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Not Just a Narcosaint: Santa Muerte as Matron Saint of the Mexican Drug War

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Abstract

Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death. Santa Muerte has been depicted as a narcosaint, that is to say a saint propitiated only by those who belong to drug cartels, in particular by the Mexican State. As a consequence, the Mexican army, under orders from the Mexican State, has obliterated thousands of shrines dedicated to the folk saint across the country. However, as we evince, the popular figure has followers in all camps involved in the drug war. Both narcos and those who fight them, prisoners and prison guards, venerate the folk saint, turning to her for spiritual favours, protection and even to predict death. This diverse group of people, although divided by their differing positions in the drug war, turns to her for parallel reasons, to explain, predict and control events. As such, Santa Muerte rather than being a narcosaint should be considered the Matron Saint of the Drug War.

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Notes

  1. And in one non-peer-reviewed article.

  2. The paper is entitled ‘La Santa Muerte and Her Interventions in Human Affairs: a Theological Discussion’ and appears in Sophia: International Journal of Philosophy and Traditions.

  3. Thomas Aquinas’ work is influenced by Aristotelian understandings of theology as science whose logic is derived from propositions that are accepted as true on the basis of knowledge of God. Conclusions are then arrived at using reason. This sort of deductive mode of reasoning may be suitable for analysing faith in a Roman Catholic context but certainly has no bearing on folk religion in Mexico.

  4. For a detailed description of this, see Chesnut (2017, pp. 38–41); see also Kristensen (2015, pp. 548–51).

  5. See also Perrée (2014, p. 42) on expiatory tattoos of Santa Muerte.

  6. ‘Nina Negra, Escucha mi súplica por la justicia, Con este nudo sellar este hexagonal, No dormirás, no descansarás Nudos de ira, de odio, Discordia te trae a tu destino, Nina Negra, Escucha mi súplica por venganza, Ato esta segunda hacen nudo dos, Te traerá la oscuridad, Calumnia, discordia, mal también

    Trayendo la oscuridad directo a ti Nina Negra, Escucha mi súplica para tu dominio, Con este tercer nudo, unir, Tejer caos en tu mente, Hexagonal de ira, hexagonal de odio, Acabar con él, no voy a esperar’

    Así que ahora hacerse manifiesto!

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) for supporting our work with the Jack Shand Grant, as well as thank Dr. Ruth Bryan. We are most grateful for her interest as well as support of our work and for awarding us the Bryan Gruhn Grant for continuing work on Santa Muerte devotion. We would also like to thank the many devotees who openly and generously welcomed us into their homes and chapels to discuss their devotion to death.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Kate Kingsbury

  2. School of World Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia, USA

    Andrew Chesnut

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  1. Kate Kingsbury
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Correspondence to Kate Kingsbury.

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Kingsbury, K., Chesnut, A. Not Just a Narcosaint: Santa Muerte as Matron Saint of the Mexican Drug War. Int J Lat Am Relig 4, 25–47 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41603-020-00095-2

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