Purgatory and Utopia by Alicja Iwanska

Author:Alicja Iwanska [Iwanska, Alicja]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Anthropology, General, Indigenous Studies
ISBN: 9781351495370
Google: cS0rDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-07-05T04:33:38+00:00

Two figures of Santiago, the patron saint of El Nopal in the altar of the church.

Mazahuas from El Nopal, unlike, for instance, Tzeltales from Chiapas, display no inquisitiveness about their saints. Physical, social and psychological characteristics of the saints are never discussed in El Nopal, and neither is their past. When I once made a reference to the worldly existence of Santiago (before he became a saint), my Mazahua friends responded with the same horror as they responded to my telling them about their “true history.” They obviously did not want to know anything more about him than they already knew.

To the people of El Nopal, who never question his supreme benevolence, it is the patronage of Santiago that is of paramount importance. Villagers pray to him, expressing their adoration and gratefulness and asking for the continuous well being of the community. If they want special favors for themselves as individuals or for their families, they turn to the Virgin of Guadalupe—or to other saints known for their specialization in the performance of miracles of one kind or another. But during the earthquakes of 1912 when the villagers came down from the hills on which El Nopal is located to less dangerous lowlands, they took with them one figure of Santiago. They camped with him there for a few weeks until the earthquakes ceased, and “nothing happened to anybody from El Nopal”—I was told—”only a Little Santiago who remained in the church with other saints, lost one of his fingers, but this could be easily fixed… .” And at the same time, as I was assured by people from El Nopal, “many persons perished in Las Animas.”

Since Santiago has always been attended, not only by mayordomos of the church, but also by the whole population of El Nopal, and since the inhabitants of this village consider themselves definitely “good people,” I was never able to find out what would have happened if Santiago were offended, either because of neglect or because of the badness of his people; I never learned whether he was capable of becoming angry and effecting punishment.

It is the protectiveness and generosity so emphasized in the case of Santiago which is also characteristic of all the saints venerated in El Nopal with the exception of one minor and rather doubtful saint, Santa Cruz (Holy Cross). He is considered to be not a cross but one of the personified saints in spite of the fact that he is represented as a cross rather than as a human figure. Located at the entrance of the village, this Santa Cruz is also “one and many” as are Santiago and a few other saints. Besides the Santa Cruz at the entrance, there is another Santa Cruz as well high up on the top of the mountain behind Las Animas. This Santa Cruz is a big cross visible from far away, and on the third day of May the pilgrimages from the whole area come up to this particular cross. Besides these

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