I love it when the thread of a story begins to unwind, people step in to add information, “facts” change or are clarified, and my learning expands. Last Friday I posted my story on the Virgin of Guadalupe, in recognition of her day of celebration on December 12th each year. My friend Norma Schafer in Oaxaca stepped in with new insights obtained 12/16/18 when she posted her blog on the same topic. In reviewing that post from last year combined with information she both searched out and requested, the story has changed a bit.
This story is one of syncretism, meaning a blending of indigenous religious, social, and cultural beliefs combined with beliefs of the Spaniards who conquered them. It was the quickest way to lead the Mexicans to acceptance of the Catholic faith. As more is learned about that period of time, it becomes apparent that the Spanish would willingly stoop pretty low to rid the country of paganism. We know now that they destroyed many Aztec sacred temples in the name of their own religion and built their churches on those very sites. Allowing the natives to keep some of their own symbols and practices made it easier to convert them. And so, we wonder – were the apparitions of Mary seen by Juan Diego in 1531 “fact”? Or fiction? Truly divine? Or manufactured for the domination of a “largely disenfranchised population”?
In a 1992 ART JOURNAL article written by Jeanette Favrot Peterson and cited by Norma in her post, the author questions if the image of the Virgin found on the tilma, or cloak, of Juan Diego was actually painted some twenty years later, when the “failure (of the Catholic Church) to eradicate paganism had become patently clear”. The Church refuses to allow the technical testing that would potentially answer the question. Was the image that was adopted over time a result of a Spanish-designed Madonna, transformed with dark skin, straight black hair, and a pious posture, then held up to the Mexican natives they so wanted to control, as their own? 
Other information from Norma’s “corrected” blog, The Virgin of Guadalupe Revisited, ponders the question of the Virgin really being “Tonantzin”, the Aztec and present day Nahuas’ “Mother Goddess”, one of many of the indigenous dieties. She postulates that this Virgin that we speak of, this “woman as Mother Earth, Goddess, figure of strength, perseverance, and freedom,” has perhaps become “an icon of the divine feminine in each of us”. As one woman explained to her, “Not all Mexicans are Catholics, but all (Mexicans) believe in Guadalupe in one form or another”. Take your pick. Thank you Norma.
The headdress on that woman is incredible!
Let me start by saying that I regard all “religious” tales as myths, not in the sense of untrue, but in the Jungian sense of the collective spiritual wisdom of our species. Having said that, I tend to see the blending of Spanish Catholicism with indigenous faith not as a concession on the part of the conquerors but as the wisdom of the indigenous peoples to recognize and incorporate common themes. I honor Guadalupe as the inclusive gathering of wisdom honoring the strength of women throughout time. Just my two centavios!
I disagree with one point you make based on my reading. I disagree with the word “concession” & would instead call it an outright trick. Maybe some of the indigenous people figured it out, but for the most part I don’t believe they had any choice but to CAPITULATE and incorporate. Save for a very few, the Spaniards and the Church were not motivated by generosity or fairness.
I don’t disagree, Chris. I was being sarcastic about “concession.” The history of the Spanish in Mexico is as awful as that of the British in New England. Except the Brita weren’t ask that immersed in conversation. Just getting the indigenous population out of the way!
I’d give the locals more credit. I think when confronted with an unwinnable situation, they found ways to maintain their identity. They certainly succeeded!
Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.
Excellent information, Chris. The Catholic church has been notorious for stealing pagan holidays and customs, painting them over with Christianity. Knowing what happened with the Celtic religions, it doesn’t surprise me that Guadalupe probably fell victim to the same practice.
Thanks Barbara. Seems we’ve all been duped at some point, especially about our history.