This of this weeks reading by Roger Canals titled “The mirror effect: seeing and being seen in the cult of Marıa Lionza” was of particular interest to me because I seemed to keep drawing parallels between certain aspects of their practices and the religion that I grew up in. BIG disclaimer I was baptized and raised Roman Catholic so cult not quite depending on whom you’re talking to. However I was drawing connections between different ritualistic movements I would go through during mass. Such as making the sign of the cross, making eye contact with others and shaking hands offering peace during certain sacraments. When I was thinking of this I thought about the importance that the cult of Maria Lionza held on eye contact and connectivity in this sense.
I appreciate that this cult worships females at the centre and puts emphasis on them being forces of nature. Again, there is a sense of old school thought in terms of fertility being a main focal point as well. As per my first connection to my own Catholic faith I found it interesting the further I read in the article they mentioned various elements that were adopted from the Catholic faith such as the adoration of saints.
In terms of drawing another personal observation between the cult of Maria Lionza and the Catholic faith is the theme of death. Catholics believe that Jesus, the son of God, came to Earth and died for us on the cross in order for us to have eternal life with him in heaven. This is similar to how in the cult the death of Hugo Chavez, the ex president. So much so that his picture can be found on many alters according to the article. I found this interesting as well as wondered what the significance to do with seven years passing before someone’s spirit enters the spirit realm. More so the particular number seven and the significance that holds.
My question for the class (if people are comfortable discussing their experiences with their own religion) is what are some parallels that stood out to you while reading about the traditions and rituals of the cult of Maria Lionza and do you think your own religion had any impact on why these particulars stuck out to you?
Hi!
I also think it’s interesting to see the interplay between the cult of Maria Lionza and Catholicism. I was also baptized Catholic and definitely see the connections. I mean the name alone (Maria) is a deeply Catholic name (Mary in English). Like Mary, Lionza is described (by some of the people interviewed) as a virgin. Yet (also like Mary) she is revered for her connections to family and fertility. There is a pattern of connecting female religious symbols to family and fertility.
Hi!!
I am a practicing Catholic and I also found so many parallels and interesting connections in this article with Catholicism! One thing that I found really interesting was the way that the use of cameras were restricted during the ceremonies. Canals mentions that he wasn’t allowed to film certain parts or stand in certain places, and that he couldn’t use flash on his camera. While he goes on to explain that the reasons for this involve the energy of the camera and the spirit and the person being possessed, I couldn’t help but draw a connection to the Catholic Mass. Mass is, as you mentioned, somewhat of a ritual for us, and in most places and circumstances, photography is not encouraged/permitted. If you are going to take pictures, you should not be moving around or disturbing anyone, and you should not use flash. As well, you shouldn’t be taking pictures as the eucharist is being consecrated, unless you have explicit permission (like how Canals couldn’t film the actual moment of the second possession). Now, the reasons for this are more along the lines of respectfulness and focusing on what’s going on in the mass. But the comparison is interesting…
I liked your post!
I draw many parallels between the readings and my own family’s religions. Well, most of my family is Catholic, but my mom is also a spiritist. So I had already heard about the possessions rituals, and it was curious to see how the person the medium posses vary according to culture. But the main idea of Spiritism was there, connecting the human and spirit worlds. Besides this, I could draw another parallel with the syncretic aspects of the cult of María Lionza. Specifically, in the cult, we can see catholicism influence present. Likewise, my mom’s Spiritism always came in the company of Catholicism. For instance, once, she told me that she went to a Spiritism center to get rid of a negative energy/spirit. Once the mediums connected to the bad spirit and convinced it to leave my mother alone, the spirits people told my mom to pray and explained that the cross is powerful in protecting people from bad energies. Here, we can see these mixtures of beliefs. Those were some of the parallels I made. Nice question.
Hi, I found what you had to say really interesting!
My extended family is very religious on both sides; my grandma from my mom’s side almost became a nun, actually. Both sides are Catholic. I had very similar thoughts to yours as I read Canal’s reading.
I just have one thing to add– it’s only tangentially related, but I figured it’s interesting. I took a class in Anthropology of Media, and easily the most interesting thing from my perspective was a question we got for the final exam regarding how an automaton priest functioned as a medium (as in, how does it affect whatever the messenger is trying to communicate). Here is a link to what I’m referring to (https://blackbird.vcu.edu/v1n1/nonfiction/king_e/prayer_introduction.htm); it’s an automaton priest commissioned by the holy Roman emperor Charles V.
In short, the story goes that the Emperor’s son was sick, so they put the body of a priest believed to be capable of performing miracles in his bed; the emperor prayed to god, promising he would give him a miracle if god gave him a miracle (he was a very humble man, haha). The son survived, and said he saw the priest while he was unconscious; therefore, the emperor made an automaton of the priest so that the priest would praise god forever.
The main point is that the automaton priest functions as the ideal Catholic– he performs the rituals over and over and over, never asking questions, never failing to complete the rituals, or sinning, or making mistakes in performing the rituals. So I found it interesting to see that this cult of personality also follows concrete rituals, and I would be interested to see how much pressure there is for strict observance of their rituals. Regardless, rituals are definitely one parallel I noticed between the cult of María Lionza and Catholicism, and it’s a commonality I have always noticed (as far as I’ve seen, although there’s likely exceptions somewhere) between cults and religions, but Catholicism specifically (since it’s what I’m most familiar with).