Santisima Muerte

Last Sunday I picked up these two framed Santa Muerte (Saint Death) posters at a flea market. Oddly enough, these are religious images, created by people who would consider themselves Christian. Here is my rough translation of the text on the right hand (battle axe wielding) one:

Prayer to Saint Death

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, immaculate being of light, I implore that you grant me the favors which I ask of you, until the last day, hour and moment that your divine majesty orders that I be brought before your presence. Beloved Death of my heart, do not remove me from your protection.

The cult of Santa Muerte is pretty fascinating, and I wish I knew more about it. It is definitely a lower class thing though, while most of the Mexicans I know are university educated professionals. I have read a few US based media reports linking the cult to drug traffickers, but I wonder if that isn't inflated to give an easy explanation for something that appears "evil" to outsiders (including the official Mexican Catholic Church). According to Devoción a la Santa Muerte Magazine, issue #6 (probably the best thing I've ever bought for under $1), "La Santisima Muerte NO castiga, ni se lleva a uno de nuestros queridos, sólo viene a ayudarle y guiarle espiritualmente." (Most Holy Death does not punish, nor does she carry away our loved ones, she only comes to help them and to guide them spiritually). The same magazine features testimony from a variety of people who are clearly not devil worshippers or narcos. A hospital worker sees visions of Santa Muerte at her work place, and patients are miraculously cured. A family writes to the magazine to thank her for saving them from death in a car crash. A housewife reports that after praying to Santa Muerte, her teenage son no longer hangs around with juvenile delinquents.

The magazine also provides some helpful tips on how to thank Santa Muerte with offerings for the miracles she bestows. Wine should be left at the altar in a glass goblet, and the bottle should be left uncorked so she can enjoy the aroma. Chocolates should be unwrapped, and can placed in any kind of dish. Cigars and cigarettes must always be offered lit. Flowers should be as beautiful and fresh as possible. Finally, do not make false promises to Santa Muerte or it is unlikely that she will help you again in the future.

Santa Muerte is often linked to the goddess Mictlancíhuatl, queen of one of four Aztec hereafters. She was not the only female Aztec deity to be depicted with a skull face though. The earth goddesses Coatlicue and Cihuacóatl both had a nurturing protective/ raging bitch duality, and could take terrifying skeletal forms. Women who died in childbirth also became goddess like skeletal beings. As childbirth was considered a form of combat, they were accorded the highest status, to accompany the sun in his daily battle to cross the sky. Who knows what elements of European folklore contribute to Santa Muerte. While odd Mexican customs are often attributed to its pre-hispanic past, the medieval outlook of the colonizers is certainly a factor too. Antiquated Spanish notions have sometimes lingered in Mexico long after having disappeared from their country of origin. The appearance of Santa Muerte has more Western iconography than Mesoamerican (scales, globes, scythes and so on).

Here is how the magazine's editor responds to those who say the cult of Santa Muerte is devil worship. "Now I do not know why they fear her and flee from her, if late or early we all will pass through that final material stage and begin the spiritual one..."