About
This website is intended to provide guidance and resources for those interested in the religions of the pre-hispanic Mexica, also known as the Aztecs, who lived in the area of southern Mexico from about 1300 to the time of the Spanish invasion in 1521. With the birth of a worship community brought together on Reddit through r/Anahuac and later through Discord, an introductory resource for English-language speakers became badly needed. While community members came together to start other groundbreaking work, such as an English translation of the Enciclopedia Gráfica de México, the content for what became Teochan.org was collected.
FAQ
Are you a calpulli?
A modern calpulli generally refers to a group of people who practice Danza Azteca together. Because of our focus on worship and religious practice, we instead call ourselves a teochantli: we are a group of polytheists and Indigenous, Indigenous-descended, and Chicano cultural practitioners who worship the Teteoh, as well as others interested in learning more about Mesoamerican cultures who have come together to learn in community.
Are you part of the Mexicayotl movement?
Not really. We're "adjacent", in that we have similar goals of honoring the pre-Hispanic culture, and that some of us participate in the movement, while some of us do not. This is further complicated by our wildly differing ancestries, as Mexicayotl has been specifically built for ethnic Mexicans, usually those who have been assimilated into Europeanized or Americanized society, who wish to celebrate the Indigenous side of their heritage.
Then there are some aspects of the Mexicayotl movement we don't particularly condone, such as the tendency for new age concepts to be touted as historical, the common wholesale denial of historical human sacrifice, the proliferation of "gurus" who claim secret, unbroken lineages of knowledge, or outright cultural appropriation of other Indigenous groups. These, among others, are issues within some areas in the movement that we want to keep our distance from.
Are you associated with Nican Tlaca?
No. We do not believe that Nican Tlaca is a healthy response to colonialism, and with input from the Indigenous members of our community, have decided to make it clear that we do not welcome those who share this group's extreme ideology.
The Teochan Glyph
The Teochan logo is two separate glyphic signs: the typical representation of a Mexica dwelling (chan, "home", which shares a glyph with the Nahuatl word for "house"), and the sign for teotl, which is beautifully represented by a half-sun, since mortals may only ever catch a partial glimpse of the totality of the divine.
Nahuatl Spelling
While several spelling conventions (orthographies) exist for translating Nahuatl into alphabetic notation, we have chosen to keep with the conventional Hispanicized version for ease of use. While we are in solidarity with those who wish to move away from the colonization of Indigenous languages through spelling (one might see a more modern kiyawitl vs. Hispanic quiahuitl for instance), we wish to keep with the conventions used by academic sources so that the seeker will be less confused when beginning to do their own research.
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank everyone in the r/Anahuac and In Yollotl In Omitl Discord community for helping me better understand my ancestors and my path, for so generously welcoming outsiders and helping others learn about the cultures and spiritualities of Mesoamerica while tirelessly dispelling myth after myth, and for building up such a warm, honest, and inviting community. Tlazocamati! 🙏 —Lannan
Teochan.org was written and designed by Lannan, who is a Chicano animist, polytheist, and artist living on unceded traditional land in British Columbia, Canada. If you have a comment or suggestion, feel free to reach out to him via his blog, Rotwork.