Katia Shtefan on Expressions of Popular Religion in Chile

By: Katia Shtefan

November 24, 2007

Although churches always have a set of official beliefs and practices, the laity, driven by a creativity that ultimately stems from its faith, tends to adapt these official norms to its own reality or invent new ideas and modes of worship on the basis of those established by the church. The resulting phenomenon is a popular form of religion that, as its name implies, is created by and for the people and is tacitly approved, but generally not practiced, by the clergy.

As in many Latin American countries, the phenomenon of popular religion plays a very important role in Chile. One of its most common expressions is the making of promises to saints. As María Teresa Prado explains in her thesis Religion and Culture in Latin America, these mandas are made when a person asks a saint for a certain favor, which can range from the recovery of a loved one to good grades. The person promises that in exchange for the favor, he or she will do something to honor the saint. According to Denise Saint-Jean’s article “Promesa o manda: una interpretación antropológica,” as quoted by Prado, this can be as simple as putting some flowers or lighting a candle at the saint’s shrine, or as challenging as partaking in some form of abstinence or walking to the shrine barefoot.

Apart from the Virgin Mary and Jesus, mandas are often made to animitas. This word, as indicated by its Latin origin, refers to souls or spirits. As Prado explains, these are souls of people who are considered saints because of their violent and untimely deaths. It is commonly believed that when a person dies suddenly and at a very young age, the circumstances of their death cause God to forgive all of their sins and to exempt them from the ordeals of the Last Judgement. Admitted automatically into heaven, the animitas develop very close relationships with God that allow them to intercede for those on earth. Consequently, when someone dies violently and before their time, a shrine is quickly constructed on the site of the death not only so that the soul has a place to rest, but also so that people can communicate their prayers to God through the help of the animita. In this case, the favor is repaid only with flowers or candles, but animitas are considered rather exacting. If the pledger does not fulfil the manda, the animita will haunt him or her until it is fulfilled.

The famous Chilean folklorist Oreste Plath says in his work L’Animita: hagiografía folklórica that one of the most famous animitas is the tomb of former president José Manuel Balmaceda Fernández. In 1891, disagreement between Congress and the president about the measures that were necessary for Chile’s progress and about the powers of the president exploded into a revolution. When it became clear that the congressional forces would win, Balmaceda committed suicide, believing that his presence would only serve to perpetuate the conflict. Due to this self-sacrifice, Balmaceda’s tomb is a very popular place to make mandas.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of these two phenomena of popular religion is that both are very widespread. As Plath explains, animitas can be found everywhere, from big cities to country roads. Moreover, people of both sexes, all ages, and all social classes make mandas to them. Similarly, whether they are made to an animita or a traditional saint, mandas are very common. For instance, although my host mom does not attend church, after suffering from a heart attack, she made a manda to the Virgin Mary promising to quit smoking in exchange for the virgin’s protection of her health. Likewise, two of my host aunts made mandas to Saint Teresa of the Andes.

In this sense, it seems that popular religion, at least as it is expressed through the belief in mandas and animitas, is very strong in Chile. Both offer people an opportunity for close interaction with God and his saints, and encourage responsibility, prayer, and reverence for the dead. As such, I think that these practices allow people to put traditional Catholic doctrine into practice and thus reaffirm their faith.

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