Tuesday, December 11, 2007

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE


Fiesta karon sa patron sa Sugbo ang Birhen sa Guadalupe. December 12, 2007.
The origin of the name Guadalupe has always been a matter of controversy. It is nevertheless believed that the name came about because of the translation from Nahuatl to Spanish of the words used by the Virgin during the apparition to the ailing uncle of Juan Diego. It is believed that Our Lady used the Aztec Nahuatl word of coatlaxopeuh which is pronounced "quatlasupe" and sounds remarkably like the Spanish word Guadalupe. Coa meaning serpent, tla being the noun ending which can be interpreted as "the", while xopeuh means to crush or stamp out. So Our Lady must have called herself the one "who crushes the serpent1." Serpent-god Quetzalcoatl. Certainly, in this case She crushed the serpent, and few years later millions of the natives were converted to Christianity. And the human sacrifices ended.
1In is interesting to note that in Genesis 3:15 (in the Old Testament) it is indicated a woman would step on the serpent's head.

No comments: