
































Weaving the Dynamic Cosmos 

Review by Megan Parker

Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion

by James Maffie 

University Press of Colorado, 2014

Aztec Philosophy is James Maffie’s attempt to reconstruct Aztec perceptions of nature and reality at the

time of European contact.  To do so,  he draws upon a variety of sources including ethnohistorical,

ethnographic, archaeological, and linguistic data. Maffie rejects the notion that Western culture is the

sole progenitor of philosophy and seeks to demonstrate how non-Western peoples also practiced the

self-reflective and critical act of doing philosophy (as opposed to merely having a philosophy (p. 4).

Indeed, the Aztecs had a word for such an individual, tlamatini, “knower of things” who contemplated

the  nature  of  reality  and  existence.  Maffie  successfully  accomplishes  his  goal  by  presenting  an

impressive  body  of  philosophical  and  metaphysical  analysis  and  interpretation  that  enriches  our

understanding of Aztec culture.

Maffie begins by introducing the concept of  teotl, the dynamic, eternal, self-generating energy that

constitutes everything (p. 12). In direct opposition to the Western notion that reality is characterized by

a state of Being, in Aztec metaphysics that which is real is only that which is Becoming, moving, and

changing. Teotl is the only thing that exists and everything is identical to it; everything is a temporary

manifestation  of  this  energy  (p.  25).  Teotl  is  not  anthropomorphic  and  has  no  goals,  intentions,

consciousness, or purpose but is an amoral force that both creates and destroys indiscriminately (p. 23).

In Western philosophy, that which is sacred is pure and enduring, at odds with a changing, perishable

world. However, teotl is also a sacred energy and in Aztec metaphysics there is no distinction between



that which is sacred and secular. Therefore, that which is sacred is that which moves, changes, and

transforms – in essence, everything. The Aztecs even had a category of sacred filth associated with the

earth/fertility  complex  and  demonstrates  an  intimate  understanding  of  the  role  of  excrement  in

amending soil to produce nourishing food (pp. 97-99). In this way, both what is pure and what is

impure is still sacred; pure things are merely better ordered and that which is impure is disordered.

Teotl is also homogenous and non-hierarchical. That which is ordered more fully reveals teotl - such as

jade, art, and quetzal feathers - while that which is disordered veils and obscures it, such as excrement

and filth (pp. 100-102). However, both are necessary components to a life-death cycle and as such

neither is ranked greater than the other.

In the next chapter Maffie argues that the Aztecs were pantheists. The fluidity of the Aztec pantheon

supports the idea that “deities” actually represent clusters of specific natural processes (pp. 79-87).

These are the micro-processes that act as interwoven threads in a cloth that result in teotl, a macro-

process  of  eternally  changing  Becoming  and  transformation.  Chapter  3  addresses  teotl’s  “cyclical

struggle  between  paired  complimentary  polarities,”  such  as  life/death,  light/dark,  hot/cold,  and

male/female (p. 137). These pairs do not represent opposing forces but rather ends of a spectrum or

dual aspects of a single force. This cyclical struggle is necessary for balance, which itself is not a state

but a process much like walking: a series of temporary imbalances that work together and result in a

sustained overall balance (pp. 138-140). These pairs are dependent on one another and not distinct, but

maintain one another’s existence.  To use one of Maffie’s metaphors, a tennis match does not exist

without two opposing players whose goal is to subvert the other. But without the process of this back

and forth struggle there would be no game at all (p. 146).

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 describe and discuss the three fundamental ways teotl moves, or the different

patterns its processes take. These are olin, malinalli, and nepantla, which together interact to result in a

process  of  cosmic  weaving.  Olin  is  an  up/down,  back/forth,  rising/falling,  or  pulsating  motion

associated with the bouncing of a rubber ball and defines the shape of life (pp. 186-190). It’s important

to note that the rubber ball was a requisite component to the Mesoamerican ball game, which was a

metaphorical recreation of the 5th sun’s journey from the underworld each day, a defining life-giving

and creative process. Malinalli is a twisting, spiraling, revolving, spinning motion that transforms one

thing into another (pp. 261-262). It is represented by those who spin rough grasses or fibers into ropes

or  threads,  acting  upon  disorder  with  the  ordered  motion  of  twisting.  It  is  also  associated  with

sweeping, an act performed with a spiraling motion that moves what is disordered to the periphery to



allow for order (pp. 279-281).

Nepantla  is  the most  difficult  form of motion to  grasp and yet  probably the most  fundamental.  It

represents the process of being betwixt and between, middling, neither one nor the other (p. 361). It

represents a state of moving between or being in between two states or phases, which is both creative

and destructive. It is reminiscent of Victor Turner’s (1979) state of liminality, in which an individual

exists neither outside of nor in the social order, but occupies a place of powerful ambiguity. However,

Maffie  rejects  this  comparison,  arguing  that  liminality  is  a  temporary  state  of  extraordinary

significance, while nepantla is a continual and mundane process of the everyday (p. 363). This process

is associated with weaving, which is a powerful act associated with creation; the cosmos itself is a

weaving in progress (p. 363, 403). Chapter 7 discusses teotl’s role as time-place. Time and place are not

distinctive concepts, but concrete realities that exist as a single entity anchored together (p. 422). In

Chapter 8, Maffie discusses how the weaving of the cosmos is a process fundamentally dependent on

the energy-pattern of nepantla, the back and forth middling motion of creation and destruction.

Maffie’s synthesis of Aztec metaphysics elevates its status to that which is equal to Western and Eastern

philosophical traditions and is one of the first works to do so for New World cultures. As a result,

Maffie’s  contribution  is  both  unique  and  desperately  necessary.  His  analysis  approaches  Aztec

philosophy at the same academic and intellectual level as other bodies of philosophical knowledge. As

he demonstrates, Aztec philosophy is rich and dynamic, conveying a sense of connection to the greater

cosmos not found in Western philosophy. By doing so, he elucidates a way of perceiving reality at odds

with Western thought.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a professional interest in Aztec culture, or Mesoamerican

culture  more  broadly.  It  is  worthwhile  to  a  wide  audience,  including  philosophers,  historians,

theologians, anthropologists, and archaeologists. However, this book is a committed read and probably

not  the best  choice for beginners  in  philosophy. As someone with a  background in archaeology,  I

sometimes found it difficult to follow some of the concepts presented. That being said, Maffie offers

simplified metaphors that guide the reader along a path of comprehension. It is certainly worth the

investment  of  time  and  effort  to  garner  a  greater  understanding  not  just  of  the  Aztecs,  but  of

philosophical thought. In reading this book, I feel as if I have not only increased my knowledge of

Aztec culture, though. I feel as if it has altered my own personal philosophy of how to Be in the world,

or better, how to engage in an active process of Becoming.



References Cited

Turner, Victor

1976.  “Betwixt  and  Between:  the  Liminal  Period  in  Rites  of  Passage”  in  The  Anthropology  of

Experience. New York: Harper and Row.

Megan Parker is a professor of anthropology in the Department of Cultural and Behavioral Science at

Georgia State University, Perimeter College. She is an environmental archaeologist and ethnobotanist

who conducts research in Mesoamerica with a focus on the Maya lowlands.

© 2016 Megan Parker 


