Yael Martinez MEXICO. Metlatonoc, Guerrero. 2017. In contemporary Indigenous religion the presence of the ancient gods is perceived. For the indigenous communities of Guerrero, the Holy Cross is invoked as our m
(...) ost holy mother, conceptions that have no relation to the Christian cross, to the dead, or to the crucifixion. It is a cross of water, that is why they dress it and decorate it blue, feed it to bring rain and protect crops. For the Nahua, Mixtec and Tlapaneco peoples, the cross is an agrarian cross, it is the representation of the tree of life, symbolizing the Nahuatl cosmogonic accounts that gave rise to the four deities, identified with four colors: red-Tezcatlipoca, blue -Tlaloc, white-Quetzalcoatl and black-Huitzilopochtli. The cross is the symbol of the four cardinal points and the four elements of life: Earth, air, fire and water.(oferring to the cross). © Yael Martinez | Magnum Photos
