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A word on terminology
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| As I need
to distinguish between the teachings of Castaneda and other mystic ways,
I have come to use the word 'castanedianism', meaning the mystical system
taught by Carlos Castaneda. However, some people have contacted me and
pointed out that this choice of terminology is bad for the following reasons:
1. Castaneda would not have used his own name. 2. The system was not invented by Castaneda. 3. It may give some messianic associations. 4. The word 'castanedianism' is outright silly. Well, what can I do but to agree? The reason that I still use 'castanedianism' is that I cannot think of anything better. Besides, I have to call the site something. Castaneda himself gives us almost no clue, there are some mention of this in the books. 'Sorcery' is too vague. 'Shamanism' is something else, and already used by scientists and by others (actual shamans and New Age practitioners). I know that the word 'shaman' have come to be used in Castanedas later books [cc10 and onwards], but I feel it is not an original castanedian word. Even in 'Wheel of Time' the word 'sorcerer' have been exchanged for the word 'shaman' in the quotations. 'Toltec-ism' would perhaps be the term appropriate, but this is also a silly word, and it would certainly offend the scientific community, not to mention the Aztec descendant nahuatl-speaking people of today. It is said in Castanedas books, that 'Toltec' means practitioner of the system that don Juan taught, and that the 'don Juan lineage' uses practises from these times. The Toltec people existed 800-1200AD, and 'Toltec' means 'great Craftsman' in the nahuatl language (actually a group of languages). However, the old Aztecs also seemed to have referred to the people who lived in Teotihuacán (200BC-600AD) as 'Toltecs'. Anyhow, I do not feel comfortable to use the term 'Toltec' in this context. 'Nagualism', then? Perhaps. The term was suggested by don Juan. However, the word also has different meanings to different people. It is used in Shamanism, and anthropologists have their own definition of it. Someone suggested 'donjuanism'... New Age Guru The third point above implies that calling it castanedianism would give some messianic meanings to Castaneda's role in providing the public with the teachings. This has, however, already happened. He is reffered to as 'New Age Guru', and he is called 'The Grandfather of New Age' on some places. His very position and presentation of himself makes this rather expected, although he may not have wanted this himself. Reference: See the eminent comment in Letter 2. |
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