Science, Religion & Culture Article Special Issue: Cross-Cultural Studies in Well-Being Weaving the Good Life in a Living World: Reciprocity, Balance and Nepantla in Aztec Ethics James Maffie Department of American Studies, 1328 Tawes Hall, University of Maryland,College Park, MD 20740 Abstract | The Aztecs saw themselves living in a world that was not only inherently unstable but also inexorably destined to succumb to imbalance-induced total destruction. They perceived human beings’ hold on life in these circumstances as inescapably “slippery” and thus fraught with hardship, pain, suffering, sorrow, hunger, disease, and death. Stubbornly refusing to surrender to despair, Aztec philosophers (tlamatinimeh) responded with what they called toltecayotl or “the art of living wisely and well.” Toltecayotl enjoined humans to pursue balance in all matters, ranging from how they treated themselves and other humans to how they treated the countless other-than-human agents populating their living world. Humans attained balance in two principal ways, both of which Aztec philosophers understood in terms of the indigenous concept of a nepantla process, a paradigmatic ex- ample of which was the artisanal process of weaving. Humans accordingly attained balance: first, by weaving together individual behavioral extremes (such as fasting and feasting) into a well-middled, individual life fabric; and second, by weaving themselves together with other human and nonhuman agents into a single, well-middled, community life fabric by means of initiating and participating in relationships of mutuality and reciprocity. Humans lived well and lived wisely when they crafted their lives as well-skilled weavers. Editor | Gregg D. Caruso, Corning Community College, SUNY (USA)/Owen Flanagan, Duke University, USA. Correspondence | James Maffie, Department of American Studies, 1328 Tawes Hall, University of Maryland,College Park, MD 20740; Email: [email protected] Citation | Maffie, J. (2018). Weaving the good life in a living world: Reciprocity, balance and Nepantla in Aztec Ethics. Science, Religion and Culture, 5(2): 1-XXX. DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.src/2018........ n one of the many Mexica huehuetlatolli (“words of Her instruction would have at some point undoubt- the elders” or “ancient talks”) recorded by Bernardi- edly included the proverb, Tlaalahui, tlapetzcahui in Ino de Sahagún in the decades following the 1521 fall tlalticpac, “It is slippery, it is slick on the earth”2 or 3 of the Mexica (Aztec) empire, a noble mother advises “Things slip, things slide, in this world,” explain- her coming-of-age daughter: ing that this was said of a person who had enjoyed a well-balanced, morally good life, only to slip into Behold the road thou art to follow. On earth it wrongdoing, as though in slippery mud. In this man- is a time for care, it is a place of caution… We ner Mexica parents introduced their children to the travel, we live along a mountain peak. Over here nature of human existence and advised them how they there is an abyss, over there is an abyss. If you ought accordingly to live their lives. Life is evanes- goest over her or if thou goes over there, thou cent, perilous, and fragile. Their best intentions, train- wilt fall. Only in the middle doth one go, doth ing, and their lifelong achievements notwithstanding, one live.1 humans invariably lose their balance on “the slippery 2018 | Volume 5 | Special Issue 1 | Page 1 Science, Religion & Culture earth,” inescapably suffering as a result pain, sorrow, quality of these relationships. An individual’s own bal- torment, hunger, thirst, insanity, disease, or death as ance is interwoven with the balance of those around well as domestic, social, agricultural, or cosmic discord her, since how she treats others affects the balance of and disintegration. her own body-mind confluence. For example, by im- balancing other agents (i.e. as we shall see, by acting Mexica parents’ advice regarding the human existen- immorally), one unbalances one’s self, since such be- tial condition was part of a larger Mexica conception havior leads inexorably to one’s own mental or phys- of the good life reflected upon and discussed by Mex- ical disease (understood in terms of imbalance and ica tlamatinimeh (pl; tlamatini, singl.; lit. “knowers of loss of well-being). On the other hand, one balances things,” philosophers, sages, wise ones). Mexica tlam- oneself by balancing others (i.e. by acting morally). In atinimeh possessed knowledge of and instructed peo- short, one improves oneself by improving others, and ple in toltecayotl or the art of living wisely -- which harms oneself by harming others. Moreover, one can- they equated with living a good life, a morally upright not balance oneself in isolation from others since bal- life, and a genuinely human life. ancing oneself requires participating in interperson- ally oriented nepantla processes involving reciprocity Humans attain such a life by creating, maintaining, with others. One can only become a well-balanced and participating in a well-balanced human lifeway as agent (and hence morally upright) in the company well as well-balanced world lifeway consisting of hu- of and with the assistance and cooperation of other man and other–than-human agents and their social in- agents. In sum, humans attain well-being, the good terrelationships, here in the Fifth Age lifeworld of the life, and genuine humanness only through individual cosmos.4 What’s more, given their essential interde- effort and through well-balanced relationships with pendence, humans live in balance and attain well-be- other agents, both human and other–than-human. ing if and only the Fifth Age lifeworld (including oth- er-than-human agents) does so as well. The good life thus requires continually balancing one’s self and one’s social relationships with others. Since Human well-being, the good life, and the genuine- the inhabitants of the Fifth Age are holistically in- ly human life are constituted by and consequent upon terrelated, balancing oneself involves balancing the well-balanced living. Well-balanced living, in turn, Fifth Age lifeworld, and vice versa. Self- and socially is principally constituted by and consequent upon two oriented nepantla-defined processes are the principal kinds of nepantla-defined activities: individually paths to balancing well, and balancing well is the only and socially oriented. Humans create and maintain path to well-being. well-balanced human and world lifeways by initiating new and renewing existing relationships of recipro- Balance cal gifting with other agents, both human and oth- er-than-human. I call these activities socially oriented Well-balanced living requires that one balance the nepantla processes. Humans also create and maintain bodily components and vital forces comprising one’s well-balanced human and world lifeways by middling own body-mind confluence, as well as balance one’s the various forces comprising the confluence of body- relationships with other humans (including deceased mind forces constituting their individual selfhood. I ancestors) and other-than-human agents (includ- call these activities self-oriented nepantla processes. ing creator beings, rivers, mountains, fields, animals, Both fall under the broader conceptual umbrella of plants, houses, tools, and artworks). nepantla processes (more anon). The distinction be- tween self- and socially oriented processes is one of Mexica tlamatinimeh understood balancing as a pro- emphasis only, however, seeing as Mexica philosophy cess -- a dynamic, diachronic, dialectical, agonistic, and draws no modern, Western-style distinction between middling process –rather than a single event or stat- self vs. other, self vs. society, or self vs. world or ‘nature’. ic condition. The ordinary activity of walking neatly illustrates their understanding. Walking is a process, Humans (and other-than-humans) live in a world not an event. It is diachronic, not static. Walking re- consisting of social relationships with other agents, quires being able to achieve an overarching, diachron- and they are defined in terms of these relationships. ic balance between a repeating series of momentary As a consequence, they are necessarily affected by the imbalances. Starting from a standing position, one 2018 | Volume 5 | Special Issue 1 | Page 2 Science, Religion & Culture extends one’s left leg forward, shifts one’s weight damentally transformative. left-forwardly, and in so doing puts oneself off bal- ance. But before falling leftwards too far and crashing Weaving embodies perhaps most paradigmatically the to the ground, one quickly extends one’s right leg and properties of a nepantla process: abundant mutuality, shifts one’s weight rightwards. This, of course, creates reciprocal middlingness, conceptual and metaphysical a right-leaning imbalance that counterbalances the ambiguity, and destructive-creative transformation. first, left-leaning imbalance. However, before falling Weaving interlaces warp and weft and in so doing rightwards too far and tumbling to the ground, one creates a woven fabric, a tertium quid, i.e. something quickly extends one’s left leg, thereby shifting one’s that is neither warp nor weft yet simultaneously both weight leftwards. The process of walking involves warp and weft. More abstractly, nepantla processing repeating these alternating unbalancing and coun- weaves together A and B to create a tertium quid, C, ter-balancing movements over and over again. One which is neither A nor B yet at the same time both does not try to strike a static middle or mean point; A and B. In this way nepantla processes are simulta- rather one passes through such a point in the con- neously destructive, creative, and transformative. That stant “to-and-fro” of walking. One middles oneself which is nepantla-middled is well-balanced, well-ar- dialectically by incorporating and weaving together ranged, and well-ordered. Nepantla processes are mid- alternating imbalances. One walks straightforwardly dling and balancing in several senses. First, they are by walking crookedly. One walks in balance by un- middling in the intransitive sense of occurring in the balanced walking.