Nahui Ollin is a concept in Aztec/Mexica cosmology with a variety of meanings. Nahui translates to "four" and Ollin translates to "movement" or "motion." Ollin was primarily portrayed in Aztec codices as two interlaced lines which are each portrayed with two central ends. Nahui Ollin has been used as an educational framework, particularly in social justice and ethnic studies institutions.
Philosophy
The concept is also described as alluding to the four preceding suns or ages in history. Nahui Ollin has been described as the fifth sun over our current world. Nahui Ollin has been described as "the sun (Tōnatiuh) in its four movements." When the fourth sun ended, Nahui Ollin emerged "from the remnant matter of an earlier age of humanity." It is believed that Quetzalcoatl traveled to Mictlān (underworld or land of the dead) to gather bones from the previous age and initiate a process of re-birthing humanity after its previous catastrophic end. According to sources describing Aztec belief, the fifth world will too be destroyed through a series of catastrophic earthquakes or one large earthquake that will lead to a period of famine and darkness.
Ollin has been described as being composed of four (Nahui) concepts, Tloke ("what is near") or the principle of generation, Nahuake ("what is closed") or the principle of congregation, Mitl ("arrow" or "direction") or the principle of displacement, and Omeyotl ("dual essence") or the principle of integration.
Nahui Ollin is also described as referring to the four directions, although not being limited to these directions in a static or rigid way. Scholar Gabriel S. Estrada states that "as cosmic movement, ollin is all movements at once that are both orderly and chaotic. Paradoxically, it defies human understanding even as it motivates all human movement."
Educational framework
Nahui Ollin has been adopted as an educational framework by various social justice and ethnic studies institutions to guide students through a process of "reflection, action, reconciliation, and transformation." Utilizing the framework has been described as an effective way to combat historical trauma, particularly for Chicana/o and Latina/o students. Educators at the Xicanx Institute for Teaching & Organizing describe the concept as follows:The Nahui Ollin represents the cyclical movement of nature with respect to the four directions. The Nahui Ollin is a fundamental concept in Aztec/Mexica cosmology, a guide for everyday life and decisions. The objective is to constantly strive for balance, even when there is struggle. The Nahui Ollin uses cultural concepts representing community, knowledge, education, will power, transformation, and most importantly, self-reflection. The Nahui Ollin is composed of traditional Aztec ideologies, including the concepts of Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli, and Xipe Totec. The Nahui Ollin is used as a culturally responsive method of teaching and ultimately supporting the development of harmony and balance of the mind, body, spirit, and community.
Tezcatlipoca
In the educational framework, Tezcatlipoca represents self-reflection, "silencing the distractions and obstacles in our lives, in order become intellectual warriors." Tupac Enrique Acosta describes Tezcatlipoca as "a reflection, a moment of reconciliation of the past with the possibilities of the future... It is the 'Smoking Mirror' into which the individual, the family, the clan, the barrio, the tribe and the nation must gaze into to acquire the sense of history that calls for liberation." Scholar Martín Sean Arce describes this as "a process to regain the historical memory at the individual and community collective levels, which leads to individual and community liberation." This process of coming to know oneself through an Indigenous epistemology has been notably successful among Xicana/o youth in leading them to "embrace their identities and foster their academic success."