuatl, Northern Oaxaca Nahuatl, Tenango Nahuatl.
12. Horatio, Luis (5 March 2013). "Credo en versión Nahuatl". Catoliscopio. Retrieved 2022-07-28.

Sources

• Barnett, Ronald A. (2007-11-01). "Mesoamerican religious concepts: Part two". MexConnect. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
• Bassett, Molly H. (2015). Aztec Gods and God-Bodies. The Fate of Earthly Things. University of Texas Press. doi:10.7560/760882. ISBN 9780292760882.
• Hvidtfeldt, Arild (1958). Teotl and Ixiptlatli: some central conceptions in ancient Mexican religion: with a general introduction on cult and myth. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
• Leon-Portilla, Miguel (1963). Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Náhuatl Mind. Translated by Davis, Jack E. University of Oklahoma Press.
• Maffie, James (n.d.). "Aztec Philosophy". The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ISSN 2161-0002. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
• Maffie, James (2014). "Teotl". Aztec Philosophy, Understanding a world in Motion. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 978-1-60732-222-1.
• Miller, Mary; Taube, Karl (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6.
• Townsend, Richard F. (2000). The Aztecs (revised ed.). New York: Thames and Hudson.
• van Zantwijk, Rudolph (1985). The Aztec Arrangement: The Social History of Pre-Spanish Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

External links

• Discussion on the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy