MAGICAL THINKING

"El Santisimo".  My belief is that the centre of the central cross represents the communion wafer and therefore the body of Christ. This was what gives it power.

Pilgirms being blesssed as they enter the church.

Let me begin this post with apologies to Catholics.  I am sure I do not fully understand your traditions but I am struggling in that direction.   I was overwhelmed when I learned that the Catholic church had a problem with Mary, mother of Jesus.  We all know the story about Mary being a virgin (in some sense of that word), but it goes further.  At some point the church realized it was unacceptable to have Mary, the mother of god, herself born as the result of normal human sexual contact and thus being just another human.  As a human she would be subject to the normal temptations and vices.  Her image was cleaned up by creating the belief that Mary’s mother had conceived in the regular way but that God had interfered after this conception to provide divine grace -  in effect allowing us to erase the memory of that sexual contact, she was freed of original sin and her soul made immaculate.  This is magical thinking on a grand scale.

Examples of this type of magic occur daily.   People talk or sing to the virgin; they make promises to the virgin; they thank the virgin when they believe she has helped them, they dance for the Virgin, and on and on.  During the celebration of Guadalupe priests bless (sprinkle water on) all of the cars, taxis, buses and trucks in the parade and then later blesses all of the people who walk by the Virgin in the church.  On another day people take their pets to be blessed.  What do people believe about this water?  People pin milagros (little metal pieces representing a part of the body) in the church or as close to the Virgin as is allowed.  People touch the garments of the Virgin.  People take their baby Jesus figure to the church to be blessed before they put it in their nacimiento ( manger) on Christmas Eve.  In some communities a doll (taken to be a representation of Jesus) is carried through the streets by the most prestigious dancers (often the negritos).  Indeed some of these baby Jesus figures actually have god parents who are responsible for looking after them. In May, workers (and often others) make beautiful crosses, carry them to the top of the nearby hill where there is a larger cross and a priest who blesses all of the crosses.  These crosses are then returned to the work place and assumed to protect the house and its workers - thus no need for hard hats.  Some touch an image of the Virgin with flowers and then place the flowers in the house.  What are the beliefs behind this? One final example:  during a large competition of dancers with about 1000 observers, I learned that the dance costumes had been blessed by the priest the day prior to the event.  At the end of the competition we witnessed one of the dance groups enter the church and dance before the virgin. 

This following example amazes me but again I am a stranger to these traditions.  When there is a procession the priest or religious figures are almost always preceded by what I believe to be called “el santisimo” (the holy, the sacred).  In one village where people had created a tapete (a form of carpet) of flowers that stretched for more than one kilometer.  The priest was to walk down this tapete later (I am not sure if there was a religious image as well).    The priest was preceded by el santisimo and this simple act transformed the space and the priest.  The priest was no longer an ordinary human.  When the relics of Pope John Paul II passed through the pueblo here his vehicle was preceded by el santisimo.   Again, this simple act transforms everything.   When the Virgin of Health (Nuestra Señora Virgen de la Salud) is taken through the streets of Patzcuaro she is preceded by el santisimo and this act makes the space different than it was before.    One final example.  A young Mexican woman described her grandmother;s beliefs around Good Friday.  It is assumed that Jesus died at 10:00 AM and for the next 24 hours the small hole in the sky that allowed communication with God was closed.  For this reason her grandmother did absolutely nothing during those hours.   The young woman herself seemed to find the words to express this belief and the idea of a hole was the only description available.

Some will see this as a little harsh and perhaps naive and it may be all of these as I am a newcomer to all of this.  However, there are equally strange beliefs held by non-religious people.   Think of the beliefs many hold about the economy:  giving money to the wealthy will trickle down and “raise all boats”.  Low taxes will stimulate growth.  Acting in a communal way to provide health care or other necessities is a version of communism and thus dangerous to our liberties.  Democracies can be imposed on traditional societies.  Capitalism makes people happier than do hunting and gathering societies (often called primitive societies).   The rich have worked hard (harder than others) for their rewards.   When you eat fat it turn to fat on the body.  By not including the number 13 in an apartment tower the 13th floor somehow disappears.

We are all caught in a web of magical thinking of one kind or another.  It is only when in the midst of a quite different magical perspective that we are forced to think about our own perspective.

FRAGMENTS: COCUCHO, BODAS,

This and other post with this title are an attempt to simply capture a moment which will perhaps fall into a larger picture in the future, or perhaps not.

#1 During a fiesta for the Virgin of Immaculate Conception in Cocucho two things struck me. First, while watching a group of viejito dancers in a vigorous performance I noticed a teenage girl holding what looked like a Barbie doll. I concluded it was really an image of the Virgin and began to pay more attention to the crowds on the street. Indeed, many people had these small Virgins and young girls often compared their images, perhaps commenting on the way they were dressed. On occasion a man was seen carrying a larger image. There were countless images on the streets. Later on entering the church we found the pews all pushed to the sides. A moment later we heard the band approaching and the viejito dancers entered following an image of the Virgin and an incense burner. After vigorous dancing they left the church and it became apparent that many people were gathered at the front of the church where they appeared to be praying or touching a large image of the Virgin. Those that did received a gladiola flower. Some recipients then took part of the flower and ran it over the image, others tied their flowers to a stick and lifted it high to pass it over the glass protecting a painting of the Virgin, some ran their own image of the Virgin over the larger image and others just touched the images. A stranger approached us to tell her story. She had been badly injured in an accident and it was thought she wold not walk again. She prayed to this particular image (she said you have to also have faith) and indeed here she was walking into the church. She no longer lives locally but makes an effort to return to the church to pray and say thank you.

#2 A second fragment is perhaps related. We entered a village to find a main street blocked and tables being set up. We learned a wedding celebration was in the making and in talking to a friend who lived next door we were told something of the local traditions. One part of this tradition that struck me was the practice of “bendición” (the blessing). This portion happened the day before the wedding when the bride and groom could be found at home kneeling on a straw mat.
Their parents and godparents (and presumably others) enter the home and there make the sign of the cross on the forehead of the new couple. What was this about? Was it just the community acknowledging the new family being formed? In a very real sense giving their blessing to the union. Was it the community making it clear to the couple that what they were doing was before the eyes of God? Was it just a blessing (our way of saying good luck)? An unrelated part of the tradition was that on the morning after the fiesta which was about to begin the new couple was obliged to rise very early and make fresh atole (a local corn based hot drink ) and deliver it to their parents and godparents since it was assumed they may have had too much to drink and needed this assistance in starting their day.

#3 And a third fragment, also a wedding ritual. After the wedding the young couple are required to stand on chairs while their friends gently attempt to knock them off the chair. The two have to try and save the other from falling since it is believed that if they fall the marriage will not last. Perhaps a good metaphor for an enduring union.