Have you been whipped by the devil today?
El Salvador is home to some traditions which can seem funny even to native Salvadorans. This week marks “Semana Santa” (Holy Week) in the Catholic faith, and so today is Lunes Santo, (Holy Monday.)
In a small town called Texistepeque in the department of Santa Ana, Lunes Santo means it is also “El Día de Los Talcigüines” – The word “talcigüines” means “deviled men” in the native language, Nahuatl. Like many traditions in El Salvador and throughout Latin America, the holiday is a result of the mixing of Catholic and indigenous beliefs; this occurred with the arrival of the Spanish and their desire to convert the native people to Catholicism by introducing their religion in ways that would seem familiar to the people.
On “El Día de Los Talcigüines” men dress as devil-like figures and whip people on the streets to absolve them of their sins.
Just make sure that if you ever visit Texistepeque on Holy Monday, you take measures to protect yourself…
dónde cuenta.
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Read more: History of El Día de Los Talcigüines and how to take part on Official El Salvador Tourism site.
See more: Slideshow of El Día de Los Talcigüines – La Prensa Gráfica
Image source: Images are still frames taken from video by La Prensa Gráfica.
Posted on April 2, 2012, in beliefs, celebration, Culture, Salvadoreños and tagged Talcigüines, Texistepeque, whipping devils. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
I guess this is good for those that like to get “whipped” lol
Jajajajaja – qué mala eres! ;)
Uuy… duele!! jaja
That is scary and hilarious at the same time. I think that would cause nightmares for many young niños. :-)
I’ll have to ask my husband if they do something like this during Semana Santa in Guatemala. Semana Santa is amazing down there. I wish we were there!
my family is from texistepeque, as a matter of fact i was there for lunes santo this year. i went to see the talciguines and got hit on the leg 3 times lol it wasn’t very hard, i was carrying my son so it wasnt bad, but they were really beating on some guys because they were teasing them really bad lol well anyways i just came accross ur blog and im in love! lol finding this specific entry about this really made my day lol i love being salvadorean and i love el salvador and i think its amazing how much u have learned about ur husbands country. I find some of the things u say very entertaining, things that i grew up with being normal and knowing about the country and our culure are totally different and knew to u. its interesting to see how different americans think and how much they know or dont know about other cultures :)
Thanks for your comment, Alba, it totally made my day. I’m glad you find my blog entertaining :)
Would love to visit your family’s hometown someday and experience this holiday myself but I loved hearing about your experience this year. I can imagine them whipping some people a little harder for teasing them LOL
Thanks again for taking a moment to share!