Mexico’s Past Affects Its Religion Today
By Awake! correspondent in Mexico
A VISIT to Mexico City’s huge National Museum of Anthropology reveals how the Catholic religion practiced by many in Mexico today has been affected by the tribal religions of previous centuries.
Students of history are familiar with the way Hernán Cortés and fellow conquistadores introduced Catholicism to Mexico in the 1500’s. By that time, established cultures with their own religious beliefs already existed there, as exhibits in the National Museum so interestingly reveal.
Mexi was the first god of the Mexica tribe, so it is easy to see where the country and its capital, Mexico City, got their names. These early Indians founded Mexico City in about 1325 on a barren island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. Various Indian tribes made up the original population. There were Olmec, Chichimec, Aztecs, Maya, and others. Each tribe had its own artistic works, and the ruins of some of their early buildings, temples, and cities remain.
A Religious Blending
Visitors to the museum, situated in beautiful Chapultepec Park, are generally surprised to learn the extent to which the ancient and the modern beliefs of the people of Mexico are blended. In addition, many are intrigued by the similarity of early tribal beliefs to those introduced by the Catholic conquistadores.
In the Aztec hall, various maps show the founding of Mexico. From the displays it is obvious that the Aztecs were quite religious. Here can be seen many sculptures of gods and goddesses that the Aztecs venerated. One large sculpture, reproduced on this page, is of the goddess Coatlicue, who was regarded as the mother of both gods and men. Notice that she has two snake heads facing each other, in place of a human head. Her skirt is made up of entwined serpents. It seems that some of these symbolisms represent life and death.
With the coming of the conquistadores, many Indians fled to rugged areas or to the forests. By thus isolating themselves, some groups of Indians have kept many of their primitive religious ideas even until today. “For instance,” one guide at the museum explained, “the Huichol believe that the sun, deer, and corn make up a triad, similar to the Catholic Trinity doctrine.” She added: “The Indians of Chiapas State even now worship ancient pre-Hispanic gods, such as the rain god, the earth god, and the wind god, and have a different ceremony for each one.”
You may wonder why many in Mexico today claim to be Christians when they also practice other forms of worship. Regarding this, an inscription in the hall “Introduction to Ethnography” observes: “Religion colors every aspect of Indian life. . . . The most important characteristic of the Indian’s religion is the mixture of Catholic formulas with the pagan ones, remnants of the pre-Hispanic beliefs and ways of worshiping. The Huichol, Lacandon, and Otomi are the ones that preserve the most pre-Hispanic traits in their religion; [the Huichol] worship gods that represent the sun, water, and fire, and they keep them in caves. The Lacandon still worship ancient idols that are found in Maya temples.” Yes, the blending of Catholicism with ancient pagan religions is common in Mexico.
This is illustrated further by exhibits in the Northeast hall. These tell of the beliefs of the Yaqui, Seri, and Tarahumara. An inscription in this hall reads: “At the present time, the Yaqui are a very religious people, and their concepts are Christian even though transformed and adapted. They believe that Christ was a Yaqui who came to earth to save them from the flood, to give them their territory, to found their eight towns, and to give them the Comunila (group of authorities). . . . They do not permit Protestant proselytism, nor do they allow the presence of a Catholic priest.”
Nevertheless, as this inscription continues: “Along with the complicated beliefs and magical ceremonies and remnants of pre-Hispanic religion, they also accept the Catholic religion. They believe in a Christian god and frequently identify him as the sun.”
What visitors see in the Tarahumara section further confirms the blending of ancient and modern religious beliefs. There can be seen a small window with wooden crosses; an inscription underneath says: “The Tarahumara religion is the product of a mixture of Christian and pagan beliefs. The former were introduced in the 17th century by Franciscan missionaries. They believe in Tata Rioshi (God the Father), in Christ Jesus, in Everuame (the Great Mother, or Virgin Mary), and in other saints that are patron saints of certain villages. All are given the status of gods. The cross is of special importance because they relate it to the sun and moon and the worship of soil fertility.”
In the Seri section, another inscription explains: “The religion that the Seri practice is a mixture of ancient beliefs with Christian influences.”
There is much more to see that highlights the religious beliefs of the early Indian inhabitants. For instance, in the Mesoamerica hall are beautiful murals that represent the five cultures from the regions of the Pacific, the Gulf Coast, the Maya, the Altiplano, and the Mixtec. The inhabitants are shown worshiping corn, the jaguar, the rattlesnake, and the eagle—all of which have been regarded as gods.
After a visit to the beautiful National Museum of Anthropology, one is impressed by the extent to which the ancient rites and beliefs of the country’s early Indian inhabitants were mixed with those of the Catholic conquerors. As the exhibits reveal, even today many in Mexico are affected by the tribal religions of previous centuries.