An Ancient Ritual Comes to Life in Nandaime, Nicaragua: Holy Wednesday Flagellants

Holy Wednesday, Nandaime Nicaragua

                                   

The person in the photo above may look like a street thug, but he actually is a participant in one of the most unique Holy Week events in Nicaragua and you will not read about this event in Nicaragua guide-books. Nandaime hosts one of the most original interpretations of Holy Week rituals on its streets  the Wednesday before Easter, Holy Wednesday. This day, to all appearances, looked like a normal day in this small town in the Southwest of Nicaragua town about a half-hour outside of the lovely colonial city of Granada.  

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The town was quiet, but there was an atmosphere of anticipation and people were lined up along the steers waiting for something.

One tour brochure had stated that at Noon on Holy Wednesday, the church bells ring and "people start making a lot of noise". It turned out that the noise was a part of something a whole lot bigger and extremely interesting.

Santa Ana church, Nandaime, Nicaragua

Santa Ana church, Nandaime, Nicaragua

Above is the town's church, peaceful with its courtyard empty.  Yet, the rest of Nandaime was anything but peaceful that day.  Minutes before, at noon, the church bells had rung 

and a crowd of costumed people, mostly young, had taken off from its courtyard brandishing whips. One can be seen below taking a rest.  The crowd's objective was to hit (and I can personally attest, not lightly) anyone one in their path or anyone they could lay hands on. 

Holy Wednesday Participants, Nandaime Nicaragua

Holy Wednesday participants, Nandaime Nicaragua

The armed horde made two rounds of the town's streets streets and at 12:30 sharp they returned to the church yard and it was all over.  Costumes were removed and there was no more whipping.  The whole event lasted exactly one half hour and despite the seeming free-for-all atmosphere, was very structured and ritualized. 

Yard of Santa Ana Church, Nandaime Nicaragua

The Tools:

Whip used Holy Wednesday, Nandaime Nicaragua

Whip used Holy Wedneday, Nandaime Nicaragua

Whip used Holy Wednesday, Nandaime Nicaragua

The Flagellantes:

Medieval Spanish Flagellante

Self-whipping has existed within various religious groups since ancient times as a personal practice of penance for sins.  Around the 11th century in Europe it became more wide-spread and popular as a form of penance within the Catholic church and was taken up by radical factions within the church, later to be condemned by the church as heretical and banned by many rulers.  These groups of flagellants in Medieval Europe would march en masse through the cities whipping themselves, and bleeding as a public show of piety.  It was a popular movement that cropped up throughout Europe particularly in times of famine or plague; it was believed that self-mortification purged sins.  

The resemblance of this Nandaime participant to the Medieval flagellant above is unmistakeable, with the exception that he had not been whipping himself, but everyone else he could get to. Despite the excitement and laughter, the roots of this celebration are quite profound.

Holy Wednesday participant, Nandaime, Nicaragua

On a much smaller scale, processions of hooded flagellants are still a feature in Mediterranean Catholic countries and in Latin America. Penitential practices are often tied to the church season of Lent, of which Holy Week is a part. Nowadays they are more often symbolic than the out and out self-mortification of former times; the Holy Wednesday event in Nandaime is one such instance. Likely, flagellation was once practiced more openly in the area, and the low-level, time-limited whipping that is a part of Holy Wednesday is a cultural memory of these events. 

Nandaime's Holy Wednesday whipping spree is an accepted part of the towns' culture and more or less taken for granted by the people there as a fun event.  Everyone seems to have a lot of fun with it despite the occasional painful hit.  Although it may look like wanton aggression to the visitor, it is very ritualized and religious in nature.  It begins in at the church with church bells and ends there as well. 

Holy Wednesday in Nandaime is an enactment of the ancient flagellatory practices with a twist- the participants are not whipping themselves, as in the old times, but are whipping everyone else; everyone, willing or not, gets to participate in the penitential activity.   Holy Wednesday in Nandaime is both a remembrance of the old penitential practices and a modern parody of them that stands the old practice of self-flagellation on its head. It is unclear whether or not the mostly young participants in the Holy Wednesday melee are aware of its origins.

Ex-Convento of Santiago Apóstol Cuilapan: A Unique Monastery in Oaxaca

Ex-Convento of Santiago Apóstol, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

History is vibrant in this 16th monastery located near the town of Zaachila in Oaxaca. The ex-convento of Santiago Apóstol is described by Richard Perry, the Mexican architecture specialist, as "one of the most original churches in the Americas". This is because of its open-air basilica, which in colonial times was covered with a thatched roof and used as an open-air church;  the same function was performed by the atriums of other monasteries. A basilica is a very old church architectural form featuring a single hall, double rows of columns and a semi-circular apse (domed vault) at its end.  

The "basilica", Santiago Apóstol, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

View from within basilica looking outward, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

History:
The pre-conquest inhabitants of this area were Mixtec Indians living in an area that was largely Zapotec;  Cuilapan participated in the cultural heritage of both of these groups.   During colonial times each year the victory of Mixtecs over Zapotecs in Cuilapan was celebrated in the basilica and the church contains the grave of a Zapotec princess, as well.   Connection to cultural heritage continues to this day.   Every July 25th during the celebration of the church's patron saint Santiago (James) there is a ceremonial dance, the Dance of the Conquest, to mark the Aztecs' defeat by Cortés.  The Aztecs had been an enemy of the local Zapotecs and Mixtecs, by 1450 crossing over into the Valley of Oaxaca to control their trade routes and collect tribute from them.  Cortes' defeat of the Aztecs put an end to their subjugation.

Friars of the Dominican order arrived in Oaxaca in 1528 and over the years built a network of impressive monasteries in the area as a part of their effort of converting the indigenous peoples.  (see May 20, 2013 post about another one of these, Yanhuitlan- http://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2013/05/yanhuitlan-oaxaca-colonial-culture.html).  Cuilapan was begun in 1550 and work was continued until the 1570's and stopped in 1580, remaining unfinished until the present. In the 18th century, the religious orders became increasingly less important as the secular clergy began to be in charge of religious life in Mexico.  The Dominicans left Cuilapan in 1753, at which point Santiago Apóstol ceased to be a monastery, becoming an ex-convento.

Portrait of Cuilapan Convent Complex with roof intact, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Historical Portrait of Cuilapan Convent complex, Cuilapan,  Oaxaca MX

Construction:

In order of construction, the open-air basilica was built first and used as a worship space while the main church was built.  At one point, a wood roof covered the open church and the far arch in the arcade of the basilica was blocked to further enclose it;  although the side arches are now open again, the back arch remains blocked. The two portraits, which hang in the monastery's cloister, show Cuilapan as it looked in colonial times with the basilica enclosed,  although in one of them the roof is partly gone which could have referred to the later collapse, but this is unclear.

Blocked back arch, Santiago Apóstol, Cuilapan, MX

The Church:
Although the church, still in use as a house of worship, is built on a grand scale, its interior is rather stark, bare and lacking in the elaborate altarpieces and statuary seen in other Oaxacan churches. The entrance to the church, tucked-away, in a courtyard is completely plain, lacking the elaborately-carved façade that is typically present.

Church Entrance, Santiago Apóstol, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

The church interior is plain with none of the elaborately-carved and guilded side altars that would normally be seen in a building of this stature.

Santiago Apóstol church, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

The church is entered through the rear, which is where its door is located. The photo shows the  starkness and lack ornamentation of this area.  

Door  and rear of Santiago Aspóstol Church, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Main Altar, Santiago Apóstal, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

The side chapel used for adoration of the Holy Sacrament is the most decorative space with the church; notice the colorful wall murals that remain.

Side chapel, Santiago Apóstol, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

In comparison with many Oaxacan churches, Santiago Apóstol has sparse statuary; its most impressive image is a folk sculpture of Santiago on horseback, that is a very typical image in Oaxaca.

Santiago Apóstol,  Church of Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Princess Donaji:

Tomb of Princess Donaji, Santiago Apóstol Church, Cuilapan Oaxaca MX

The tombstone of Princess Donaji, a 16th century Zapotec convert to Christianity who was the daughter of the last king of the Zapotecs.   Recalling Oaxacan history, there had been endless battles between the Mixtecs and Zapotecs and Donaji was taken by the Mixtecs as a pledge of peace, to be killed if the Zapotecs did not keep their word.  Zapotec warriors burst into Mixtec territory after the peace had been reached and Donaji was killed. The legend says that her head and face were found perfectly preserved in a field; her body was buried in the church, presumably, to attract new Zapotec converts.

The Cloister:
The Cuilapan convent contained sixteen cells for friars as well as the common living and working areas.

View of Cuilapan Cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Courtyard of Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Exterior corridor of Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Interior Corridor of Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca  MX

Cloister Murals:

The Cuilapan cloister interior was once a rich visual environment with many walls covered with murals; some of these still remain,  although in varying degrees of deterioration.  The most important of the murals is the "Tree of Martyrs", seen below. Each individual monk portrayed holds a palm, symbol of their martyr status.

     

                                     

                       Tree of Martyrs,  Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, MX

This kind of a tree is a device that various groups have used to define their long genealogy to establish an identity of deep-rootedness, significance and authority. In the colonial world it was, more or less, a marketing device used by various religious orders to establish their legitimacy  among the indigenous peoples they were aiming to convert.  The idea of tree resonated deeply with the Mesoamerican psyche, as world trees were a motif in many Mesoamerican cosmologies, embodying the four cardinal directions and the tree as an axis mundi connecting underworld with the sky and earthly planes.

Other murals reflecting Renaissance motifs, as seen below, were common in colonial Mexico.  This is explored in the March 11, 2014 post of this blog:  http://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2014/03/italian-renaissance-in-colonial-mexico.html

Niche formerly containing devotional image, Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Wall mural, Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

This arch below reveals the remnant of the kind of Renaissance floriate decoration typical of these monasteries. Symbolically this type of decoration reflected the idea of Paradise and often contained images of local flora.

Floriate arch decoration in Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

As was the practice in monasteries, various luminaries of their order such as the bishops below, were shown in the wall murals.

Wall mural, Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Wall mural, Cuilapan cloister, Cuilapan, Oaxaca MX

Although Santiago Apóstol may not be Oaxaca's most ornate worship space, it is certainly  an interesting one.  Cuilapan's open-air "basilica" is unique in Mexico and it is the only church to house the tomb of a legendary Zapotec princess.  The stark interior and exterior of the church is so unexpected that it contributes to Cuilapan's unique identity. 

The "Last Supper" Come to Life: Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Merida, MX

Panorama Photo of the Last Supper, Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Merida MX

Tucked away in a tiny chapel in the back corner of Merida's Cathedral Complex is a worship space unique in all of Latin America.  A life-size replica of the Last Supper, the event at the center of all Christian liturgies, is permanently housed in the corner next to the main altar.  It is the only church in Latin America like this.

Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Façade, Merida MX

Capilla de El Divino Maestro is an unpretentious place with a plain façade and the espedaña (bell tower) typical of Yucatan churches.  Although it is physically within the Cathedral building, it is an independent house of worship. 

The chapels origins were early, in 1647, when the Brotherhood of Jesus of Nazareth (Jesús Nazareno) asked the Cathedral to provide a space for constructing its own chapel. Almost two centuries later, in 1836, the archbishop gave the chapel to the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament (Santissimo Sacramento) to hold its monthly meetings and to place their images of Jesus (Divino Maestro) and the Apostles (Santos Apostoles). It also housed tombs of deceased brotherhood members. 

Today, in Merida, the chapel is an important center for the devotion to Jesus of Nazareth, whose figure can be seen in the decorative Plateresque Altarpiece. 

Front Altar with Worshipers, Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Merida MX

Figure of Jesus in Front Altar, Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Merida MX

What sets the chapel apart from all other Latin American worship spaces is the replica of the Last Supper permanently installed to the right side of the front altar.

Front Altar and "Last Supper", Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Merida MX

There is a small sign above the table listing the names of the Apostles.  

List of the Disciples represented at the image of the Last Supper, Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Merida MX

Each of the images is unique and true to descriptions  in the New Testament, and each wears a name-tag.  At the table from left to right they are: Bartolomé (Bartholomew), Felipe (Philip), Marco (Mark), Santiago (James), Judas Tadeo (Jude), Judas Iscariot, Tomás (Thomas), Santiago Alfeo (James son of Alpheus), Andrés (Andrew), and Simón (Simon). 

Saints Bartholomew, Philip, Mark, James, Capilla de el Divino Maestro, Merida MX

Saints James, John, Jesus and Saint Peter, Capilla de El Divino Maestro, Merida MX

Judas Iscariot, Saints Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Andrew and Simon, Capilla de el Divino Maestro, Merida MX

The figure of Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus to Roman Authorities, is portrayed without a halo because he, unlike the others, is not a saint; in fact he was quite the opposite. The expression on his face betrays his conflict, which Biblical accounts go on to elaborate.

  

Judas Iscariot, Cailla de el Divino Maestro, Merida MX

Saints Jude, John, Jesus and Saint Peter, Capilla de el Divino Maestro, Merida, MX 

To Jesus' right sits the man known in the Bible only as the "Beloved Disciple".  He looks  young, innocent and almost angelic; he is sometimes identified as John son of Zebedee.  The eyes of Jesus look heavenward.


The Power of Image in Worship:

"Ultima Cena" (Last Supper), Capilla de el Divino Maestro, Merida MX

The biblical "Last Supper" was actually a Passover meal in which Jesus instituted the Christian sacrament of Communion.  He said that his followers were to eat  bread and wine  representing his own body and blood that he was sacrificing for the sins of humanity, and to do this in remembrance of him. The church altar is the symbolic table at which this meal is prepared and then consumed by participants in the Mass who, throughout the centuries, have continued to "remember" Jesus in this way. 

Having an actual image of the "Last Supper" must make the spoken words of the Mass more tangible and  spiritually accessible  to participants in the worship at Capilla de El Divino Maestro.  Through the images, Jesus and his disciples are present in this place dedicated to their memory and, certainly,  this is a large part of what makes this tiny chapel such a powerful and popular place of worship in the city of Merida.  

Queen Saint Esther: A Lost World Within an Image

Bulto of Queen Esther, by Raymond Lopez, Santa Fe, NM

Queen Esther was a hero to the conversos (also called maranos or Crypto-Jews),  the Spanish Jews who had converted to Catholicism to survive the anti-Judaism developing in Spain around the 14th century. Ferdinand and Isabella established the Inquisition in 1478 after which it became very risky to continue the observance of Judaism as many of the forced converts had been doing. Although some of these conversos had left their Jewish roots behind, others as Queen Esther had in her time, lived two lives. Surfacely, they conformed to the social expectations of Catholic observance but within their homes they maintained a hidden observance of Judaism that over time bore little resemblance to the original religion. 

Although it is a minor book of the Bible, the Book of Esther and the holiday associated with it, Purim, was a favorite of the conversos.   Like them, Esther had gone undercover with her Jewish identity, as Queen of Persia, to save her people from the tyrant Haman.  She was an inspiration to the Spanish Jews who, like her, had hidden their identities to save themselves and their people from the tyranny of Spain and the Inquisition.

Although Queen Esther was never an official saint within the Catholic Church, the conversos transformed her into Saint Esther. They called her Santa Ester or Santa Esterica, and they reinvented Purim, which was not possible to celebrate under the eye of the Spanish Inqusition,  as “The Festival of Saint Esther". With the 1492 Spanish Edict of Expulsion, many Jews and conversos left Spain bringing their transformed brand of Judaism with them, including this festival.

Images were central in Spanish Catholicism with representations of Mary, Jesus and the saints abounding in devotion and worship.  The conversos added to these  images Queen Esther as Santa Ester.  Images of St. Esther were popular in New Mexico which, in the early colonial years, had a large converso population. At that time, the Inquisition had not yet reached this area and the former Jews there had a sense of safety about observing  remnants of their ancestral religious practices. 

Santos (painted images) and bultos (statues) of Saint Esther were made in New Mexico until the early 1960's when Archbishop Peter Davis of Santa Fe decided to get rid of remaining Jewish elements in the Catholic faith of parishioners.  Since that time images of Saint Esther have become rare.

Santo of Saint Esther, New Mexico

The santo above was painted by Charles Carrillo, a well-known contemporary New Mexican santero, author and archaeologist.  He said that although he had requests for images of Esther, over the years, he had not done any of them recently.

Skirt, in reverse, from top photo

The first photo of Esther shows a bulto that was an adaptation of a stage-prop made by the santero for a play, "Parted Waters" by Robert F. Benjamin. This play was described as a "drama about three generations of a New Mexico Hispanic family grappling with hidden Jewish ancestry".   Esther's skirt, when turned upside-down as seen above, reveals a schematic representation of the biblical Hebrews crossing the Red Sea.  This hidden symbolism was emblematic of the life of these conversos who held their ancestral Judaism close to their hearts, although hidden.