Religion
There are three main religions in Todos Santos; Catholic, Evangelical, and Mam. The Catholic church started passing through the region as missionaries back in the late 1700s and early 1800s and slowly built a following. During the civil war in the 1970s and 1980s, due to concern for priests who had been targeted in other regions, the Catholic church pulled the majority of the priests out of the country until it stabilized. This created a void, which the Evangelical church was able to fill. The Evangelicals gained ground with the people, their stricter perspective was attractive at the end of the wartime chaos. As the country stabilized and the Catholics reentered they were too late to regain all those who had chosen Evangelicalism, but still possess the majority in most towns.
The Mam religion is an ancient and sacred practice, dominated by sacerdotes in each town who are responsible for conserving and practicing the religion. Ceremonies feature burning candles and making offerings, though they vary depending on if the ceremony is for security, prosperity, or family.
The Mam are only open to sharing certain parts of their religion. One can request a ceremony from some of the local sacerdotes for protection, but other parts of the religion are more private, like the nahaul, or birth sign. Each person has a different nahaul, and it changes and depends on what year, month, day, and day of the week a person is born on. It is possible to find out your nahual in the Balam Museum.
The Mam religion is an ancient and sacred practice, dominated by sacerdotes in each town who are responsible for conserving and practicing the religion. Ceremonies feature burning candles and making offerings, though they vary depending on if the ceremony is for security, prosperity, or family.
The Mam are only open to sharing certain parts of their religion. One can request a ceremony from some of the local sacerdotes for protection, but other parts of the religion are more private, like the nahaul, or birth sign. Each person has a different nahaul, and it changes and depends on what year, month, day, and day of the week a person is born on. It is possible to find out your nahual in the Balam Museum.