Ancient wisdom, modern warriors: The (re)invention of a Mesoamerican tradition in Xilam
Author
Jennings, George
Date
2016-06-01Acceptance date
2016-05-01
Type
Article
Publisher
Cardiff University Press
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Xilam is a modern Mexican martial art that is inspired by pre- Hispanic warrior cultures of ancient Mesoamerica, namely
the Aztecs (Mexica), Maya and Zapotec cultures. It provides a noteworthy case study of a Latin American fighting system that has been recently invented, but aspires to rescue, rediscover and relive the warrior philosophies that existed before the Spanish Conquest and subsequent movements beginning in 1521. Using the thought-provoking work of anthropologist Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, México Profundo, I aim to analyse the Xilam Martial Arts Association through the way that they represent themselves
in their three main media outlets: the official webpage, the Facebook group and the YouTube channel. Overall, the data suggests that certain elements of Mesoamerican civilisation may be transmitted to young Mexicans through a mind-body discipline, which in turn acts as a form of physical (re)education. Overall, xilam is both an invented tradition (in a technical sense) and a re-invented tradition (in a cultural sense) that provides lessons on the timeless issues of transformation, transmission and transcendence.
Journal/conference proceeding
Martial Arts Studies;
Citation
Jennings, G. (2016) 'Ancient wisdom, modern warrriors: the (re) invention of a Mesoamerican tradition in Xilam', Martial Arts Studies, (2), pp.59-70
Description
This article was published in Martial Arts Studies on 01 June 2016 (online), available open access at http://dx.doi.org/10.18573/j.2016.10064
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
N/A
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