The Virgin of Guadalupe story again joins the Christmas season as her coming initially to the indigenous people of Mexico and later to the rest of the world is celebrated on the 12th of December. The story actually begins on December 9, 1531 when she first appeared to Juan Diego on a hill called Tepeyac in northern Mexico City.
The words in the exchange between the Virgin and Juan Diego and his uncle Juan Bernardino were in Nahuatl which was the national language of the Aztec Empire. The use of that language put into motion a world view that manifests an important element of Mexican identity and culture as well as colors its belief system.
Associated with this world view is the fact that the Marian apparitions occurred on and around Mount Tepeyac, a hill on which the original chapel to the Virgin was con- structed and a place that sits next to the two Basilicas erected in her honor over the years.
Mount Tepeyac was also the location of a temple to Coatlicue, the Aztec Mother goddess.
Coatlicue, the ancient Mother “is represented as a woman wearing a skirt of writhing snakes and necklace made of human hearts, hands, and skulls. Her feet and hands are adorned with claws and her breasts are depicted as hanging flaccid from pregnancy. Her face is formed by two facing serpents, which represents blood spurting from her neck after decapitation.”
Another version of the pre-Colombian mother figure is Tonantzin who also forms part of the Guadalupe story. A Mexican believer would say that “Tonantzin, in the Nahuatl language, means Our Mother, and it is the name we give to the loving archetype of Mother Earth, who gives us every- thing, who supports our steps, and who receivers tribute and veneration from our ancestors through agriculture and fertility rituals.”
Why the two radically opposed representations of the pre-Colombian mother figure? Eric Neumann the author of The Great Mother (1955) explains that the mother archetype is both Good and Terrible. She plays both roles in the lives of individuals and the history of a people depending on the location in their personal or historical life cycles.
The time of the Terrible Mother is one of division, decadence and violence. The time of the Good Mother involves growth, development and reaching for new heights.
The Aztec Empire came together through war, violence and rituals of blood sacrifice. That ugliness is portrayed by the appearance of Coatlicue.
Tonantzin dates to a more classical era of building new communities and physical structures as well as searching for inspiration in what was possible. It is that role that the Virgin of Guadalupe came to occupy.
The miracle at Tepeyac provided the opportunity for a new beginning for the people of New Spain. The fact that the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe was soon associated with Tonantzin confirms the positive outlook the people had in their belief system and religious future.
The fact is that the Spanish continued the dislocation and decadence associated with the Aztecs. Yet, the seeds of the new covenant in time gave fruit as the standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe had the most prominent place in the march to independence.
The story of the Virgin of Guadalupe is one that gave hope and expectations of a better life for a colonized people. It continues to do so as a symbol of great progress for those that seek to construct a better life without losing their identity with their origins.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of laVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
