Holy Sisters of Life and Death – Santa Muerte and Kali

I’d like to explore the syncretism between Kali and Santa Muerte. One from India, the other from Mexico. Let’s start with Kali – according to the precepts of the current Sanathana Dharma Kali is a form of Durga, the most “angry” one, to say it plainly. But she is also the best known Hindu deity in the world. The reason why is not the best. When the first Christian missionaries arrived in India, the statues of Kali, with the fierce, angry appearance, struck them deeply. Busy with preaching the doctrine of salvation of pagan souls, they did not dwell on the meanings of Hindu divinity, considering her to be a demon to whom human sacrifices were made.

Anyone who has read Christian treatises on demonology knows in fact that Kali is considered a devil in them, together with other Hindu, Assyrian-Babylonian and even Greek-Roman deities (such as Diana). This happened…