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[[File:Aztec_Flame_Glyph.svg|300px|thumb|right|The ''Tlateochihualtletl'']]


'''Temachtism''' or the '''Way that is Taught''' is a religion originating in [[Zacapican]] where it is known as ''Neltiliz Teixtlamachtiliztli'' meaning "true teachings". It is one of the oldest continuously practiced religions in [[Ajax|the world]], believed to have origins as far back as the foundation of classical Zacapican in the 2nd millennium BCE although it does not enter recorded history until the 7th century BCE. The foundations of modern day Temachtism were laid by the {{wp|prophet}} known to history only as ''Neltiliztemachtiani'' (lit. "preacher of truth") who is believed to have lived in the late 8th century BCE and was already dead by the time the earliest surviving records of his teachings were created.
Neltiliztemachtianii's teachings tell of a divine being which had a great love for humanity and so broke with the other divine powers of the primordial world and elevated humanity. He did this by teaching the humans to master fire and to sow and harvest grain, for which Neltiliztemachtiani names the deity by the name ''Cuezaltzin'' although he is also referred to as ''Tlatoque Tlapixcaliztli'' (lit. "Harvest Lord") in the texts. In retaliation for aiding the humans without permission, the other deities of the world stripped him of his immortality and threatened to reduce the primordial human civilization back into barbarism once he was dead and could no longer protect humanity from them. A bargain was then struck between civilized humanity and the Harvest Lord, in which the humans would through worship and sacrifice perpetually sustain the dying god's existence and in return he would use his extended life to fend off the other gods and stave off the end of human civilization. Neltiliztemachtiani claimed that he was the prophet of the fire Cuezaltzin the Harvest Lord, contacted by the deity in response to the failings of humanity to uphold their pact with the god, and given a mission to bring the people back into their covenant by teaching them the truth about Cuezaltzin's sacrifice. The posthumous records of Neltiliztemachtiani's philosophy, visions, teachings and accounts of his life are and were at the time incomplete, leaving his followers to further develop and elaborate on the prophet's teachings in subsequent and supplemental writings. These writings, along with the records of the prophet's direct teachings, are compiled within the ''Huehuetlahtolli'' or "Words of the Elders" which serve as the holy texts of Temachtism.
The practices of Temachtism are directly relate to and derived from contemporary Zacapitec religious traditions, and it is believed that many aspects of the new religion were already common religious practices and that Temachtism itself was only a more recent iteration of ancient beliefs dating back to the very dawn of Nahua civilization in Zacapican. Core aspects of Temachtism which are thought to be derived from precursor belief systems include {{wp|Fire worship|pyrolatry}} and a deep religious dimension to the process of {{wp|sowing}} and {{wp|reaping}} grain. The distinct aspects of Temachtism revolved around the Harvest Lord, in whom many often disparate aspects of preceding beliefs were inter-connected within a {{wp|henotheism|henotheistic}} framework rather than an {{wp|animism|animistic}} one. The Harvest Lord, or Cuezaltzin, is depicted in varying ways according to each appellation as a {{wp|Red hair|red-haired}} {{wp|sickle}}-wielding (or {{wp|scythe}}-wielding in later depictions) man as the lord of harvests, or as a living fire or in some cases a {{wp|conflagration}} as the one simply named "fire". 
When manifested as fire, the deity's body becomes the ''tlateochihualtletl'' or "blessed flame" which Temachtist devotees preserve in perpetuity as an {{wp|eternal flame}} within their temples as a symbol of their devotion to their lord and as a tangible connection to the divine. Tlateochihualtletl are naturally occurring fires, usually resulting from phenomena such as lightning strikes or volcanic activity, which once recognized as manifestations of Cuezaltzin must be transferred to a sacred hearth or ''tlecomitl'' within a temple where it can be maintained. A tlateochihualtletl preserved in this way is often split into multiple fires, maintained in separate hearths, so that a portion of the divine presence of Cuezaltzin is maintained in the event that one or more of the fires should go out. Many tlateochihualtletl exist concurrently, each with multiple derivative forms or "bodies" which all share the same original natural fire. Extensive records are kept by Temachtist fire-keepers detailing the lineages of the many tlateochihualtletl in their care and confirming their divine provenance from an original tlateochihualtletl.
Two types of Temachtist fire-temple are maintained, and in each the tlateochihualtletl kept there serve a different religious function. A ''teopixcacalli'' serves as a monastery, where devoted priests or ''teopixqui'' of the Harvest Lord live and maintain a variety of sacred flames, often using them to light the fires used in cooking their meals and warming themselves in cold weather and in this way surrounding themselves with the blessings of their god. The more public ''tetlechipahualoyan'' serves as an open house of worship in which devotees pray, dedicate sacrifices and preform other religious and social rites. Here the tlateochihualtletl kept within the sacred hearth is an icon of the Harvest Lord through which worshippers may commune with the deity, and it is also a place of sacrifice as the fires are used to burn offerings called ''huentlatlatilli'', which may consist of a variety of things from dried crops to personal affects of the supplicant. In ancient and medieval times, a human being could also be a huentlatlatilli sacrifice and be burned alive in the tlateochihualtletl, a practice that is now outlawed by both religious and secular laws.

Latest revision as of 18:06, 20 November 2022

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