San La Muerte
Encyclopedia
San La Muerte is a religious figure who is venerated in Paraguay
, the Northeast of Argentina
(mainly in the province of Corrientes
but also in Misiones, Chaco
and Formosa
) and southern Brazil
(specifically the in the states of Paraná
, Santa Catarina
and Rio Grande do Sul
). As the result of internal migration in Argentina, since the 1960s the veneration of San La Muerte has been extended to Greater Buenos Aires
and the national prison system as well.
Saint Death is depicted as a male skeleton figure usually holding a scythe
. Although the Catholic Church has attacked the cult of Saint Death as a pagan tradition contrary to the Christian belief of Christ defeating death, many people consider the veneration of San La Muerte as being part of their Catholic faith.
Although the rituals connected to and powers ascribed to San La Muerte are very similar San La Muerte should not be confused with the similar religious figure Santa Muerte
that is venerated in Mexico and parts of the US, but is typically depicted by a female skeleton figure.
region that covers parts of Paraguay, north-eastern Argentina and southern Brazil. Others include San Biquicho, San Alejo and Santa Catalina. Other names for San La Muerte include Señor De La Muerte (Lord of the Death), Señor De La Buena Muerte (Lord of the Good Death) or - mainly in Paraguay - San Esqueleto (Saint Skeleton). It is assumed that San La Muerte was first venerated among the Guaraní Indians following the expulsion of their Jesuit missionaries in 1767, as a mixture of their previous beliefs and the newly imported Catholic faith. Some of the Guarani tribes worshiped the bones of ancestors demanding protection against natural phenomena and adverse spiritual forces. However there is currently no authoritative account of the origins of the San La Muerte cult.
s. The San La Muerte cult involves prayers, rituals, and offerings, which are given directly to San La Muerte in expectation of and tailored to the fulfillment of specific requests. Offerings can include (human) blood, alcoholic drinks, candles and other valuable objects. San La Muerte receives offerings in exchange for favors related to a wide range of personal problems: San La Muerte is said to help to restore love, health and fortune, to protect worshippers from witchcraft, to heal people upon whom somebody has cast the evil eye and to grant good luck in gambling. Next to these powers that are commonly attributed to folk saints San La Muerte is also said to be able to grant a number of requests that are connected to crime and violence: It is believed that the saint can bring death upon the enemies of his devotees, can keep people from being sent to prison and shorten prison terms of prison inmates and that he can help in the recovery of stolen and misappropriated items.
The San La Muerte cult is characterized by a moral code that must be obeyed. In the cult of San La Muerte devotees have numerous obligation towards the saint, which they must honor in exchange for his protection. While followers request favors from other saints they demand them from San La Muerte. Communication with San La Muerte takes place through prayers that are passed on between believers. The San La Muerte cult is based on punishment and submission and to be granted a favor the saint sometimes must even be threatened. Commons threats involve hunger or banishment to an uninhabited place until the favor is granted. When graces are granted, the saint will be rewarded and fed but never fully, in order to increase the chances of him soon being willing to grant another grace.
For most devotees San La Muerte offers personal and non-transferable protection that will only be accessible to others when - after the death of the original owner - he or she has acquired the sculpture. There are also intermediaries such as witch doctor
s and traditional healers who invoke San La Muerte's power on behalf of their clients, usually concealing the image from sight of their customers. In other cases San La Muerte is kept as a concealed household saint, extending his protection upon all family members with no distinction. A number of public altars that are devoted to San La Muerte can also be found. They are run by devotees acting as guardians of and caretakers for these altars. Some of these altars host public festivities on the 15th of august, San La Muerte's saint's day (Since San La Muerte is not included in the saint's calendar of the Catholic Church
the date is somewhat contested and in some cases his saint's day is celebrated on the 13th of august).
The San La Muerte cult is based on interactions between worshipers and the Saint Death represented by man-made sculptures. Individual sculptures are addressed as San La Muerte (because of their small size these San La Muerte sculptures may also colloquially be referred to as 'Santito' ('Small Saint'). The representation of San La Muerte varies according to the individual saint maker that has crafted him, however the classic figure is a human skeleton, standing, with simple, minimalistic features. The skeleton usually carries a scythe, in some cases with drops of blood on the edge. The same image can be dressed mostly in black and red cloths. Other representations include a standing skeletons without a scythe, sitting skeletons and skeletons in a coffin.
San La Muerte sculptures can be carved from wood, bones, metal (especially bullets) and usually stand between 3 and 15 centimeters tall. Increased powers are attributed to sculptures which are crafted from materials of significant origin, such as the last phalanx bone
of the little finger, a bone from a dead baby, wood taken from a dead person's coffin, or a crucifix
that belonged to someone recently deceased. Other more common raw materials include guaiac tree and cedar wood
.
According to believers, a San La Muerte sculpture, in order to be able to grant favors, needs to be consecrated by a Catholic priest seven times. If the sculpture is carved out of the bone of a Catholic man it only needs to be consecrated five times (as the bone has already been consecrated twice). To get sculptures of San La Muerte blessed, worshipers resort to subterfuge by concealing a picture of San La Muerte underneath a picture of a conventional saint. When a priest blesses the regular saint picture, it is felt that San La Muerte underneath has also been blessed.
Aside from sculptures that are usually kept on an altar or at a fixed place in the house there are a range of personal forms of the ritual that entail representations of San La Muerte being worn on (in the from of amulets and tattoos) or in the body (in the form of carvings inserted under the skin of the worshiper). San La muerte tattoos, amulets and body insertions are believed to offer special protection from death, bodily harm and imprisonment. Among devotees, fired bullets, preferably those that have wounded or killed a Christian man, are regarded as the most powerful raw material for amulets. Other materials for amulets include (human) bone, silver and gold. Tattoos of San La Muerte exhibit a wide variety of styles. From rudimentary outlines to elaborate depictions of three dimensional figures. Images of San La Muerte are usually accompanied by partial or complete transcriptions of prayers to him.
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, the Northeast of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
(mainly in the province of Corrientes
Corrientes Province
Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.-History:...
but also in Misiones, Chaco
Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
and Formosa
Formosa Province
Formosa Province is in northeastern Argentina, part of the Gran Chaco Region. Its northeast end touches Asunción, Paraguay, and borders the provinces of Chaco and Salta to its south and west, respectively...
) and southern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(specifically the in the states of Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
, Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
and Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
). As the result of internal migration in Argentina, since the 1960s the veneration of San La Muerte has been extended to Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires is the generic denomination to refer to the megalopolis comprising the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the conurbation around it, over the province of Buenos Aires—namely the adjacent 24 partidos or municipalities—which nonetheless do not constitute a single administrative...
and the national prison system as well.
Saint Death is depicted as a male skeleton figure usually holding a scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
. Although the Catholic Church has attacked the cult of Saint Death as a pagan tradition contrary to the Christian belief of Christ defeating death, many people consider the veneration of San La Muerte as being part of their Catholic faith.
Although the rituals connected to and powers ascribed to San La Muerte are very similar San La Muerte should not be confused with the similar religious figure Santa Muerte
Santa Muerte
Santa Muerte is a sacred figure venerated in Mexico, probably a syncretism between Mesoamerican and Catholic beliefs. The name literally translates to "Holy Death" or "Saint Death." Mexican culture since the pre-Columbian era has maintained a certain reverence towards death, which can be seen in...
that is venerated in Mexico and parts of the US, but is typically depicted by a female skeleton figure.
Origins
San La Muerte is one of many popular saints venerated in the Guaraní languageGuaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
region that covers parts of Paraguay, north-eastern Argentina and southern Brazil. Others include San Biquicho, San Alejo and Santa Catalina. Other names for San La Muerte include Señor De La Muerte (Lord of the Death), Señor De La Buena Muerte (Lord of the Good Death) or - mainly in Paraguay - San Esqueleto (Saint Skeleton). It is assumed that San La Muerte was first venerated among the Guaraní Indians following the expulsion of their Jesuit missionaries in 1767, as a mixture of their previous beliefs and the newly imported Catholic faith. Some of the Guarani tribes worshiped the bones of ancestors demanding protection against natural phenomena and adverse spiritual forces. However there is currently no authoritative account of the origins of the San La Muerte cult.
Practice
To believers, San La Muerte exists within the context of the Catholic faith and is comparable to other purely supernatural beings such as archangelArchangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
s. The San La Muerte cult involves prayers, rituals, and offerings, which are given directly to San La Muerte in expectation of and tailored to the fulfillment of specific requests. Offerings can include (human) blood, alcoholic drinks, candles and other valuable objects. San La Muerte receives offerings in exchange for favors related to a wide range of personal problems: San La Muerte is said to help to restore love, health and fortune, to protect worshippers from witchcraft, to heal people upon whom somebody has cast the evil eye and to grant good luck in gambling. Next to these powers that are commonly attributed to folk saints San La Muerte is also said to be able to grant a number of requests that are connected to crime and violence: It is believed that the saint can bring death upon the enemies of his devotees, can keep people from being sent to prison and shorten prison terms of prison inmates and that he can help in the recovery of stolen and misappropriated items.
The San La Muerte cult is characterized by a moral code that must be obeyed. In the cult of San La Muerte devotees have numerous obligation towards the saint, which they must honor in exchange for his protection. While followers request favors from other saints they demand them from San La Muerte. Communication with San La Muerte takes place through prayers that are passed on between believers. The San La Muerte cult is based on punishment and submission and to be granted a favor the saint sometimes must even be threatened. Commons threats involve hunger or banishment to an uninhabited place until the favor is granted. When graces are granted, the saint will be rewarded and fed but never fully, in order to increase the chances of him soon being willing to grant another grace.
For most devotees San La Muerte offers personal and non-transferable protection that will only be accessible to others when - after the death of the original owner - he or she has acquired the sculpture. There are also intermediaries such as witch doctor
Witch doctor
A witch doctor originally referred to a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. It is currently used to refer to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine...
s and traditional healers who invoke San La Muerte's power on behalf of their clients, usually concealing the image from sight of their customers. In other cases San La Muerte is kept as a concealed household saint, extending his protection upon all family members with no distinction. A number of public altars that are devoted to San La Muerte can also be found. They are run by devotees acting as guardians of and caretakers for these altars. Some of these altars host public festivities on the 15th of august, San La Muerte's saint's day (Since San La Muerte is not included in the saint's calendar of the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic calendar of saints
The General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints and of the mysteries of the Lord that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used...
the date is somewhat contested and in some cases his saint's day is celebrated on the 13th of august).
Image
San La Muerte sculptures can be carved from wood, bones, metal (especially bullets) and usually stand between 3 and 15 centimeters tall. Increased powers are attributed to sculptures which are crafted from materials of significant origin, such as the last phalanx bone
Phalanx bones
In anatomy, phalanx bones are those that form the fingers and toes. In primates such as humans and monkeys, the thumb and big toe have two phalanges, while the other fingers and toes consist of three. Phalanges are classified as long bones.The phalanges do not have individual names...
of the little finger, a bone from a dead baby, wood taken from a dead person's coffin, or a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
that belonged to someone recently deceased. Other more common raw materials include guaiac tree and cedar wood
Cedar wood
Cedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...
.
According to believers, a San La Muerte sculpture, in order to be able to grant favors, needs to be consecrated by a Catholic priest seven times. If the sculpture is carved out of the bone of a Catholic man it only needs to be consecrated five times (as the bone has already been consecrated twice). To get sculptures of San La Muerte blessed, worshipers resort to subterfuge by concealing a picture of San La Muerte underneath a picture of a conventional saint. When a priest blesses the regular saint picture, it is felt that San La Muerte underneath has also been blessed.
Aside from sculptures that are usually kept on an altar or at a fixed place in the house there are a range of personal forms of the ritual that entail representations of San La Muerte being worn on (in the from of amulets and tattoos) or in the body (in the form of carvings inserted under the skin of the worshiper). San La muerte tattoos, amulets and body insertions are believed to offer special protection from death, bodily harm and imprisonment. Among devotees, fired bullets, preferably those that have wounded or killed a Christian man, are regarded as the most powerful raw material for amulets. Other materials for amulets include (human) bone, silver and gold. Tattoos of San La Muerte exhibit a wide variety of styles. From rudimentary outlines to elaborate depictions of three dimensional figures. Images of San La Muerte are usually accompanied by partial or complete transcriptions of prayers to him.