Why Skeleton Worship Is Becoming Popular Around the World: The White Girl from Mexico

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In its modern form, the cult of the Holy Death appeared only about fifty years ago, in the 60s of the XX century, but today it already has more than 10 million followers. This religious movement is the fastest growing in the world and causes great concern among representatives of Christian denominations. Several years ago, fans of the "White Girl" appeared in Russia.

According to legend, at the beginning of time, people did not know death and were forced to endlessly endure the hardships of life. They turned to God with a request to save them from suffering, and then the Almighty chose one girl and said that from that moment she would become an incorporeal spirit and would sum up human life. At the same moment, the beauty's face turned into a skull, her body disintegrated, and she turned into the Angel of Death. Therefore, she, as a young maiden, is portrayed in an elegant dress, in a wreath of fresh flowers. Fans of the cult adorn their mistress and call her affectionately "white girl" and "beauty". Her dress is changed depending on the request: a red outfit is suitable for prayers for love, if you want prosperity in financial affairs, then, of course, yellow, to gain knowledge - blue, and so on, for all occasions.

Numerous gifts are brought to elegant skeletal statues: fruits and flowers, chocolate, alcoholic beverages, they are fumigated with smoke. The issue of human sacrifice is not so simple. Ardent fans consider their cult to be very peaceful, cheerful and life-affirming (oddly enough it sounds, but in Mexico, where Santa Muerte is from, joy and death have not contradicted each other since ancient times). However, the crime chronicles and several sensational ritual murders still speak of something else. Therefore, the massive fascination with the skeleton maiden also causes concern among the authorities of those countries where this religious movement appears. However, as long as the cult is declared satanic and the demolition of the chapels does not work, the army of worshipers only seems to grow even faster.

Talking about their faith, most admirers of Santa Muerte say that their saint is condescending and kind to everyone, regardless of the person's financial condition, age, gender and profession. I don’t want to go into religious discussions, but it’s interesting that two thousand years ago Christianity won its position in the world, relying on exactly the same dogmas. The question of why today people find these simple truths not in luxurious churches (Catholic, Orthodox - it does not matter), but near homemade altars with alabaster skeleton figurines and penny offerings is probably one of the eternal questions of Faith and Religion. It is possible that one of the advantages of the new trend is the absence of intermediaries between deity and man. In front of the altar, they simply say requests, give gifts to the Virgin of Death and give her promises in return. It is believed that if such a vow is not fulfilled, then Santa Muerte will be offended and punish the deceiver. Everything is simple and straightforward.

Researchers call the cult of the Holy Death syncretic, as they find in it echoes of several religious teachings. Oddly enough, but a new religion has emerged, undoubtedly on the basis of Catholicism. Through centuries, verified dogmas made their way like grass through the asphalt, the beliefs of the Indians of Mexico. It seems that the original loyalty to the issue of death has never been forgotten by the local population, it is worth remembering their merry Feasts of the Dead and St. Catherine (another female skeleton-like image in a hat, invented at the beginning of the 20th century). However, never before has the cult of the deification of death been so widespread and so easily crossed the borders of countries. Perhaps another explanation for this phenomenon is that the worship of the Holy Death is, to a greater extent, a cult of the disadvantaged. It is believed that those who have nowhere to go come to this deity. The Catholic priests of Mexico, faced with this phenomenon in full, compare Santa Muerte with a plague and try to "disown" the official church's connection with it.

However, in the souls of the worshipers of Holy Death, their religion does not at all contradict Christian values. After all, Santa Muerte became a dark angel by the will of God, therefore, before making a request at an impromptu altar, most believers first ask Jesus for this permission, and at the right time they go to Catholic churches and zealously perform religious rituals there. They vehemently deny any connection with Satanism. The gloomy symbolism of their cult is more of a psychological game. After all, remembering the tale about Little Raccoon and the One who sits in the pond, it is better to make friends with your fears. And if you calmly communicate with what you fear more than anything else, then perhaps nothing terrible in this life will remain at all.

The pagan ideas of our ancestors also left their mark on Russian culture, superimposed on Christian ideas: Pagan Russia, or What were the religious customs before the adoption of Christianity.