The Penitente Brotherhood and Images of Death

Posted on November 11, 2013 by clstormes

Last Tuesday, Professor Carlo Severi gave a lecture regarding a cult of Christianity (the Penitente Brotherhood) that developed in certain areas of the United States (New Mexico and Colorado). Since the Penitentes are a rather secretive group, Severi had to draw information on them from images and the conditions from which they arose. At the heart of his talk, he wanted to convey the necessity of the images and traditions developed within a culture. It was not enough that the images he presented merely be observed as empirically demonstrable facts; rather, he sought to show that the conditions of the culture in which they arose were such that they had to.

One of the major factors leading to its creation was the interaction of Christian civilizations with Native Americans. The lecturer noted their relationship was often contentious, resulting in fighting and killing. One particular image – that of a Native American attacking an image of Jesus – became particularly salient. The violence and persistence associated with these attacks were given a central role in cultic practice, to the point that a new saint, Dona Sebastiana, was created. This unique figure is always depicted as a skeletal woman, often wielding a bow and arrow. Even more interesting is the ritual associated with her in which an effigy of her with bow and arrow in posed to fire arrows at actual members of the cult who represent Jesus.

Dona Sebastiana

Beyond these visual differences, Severi went on to mention for theological differences between the Penitente Brotherhood and more mainstream Catholicism. All of the images he provided during his lecture were very morbid in nature. Dona Sebastiana for one was obviously a reminder of mortality, but beyond her, the Penitente Brotherhood practiced self-flagellation and simulated crucifixion. One image that stuck with me in particular was that of the flagellation of Christ. While this was by no means an unusual theme in Catholic imagery in general, the Penitente’s version was particularly graphic, the back of Christ being so abused as to reveal His spine and ribcage. This paired with the symbolic attack on Christ by Dona Sebastiana mentioned above constitute a view of Christianity in which death seems to triumph over Christ rather than the other way around.

Kneeling Death Figure

With this in mind, I felt Severi’s argument for the images necessity to be compelling. Given the social climate in which attacks from Native Americas were a frightening threat and the relationship Catholic theology already had with death, the incorporation of new death images and attitudes seems at least a natural progression, if not a necessary one.

Images

http://cdn2.brooklynmuseum.org/images/opencollection/objects/size3/1997.70_transp5516.jpg

Weigle, Marta. “Ghostly Flagellants and Doña Sebastiana: Two Legends of the Penitente Brotherhood”. Western Folklore , Vol. 36, No. 2 (Apr., 1977), p 136

Cultural Influence and Tholos Tombs in Bronze Age Greece

Posted on November 2, 2013 by clstormes

Our discussion of interpretation through analogy this week in class reminded me of a somewhat contentious issue in the archaeology of late Bronze Age Greece, the issue surrounding the influence of Minoan burial practices on those of Mycenae. By the late Bronze Age, Mycenae had unquestioningly gained power over, and thus influence from, the society that had developed on Crete. Minoan architectural and artistic forms and styles begin to pop up all over Mycenaean Greece. One of these borrowed forms, some scholars argue, is that of the behive-shaped tholos tombs (plural “tholoi”).

The Remains of a Minoan Tholos

According to Ashmore and Sharer, an archaeologist interested in utilizing a specific analogy in her interpretation of archaeological remains has three burdens placed upon her: She must show that there is cultural continuity, comparability in environment, and similarity of cultural form (Ashmore 183). Those who believe the Mycenaean tholoi to be direct products of Minoan ones I think can readily provide support for at least the first and second of these, but evidence for the third is more nebulous. Cultural continuity can be accounted for by reference to the facts that the last Minoan tholoi and the first Mycenaean ones occur very closely chronologically (Rutter); with the added knowledge of the Mycenaean conquest of Crete, the notion that Mycenaean tholoi are direct descendants of Minoan ones is strengthened. Being as conservative as possible, we can say that the Mycenaeans were at least aware of Minoan tholoi while they were building their own. Even less problematically, the environment of Mycenaean Greece and Minoan Crete are certainly comparable; they are both mountainous regions located in the Aegean Sea.

The remains of a Mycenaean tholos

Most dubious, however, is the argument that Mycenae displays a cultural form similar to Minoa. One of the clearest examples of difference between the two is Mycenae’s orientation towards war which is much stronger than Crete’s; indeed Minoan art is virtually void of any depictions of war which is heavily contrasted with the many battle scenes one can find in Mycenaean frescoes (Dickinson 167). This one example alone shows the cultures to be very different and makes the notion that something as culturally important and sensitive as burial practices could be so easily adopted a bit shaky. Furthermore, attitudes towards the dead in Crete were demonstrably different than those in Mycenae: Tombs in Crete were built for the dead of entire communities rather than families as in Mycenae; additionally, Minoan tholoi were generally built above ground whereas their counterparts on the mainland were either built underground or covered in a layer of dirt, a practice of perhaps symbolic importance (Rutter). All of these considerations lend credence to the idea that, while perhaps Minoan tholoi influenced the design of those in Mycenae, it may be too strong to say they were entirely taken from Crete.

Unsettling Columbus Day

Posted on October 11, 2013 by clstormes

Though the movie that was showed for the Unsettling Columbus Day event never directly mentioned archaeology in any capacity, its message no doubt remains in tune with that of indigenous archaeology. The film was a half-hour documentary of sorts. If followed a Native American group in Denver, Colorado as they tried to raise awareness and hopefully put a stop to the Columbus Day parade that was scheduled to happen. While to most white (or at least non-Native American) people featured in the video regarded the holiday as a sort of origin story for their country, the initial event that would in time precipitate both America and their personal families’ history in it, the Native Americans, understandably did not. Rather, they saw it as the event that would eventually result in the subjugation of their people, the displacement from their lands and, most horribly, mass genocide. It’s striking to think of the stark contrast between the two views of this day that come so naturally to these two groups of people.

It is no mystery then, how indigenous archaeology relates to these themes being discussed. The central goal of indigenous archaeology is to prevent the such one-sided views from occurring in study of past cultures. Given that fact the Native American population is so small in America compared to other demographics, it is no surprise that they are underrepresented in the field, even when it is their own culture that is being studied. Indigenous archaeology, then, seeks to include members of a culture being studied in the research process so as to prevent the misinterpretations and insensitive practices that can go on without them.

This deference to indigenous perspectives shows an attitude of acknowledgement and respect that is sadly denied to the protesters in the film. Though their demonstrations got a bit extreme (at one point, a protester poured a bucket containing fake blood and a baby doll in front of the parade’s path), their being upset is very understandable. As was mentioned in the post-film discussion, Native Americans are often forgotten in the public consciousness as a still existing people, in large part due to the atrocities committed against them that greatly reduced their numbers, paired with the desire of white Americans to forget their immoral, bloody past. Thus, practices like indigenous archaeology bridges the gap between the Native American and European American communities that is built by such attitudes.

A Cautionary Tale

Posted on September 26, 2013 by clstormes

Heinrich Schliemann. Few have given and simultaneously taken so much away from a field of study. Today Schliemann is best known for being the man who found the likely site of the previously assumed mythical city of Troy, the very same city that was supposedly besieged for ten years by Aegean warriors led by Agamemnon, the city that saw the death of Hector and Achilles and was burnt to the ground after accepting a inconspicuous wooden horse into its walls. The very mention of its name conjures up images of a time when gods spoke to men and a species of heroes fought to the death for glory. And this man, Schliemann, is the one who found the city Homer sang about, and what a magnificent find it is. If only Heinrich Schliemann weren’t also the man who destroyed it.

Sophia Schliemann wearing “The Jewels of Helen”

To modern archaeologists, Schliemann serves as more of a cautionary tale than anything else. His overly ambitious attitude in the Troy and other digs exemplify a disposition that seeks to confirm preconceived notions about the past rather than discover what the evidence actually suggests, one that desires treasure, fame, and a compelling narrative more than anything else. Having set out with the intent to find the city of Priam in all the glory Homer lends it, Schliemann became unable to see anything as he dug into the hill known as Hisarlik but gold. Indeed, he dug and dug, destroying the stratified ruins of many past Troys until he came upon a layer he deemed acceptable of the name. The Troy he took to be the one of legend (today referred to as Troy II) shows evidence of a fire and contained “Priam’s Treasure” including the “Jewels of Helen.” As would later be discovered, Troy II also happened to flourish about 1000 years before the Trojan War supposedly happened, meaning the remains of Homer’s Troy were likely largely destroyed by the spades of Schliemann. (Fields 10)

The many Troys at Hisarlik

Broadly, the story of Schliemann can be used to highlight particular challenges faced by archaeologists if impartiality is to be preserved. Schliemann was a product of a culture that revered classical Greece perhaps excessively. Without any reverence for the history of the site beyond his narrow interpretation of its importance, he not only failed to find the information he sought, but also disregarded and disrespected the millennia of civilizations that existed on that hill in Turkey. Regardless towards whether or not Hisarlik is the location of Troy in actuality, the sheer volume of material evidence found in it is large enough to be invaluable to a study of past cultures of the region. But as far as Schliemann was concerned, there was nothing of importance there that wasn’t related to one ancient Greek myth, ironically causing him to ignore the only layer of the site that possibly could be related to it. His story should serve as a lesson to all archaeologists: Don’t allow biased expectations get in the way of what the evidence suggests.

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Author Archives: clstormes

The Penitente Brotherhood and Images of Death

Cultural Influence and Tholos Tombs in Bronze Age Greece

Unsettling Columbus Day

A Cautionary Tale