Syncretism In Mexican Religion

Hugo Nutini in Syncretism and Acculturation: The Historical Development of the Cult of the Patron Saint of Tlaxcala, Mexico (1590-1670) characterised the religious conversion of natives a ‘guided syncretism’, in that the Catholic friars and missionaries sought to facilitate fast and effective conversion to Christianity. The Spanish took advantage of the parallels that existed between native religions and Catholicism and actively replaced native religious elements with Christian iconography and meaning. Just as the European towns and parishes had patron saints, Amerindian towns and communities were often associated with, or worshipped particular gods and deities. After the conquest, the Indian Villages were assigned and renamed after Catholic …show more content…
As Christ’s mother, the Virgin Mary was symbolically associated with motherhood and purity and likened to many of the larger Indian goddesses. In the case of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Virgin was said to have appeared on the hill of Tomantzin in Tepeyec to Juan Diego, a native convert instructing him to build a temple there in her honour. In another instance, Matalcueye, a Nahua water deity became linked with the Marian cult after natives saw similarities among the two. In descriptions, Matalcueye is often portrayed wearing blue clothes and holding a cross-shaped sceptre in her right hand, not unlike the ways the Virgin Mary is depicted. Charles Gibson notes of an occasion in 1528 where the local people of Tlaxcala carried an image of Mary during a town procession, petitioning for rain during a drought. Despite their Christian names, these manifestations are a combination of both Aztec and Catholic Marian cults. The Virgin Mary became integrated as a divinity, and in the eyes of the natives, she served the same functions as other deities in the native religious …show more content…
She argues that the religious innovations of the indigenes incorporated the Christian iconography into their understandings of sacrifice. Among the Mayans of the Yucatán, the World Trees were important elements of Mesoamerican cosmology, played vital roles in the creation mythology and considered to be the bridge that linked the celestial, terrestrial and the underworld. To the Indians, the Christian crucifix was symbolic of human sacrifice and sacrificial death, and in some communities, such as the Cruzob Mayans, it was believed that the cross was the Christian god, speaking through its worshippers. The Mayans could dress the cross in traditional clothing and adorn it with flowers and feathers, another example of religious syncretism on the part of the Indian natives. In other cases, Mayans took a more literal interpretation of Christ’s sacrifice. In her analysis, Farris refers to the idolatry trials conducted throughout the Yucatán in the latter half of the sixteenth century. During the inquisition, many young children and youth were tied or nailed to crosses for sacrifice by native priests, citing that they should die as Jesus did. As per traditional customs, their hearts were removed and offered to idols. According to Farris, this was not an

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Syncretism In Mexican Religion

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