ABSTRACT
The sacred spring at Chalma was venerated in pre-Aztec times and has been Christianized since the sixteenth century. The spring waters are now part of a ritual complex that forms the heart of regional folk-liturgical practices. Diverse communities across the Mexican states of Morelos, México, Hidalgo and Guerrero are linked by a complex network of interrelations based on the patronage of saints and the hierarchical relationships of these saints with each other. The town of Chalma in Malinalco is Mexico’s second most-visited pilgrimage site after the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Of Pre-Columbian sacrality, the site’s healing sacred spring is now the scene for ritual purification and re-establishment of personal balance with the natural and spiritual worlds.
