In Pre-Columbian Mexico, there were many cultures that made up what came to be known as the Aztecs and Mayans. Each people had certain traditions to venerate the god that was the patron of their town. With the arrival of the Spaniards, Christianity was brought. One of the popular ways to convert was to syncretize their culture, religion, and values with that of Spain's. After converting to Catholicism, their form of practicing it brought a unique way to do so. It would reach a global audience and to this day, there are modern ways of syncretism.
Pre-Columbian life The Mayans worshipped many gods. To honor them, they would build temples and make icons of them. They saw the gods played a role in their everyday conscience, activities, and nature. The Mayan sat in southern Mexico in what is known as the Yucatan Peninsula. Alongside worshipping gods, they would burn incense to ancestors. They would express their philosophies stone monuments and had a written system. The Mayans didn't have one unified religion, but worship was regional. Different cities and tribes focused on worshiping different gods. The major gods were gods that most tribes believed or worshipped in. But each town had a patron god that the town's main devotion was to.
The Aztecs were situated in Central Mexico. They adopted many traits from the Mayans and Teotihuacans. Their writing wasn't glyphs like the Mayan, but was instead pictorial representations pained on bark paper and animal hides. Their main codexes consisted of historical accounts, ritual almanacs, and tribute records. The Aztecs were divided into different ethnic groups. The Mexica were the main group since they were the governing body at the capital. Due to the Mexica ruling the different groups, there was more common expression in culture, religion, economy, and social and political institutions. Like the Mayans, they were polytheistic and each town had a patron god the town was dedicated to.
When the Spaniards came, they wrote down as much as they could since the indigenous people didn't all have a unified writing system. That way, they were able to understand the beliefs of the locals and thus, aid in the syncretism process. The Spaniards also built cities over the top of the ruins of conquered Aztec cities.
Gods and saints
Tlaloc and Niñopa Xochimilco was a farming village in the Pre-Columbian age. Its main sources of farming was on chinampas. It was a village also that honored many gods such as Cihuacoatl and Mictlancihuatl. Purity was also very honored as they had legends about virgins that would appear in the village. In the la laguna de Tillan, there is a spring of water where the locals would place offerings of atole and tamales. The villages main devotion was to Tlaloc, who was the patron god of Xochimilco.
With the arrival of Christianity, many of the devotions to the gods transitioned into Saint Veneration. The Spaniards introduced an icon of the Christ Child, forming the basis of veneration to it. The locals of Xochimilco called him Niñopa, a combination of Spanish word for child (niño) and the Nahuatl word for place (pa). Niñopa is believed to be a protector against floods. The Niñopa is venerated in the homes of the locals, and is the patron of Xochimilco. Families can host the icon for a day in their homes as a guest by their request.
With the new found religion, the veneration once tied to their female deities transitioned into other prominent female saints. For two weeks in February and March, there are parties and festivals held in honor of the Virgin of Sorrows. Some weeks before December 12, locals gather together to make a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Guadalupe to arrive on the day of her feast.
The Three Gods of Yum and the Three Wise Men Tizimín is a village located in the Yucatan Peninsula. Prior to the arrival of Christianity, the patron gods were Los Tres Dioses Yum (The Three Gods of Yum). The gods were Yum Chac (the god of rain), Yum Kaax (god of maize), and Yum Ik (god of the wind). These were important gods that were group together due to their importance in the gifts they brought. Yum Chac (commonly known as Chaac) was the god that made it possible to have great harvests due to him allowing rain to water the crops. Yum Kaax was responsible for providing farmers the best crops.
When Timizin was colonized, the friars oversaw evangelizing the indigenous people. Seeing as the village venerated a trio, they tried to find a trio within the saints to find a good replacement. They chose Los Tres Reyes Magos (The three wisemen) because they were a trio associated with gift giving like the Yum gods. With the success of having converts venerate the Wise Men as the patron saints of Timizin, the temple that was once dedicated to the gods, became the grounds for the building of the Cathedral dedicated to the wisemen. This became the ground works for celebrating the epiphany in Mexico.
Tonantzin and the Virgin of Guadalupe
Mount Tepeyac served as the pilgrimage site dedicated to earth goddesses, who were generally given the name Tonantzin, meaning "our revered mother." Due to it being a sacred site, missionaries deemed it logical to build a chapel there for the Virgin Mary. Just like Tonantzin was seen as the mother over the people, Christians also hold that the Virgin Mary is the spiritual mother of all. After the Virgin of Guadalupe was introduced, locals still called Mary Tonatzin, transferring the title once associated with their Pre-Columbian goddesses to Mary. Devotion to Guadalupe became big due to her dark skin being brown like the natives, which appealed to them.
Telpochtli and John the Baptist With the arrival of the Spaniards, the Franciscan Priests explored many villages, one of them being Tulancingo. While there, they saw that the patron god of the village was Telpochtli. The Franciscans hoped to convert the natives. They built cathedrals in previous towns they visited. They studied the culture and religion to find ways and reasons on the saints chosen to sync with gods based on some common traits. Their plan was to make John the Baptist the new patron of Tulancingo. One of the reasons he was chosen was that his feast days coincided with the dates the patron god was celebrated. The devotion from Telpochitli to John the Baptist was gradual. Originally, the locals started by calling him San Juan Telpochtili, (replacing Bautista with Telpochtli).
With conversion happening, sacred sites were built such as a cathedral. They were inhabited by clergy and the leader would lead the community both on communal and political affairs. In Spain, John the Baptist's feast day commemorated all the events of his life, and as such, brought those celebrations to Mexico. Years went by and John the Baptist's devotion inspired an art form called "arte Tequitqui" which blended European and Meso-American art. With growing devotion, the title of St John Telpochtli was dropped for St John the Baptist (San Juan Bautista)
Quetzalcoatl and Jesus Christ Quetzalcoatl was a prominent god of Aztec religion, secondary only to Huitzilopchtili, Tezcatlipoca, and Tlaloc. He was also known to be a human ruler for a time, during which he established fasts, disbanded human sacrifice, and prohibited war, robberies, and murders. He took a more peaceful approach than other gods. He was appealed as the creator of heaven, earth, and the universe, which coincided with Jesus creating everything. He was also called the "Giver of Life" and "The Preserver of Life". When he died, he is believed to have dwelt in Mictlán, but reappeared as the feathered serpent, making him a god. There was a prophecy that Quetzalcoatl would return, which the missionaries claimed that it alluded to the Second Coming of Jesus.
When the priests were trying to understand Aztec religion, they compared Quetzalcoatl to Jesus Christ due to Jesus being the god of Christianity. The missionaries took charge in assisting natives in syncing elements of Quetzalcoatl with that of the Church. One such way was portraying Hernan Cotes as a Christ-like deity who returned to his throne, making him seem like it was Cortes's divine duty to conquer Mexico.
When Cortes and his army arrived at Texcoco, they taught the locals the creation, the fall, the trinity, the passion, and resurrection of Christ. Cortes then drew out a crucifix and the locals bowed to it. This led to him explaining baptism and that he was sent by Emperor Charles to save their souls. This led to the people of Texoco to start embracing Christianity, many got baptized. When Cortes met Montezuma, Cortes hoped to convert him. Cortes also spoke against human sacrifice, and asked to build a cross on top of the temple with an image of the Virgin Mary. Though denied at first, Montezuma would come to agree to it.
After establishing Spanish authority in Tenochtitlán, more missionaries were brought into the land. The missionaries would draw or carve images and objects that had similar names to appeal to the locals. The missionaries noticed that part of human sacrifice was eating vital organs of sacrificial victims or dough meant to symbolize organs. As such, the missionaries related this to Holy Communion and taught it to the locals. The locals also did a ritual washing to remove supposed filth of sexual activity of parents, which the missionaries related to baptism and confession for cleansing original sin and coming unto Quetzalcoatl, later called Jesus. The missionaries also noticed that Quetzalcoatl's priests were celibate, making a connection to the 12 Apostles.
Oztoteotl and Christ of Chalma The town of Chalma had a cave that would often be difficult to access. The cave was a sacred place that honored the god named Oztoteotl, who was the patron god of the town. Chalma's etymology likely comes from chalili and matia, when combined can mean caves at hand. Although now known as Chalma, it was more likely called Oztoteotl prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. It was believed that a sacred statue of Oztotreotl resided in the cave, making it hard to access since it was seen as the god's house. The statue was said to have been resting on an altar, and the statue was big and colored black, having incense on the alter. The locals would travel far away from their homes to come talk to Oztoteotl at his cave and ask for favors. The cave represented origins, birth, and fertility. It also represented the entrance to the part of the underworld where Tezcatlipoca resided, and where the waters that Tlaloc gave originated from. It was also believed that several spirits resided that cured illness. The locals would perform rituals and dances around the sacred site.
When the Augustinian Monks came, they explored the cave to know how to appeal to the locals. Though it wasn't successful at-first, they believed a miracle would solve it. The natives found their statue in pieces and was replaced by a statute of Jesus on the cross, and his skin was colored black just like the Oztoteotl statue. Some believe that the missionaries broke the statue and placed the crucifix there, while others believe that it was a miracle, that God placed the crucifix there.