Wednesday, September 9, 2009

[Photo]
Santa Muerte also known as La Nina Blaca is a religious figure who receives petitions for love, luck, and protection. Saint Death is often depicted as a skeleton dressed in a white tunic or wedding gown.The Catholic Church has denounced the worship of Santa Muerte as a pagan tradition contrary to the Christian belief of Christ defeating death.This Saint is frequently dressed as a grim reaper with a scythe and scales. She may also be dressed in a long, white satin gown with a golden crown. In this form, many devotees view her as a variation of the Virgin Mary. Grim Reaper statues are made in red, white, green and black for love, luck, financial success and protection. Offerings to Santa Muerte include roses, marijuana, cigarettes, fruit, candy and tequila. Public shrines to Saint Death are adorned with red roses, cigars,fruit and bottles of tequila, and Santa Muerte candles burn in her honor. Throughout Mexico, and in parts of the United States, Santa Muerte prayer cards, polichinels, medals, and candles are made and sold to the public.Santa Muerte's roots may lie in the beliefs of the Aztecs, who worshiped a god of death by the name of Mictlantecyhtli, along with his wife, Mictecacihuatl.
Similar to other cultures around the world, pre-Christian deities in Mexico are sometimes syncretized as pseudo-saints. On the other hand, in Spanish she is typically referred to as "la Santa Muerte," strictly speaking meaning "the holy death" rather than "Saint Death," which would correspond to "Santa Muerte," with no preceding article. Thus Santa Muerte may simply represent a reinterpretation by folk religion of the traditional and orthodox Roman Catholic practice of prayer to receive a blessed death in a state of grace. Her prayers, orations, and novenas contain the Trinity and worship of the God of Abraham. While some view Santa Muerte as a figure of black magic, others view her as a saint. Santa Muerte is revered by the Iglesia Católica Tradicionalista mexicana-estadounidense, a church unaffiliated with the Roman Catholic church. draft

No comments:

Post a Comment