The main characteristics of Tlaxcalan polytheism were
seven:
- A highly diversified and specialized pantheon, in which
hundreds of patron gods and goddesses relating to near-
ly every human activity, natural phenomenon, or social
grouping were arranged in a somewhat hierarchical
order - A complex and extensive ritual and ceremonial yearly
cycle regulated by the calendrical system - A sophisticated cosmology and theology centered on the
origins and nature of the gods, the creation of humans
and the universe, the regulation of humanity’s relation-
ship to the gods, the disposition of the dead, and after-
life - A religious ideology that emphasized pragmatism in the
relationship between humanity and the supernatural at
the expense of values and morality, which were almost
exclusively an aspect of the social structure in operation - An extensive and well-organized priesthood in charge of
the administration of religion and several ancillary as-
pects of the social structure - A tremendous emphasis on human sacrifices to the gods
and a significant degree of ritual cannibalism - A pronounced concern with bloodshed and the dead,
and a cult of the dead approaching ancestor worship
Tlaxcalan religion pervaded every significant cultural domain
of the confederacy: society, economy, polity, administration,
and the military. Indeed, religion was the driving force of
Tlaxcalan culture. In many distinct ways, however, Tlaxcalan
religion was not that different from Old World polytheistic
systems such as those of the Indo-Europeans and the Chi-
nese: the gods were made in the image of humans, and they
exhibited the foibles, virtues, and vices of human beings; the
gods were hierarchically arranged in an organized pantheon;
the social structure of the gods mirrored that of humans,
with whom they interacted in a variety of ways; and religion
was essentially a pragmatic ritualistic system regulating the
relationship between humans and the supernatural.
SYNCRETIC DEVELOPMENT. Tlaxcala was one of the first re-
gions of the continental New World to be subject to system-
atic efforts to convert its inhabitants. In 1524, the task of in-
doctrinating the Indian population in the ritual, ceremonial,
and theological practices of Roman Catholicism was assigned
to the Franciscan friars. For nearly a century the Tlaxcalans
were under the religious leadership of the Franciscans. Dur-
ing the second decade of the seventeenth century, the Fran-
ciscans were replaced by secular priests and clerics, who con-
tinued the catechization of the Indian population. By the
end of the seventeenth century, Tlaxcalan Indian Catholi-
cism had essentially crystallized into what it is in the early
twenty-first century.
The context of conversion and indoctrination to Ca-
tholicism in Tlaxcala can be characterized as “guided syncre-
tism,” a policy that the Franciscans consciously followed for
two principal reasons: first, to convert the Indians rapidly;
and, second, to soften the impact of forced conversion and
thus make the new religion more palatable to the masses of
the Indian population. This policy of conversion was greatly
facilitated by the symbolic, ritual, ceremonial, and formal
similarities between the lengthy roster of Catholic saints and
the highly diversified Tlaxcalan pantheon. As early as the
turn of the seventeenth century, the Tlaxcalan Indians were
already practicing a syncretic kind of Catholicism. This was
partly the result of the Franciscans’ efforts in fostering identi-
fications between the interacting religious traditions, particu-
larly between Tlaxcalan gods and Catholic saints. The same
process is evident in the emergence of local (community) re-
ligious hierarchies, in which such pre-Hispanic institutions
as the priestly houses (calmecac) and people’s houses (telpoch-
calli) came to interact with such similar Catholic institutions
as stewardships (mayordomías) and sodalities (cofradías). The
syncretic process undergone by Tlaxcalan religion from 1524
until approximately the last quarter of the seventeenth centu-
ry permanently marked Indian Catholicism, and to a lesser
extent all rural and urban Catholicism throughout the
region.
CONTEMPORARY TLAXCALAN RELIGION. Contemporary
Tlaxcalan Catholicism is centered on several institutions: the
cult of the saints, the cult of the dead, the mayordomía sys-
tem, the ayuntamiento religioso (local religious hierarchy),
and the magico-symbolic system. It may be characterized as
primarily a type of folk religion; that is, its ritual and ceremo-
nial complex is markedly different from the national Catho-
lic religion of Mexico and is carried on by the barrios (quasi-
socioreligious units), hermandades (brotherhoods), cofradías,
and other religious institutions of a syncretic nature. The sin-
gle most important institution in the administration of Tlax-
calan religion is the república eclesiástica (ecclesiastic repub-
lic), which includes all annually elected officials of the
numerous stewardships and the local hierarchy.One fundamental aspect of Tlaxcalan religion remains
unchanged: The present-day folk Catholicism retains the es-
sentially pragmatic and ritualistic character of pre-Hispanic
polytheism. The supernatural belief system has one general,
predominant aim: to make the individual and the collective
world of social existence safe and secure by the proper propi-
tiation of all supernatural forces, regardless of the structural
means employed. The relationship between humans and the
supernatural, then, is characterized by pragmatic and rather
selfish motives for which the individual and the group pay
dearly in terms of time and economic and social resources.
Finally, there is a significant magical component to
Tlaxcalan religion. It coexists side by side with folk Catholi-
cism and is regulated by the same belief system. Although
the practice of magic sometimes merges with folk Catholi-
cism and is part of the syncretic complex, more often it forms
a separate system. Witchcraft, sorcery, soul loss, and belief
in a series of anthropomorphic or animistic supernaturalsTLAXCALAN RELIGION 9215