Kate Kingsbury | University of British Columbia (original) (raw)

Videos by Kate Kingsbury

in this video I explain who la Santa Muerte is, her history, her purported powers and who worship... more in this video I explain who la Santa Muerte is, her history, her purported powers and who worships her.

17 views

Papers by Kate Kingsbury

Research paper thumbnail of DEATH IN THE FLESH: Yuri, a Santa Muerte Sorceress' Story

Sacred Ink

An extract from my chapter, dedicated to the incredible Yuri Mendez. You can find the rest of thi... more An extract from my chapter, dedicated to the incredible Yuri Mendez. You can find the rest of this piece in "Sacred Art, Religious Tattoos" forthcoming, edited by Alinda Damsma and Lily Kahn Yuri, who is currently 38, tells me that at age 17 she had saved enough money to cross la frontera (the border). She wanted to go to the US to get a better job and earn money to have a better life. She saved up, and rather than going to school, instead working numerous jobs around the clock so she could

Research paper thumbnail of Death is Women’s Work: Santa Muerte, a Folk Saint and Her Female Followers

International Journal of Religion in Latin America, 2020

Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to dea... more Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to death. It has come under fire from the Catholic Church, the Mexican State, and mass media across the Americas. In misrepresentations that are often racist, and sexist, Santa Muerte has been portrayed by the above institutions as a ‘narco-saint’, that is a saint worshiped by narcotraffickers, and the religion portrayed as one that only violent, barbaric males follow This article counters this erroneous depiction suggesting that devotion to death is women's work. I detail how Santa Muerte has long been appealed to by women who have been at the fulcrum of the expansion of the movement. I describe how knowledge of Santa Muerte continues to be germinated by women who through gynocentric thanatological praxis are empowered and fashion spaces in which to deal with the violence, precarity and poverty that riddles the Mexican post-colony.

Research paper thumbnail of Autoethnography of Holy Death: Belief, Dividuality, and Family in the Study of Santa Muerte

Through an autoethnographic account that interweaves academic observations, my story of how I cam... more Through an autoethnographic account that interweaves academic observations, my story of how I came to study Santa Muerte in Mexico and the entangled, emotive tale of Abby, a Santa Muerte devotee whom I grew very close to, I discuss the topic of belief in the ethnography of the occult and the "politics of integration", derisively referred to "as going native". I reveal how being an ethnographer of the Mexican female folk saint of death has taught me the necessity of dividuality and embracing belief in both the epistemological worlds of academia and the occult. I argue that slipping fluidly between the realm of science and the cosmos of magic has given me access not only to arcane knowledge and networks of practitioners but also through shared experiences of participatory consciousness with devotees of death during our rituals, proffered unique experiences, and new insights through intersubjectivity and interexperience, allowing me to understand the mystical power of Death Herself.

Research paper thumbnail of Danger, Distress, Disease, and Death: Santa Muerte and Her Female Followers

Rutgers University Press eBooks, Dec 9, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Holy Death in the Time of Coronavirus: Santa Muerte, the Salubrious Saint

International Journal of Latin American Religions, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Supplicating Santa Muerte (Saint Death): Fierce Female Folk Saint as Source of Empowerment for Mexican Indigenous Women

Global Catholic Review, 2019

Devotion has become a means for Indigenous women to empower themselves in the face of inequity, s... more Devotion has become a means for Indigenous women to empower themselves in the face of inequity, state exclusion, discrimination, and violence, thereby creating new ways of being modern Mexican mothers.

Research paper thumbnail of At Death’s Door in Cancun: Sun, Sea, and Santa Muerte

Anthropology and Humanism, 2021

A quiet form of feminism is at play at the shrine to Santa Muerte in Cancun, run by a woman, self... more A quiet form of feminism is at play at the shrine to Santa Muerte in Cancun, run by a woman, self-identified bruja, shaman, and curandera, Yuri Mendez, and her all-women team who support their community through their spiritual offerings and in return acquire prestige and financial independence.

Research paper thumbnail of Our Lady of the Bullet as Flak Jacket for Femicide

The Global Catholic Review

In a Mexico of much bad death (mala muerte), including a pandemic of femicide, notably in Ciudad ... more In a Mexico of much bad death (mala muerte), including a pandemic of femicide, notably in Ciudad Juarez, many Mexicans feel their only source of protection lies in the realm of the divine or supernatural. It is no coincidence that devotion to two of the three giants of the...

Research paper thumbnail of Mexico's Trinity of Death -Santa Muerte, Day of the Dead and la Catrina Calavera

Global catholic review

What is the relationship, if any, among the three iconic figures of Mexican death culture – Catri... more What is the relationship, if any, among the three iconic figures of Mexican death culture – Catrina Calavera, Santa Muerte, and Day of the Dead?

Research paper thumbnail of Doctor Death and Coronavirus: Supplicating Santa Muerte for Holy Healing

Anthropologica, 2021

Human beings have long turned to religion and faith healing to overcome illness and seek to delay... more Human beings have long turned to religion and faith healing to overcome illness and seek to delay death. In the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic, I consider how in Mexico, devotees of Santa Muerte are turning to the folk saint of death to ward off and recover from the virus. I argue that supplication of Santa Muerte during times of coronavirus offers a social critique on the current context in Mexico. The government has introduced budget cuts, reducing spending during this pandemic, and failed to provide adequate measures to protect already vulnerable citizens living in poverty and within the grips of the drug war, from COVID‑19. Frontline workers are labouring in unsafe conditions with inadequate protective equipment and protocols. As a result, the death toll has risen rapidly. Mexico is currently listed as having the fourth highest death rate. I describe how fearing death, many have turned to the saint of death for recovery from coronavirus and to prolong life. My argument also co...

Research paper thumbnail of Santa Muerte inked in Skin: Holy Death in my flesh

Skeleton Saint

This interview on tattoos of Death is a small preparatory piece that will appear as part of a mor... more This interview on tattoos of Death is a small preparatory piece that will appear as part of a more elaborate anthropological article featuring a theoretical analysis and multiple ethnographic stories of tattoos of Death to appear in the book "Sacred Ink" ,forthcoming in 2023-2024 on religious tattoos. My chapter will be on tattoos of la Santisima Muerte.

Research paper thumbnail of Life and Death in the Time of Coronavirus: Santa Muerte, the Holy Healer

Global Catholic Review, 2020

As Santa Muerte cards circulate in Mexico with prayers of protection against covid-19, we conside... more As Santa Muerte cards circulate in Mexico with prayers of protection against covid-19, we consider the contours of love and death in these tumultuous times.

Research paper thumbnail of The Goddess of Death Protects Me

Skeleton Saint

Translated by Dr. Kate Kingsbury from an interview in Spanish with a devotee of Death from Mexico... more Translated by Dr. Kate Kingsbury from an interview in Spanish with a devotee of Death from Mexico City. Parts of this interview will feature in my forthcoming chapter on tattoos of la Muerte (Death) in the book Sacred Ink.

Research paper thumbnail of Seeking Suicide Death Gave Me Life: a Santa Muerte Devotee in Texas

Research paper thumbnail of Saint Death and the virus: Mexico’s Santa Muerte is reaper, healer and spiritual key worker

The sociological review, May 10, 2022

Over the past two years many countries across the world went into lockdown in response to COVID-1... more Over the past two years many countries across the world went into lockdown in response to COVID-19, as they strove to limit the spread of the pandemic. While the end may be in sight, as the virus appears to be mutating benevolently, many still fear the possibility of death. For those living in Mexico’s many disenfranchised regions, increased poverty, distending drug wars and dilating delinquency, all consequences of the pandemic, threaten life more than ever

Research paper thumbnail of Not Just a Narcosaint: Santa Muerte as Matron Saint of the Mexican Drug War

International Journal of Latin American Religions, 2020

Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death. Santa Muerte has been depicted as a n... more Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death. Santa Muerte has been depicted as a narcosaint, that is to say a saint propitiated only by those who belong to drug cartels, in particular by the Mexican State. As a consequence, the Mexican army, under orders from the Mexican State, has obliterated thousands of shrines dedicated to the folk saint across the country. However, as we evince, the popular figure has followers in all camps involved in the drug war. Both narcos and those who fight them, prisoners and prison guards, venerate the folk saint, turning to her for spiritual favours, protection and even to predict death. This diverse group of people, although divided by their differing positions in the drug war, turns to her for parallel reasons, to explain, predict and control events. As such, Santa Muerte rather than being a narcosaint should be considered the Matron Saint of the Drug War.

Keywords: Santa Muerte . Drug war. Mexico . Death . Prison . Law enforcement. Violence. Religion

Research paper thumbnail of Syncretic Santa Muerte: Holy Death and Religious Bricolage

Religions, 2021

In this article, we trace the syncretic origins and development of the new religious movement cen... more In this article, we trace the syncretic origins and development of the new religious movement centered on the Mexican folk saint of death, Santa Muerte. We explore how she was born of the syncretic association of the Spanish Catholic Grim Reapress and Pre-Columbian Indigenous thanatologies in the colonial era. Through further religious bricolage in the post-colony, we describe how as the new religious movement rapidly expanded it integrated elements of other religious traditions, namely Afro-Cuban Santeria and Palo Mayombe, New Age beliefs and practices, and even Wicca. In contrast to much of the Eurocentric scholarship on Santa Muerte, we posit that both the Skeleton Saint’s origins and contemporary devotional framework cannot be comprehended without considering the significant influence of Indigenous death deities who formed part of holistic ontologies that starkly contrasted with the dualistic absolutism of European Catholicism in which life and death were viewed as stark polarit...

Research paper thumbnail of Santa Muerte : Sainte Matronne de l’amour et de la mort

Anthropologica, 2020

Resumé:Dans cet article, nous soutenons que Santa Muerte, une sainte mexicaine féminine de l'... more Resumé:Dans cet article, nous soutenons que Santa Muerte, une sainte mexicaine féminine de l'amour et de la mort, bien que souvent caractérisée comme une « narco-sainte » associée aux narcotrafiquants et aux délinquants, est bien plus que cela. Nous avons mené des entrevues auprès de femmes fidèles à cette sainte, qui excèdent en nombre les adeptes masculins, ainsi qu'auprès des propriétaires de botanicas (magasins ésotériques). Ces entrevues sont les principales sources de nos recherches. Nous expliquons qu'à cause de la persécution et des difficultés rencontrées par les femmes célibataires dans les sociétés patriarcales et appauvries, comme au Mexique et en Amérique du Sud, les femmes sans petit ami ni époux font face à des difficultés monétaires et à des problèmes de sécurité. Nos analyses confirment que les femmes tentent d'améliorer leur sort en se tournant vers la magie de l'amour associée à la Santa Muerte. Nous soutenons que la Santa Muerte a trop souvent été associée à la narco-culture et aux cartels mexicains de la drogue et que ces représentations négligent le rôle important des femmes dans la popularité croissante de son culte.Abstract:In this article, we argue that while Santa Muerte, a female Mexican folk saint is often portrayed as a narcosaint associated with drug traffickers and delinquents, she is in fact much more than that. We conducted interviews with female followers, who outnumber male followers, and owners of botanicas (esoteric stores). These interviews formed the basis of our research. We argue that because of the persecution and difficulties single women face in patriarchal and impoverished societies such as Mexico and South American countries, women without boyfriends or husbands face financial and security difficulties. Our analyses confirm that these women try to improve their lot by turning to Santa Muerte for miracles of love. We argue that Santa Muerte has too often been associated with narcoculture and Mexican drug cartels and that these representations neglect the important role of women in the growing popularity of her cult.

Research paper thumbnail of Death is Women’s Work: Santa Muerte, a Folk Saint and Her Female Followers

International Journal of Latin American Religions, 2020

Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to dea... more Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to death. It has come under fire from the Catholic Church, the Mexican State, and mass media across the Americas. In misrepresentations that are often racist, and sexist, Santa Muerte has been portrayed by the above institutions as a ‘narco-saint’, that is a saint worshiped by narcotraffickers, and the religion portrayed as one that only violent, barbaric males follow This article counters this erroneous depiction suggesting that devotion to death is women's work. I detail how Santa Muerte has long been appealed to by women who have been at the fulcrum of the expansion of the movement. I describe how knowledge of Santa Muerte continues to be germinated by women who through gynocentric thanatological praxis are empowered and fashion spaces in which to deal with the violence, precarity and poverty that riddles the Mexican post-colony.

in this video I explain who la Santa Muerte is, her history, her purported powers and who worship... more in this video I explain who la Santa Muerte is, her history, her purported powers and who worships her.

17 views

Research paper thumbnail of DEATH IN THE FLESH: Yuri, a Santa Muerte Sorceress' Story

Sacred Ink

An extract from my chapter, dedicated to the incredible Yuri Mendez. You can find the rest of thi... more An extract from my chapter, dedicated to the incredible Yuri Mendez. You can find the rest of this piece in "Sacred Art, Religious Tattoos" forthcoming, edited by Alinda Damsma and Lily Kahn Yuri, who is currently 38, tells me that at age 17 she had saved enough money to cross la frontera (the border). She wanted to go to the US to get a better job and earn money to have a better life. She saved up, and rather than going to school, instead working numerous jobs around the clock so she could

Research paper thumbnail of Death is Women’s Work: Santa Muerte, a Folk Saint and Her Female Followers

International Journal of Religion in Latin America, 2020

Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to dea... more Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to death. It has come under fire from the Catholic Church, the Mexican State, and mass media across the Americas. In misrepresentations that are often racist, and sexist, Santa Muerte has been portrayed by the above institutions as a ‘narco-saint’, that is a saint worshiped by narcotraffickers, and the religion portrayed as one that only violent, barbaric males follow This article counters this erroneous depiction suggesting that devotion to death is women's work. I detail how Santa Muerte has long been appealed to by women who have been at the fulcrum of the expansion of the movement. I describe how knowledge of Santa Muerte continues to be germinated by women who through gynocentric thanatological praxis are empowered and fashion spaces in which to deal with the violence, precarity and poverty that riddles the Mexican post-colony.

Research paper thumbnail of Autoethnography of Holy Death: Belief, Dividuality, and Family in the Study of Santa Muerte

Through an autoethnographic account that interweaves academic observations, my story of how I cam... more Through an autoethnographic account that interweaves academic observations, my story of how I came to study Santa Muerte in Mexico and the entangled, emotive tale of Abby, a Santa Muerte devotee whom I grew very close to, I discuss the topic of belief in the ethnography of the occult and the "politics of integration", derisively referred to "as going native". I reveal how being an ethnographer of the Mexican female folk saint of death has taught me the necessity of dividuality and embracing belief in both the epistemological worlds of academia and the occult. I argue that slipping fluidly between the realm of science and the cosmos of magic has given me access not only to arcane knowledge and networks of practitioners but also through shared experiences of participatory consciousness with devotees of death during our rituals, proffered unique experiences, and new insights through intersubjectivity and interexperience, allowing me to understand the mystical power of Death Herself.

Research paper thumbnail of Danger, Distress, Disease, and Death: Santa Muerte and Her Female Followers

Rutgers University Press eBooks, Dec 9, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Holy Death in the Time of Coronavirus: Santa Muerte, the Salubrious Saint

International Journal of Latin American Religions, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Supplicating Santa Muerte (Saint Death): Fierce Female Folk Saint as Source of Empowerment for Mexican Indigenous Women

Global Catholic Review, 2019

Devotion has become a means for Indigenous women to empower themselves in the face of inequity, s... more Devotion has become a means for Indigenous women to empower themselves in the face of inequity, state exclusion, discrimination, and violence, thereby creating new ways of being modern Mexican mothers.

Research paper thumbnail of At Death’s Door in Cancun: Sun, Sea, and Santa Muerte

Anthropology and Humanism, 2021

A quiet form of feminism is at play at the shrine to Santa Muerte in Cancun, run by a woman, self... more A quiet form of feminism is at play at the shrine to Santa Muerte in Cancun, run by a woman, self-identified bruja, shaman, and curandera, Yuri Mendez, and her all-women team who support their community through their spiritual offerings and in return acquire prestige and financial independence.

Research paper thumbnail of Our Lady of the Bullet as Flak Jacket for Femicide

The Global Catholic Review

In a Mexico of much bad death (mala muerte), including a pandemic of femicide, notably in Ciudad ... more In a Mexico of much bad death (mala muerte), including a pandemic of femicide, notably in Ciudad Juarez, many Mexicans feel their only source of protection lies in the realm of the divine or supernatural. It is no coincidence that devotion to two of the three giants of the...

Research paper thumbnail of Mexico's Trinity of Death -Santa Muerte, Day of the Dead and la Catrina Calavera

Global catholic review

What is the relationship, if any, among the three iconic figures of Mexican death culture – Catri... more What is the relationship, if any, among the three iconic figures of Mexican death culture – Catrina Calavera, Santa Muerte, and Day of the Dead?

Research paper thumbnail of Doctor Death and Coronavirus: Supplicating Santa Muerte for Holy Healing

Anthropologica, 2021

Human beings have long turned to religion and faith healing to overcome illness and seek to delay... more Human beings have long turned to religion and faith healing to overcome illness and seek to delay death. In the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic, I consider how in Mexico, devotees of Santa Muerte are turning to the folk saint of death to ward off and recover from the virus. I argue that supplication of Santa Muerte during times of coronavirus offers a social critique on the current context in Mexico. The government has introduced budget cuts, reducing spending during this pandemic, and failed to provide adequate measures to protect already vulnerable citizens living in poverty and within the grips of the drug war, from COVID‑19. Frontline workers are labouring in unsafe conditions with inadequate protective equipment and protocols. As a result, the death toll has risen rapidly. Mexico is currently listed as having the fourth highest death rate. I describe how fearing death, many have turned to the saint of death for recovery from coronavirus and to prolong life. My argument also co...

Research paper thumbnail of Santa Muerte inked in Skin: Holy Death in my flesh

Skeleton Saint

This interview on tattoos of Death is a small preparatory piece that will appear as part of a mor... more This interview on tattoos of Death is a small preparatory piece that will appear as part of a more elaborate anthropological article featuring a theoretical analysis and multiple ethnographic stories of tattoos of Death to appear in the book "Sacred Ink" ,forthcoming in 2023-2024 on religious tattoos. My chapter will be on tattoos of la Santisima Muerte.

Research paper thumbnail of Life and Death in the Time of Coronavirus: Santa Muerte, the Holy Healer

Global Catholic Review, 2020

As Santa Muerte cards circulate in Mexico with prayers of protection against covid-19, we conside... more As Santa Muerte cards circulate in Mexico with prayers of protection against covid-19, we consider the contours of love and death in these tumultuous times.

Research paper thumbnail of The Goddess of Death Protects Me

Skeleton Saint

Translated by Dr. Kate Kingsbury from an interview in Spanish with a devotee of Death from Mexico... more Translated by Dr. Kate Kingsbury from an interview in Spanish with a devotee of Death from Mexico City. Parts of this interview will feature in my forthcoming chapter on tattoos of la Muerte (Death) in the book Sacred Ink.

Research paper thumbnail of Seeking Suicide Death Gave Me Life: a Santa Muerte Devotee in Texas

Research paper thumbnail of Saint Death and the virus: Mexico’s Santa Muerte is reaper, healer and spiritual key worker

The sociological review, May 10, 2022

Over the past two years many countries across the world went into lockdown in response to COVID-1... more Over the past two years many countries across the world went into lockdown in response to COVID-19, as they strove to limit the spread of the pandemic. While the end may be in sight, as the virus appears to be mutating benevolently, many still fear the possibility of death. For those living in Mexico’s many disenfranchised regions, increased poverty, distending drug wars and dilating delinquency, all consequences of the pandemic, threaten life more than ever

Research paper thumbnail of Not Just a Narcosaint: Santa Muerte as Matron Saint of the Mexican Drug War

International Journal of Latin American Religions, 2020

Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death. Santa Muerte has been depicted as a n... more Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death. Santa Muerte has been depicted as a narcosaint, that is to say a saint propitiated only by those who belong to drug cartels, in particular by the Mexican State. As a consequence, the Mexican army, under orders from the Mexican State, has obliterated thousands of shrines dedicated to the folk saint across the country. However, as we evince, the popular figure has followers in all camps involved in the drug war. Both narcos and those who fight them, prisoners and prison guards, venerate the folk saint, turning to her for spiritual favours, protection and even to predict death. This diverse group of people, although divided by their differing positions in the drug war, turns to her for parallel reasons, to explain, predict and control events. As such, Santa Muerte rather than being a narcosaint should be considered the Matron Saint of the Drug War.

Keywords: Santa Muerte . Drug war. Mexico . Death . Prison . Law enforcement. Violence. Religion

Research paper thumbnail of Syncretic Santa Muerte: Holy Death and Religious Bricolage

Religions, 2021

In this article, we trace the syncretic origins and development of the new religious movement cen... more In this article, we trace the syncretic origins and development of the new religious movement centered on the Mexican folk saint of death, Santa Muerte. We explore how she was born of the syncretic association of the Spanish Catholic Grim Reapress and Pre-Columbian Indigenous thanatologies in the colonial era. Through further religious bricolage in the post-colony, we describe how as the new religious movement rapidly expanded it integrated elements of other religious traditions, namely Afro-Cuban Santeria and Palo Mayombe, New Age beliefs and practices, and even Wicca. In contrast to much of the Eurocentric scholarship on Santa Muerte, we posit that both the Skeleton Saint’s origins and contemporary devotional framework cannot be comprehended without considering the significant influence of Indigenous death deities who formed part of holistic ontologies that starkly contrasted with the dualistic absolutism of European Catholicism in which life and death were viewed as stark polarit...

Research paper thumbnail of Santa Muerte : Sainte Matronne de l’amour et de la mort

Anthropologica, 2020

Resumé:Dans cet article, nous soutenons que Santa Muerte, une sainte mexicaine féminine de l'... more Resumé:Dans cet article, nous soutenons que Santa Muerte, une sainte mexicaine féminine de l'amour et de la mort, bien que souvent caractérisée comme une « narco-sainte » associée aux narcotrafiquants et aux délinquants, est bien plus que cela. Nous avons mené des entrevues auprès de femmes fidèles à cette sainte, qui excèdent en nombre les adeptes masculins, ainsi qu'auprès des propriétaires de botanicas (magasins ésotériques). Ces entrevues sont les principales sources de nos recherches. Nous expliquons qu'à cause de la persécution et des difficultés rencontrées par les femmes célibataires dans les sociétés patriarcales et appauvries, comme au Mexique et en Amérique du Sud, les femmes sans petit ami ni époux font face à des difficultés monétaires et à des problèmes de sécurité. Nos analyses confirment que les femmes tentent d'améliorer leur sort en se tournant vers la magie de l'amour associée à la Santa Muerte. Nous soutenons que la Santa Muerte a trop souvent été associée à la narco-culture et aux cartels mexicains de la drogue et que ces représentations négligent le rôle important des femmes dans la popularité croissante de son culte.Abstract:In this article, we argue that while Santa Muerte, a female Mexican folk saint is often portrayed as a narcosaint associated with drug traffickers and delinquents, she is in fact much more than that. We conducted interviews with female followers, who outnumber male followers, and owners of botanicas (esoteric stores). These interviews formed the basis of our research. We argue that because of the persecution and difficulties single women face in patriarchal and impoverished societies such as Mexico and South American countries, women without boyfriends or husbands face financial and security difficulties. Our analyses confirm that these women try to improve their lot by turning to Santa Muerte for miracles of love. We argue that Santa Muerte has too often been associated with narcoculture and Mexican drug cartels and that these representations neglect the important role of women in the growing popularity of her cult.

Research paper thumbnail of Death is Women’s Work: Santa Muerte, a Folk Saint and Her Female Followers

International Journal of Latin American Religions, 2020

Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to dea... more Santa Muerte is a new religious movement that originated in Mexico. It centers on devotion to death. It has come under fire from the Catholic Church, the Mexican State, and mass media across the Americas. In misrepresentations that are often racist, and sexist, Santa Muerte has been portrayed by the above institutions as a ‘narco-saint’, that is a saint worshiped by narcotraffickers, and the religion portrayed as one that only violent, barbaric males follow This article counters this erroneous depiction suggesting that devotion to death is women's work. I detail how Santa Muerte has long been appealed to by women who have been at the fulcrum of the expansion of the movement. I describe how knowledge of Santa Muerte continues to be germinated by women who through gynocentric thanatological praxis are empowered and fashion spaces in which to deal with the violence, precarity and poverty that riddles the Mexican post-colony.

Research paper thumbnail of At Death’s Door in Cancun: Sun, Sea, and Santa Muerte

Anthropology and Humanism, 2021

A quiet form of feminism is at play at the shrine to Santa Muerte in Cancun, run by a woman, self... more A quiet form of feminism is at play at the shrine to Santa Muerte in Cancun, run by a woman, self-identified bruja, shaman, and curandera, Yuri Mendez, and her all-women team who support their community through their spiritual offerings and in return acquire prestige and financial independence.

Research paper thumbnail of Social Systems Programming II: emotional and structural control mechanisms

Social systems can be defined as autopoietic networks of distinctions and rules that specify what... more Social systems can be defined as autopoietic networks of distinctions and rules that specify what people should think or do. Using powerful control mechanisms, they " program " individual humans to sacrifice resources, loved ones and even themselves to the perpetuation of the system. As a follow-up to our preceding paper that surveyed neural and behavioral control mechanisms, the present paper surveys the most important emotional and structural mechanisms that have been co-opted for social control. Deviation from the norms is preempted by inhibiting such transgression through negative emotions: fear of punishment and ostracism, guilt about wrongful thoughts or actions, shame about personal deficiencies, and disgust for pollutions of the " pure " social order. Insecurity and jostling for status in social hierarchies make individuals particularly susceptible to such negative feelings, by associating norm transgressions with losses of status, power, and " self-certainty ". These control mechanisms explain horrid aberrations such as genocides, ethnic cleansing, suicide terrorism, common psychopathologies, and the suppression of self-actualization.

Research paper thumbnail of Holy Death in the Time of Coronavirus: Santa Muerte, the Salubrious Saint

Research paper thumbnail of Staging Touba: The Performance of Piety

Research paper thumbnail of Images of Death and their Metamorphosis: From the Grim Reaper to Santa Muerte

Religion, Death and the Senses , 2024

In Chapter four, Dr Kate Kingsbury takes us through the material culture of death and its varied ... more In Chapter four, Dr Kate Kingsbury takes us through the material culture of death and its varied visual representations from the Grim Reaper to Santa Muerte. It is through these diverse images and ideologies, Kingsbury states, that humans not only make sense of death, but also seek to master their own mortality. Taking the reader through the semiotics of death, she explores the fascinating images and representations of the Old World Grim Reaper, and its New World depictions La Parca, Ah Puch, Lyadzehe Qcuañe, Quetzalcoatl, Rey Pascual, and Santa Muerte. Kingsbury notes that these diverse contexts and images can offer understandings not only of death.

Research paper thumbnail of Morte Santa nos tempos de coronavirus: Santa Muerte, a Santa Salubre

Religião em tempos de COVID-19, 2022

Como os cartões de oração e as velas de Santa Morte circulam no México com petições de proteção c... more Como os cartões de oração e as velas de Santa Morte circulam no México com petições de proteção contra a COVID-19, consideramos a morte como doutora nestes tempos tumultuados, provando que a santa popular não é apenas uma narco-santa, como retrata a imprensa, mas é suplicada por milagres de cura e proteção contra o novo vírus. Nós não
só revelaremos a importância da religião para lidar com as pandemias, mas também focaremos na noção da morte como curandeira e como doadora de vida. Nós descolonizaremos
o conhecimento da Santa Morte e exploraremos as origens sincréticas da santa, vindo não apenas da Ceifadora europeia dos tempos de peste, mas também da epistemologia tanatológica indígena mexicana – que explica seus poderes duplos de presentear a vida e distribuir
a morte.

Research paper thumbnail of Los Caballeros Templarios de Michoacán: Imagery, Symbolism, and Narratives

Los Caballeros Templarios de Michoacán: Imagery, Symbolism, and Narratives, 2019

The 279 page edited work "Los Caballeros Templarios de Michoacán: Imagery, Symbolism, and Narrati... more The 279 page edited work "Los Caballeros Templarios de Michoacán: Imagery, Symbolism, and Narratives" is divided into a preface, introduction, twelve chapters, postscript, imagery data set, four appendices, selected references, and further readings. It is a Small Wars Journal-El Centro eBook (Small Wars Foundation) edited by Robert J. Bunker and Alma Keshavarz. The Templarios cartel is an understudied group and it is hoped that this effort has shed some light on their spiritual-criminal activities and the threat this signified to both the Mexican state and its broader society. This cross-disciplinary work represents a unique fusion of organized crime and insurgency (criminal & spiritual) focused scholarship blended with contributors with religious (and magico-religious) studies expertise. The experts contributing to it collectively recognize and challenge exclusive narco secular status quo perceptions, finding that not all cartel activity taking place is simply secular in nature and devoid of any underlying spiritual motivations.

Research paper thumbnail of "Demons, Death & Devotees"

More or Less Human, 2019

Join us in this episode of 'More Or Less Human' as we sit down with a Professors Dr. Andrew Chesn... more Join us in this episode of 'More Or Less Human' as we sit down with a Professors Dr. Andrew Chesnut of Virginia Commonwealth University & Kate Kingsbury of the University of Alberta to discus the pairs research together on religiosity in the Global South. Discover more about the practices of exorcism and its recent rise amongst Pentecostals in places like Brazil, learn about the pairs research and experiences studying folks saints like that of Santa Muerte, who popularity has come to both pop-cultural and Pontifical reference and acclaim. about more dynamic duo and research team. Listen here http://www.buzzsprout.com/267897/1579711-demons-death-devotees

Research paper thumbnail of Pascual Bailón, la historia del santo popular esquelético

Chiapas Parelelo, 2022

El mito fundacional del santo popular guatemalteco Rey Pascual es un relato fascinante del sincre... more El mito fundacional del santo popular guatemalteco Rey Pascual es un relato fascinante del sincretismo católico y maya en el que el santo español original, Pascual Bailón, se transforma en el santo popular esquelético que se venera en Olintepeque, Guatemala y Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, indica y Andrew Chesnut, doctor en Historia Latinoamericana y Kate Kingsbury, doctora en antropología en su articulo “De santo de la cocina a santo esqueleto Rey Pascual – El bizarro caso de Pascual Bailón”.