Chalma is a small community, which is part of the municipality of Malinalco, Mexico State. Its small population is almost completely dedicated to the pilgrims who come to visit the Sanctuary of Chalma, the second most-important pilgrimage site in Mexico. The sanctuary is dedicated to an image of what many people describe as a "black Christ" on a cross that legend says miraculously appeared in an area cave where the worship of a deity commonly known as Oxtoteotl used to take place. Some contend that as Oxtoteotl is an aspect of Tezcatlipoca, the "Smoking Mirror," then the "black Christ" is really Tezcatlipoca, which the Spanish friars superimposed on the existing representation of Tezcatlipoca in order to convert the natives. Pilgrimages to this Christian sanctuary follow many of the patterns of the prehispanic rituals, including walking the narrow paths to the town itself, bathing in the waters of a special fresh-water spring and dancing at the sanctuary.
Appearance of the Christ Image
Prior to the Conquest, the small caves in the Chalma area were thought to be holy, and all caves came under Tezcatlipoca, the "Smoking Mirror," the representative of the Mexica night. The aspect of Tezcatlipoca associated with caves was Oxtoteotl (also: Ostocteotl, Ostoteotl, Ostoctheotl) which has been translated as "the Dark Lord of the Cave," though there is little agreement on how to translate this term. Francisco de Florencia, in his 1689 chronicle of the place (the earliest written source available on the subject) suggested the name Ostoc Teotl, but also said that his indigenous sources were unsure of the identity of the deity.Francisco de Florencia, Descripcion Historical, y Moral del yermo de San Miguel, de las cvevas en el Reyno de la Nueva-Efpaña, y invencion de la milagrofa Imagen de Chrifto nueftro Señor Crucificado, que fe venera en ellas(Cadiz: Imprenta de la Compañia de Iefus, 1689) In one of the caves, it was said to be a large, man-sized, black, cylindrical idol of Oxtoteotl with reputed magical and healing powers. Oxtoteotl was a god of human destiny or of night, sometimes appearing as a jaguar or with the god of war, depending on different oral traditions. Those who made pilgrimage to the deity walked for days in the surrounding mountains, wearing flowers and carrying incense burners. After arriving to the site, they bathed in the nearby river fed by a sacred spring and drank holy water before entering the cave. There were also signs that worship of this deity included human sacrifice.Francisco de Florencia, Descripcion Historica, y Moral del yermo de San Miguel, de las cvevas en el Reyno de la Nueva-Efpaña, y invencion de la milagrofa Imagen de Chrifto nueftro Señor Crucificado, que fe venera en ellas (Cadiz: Imprenta de la Compañia de Iefus, 1689), 5; Juan de Grijalva, Crónica de la Orden de NPS Agustín en las provincias de la Nueva España: en cuatro edades desde el año de 1533 hasta el de 1592 (Mexico City: Editorial Porrúa, 1985).
In approximately 1537,Francisco de Florencia Augustinians, including Brothers Sebastian de Tolentino and Nicolas Perea came to evangelize the Malinalco region of which Chalma is part. From there, the story has a number of versions. Most state that after learning about and perhaps seeing the rites associated with the worship of Oxtoteotl, Tolentino and Perea worked to evangelize here, urging the local people to destroy the idol. Then, three days later, the friars returned to destroy the idol themselves, but instead found a life-sized image of a crucified Christ in the space that the idol was, made of the same material as the idol,Señor de Chalma Sanctuary (La Chalmita) but the idol was found in pieces on the ground which was previously occupied. Upon seeing the image, the indigenous people are said to have fallen down in "apostolic piety", which allowed for the conversion of the people of this area.
A less-popular version of the story states that a muleteer was looking for one of his animals when he found the Black Christ in one of the caves.Esquibel y Vargas, Agustin Francisco. El Fenix de el Amor: Mexico: Imprenta de la Bibliotheca Mexicana, 1764.
The cave in which the Christ image was found became a very popular Christian pilgrimage site starting from the 16th century. In 1643, a primitive church was constructed in a nearby plain. The Augustinian order administered the cult and chapel for many years, before deciding to construct a monastery and buildings to house the pilgrims who came to worship. By the end of the Colonial period, the complex was known as the Royal Convent and Sanctuary of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Saint Michael of the Caves of Chalma.Noguez, Xavier. "Chalma." In Davíd Carrasco (ed). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. : Oxford University Press, 2001.
At many indigenous shrines in Mexico, the previous sacred images were replaced with Christian ones, occasionally made of a corn paste called "tatzingueni" using a technique developed by Vasco de Quiroga, and a number of these figures still exist. After the supposed appearance of the Black Christ figure, the Augustinian friars proclaimed a miracle had occurred in the cave, word of which spread and even included the idea that the area had been freed of predatory animals.
The sanctuary complex
The veneration of the black Christ of Chalma continued to be performed in the cave where it was found until 1683, when the Augustinian Brothers Bartolome de Jesus Maria and Juan de San Jose founded a monastery at the cave site to attend to the many pilgrims. The image was brought to a church built especially for it on the canyon floor below the cave in which it was found, becoming the first sanctuary of Chalma. This sanctuary has been rebuilt and remodeled a number of times, with the most significant rebuildings in 1721 by Brother Diego Velazquez de la Cadena, and in 1830. The sanctuary's official name is "El Convento Real y Sanctuaria de Nuestro Señor Jesus Christo y San Miguel de los Cuevas de Chalma" (The Royal Monastery and Sanctuary of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Saint Michael of the Caves of Chalma) authorized by Charles III of Spain in 1783 and was put directly under his protection.
The sanctuary consists of the church, the 17th century ex-monastery, caves and lodgings on the ridges around the town. The lodgings are primarily used during feast days when the area is packed with pilgrims. A stucco gate marks the entrance to the sacred precinct. Here is a concrete plaza in front of the church where mariachi players wait for requests and pilgrims on their knees can be seen. The facade and the interior of the sanctuary church are of Neoclassic design as a result of the last round of modifications. The inscription on the portal of the church reads "Venid a mi todos los que estáis trabajados y cansados y yo os aliviaré" (Come to me all you who are working and tired and I will give you rest). The church is filled with a number of paintings and sculptures with religious themes, most done in the 18th century, but the three main attractions are the image of the Christ of Chalma image itself, a sculpture of the Archangel Michel and a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe.(1408mexdes) Other notable paintings include scenes from the lives of Saint Augustine and Saint Nicolas Tolentino and one of the Passion of Christ. The image of the Christ of Chalma inside the church contains silver offerings placed in 1534 by silversmith Agustin Villaseñor. However, it is not the original image that was supposedly found in the cave above. That image was destroyed by a fire in the 18th century, and the one that exists today is a recreation using what remained of the original after the fire. The altar is made of wood, painted in plateresque style, with an image of the Christ of Chalma in wood occupying the central space. A relatively recent cult has grown up around the "Santo Niño del Consuelo" (Holy Child of Solace), which is an image probably created by a sculptor named Solache. For feast days such as Christmas and Epiphany, this image receives offerings of toys. Outside the church, on the path to the river is a space dedicated to the display of the folk paintings (called "retablos"), photos, locks of hair and other tributes left in gratitude for miracles granted by the Christ of Chalma.
The church of this sanctuary is one of the most crowded in the country year-round, attracting thousands of pilgrims who come because of the many miracles that have been attributed to the Christ of Chalma.
Pilgrimage to the sanctuary
The Sanctuary of Chalma is one of the most-visited pilgrimage sites in Mexico, only second behind the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In fact, since the Christ image appeared ten years after the Virgin of Guadalupe, some consider her to be the "mother" of this particular Christ figure. According to the Secretary of Tourism for Mexico State, more than two million people a year visit Chalma. Most visitors come from the Mexican states of Querétaro, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Guerrero and the Huasteca region in San Luis Potosí and Veracruz; however, it also has received pilgrims from all over the world.
Most pilgrimages to Chalma are communal in nature with different towns and villages in central Mexico having traditional days to visit the site. Most of these pilgrimages are for the blessing of the local patron saint or to commemorate the change of "mayordomo", a kind of lay religious leader in charge of a community's religious traditions.
From near or far, most communal pilgrimages are well-organized, such as the "Procession of Silence" that originates in Toluca. These pilgrimages can be planned a month in advance, with the mayordomo leading the organizational effort. Some parishes have tee shirts and special clothing produced for the pilgrimage, and others arrange to have colorfully decorated trucks to follow walking pilgrims for support functions. Before departure, all meet at a certain point in their hometowns. In the past, the pilgrimage from more local areas was done entirely by foot. Sometimes it is still done this way, but more often the trek is combined with motorized transport. Some others still have turned to bicycles as a means of transporting themselves to the site.
Whether they use other means to get to the Chalma area, modern pilgrims still follow the same narrow steep paths to the site that their ancestors used to get to the cave of Oxtoteotl and wearing flowers as they did. If the walk is done at night, pilgrims carry torches and candles. Before the 1970s the trip from the main highway to the village of Chalma could take eight hours or more by foot. Although there is now a paved road to the village, it is very winding through the rugged terrain. On the way, there are lodgings, some in private homes, for traveling pilgrims. Once arrived at the sanctuary, most pilgrims follow a number of traditional activities. One of the main purposes is to dance in the sanctuary complex. Traditional dances from all over Mexico are performed at this sanctuary, with some pilgrims dressed in the traditional clothing of their region. This dancing in honor of the Christ of Chalma is believed to cleanse sins. This ritual is so famous that in Mexico, there is a saying that when one asks for something impossible, they cannot perform the deed "without going to dance at Chalma".