Nahui Ollin
Nahui Ollin is a concept in
Philosophy
The concept is also described as alluding to the four preceding suns or ages in history. Nahui Ollin has been described as the
Ollin has been described as being composed of four (Nahui) concepts, Tloke ("what is near") or the principle of generation, Nahuake ("what is closed") or the principle of congregation, Mitl ("arrow" or "direction") or the principle of displacement, and Omeyotl ("dual essence") or the principle of integration.[6]
Nahui Ollin is also described as referring to the four directions, although not being limited to these directions in a static or rigid way. Scholar Gabriel S. Estrada states that "as cosmic movement, ollin is all movements at once that are both orderly and chaotic. Paradoxically, it defies human understanding even as it motivates all human movement."[7]
Educational framework
Nahui Ollin has been adopted as an educational framework by various social justice and ethnic studies institutions to guide students through a process of "reflection, action, reconciliation, and transformation." Utilizing the framework has been described as an effective way to combat
The Nahui Ollin represents the cyclical movement of nature with respect to the four directions. The Nahui Ollin is a fundamental concept in Aztec/Mexica cosmology, a guide for everyday life and decisions. The objective is to constantly strive for balance, even when there is struggle. The Nahui Ollin uses cultural concepts representing community, knowledge, education, will power, transformation, and most importantly, self-reflection. The Nahui Ollin is composed of traditional Aztec ideologies, including the concepts of Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli, and Xipe Totec. The Nahui Ollin is used as a culturally responsive method of teaching and ultimately supporting the development of harmony and balance of the mind, body, spirit, and community.[9]
Tezcatlipoca
In the educational framework, Tezcatlipoca represents self-reflection, "silencing the distractions and obstacles in our lives, in order become intellectual warriors."
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is both the end and the beginning, and is described by scholar Curtis Acosta as representing "precious and beautiful knowledge... [and the need to] listen to each other with humility, respect, and love in order to become mature human beings who walk in beauty."[9] Arce states that this involves the work of guiding students through "critically analyzing the social realities that are steeped in their collective historical memory," and from this positionality being able to form what Emma Pérez describes as a "decolonial imaginary" which will allow them to transform their realities. Tupac Enrique Acosta describes Quetzalcoatl as follows: "from the memory of our identity, the knowledge of our collective history, we draw the perspective that draws us to the contemporary reality [and] from this orientation we achieve stability [to become] a mature human being."[2]
Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli represents the will to act, encouraging students "to act with a spirit that is positive, progressive, and creative."[9] The willingness to act is described by Tupac Enrique Acosta as essential to the physical act of survival and the work of sustaining oneself through self-discipline, which provides "a means of maximizing the energy resources available at the human command which in order to have their full effect must be synchronized with the natural cycles." Arce describes that Huitzilopchtli "as praxis, presents students with the will and courage to enact their positive, progressive, and creative capacities to create change for themselves as well as for their community."[2]
Xipe Totec
Xipe Totec represents transformation, which is described as the ultimate purpose of the Nahui Ollin educational framework. Transformation the need to "have the strength to discard what hurts us [in order to] identify what will help us make progress and move forward."[9] Xipe Totec was described by Tupac Enrique Acosta as "the source of strength that allows us to transform and renew. We can achieve this transformation only when we have learned to trust in ourselves." This brings together all three preceding concepts, in which transformation is a central aspect. Arce states that "transformations must be embraced and not resisted, the former ways of being and knowing must be shed, and new ways of being and knowing must be embraced, for to resist these transformations is to remain static and not develop, to be left behind, to be unevolving and out of synch with the natural lifecycles."[2]
References
- ^ a b c Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel (2007). Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Oxford University Press. p. 208.
- ^ ISBN 9781440832567.
- ^ Payson Vining, Edward (1885). An Inglorious Columbus. University of Michigan. pp. 151–152.
- ^ Schmidt, Stephanie (2019). "World Time and Imperial Allegory in a Nahuatl Manuscript on the Final Judgment" (PDF). Hispanic Issues on Line. 23: 55, 66.
- ISBN 9789004252363.
- ^ Yotzin, Akaxe (5 March 2013). "Nahui Ollin". Nahua Lessons.
- ProQuest 3053872.
- ISBN 9780816598830.
- ^ ISBN 9789004432864.