Chalma, Malinalco

Chalma on the map of México

Chalma is an important pilgrimage center in the municipality of Malinalco, Estado de México, Mexico. The place Chalma itself, which is surrounded by impressive mountain peaks, has around 1,800 inhabitants. Every Sunday, however, and especially during Holy Week, Christmas week and on 29 September, the feast of the Archangel Michael, the figure rises to a multiple.

Every year more than two million people find themselves to the worship of a crucified black Christ of Chalma, at the Santuario del Señor de Chalma. After the Basilica de la Virgen de Guadalupe in Guadalupe, Mexico City, the Santuario del Señor de Chalma is the most visited pilgrimage site in Mexico. During the season, the pilgrims camp out for miles outside the town.

The ceremonies are, like so many things in Mexico, a mix of pre-Columbian rites and Catholic liturgy; just think of the Día de Muertos. Indigenous people also worshiped their gods in the caves before the arrival of the Spaniards. One of the main gods was Oztoteotl, the god of the caves. They were often travel for days, wore wreaths of flowers in your hair and Räuchervasen in the hands.

Their God was presented in the form of a large black stone, to which magical powers were rumored. Before entering the cave, in which was the stone, the pilgrims bathe in a river that was fed by a holy spring and drank holy water. There were flowers victims, but also offered blood sacrifices.

Today, the pilgrims Chalmeros call. In the pilgrimage for centuries, the same paths are used, where the pilgrims dance. Pilgrims who join this trip for the first time, wear floral crowns on their heads and are accompanied by a mentor. Many are looking to the holy spring water and wipe off with it.

In nearby Ahuehuete there is also a shrine that attracts many. He is at a point where a miraculous healing spring springs from the roots of an old tree. Some women pray for fertility, by deposit their hands in the holy spring water.