Discuss at least two of these with your classmates:
- Compare Santa Muerte with the other traditions we have studied: how is it similar and different? Be specific, scholarly, and fair.
- Why do you think Santa Muerte has grown in popularity the way that it has? Can you locate any religious, sociological, and/or cultural reasons for this trend?
- What are your thoughts and reactions to this religious tradition?
[1] Santa Muerte, or "Saint Death" is definitely one the most bizarre icons for a religious tradition, especially in the visual and symbolic sense. A macabre version of the Virgin Mary or Virgin of Guadalupe, she is represented as a skeleton, and often with a scythe- very similar to the Grim Reaper, but most noteworthy in being female. The devotion surrounding "The Bony Lady" has grown significantly in the past decade or so, "transformed from an occult practice, unknown to most Mexicans, to a burgeoning public cult that counts millions of devotees in Mexico and the United States among its followers" (Chesnut 4).
In practice, the methods used for this new tradition are fairly straight ahead. Many adherents have a shrine or altar in their home or business with a statuette of Santa Muerte as centerpiece. Offerings can be made (incense, flowers, money, tobacco, etc.) and different colors of candles are lit, based on the theme of the requests and prayers made- red for matters of love, black for protection or to do harm to enemies, gold for prosperity, and so on. Believers claim that she performs her miracles very quickly, and the various paraphernalia associated with her worship is a big business in Mexico and border US states- selling statues, votive candles, incense, jewelry, and other items.
There is some controversy surrounding the practice, to be sure, as one would expect from the imagery alone. Santa Muerte is called upon by many Mexican drug smugglers and other organized criminals- to protect them while engaged in their illegal activities. This is how the outside world first became exposed to the cult, but Chesnut is quick to point out that this faction is only a small part of the demographic. "High school students, middle-class housewives, taxi drivers, drug traffickers, politicians, musicians, doctors, and lawyers all are among the ranks of the faithful" (11-12).
For similarities to other types of American mysticism, Wiccans/neo-pagans are the best example- they too often deploy candles and other objects, have altars, and make offerings. Females are prominent in both traditions, and both also believe that certain rituals can protect individuals from harm, or even inflict harm on enemies. The only major difference is that Santa Muerte is a single religious figure and an offshoot of Catholicism; pagans are much more polytheistic (although Catholics have more "deities" than Protestants do).
For the most opposite form of mysticism to Santa Muerte, I would choose Buddhism. Santa Muerte promotes a rather selfish way of looking at the world, and making prayers or offerings to achieve specific things that are desired. Buddhism would never advise wishing harm on others, or asking for material wealth.
Chesnut, R A. Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint. New York: Oxford
University, 2012. Print.
[3] I find the Santa Muerte tradition very fascinating. The vivid imagery explains some of its appeal- Death represented as a skeleton is an archetype throughout the world. We know what it means as soon as we see it. To mix that symbolism with one of the most iconic Catholic figures, the Virgin Mary... well, it's designed to attract attention, and it succeeds. It could be seen as an "anti-Mary" counterpart to the anti-Christ; a revolt against the historical Catholicism of Mexico. Why would such a cult emerge? Dissatisfaction with the old traditions maybe, or a perception that the traditional church no longer "works".
A certain percentage of a population is always drawn to the "dark side", whatever the culture. It can be for various reasons. For some it might only be the aesthetics- they just like the way it looks. Like the gangsta-rap subculture in America, some people simply join a movement to be "cool"- to have street-cred, or whatever you want to label it (I'm 53 and not up on the current terminology). Sometimes people feel that their God has failed them, and react by joining a movement heretical to that god, in protest. And some people are simply superstitious, and looking for any kind of good luck they can get, whatever the source. Finally, there's always a decent amount of people that try a new type of religion just to jump on the bandwagon. They've heard that others are practicing this or that, so they do too. It's an escape from boredom, or desperation.
And that's another way to look at it- desperate times call for desperate measures. Santa Muerte adherents believe that their requests are answered, even if they're unethical or non-religious in nature. With unemployment rampant in Mexico, why not make offerings to Saint Death if you think it will get you a job or even wealth? If you're in a drug cartel, and every day of your life might be your last- what's it going to hurt to make a little offering to Santa Muerte for safety? Superstitious people always find some way to justify their often unusual beliefs and practices.
Having been guilty myself of judging what is a religion and what is not, (I was not very fair in regard to Scientology), I thought maybe we should just see the definition:
re-li-gion noun "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs".
It's hard to be objective when we encounter a set of beliefs that we just know in our gut is flawed. We've seen several hundred people drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid and die because the man they worshipped, Jim Jones, told them to. Or a group of guys castrate themselves, then commit suicide, because they thought they were going to hitch a ride on the comet Hale-Bopp. And we can reach a consensus that such religions are crazy. But they're still religions. I could decide that my black cat, "Bob", is actually God, and pray to him and give him offerings of Fancy Feast... and that would be a religion too.
I consider myself very lucky in my view of death (I'm very accepting of it), although some people in my life, my wife in particular, don't understand... her mother died about 15 years ago, and it all but crippled her in the aftermath. She was in a major depression for about 3 years, which almost ruined our marriage. To this day, that event sometimes comes up, and we're practically back to square one. I've been labeled as overly stoic in such matters, and I'll concede that. But I see it as a better option than the contrary. My mother has terminal liver cancer. She's going to die in a year or less, probably. I will be very sad when she goes. But I'm not going to let it sideline me. Death awaits us all. The ultimate tribute to the dead is to LIVE as hard as you can til it's your turn.
I'm going to offer a slightly tongue-in-cheek observation, but maybe it's called for in what has been a serious and even contentious discussion...
When I was 15, my parents were kind/naive enough to drive me and about a half-dozen of my buddies to our first rock concert. They drove us to the old Coliseum in Charlotte NC, let us out, and went and hung out at some mall for a few hours til time to come back for us.
This was 1976. The bill was Styx, Mott the Hoople, and headliner KISS. There were numerous burnt offerings being made that evening (you could smoke cigarettes of all types in such a venue back then-safety in numbers) and there was also tequila. All these substances were shared to us young lads by some older attendees there. Maybe they sensed we were new "initiates".
By the time Styx came on, with their opening number "Light Up" (yes, just what it sounds like) I was in a nice altered state of awareness, and the audience became this collective consciousness with twenty-thousand hands clapping in unison to a primal beat. It was easily the most religious experience I had ever had up to that point in my life.. And when KISS came out, there in full makeup, Gene Simmons looked very much like a cousin of Santa Muerte.
Burnt offerings, fermented beverages, and vivid costumes. An ancient Aztec ritual... a rock concert. Lots of common threads going on here. KISS even recorded a song later on titled "God Gave Rock and Roll to You".
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