A study proposes enriching environmental education with ancestral knowledge about the five forces of nature.
Dr. Juan Carlos Sánchez Antonio, a research professor at the Institute of Educational Sciences of the UABJO (Autonomous University of Benito Juárez of Oaxaca), presented his second report on the study, which seeks to open new horizons in environmental education in Mexico through the lens of Zapotec philosophy.
During his presentation, he stated that understanding these forces from the perspective of Zapotec philosophy is not merely a cultural exercise, but a theoretical contribution capable of enriching educational strategies in the face of the current socio-environmental crisis.
“Recovering ancestral conceptions of balance, complementarity, and the profound relationship with the elements can contribute to designing educational models and curricular materials that are more relevant to the different regions of the country.”
According to the study, in Zapotec philosophy, each of the sacred forces is expressed through an ancestral name, a symbolic form, a guardian animal, and an essential meaning that guides the understanding of the world and life.
Sánchez Antonio explained, for example, that darkness/water, called Queela Nisa, is represented by a circle and has the jaguar and the water serpent as its guardian animals. This force, he said, symbolizes the pre-creational matrix, the origin of the cosmos, the depth and nocturnal mystery where life gestates in fertile darkness. It is the primordial water from which everything emerges.
Meanwhile, fire/light, named Quij or Guij, is expressed by a wavy line and is associated with the eagle, the quetzal, and the fire serpent, and represents vital, solar, and transmuting energy: “the clarity that illuminates, the creative impulse, and the force that purifies and activates the awakening of the world.”
Air/wind, known as Pe, Pi, Be, or Bi, is symbolized by a spiral “S” and its guardian animal is the snail. This force embodies the breath of life and sound vibration: the word, the breath, and the fabric that unites the different planes.
“It is also the one that carries water in the form of vapor, cloud, wind, and vital breath. Earth/mud, called Yoo or Yuu, is represented by a square, rectangle, or rhombus, sometimes with a seed or dot in the center.”
“Its guardian animal is the crocodile. This force is foundation and root: containment, reception, return, and cyclical emergence. It symbolizes cosmic mud, the structure of the world, and that which sustains and nourishes the root of life.”
Finally, movement/life, expressed as Xôo, takes the form of a complete, moving spiral and has the hummingbird as its guardian animal. “It is the dynamic force of the universe, the vibration that animates all that exists, the cosmic flow that renews and articulates the four co-essences, holding together the fabric of life.”
The researcher reported that, with fundamental support from Professor Patricia Noemí López Altamirano and Professor Jesús Velázquez of the House of Sciences, they have been able to work for two consecutive years on the scope of this research project with the teaching staff of the Juan “B” Toledo School.
“We have explored Zapotec philosophy with the teaching staff, as well as with the entire student body: the five forces and the 260-day Piye calendar.”
“Similarly, the teaching staff has worked constantly with the students on activities such as water harvesting, garbage collection, cornfields, gardens, and an ecological procession, among a wide variety of actions that strengthen environmental awareness in the school community.”
Source: El Universal
