Teología India: Indigenous Contributions to Context Theology in Mexico

Abstract

This article is a review of several of the implicit philosophical epistemic tenets of Teologia India as it is lived, believed and practiced in the highlands of Chiapas, Southeast Mexico, among the Mayan peoples of the region. Some of these philosophical characteristics and practices - which set Teologia India significantly apart from other forms of Liberation Theologies - are: expressions of an “embodied theology” present in a constellation of practices; the status, meanings and interpretations of dreams for faith; myths as revelation of historical truth; local languages as conceptual systems for the understanding of reflections on faith; sacred indigenous music, dance, chants and textiles as an epistemic presence much beyond the conventional understandings of inculturation.