Fwd(2): Re: About the word "teotl" and Ometeotl

Ramiro Medrano Ramiro_Medrano at csumb.edu
Tue Dec 5 23:11:01 UTC 2006


Thank you all for your responses...

>Very many men have names which do not end in "-man".

Right, well, then, is there any reason why some "gods" have this suffix and some don't? Is it simply a name, or does the name carry with itself a form of higher reverence? 
>
>
>It is similar in Hinduism. Some say that all of their gods are aspects
>of one god, but others talk of separate gods.
>
>It is similar in Christianity with "3 or 1?": God and Jesus and the
>Holy Spirit: the mystery of the Trinity.

Well, then, by the same token, shouldn't Christianity be considered a religion of many gods? If Mexicayotl is considered polytheistic because of the "various representations of Ometeotl," shouldn't then Christianity be viewed the same way?
>
>
>Without me getting any further sidetracked into religious mysticism, it
>seems clear to me that [teotl] = "a god", and was used by the
>Christians to mean "God".

I'm not too convinced, but I appreciate your input. 

I liked Mr. Berry's interpretation of teotl with the word "teomazatl" (meaning "horse") as a challenge to its meaning of "god." Surely the Mexica weren't as simple-minded to believe that an animal they had never before seen (but which resembles a
deer) was a form of deer-god.

Does "teotl" translate to "inexplicable," "powerful," "untouchable," or maybe even "divine"? It makes sense to me.
>
>
Ramiro


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