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Compa_Mighty
Dor-Lomin
Jul 11 2010, 12:23am
Post #1 of 5
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Mexico from A to Z: Letter O
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Hello everyone! This week’s entry marks the 16th apparition of Mexico from A to Z, which means we have now talked about all things Mexico for 4 months! Letter O is showcased this week, and it comes with an array of Mesoamerican themes, so let’s get started!
O is for Ometeotl
Ome is the Náhuatl word for two, and teotl is god in the same language. Ometeotl is Two God, creator God and originator of all dualities that I have constantly mentioned throughout the series: male and female, order and chaos, day and night, etc.
Ometeotl is the Dual God is constituted by Ometecuhtli, Lord of Duality, and Omecihuatl, Lady of Duality. Ometeotl, thus, is neither male nor female. After all, it’s the Lord/Lady of Duality.
 
Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl / The Central symbol represents Ometeotl in particular and Duality in general.
The Dual Creator couple is the parent of the four Tezcatlipocas, gods of each cardinal point, and chief gods among the regular Aztec cult: Tezcatlipoca the Black of the North; Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca the Blue of the South; Xipe Totec, Our Lord the Flayed One, The Red Tezcatlipoca from the East; and Quetzalcoatl, Te White Tezcatlipoca, from the West.
The Universe and the four Tezcatlipocas, regents of the four regions of the Universe.
According to Miguel León-Portilla, Ometeotl was a god of the higher social classes, and it was seldom mentioned or revered in the popular cult. Other theories say that at the time of the Conquest, priests were in the process of slowly agglutinating other deities into Ometeotl.
Ometeotl lived in the highest Heaven, Omeyocan, the place of duality, and was known by many names: Tloque Nahuaque, Lord of the Near and Far; in Tonan, in Totah, Huehueteotl, Our Mother, Our Father, Old God; Moyocoyatzin, Self-Inventor; and Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatl, Lord/Lady of our Flesh.
O is for Olmec
According to official history, the Olmec is the Mother Culture of Mesoamerica. More ancient than any other, the Olmec culture began the line of thought and artistic expression that was to be followed thereafter in the whole region. Some of these elements include the worship of the Jaguar, and the ritual calendar.
Olmec sites have been found mainly in the Gulf of Mexico area, in southern Veracruz and Tabasco, where the largest and most important site, La Venta, is located. However, other “Olmec” sites and artifacts have been found in the Pacific Coast, in the state of Guerrero. These other findings prompted the logical question: how could they be the same civilization on opposite coasts with nothing in common in between?
Location of the Olmec culture
More modern theories, including Christian Duveger’s are speculating that the Olmec civilization never existed, and that common artistic and architectural elements are there because of the Nahua influence that started to become evident at a point of time. In other words, these two “Olmec” civilizations could be two different peoples who were influenced by simultaneous Nahua tribe arrivals.
This of course, is pure speculation. Whoever left Olmec remains and artifacts is completely unknown to us, leaving very little written material and even less of true significance.
The Olmecs are mainly known, though, for their Colossal Heads. These things are an impressive sight to behold, and as such, they have been puzzling archaeologists for more than a century. How were these monoliths carved? What was their purpose? No one knows. Ironically enough, recent archaeological evidence also suggests they might be of a later time or from some other place. Be that as it may, until true evidence is found, the Colossal Heads are the symbol of the Mother Culture: the Olmec.
 
Olmec Colossal Head / A picture for scale
O is for Obsidian
Obsidian is a volcanic crystallized mineral found in several places of Mexico (which is a volcanic country) which was used for many different purposes in pre-Hispanic times, and is still used thanks to some particular properties it has.
While its main color is black, there are reddish and greenish variations, all of which are used for ornamental purposes, and in pre-Columbian times for tools and weapons.
Since Mesoamericans hadn’t yet arrived to a en extensive use of metals (they were limited o copper, silver and gold, for very small tools and mainly for jewelry) obsidian was the way to go. From Neolithic spearheads to very fine Aztec macuahuitls, which the Spanish simply named “swords”, obsidian took advantage of the hardness of the mineral, and the incredible sharpness it can achieve when cut properly.
According to Wikipedia, Obsidian is still used in heart surgery because its sharp end is much thinner than that in steel instruments, reaching a degree of 5 times more sharpness. Cuts made with obsidian instruments are finer an less damaging to organic tissue, which allows chirurgical lesions to heal faster.
It was a precious material that fueled entire regions’ economies, like that close to Teotihuacan for several centuries.
  
Obsidian in pure state / Obsidian arrow head / Aztec Macuahuitl
Obsidian bracelet
O is for Otomí
Otomí is the Náhuatl name for the original dwellers of central Mexico, North of present Mexico City. The name means “He who walks with arrows”. Upon the arrival of the Nahua tribes, the Otomí lost their autonomy, but remained a numerous people in the region, something that remains true. With over half million members, the Otomí are the 5th largest native ethnicity in Mexico.
Their language, also called Otomí, is also widespread with around a quarter million speakers. The language is, however, intensely fragmented, and there are some dialects that are beginning to be quite distant between them. The language, in Latin letters, uses the Spanish “ñ” heavily, and it even looks funny to those of us who are used to the character.
The government, in their quest to take care of native cultures and ethnicity opened the Otomí Ceremonial Center in 1990, which is mainly a tourist attraction and reunion point for the Otomí, who only symbolically perform some ceremonies throughout the year. You can see the Ceremonial Center in James Bond’s License to Kill, under the name: Olympiatec Meditation Institute.
Otomí Ceremonial Center
Otomí Ceremonial Center in License to Kill
Finally, the most interesting thing I will show you today. Mexican culture can be summarized in a word: syncretism, the combination of elements of native and European culture into something unique. A church in San Miguel Arcángel Ixmiquilpan, in the modern state of Hidalgo might be the best example of early syncretism as a combination of Catholicism and Otomí culture. One of the first Catholic temples of the region, built in the 16th century, features murals painted by Otomí artists. The story that is told is that of Jesus Christ, however, the imagery is decidedly pre-Columbian. In this temple, Jesus Christ and the Otomí Sun God and merged in symbolism and imagery to create something that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. I leave you with a couple examples and a link to higher-resolution pics of the murals.
 
Murals from the inside of the San Miguel Arcángel de Ixmiquilpan Parish.
Link to Murals.
Join the Fantasy Discussion at the Off-Topic, this weekend reviewing the contents of the discussion!
Visit Mexico from A to Z! This week Letter O.
Essay winner of the Show us your Hobbit Pride Giveway!
(This post was edited by Compa_Mighty on Jul 11 2010, 12:25am)
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jul 12 2010, 4:32pm
Post #4 of 5
(2961 views)
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the Otomi depiction of Jesus/Sun God has! Influenced by the facial features of Europeans, no doubt, as the natives would probably not be familiar with peoples of the Middle East.
And continuing along that line...are the Tezcatlipocas pre-Columbian? It is very interesting that the one for the East is called "Our Lord the Flayed One", which almost sounds like a reference to Jesus...
And the Olmec heads remind me of those on Easter Island. Do you know if there has been any linkage found between those two cultures?
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?"
-Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915
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= Forum has no new posts. Forum needs no new posts.
Well, that *is* a good point! Hehehe //
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