toltec relegion

Abstract

The Pre Columbian Toltec religion based on the worship of two gods, one representing good and one represent evil derived in the 8th century. This religion relied heavily on art for expression, they were artwork and innovators working with metal. The members of this religion traded their artwork with other regions crops for survival, these art pieces are linked to the Aztecs providing proof that this lost religion and its people did exist.

Toltec Religion Toltec was a Pre Columbian religion that was based on the worship of two gods, an evil god and a good god. Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent god was the good god. He represented learning, fertility, holiness, gentility, culture, philosophy, and everything good. Tezcatlipoca, the smoked mirror was the bad god. He represented war, tyranny, and evil, he was the complete opposite of Quetzalcoatl. I think the Toltec Religion is very fascinating and strange at the same time because they have no evidence of a creation myth and no theory of life after death.
Most religions you read about have a creation myth or someplace where the religion originated from, unlike these religions the Toltec’s have no creation myth or any story of where this religion began or evolved from. I find this so interesting because a group of people can believe in a religion that is based off of nothing, they have no idea how this religion came to be. Also the followers of the Toltec Religion have no promise of a life after death; they have no beginning and no end.
I know for myself being a Christian follower there are still some questions that I have as to why certain things came to be as they did, even with all the information that my religion has about it. We as humans want to know the answers to things and are constantly looking for clarity.
There are very few factual details about the Toltec civilization that have survived and are available today. The Toltec’s had no written language, and had disappeared from their cities 200 years before the Aztecs settled nearby at what is now Mexico City.
Tula was the capital city of the Toltec Indian Empire. The ruins can still be found forty miles northwest of present day Mexico City which is located on the northern edge of Mesoamerica. The area is in the Valley of Anahuac or what is now called the Valley of Mexico. It is one of the most arid regions where little can be grown, with the exception of maguey, an intrinsic supplier of needles, sap and other products used by the Toltec’s.(poblar/historyofmexico)
The Aztecs did record what they knew and assumed about the Toltec’s' history, including legends and spiritual mythologies they adopted for themselves.
Researchers have found that some of the Toltec statues that they have found originated from Aztec art forms, indicating that the Toltec people had some type of contact with the Aztecans. Among the Nahuan peoples the word "Tolteca" was synonymous with artist, artisan or wise man, and "toltecayotl" "Toltecness" meant art, culture and civilization and urbanism (Religion and Legend-Toltec-Crystalinks).
Teotihuacan was located in the valley of Mexico, about 30-40 miles northeast of Mexico City. By about AD 550, at its peak, Teotihuacan had anywhere from 100,000 to 125,000 inhabitants, who lived in an area of about 8 square miles. (Spodek, Howard. The World's History. Vol. 1. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.) At the center of the city was a 150-foot wide street, named the Avenue of the Dead. Along the street were more than 75 temples, including the famous Pyramid of the Sun.
Many wonder how the Toltec’s civilization and religion, everything they built up just disappeared without anyone knowing where they went or how they got there. The Toltec empire had great strength from the eighth century up until their collapse in the late twelfth century.
The forming of the Toltec empire and beginning of their religion is where it all started. They depended on many crops as an order of civilization. The people traded with other regions for crops in exchange for their artwork. The people made small personal ornaments and small statues that could be traded easily. The people also were skilled in pottery and textiles. Another valuable trade resource was metal and stone tools because the location of the Teotihuacan Empire was in the immediate vicinity of the richest Mesoamerican deposits of exceptional obsidian. The Toltec people were among the first that we know of that were skilled in metalworking.(thenegain.info)
The downfall of the Toltec’s is as mysterious as its creation. Some of the theories of the downfall include The region became extremely barren and could no longer support the growing population, Conflict and revolution occurred within the empire brought on by a sever drought, The growing Toltec Empire intimidated neighboring city-states and they felt no other option but to attack the Empire.
At this point in time there is no evidence to suggest one of these theories more is likely than another. We may never know exactly what brought about the Empire or what brought it down.

Biography

http://www.crystalinks.com/toltec.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toltec Spodek, Howard. The World's History. Vol. 1. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.)