The Great Secret of Holy Death
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In the 1960s, the Holy Death became very popular after a villager saw her image drawn on the walls of his wooden hut at a place in Catemaco (Veracruz). He asked the priest of the village to verify the image and canonize it, but he refused. Then, the villagers decided to spread the apparition of the Holy Death from person to person, without having a place to venerate her.
In Mexico, the Aztec civilisation recognised the human life cycle which was represented by two deities: Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl, the Lord and the Lady of Mictlan, the place where common dead went after a long and difficult journey. The temple was located in the ceremonial centre of the ancient city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Its name was Tlalxico, which means “navel of the earth”.
To appear before the Lord and the Lady of Death, the dead had to overcome many obstacles such as: move away from colliding rocks, cross deserts and hills, suffer threats in the form of a crocodile named Xochitonal, winds with sharp obsidian stones, a mighty river difficult to cross and ask for the help of a dog which would be sacrificed the same day of the person’s funeral (Xoloitzcuintli).
Some of these pre-Hispanic beliefs are still latent in Mexican popular culture, such as November 2nd or the Day of the Dead, when they celebrate the day of their deceased ancestors. The idea is to remember the dead with joy, just as they lived in life, and not with the sadness and grief of their death; it is very popular to bring music to funerals to dance and brighten the departure of the dead. Death is seen as a suffering being with a very painful job, which was given a great power but also a great burden that nobody sees.
Mexicans also had other representations of death; such as tzompantli or “skull rack”, rows of wooden poles used to display human skulls, as in the abacuses. These “skull racks” were found in the great temples of Ancient Mexico and were considered an important part of the cult of death. Death could also be represented by skull figures carved in stone, in clay, or skulls beautifully painted. Human skulls decorated with flints and shells instead of eyes have also been found. The experts have not agreed on the meaning of these skulls, but they assume they were some sort of offering to the lords of death. Traces of stark death, ornso be it’s of the Goddess Coatlicue, offerings in ritual incense burners, and figures of all types and sizes have also been found.
This indicates that there was a very strong cult towards death among the ancient Mexicans, and also among the Mayans, the Tarascans and the Totonacs, who also had a great devotion to death.
Then, the Spanish arrived and it was thought that the cult to death would be forgotten, but that was not the case: Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl (mainly the latter) remained hidden and many of their devotees continued following them.
In his study on the Holy Death, the archaeologist Carlos Navarrete suggests that the popular devotion could be due to the syncretism between a Christian deity related to death and Saint Pascual Baylon, a Catholic saint and the Animas Solas (Lonely Souls).
The Spanish Conquest was imposed by “blood and fire” on the indigenous people of Mexico, but there were also another conquest: the spiritual one, which was the total destruction of the divinities that made up the indigenous culture. However, despite all their efforts, some traces of the ancient religion still remained within Catholicism and the cult to the Holy Death is part of that distant past.
The conversion of the indigenous peoples was paramount for the Franciscan missionaries, and the resistance of the natives towards the new religious doctrines was a permanent condemnation for evangelisers. The malpractice of some indigenous people was denounced in a text written in c. 1600 which mainly described the idolatries in the small village of Tuxtla.
The only true God for Catholics was the one that was established in the Bible. Therefore, when they found another religious thought, they condemned it as if it was a satanic rite: but this was unfair since in Ancient Mexico the concept of hell was not known. The indigenous gods were venerated in pyramids, in hills and in caves, and during the first years of evangelisation the Catholic missionaries did not understand why people used to dance around bones (which had often belonged to high priests or leaders, and that was why they worshipped them). These were only some of the religious practices of the time, which were beyond the comprehension of the minds of conquerors and evangelisers.
To try to hide these practices, the faithful devotees of Mictlancihuatl most probably “dressed” the cult of this goddess with elements of Catholicism to avoid being punished. The mixture of both roots -Indigenous and European- and the addition of Creole elements gave rise to the cult of the Holy Death, as we know it today.
The current and contemporary cult of the Sant'isima Muerte (Most Holy Death) appeared in Hidalgo around 1965. And it is rooted in the states of Mexico, Guerrero, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Campeche, Morelos and Distrito Federal (in the “barrio de Tepito” the cult is commonly used among criminals and merchants), Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Tijuana and Guanajuato. It was integrated with the cult to Tonantzin (female deity for the natives and later syncretised in the Virgin of Guadalupe) and that of the Virgin Mary.
The Holy Death is a spiritual entity, an image, a soul that helps and protects anyone who comes to her to ask for favours. She does not work under any kind of magic, neither white nor black. It has sometimes been said that the Holy Death is sinister, painful, cruel and cold, but this is not the case.
Devotees to the Holy Death report that among other favours, she can grant miracles to those who venerate her. Her worship has also been associated with criminals, prostitutes and drug dealers. People living in modern cities and villages also invoke her protection. However, people who live in situations of high risk are usually the ones who venerate her the most, wearing medals or images of the Holy Death or even a tattoo in their skin. Her image can be found mainly in soldiers, policemen, drug dealers, criminals and prostitutes. The Most Holy Death is a symbol that represents people living between the legal and the illegal, but her cult can also be found in the highest strata of society.
People ask her for anything: health, love, good luck, to recover stolen objects or even kidnapped relatives, for business, to open new roads, to win trials, to ward off bad neighbours, to protect vehicles from accidents and thefts, to have more money, to recover debts that people owe us, to find work, to bring food into the home, to ward off harmful friends from your partner or loved ones, to increase love in our partner, to forget a love, to regain a love lost, for matrimonial attraction, to ward off the lover of your partner, to make it up with your partner, for abundance, etc. Several rituals and special prayers are used to approach the Holy Death and gain her favours.
It is said that when the Holy Death grants a favour, one of our relatives must pay for it. This is absolutely false, since she protects the family from illnesses caused by works of black magic, witchcraft or natural disease. It is also said that she punishes you if you do not give her penances. This is totally false too, since she works to help her devotees and not to punish them. We must ask her with faith and kindness, with all our heart and without trying to hurt anyone: respect, faith and devotion from the heart for the Most Holy Death. No matter how difficult a problem may be, the Holy Death will help us without asking for anything in return, but if you offer her something you must give it to her wholeheartedly.