“The Surviving Toltecs”

by Victor Sanchez

Today, the word Toltec has become very significant for many people from non-indigenous cultures who live in major cities in the United States and many other countries.. we can find books, articles, conferences, seminars and, workshops, music and many other things related to the Toltec word. But who were the Toltecs really??. Is it possible to answer such a question?

I think that no one can say the last word about the Toltecs, but from my own experience, I can give my testimony regarding the existence of the Surviving Toltecs in the Mexican Indigenous world, at this precise moment.

A little history.

Let's start from the beginning. For Ethnologists and Historians, The Toltecs were the pre-Columbian indigenous peoples who lived in central Mexico mainly from the 15th century. 8 to the century 12 . Its capital city was Tula in the Mexican State of Hidalgo.. after the century 12, the Toltecs abandoned Tula; the codices and records of the century 16 speak about a Toltec diaspora, supposedly related to the departure of their leader, Quetzalcoatl. One of the most interesting stories, contained in the codices is the one that speaks of the departure of Quetzalcoatl who, after leaving Tula, went to a cave under the Chapultepec hill (in what is now Mexico City) in that cave, Quetzalcoatl entered another dimension (Mictlan, Nahual or Omeyocan) and disappeared forever (here you should include a footnote that says: ver “History of the Name and foundation of Mexico City”, by Gutierre Tibón, edited by the Fondo de Cultura Economica). Either way, what is clear, is that the Toltecs spread throughout ancient Mexico, influencing many other indigenous cultures with their knowledge, such as the Mayans. that's history.

The fact is: The Toltecs are considered the great civilizers of the past, not only today but already in the century 16 the Aztecs used to call “Tolteca” to the man of knowledge, in memory of the great wisdom of the Ancient Toltecs, and they considered Toltequity as the highest level of knowledge that a human being can reach.

for common people, the Toltecs were some kind of wise Indians who disappeared several centuries ago. Since the Toltecs left so long ago, anyone can assure anything about them … nevertheless, the Toltecs are not here to speak for themselves, Or at least that is what it seems…

are they still here?

Perhaps it is because the indigenous Toltecs have no say in topics related to indigenous Toltec knowledge that there is so much controversy among non-indigenous teachers of Toltec knowledge.. But there is a point that almost nobody is taking into account: there are indigenous communities in modern Mexico, preserving and keeping alive the practices of ancient Toltequity. This is what I have discovered, and that is the body of practices in which I find myself involved, It is from this tradition that I have taken the keys to convert the contents of my work into a practical and balanced proposal., some of which were also inspired by parts of Carlos Castaneda's books (See The Teachings of Don Carlos, Practical Applications of the Work of Carlos Castaneda” , by Victor Sanchez, published by Bear and Company in the US and by Editorial Lectorum in Mexico). The form and techniques that I have developed inspired by Castaneda's writings are not intended to achieve the otherworldly goals expressed in his latest books., but those that are congruent with the Toltequity that I have learned among the indigenous Toltec survivors in the Mexican mountains where they live .

I have written the testimony of my experience among the surviving Toltecs in my book “Toltecs of the New Millennium” (published by Bear and Company in the US and by Editorial Lectorum in Mexico). In that book I have included many references, Photographs, official witnesses, etc. in order to let people know that what I am talking about is really happening in the same world that they live in, because I think it is important for readers, be sure that what they are reading, it is real, especially when these readers are looking for something to apply to their own lives in the everyday world. It is not my interest to criticize anyone, but this is my point of view and i just want to be clear about this.

Additional information about the surviving Toltecs.

The indigenous communities whom I refer to in my books as heirs of ancient Toltequity call themselves Wirrarika., many of them speak only the Wirrarika language but some speak Spanish as well.. Even though they are more than 50,000 not all members of the community share the same amount of knowledge related to their spiritual tradition.

Among the Wirrarika there are special groups of practitioners called Jicareros, who are the guardians of ancient spiritual practices, they experience levels of experience in the world of perception than other members of the community, who do not participate as Jicareros, they couldn't even imagine.

The word “Tradition” does not mean for the Wirrarika a body of beliefs, but a body of efficient practices aimed at the practitioner reaching the highest levels of awareness and perception.

Among the surviving Toltecs, the figure of the master, as we conceive it in western societies and even in some eastern societies, does not exist. They are used to learning directly from the Great Spirit. the man of knowledge, the shaman is a mere vehicle that pushes the practitioner to seek the Spirit in sacred places. There are no books, there are no formal teachings and there are no human teachers. There is only a set of specific actions that constitute in themselves a way of knocking on the door of the Spirit, if the Spirit opens the door, learning begins. You can't just hear about Uzi (which is the word Wirrarika to name the great Spirit), you must see and hear it for yourself, without intermediaries. That is the way of the Toltec.

The surviving Toltecs are indigenous who are wrapped up in their own world and do not seem to be interested in the non-indigenous world., unless it is to protect yourself from him. They are not interested in teaching us or selling us anything, they are only interested in surviving and keeping their tradition alive because that is their way of assuming their own role as energy fields, as true sons and daughters of the sun, with the same nature as the father sun and with the same love as our great mother the earth.

If we were to put into words the message of these surviving Toltecs, these words would be: We are children of the Sun and our nature is to shine!