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Related: About this forumChristian group vandalizes ancient Mexican archeological site claiming it’s linked to ‘Devil worship
Last edited Wed Jun 29, 2016, 04:53 AM - Edit history (1)
Christian group vandalizes ancient Mexican archeological site claiming its linked to Devil worship
By DeadState Staff
Posted on June 28, 2016
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According to local media reports, the sect targeted the ancient ceremonial area because it was not Christian and destroyed at least a dozen stone alters built by the indigenous Otomi people at the San Bartolo Tutotepec , according to TeleSur TV.
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Members of a Jehovahs Witness sect have been accused of vandalizing a 7,000-year-old archeological site in eastern Mexico all in an effort to stamp out Devil worship.
The sect targeted the ancient ceremonial area because it was not Christian and destroyed at least a dozen stone alters built by the indigenous Otomi people at the San Bartolo Tutotepec archeological site, according to TeleSur TV.
Members of the sect say the destruction was motivated by a belief that the ancient Indigenous religion involved devil worship. The perpetrators claim that they were following the word of god by destroying the temple site.
The Otomi people still hold the site sacred and archeologist say that the site is comparible to Mecca for Muslims or the Vatican for Christians, with people making pilgrimages to the site every year. The ancient religion of the Otomis traditionally holds sacred various deities including earth, water, and fire.
More:
http://deadstate.org/christian-group-vandalizes-ancient-mexican-archeological-site-claiming-its-linked-to-devil-worship/
Anthropology:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12292730
On edit: adding another photo of another pyramid built in pre-Colombian times by the Otomi citizens:
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Wikipedia:
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One of the early complex cultures of Mesoamerica, the Otomi were likely the original inhabitants of the central Mexican altiplano before the arrival of Nahuatl speakers around ca. 1000 CE, but gradually they were replaced and marginalized by Nahua peoples. In the early colonial New Spain period, Otomi speakers helped the Spanish conquistadors as mercenaries and allies, which allowed them to extend into territories that had previously been inhabited by semi-nomadic Chichimecs, for example Querétaro and Guanajuato.
The Otomi traditionally worshipped the moon as their highest deity, and even into modern times many Otomi populations practice shamanism and hold prehispanic beliefs such as Nagualism. Otomies traditionally subsisted on maize, beans and squash as most Mesoamerican sedentary peoples, but the Maguey (Century Plant) was also an important cultigen used for production of alcohol (pulque) and fiber (henequen).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otomi_people
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Otomi Ceremonial Center [/center]
Article which discusses this modern site to honor the ancient Otomi citizens:
Road of Faith and Art / Camino del Arte Sacro
Beautiful photos:
http://roadoffaithandart.blogspot.com/2015/09/otomi-ceremonial-center.html
Judi Lynn
(160,526 posts)Jehovah's Witnesses accused of damaging Otomi religious site in Mexico
Official identity of assailants still unknown after incident at Mayonhika, an ancient site where stone structures were toppled and offerings tossed about
Associated Press in Mexico City
Wednesday 29 June 2016 12.03 EDT
Assailants have damaged an ancient Otomi religious site in Mexico, toppling stone structures used as altars, breaking carved stones and scattering offerings of flowers, fruit and paintings at the remote mountain shrine known as Mayonihka or Mexico Chiquito.
The attack was unusual in a country where few ancient pre-Hispanic religious sites remain functioning.
A researcher who interviewed some of the attackers said they identified themselves as Jehovahs Witnesses and viewed the altars as blasphemy. However, the spokesman for the Jehovahs Witnesses in Mexico said Tuesday that the allegation appeared to be false.
A local official in the state of Hidalgo said Monday that some local residents were angered by what they believed to be idolatry and had damaged the remote site.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/29/mayonhika-otomi-damaged-jehovahs-witnesses-mexico