Loza, Steven - Religion as Art

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© 200,) by the UniVl'rsity ofNl'w Mexico Press

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UBRARY Of CONGRISS CA1AI() ( ; IN ( ' - IN-P lJ I l I ICAlION DATA

as art: Guadalup(" Orishas. and Sufi I "ditpd hy St('wn I.oza.

p. ern.

Based on nroceedilH.!s from the COnfi'f<'IKe at the

National I fispan1c Culhlral Center.

Includes IO(."Jr;tnhw;t1 Tf'fcrcncps.

: alk. paper}SBN

I. Arts and

2. Guadalupe. Our I.ady of-Congresses.

I. Loz:J, Steven Joseph.

II. National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico. I n " ~ r - d i s c i p l i n a r y Conlicrence.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

XI

Introduction

I' ART I.GuaJalupc'1ml L11C Ilistorical

Interpretalion of R c l i ~ i o n ,IS Arl

Gu;]tlalupc ami Los Remedios:

Ilow Eacll Gained Its Ckuaderislic Idenlity

BY FRANCISCO MI RANDA GODiNEZ

11

Municipal Art in Early Guada]upan Processions

BY MARTINUS CAWLEY

24

Virgin Mary, Guadalupe, amI Mi!Oiralioll:

from lhe Mid-Sixleenlh an d Lale-Twenlieth Centuries

BY LINDA B. HALL

40

Ou r Lady of Guadalupe in Historical Perspect.ive

BY STAFFORD POOLE, C.M.

58



PART II.

Visual an d Poelic Art:

History, Aesthetics, i11Hl Religion

)::rom Merriam lo Guaclalupe:

' r ~ ) w a r J a Tlleory for [.(e!igioll as Art

BYSTEVEN LOZA

73

Specta\,)r

BY RAY HERNANDEZ-DURAN

87

Edilin!C1l11C ;\ntl101o!C1Y l?cmaming Ecstasy:

Laliuo Wrilin!=,!s 01 1 tlte Sacred

IlY ORLANDO RICARDO MENES

107

PART III.

j\1usical R { ~ L l L i ( ) l 1 s 1 1 i p s or l ~ a i l h am I Arl

i 11 C elclnati llg Lite Guadalupe Tra<Ii lion

Tb e Presence of M i ~ l \ e l Bernal Jimenez in tile ]::ifLictll

;\ nuiversary of t11C C OTOnatioll of L1w V ir!C1in of G1Iadalupe

BY LORENA DfAZ NUNEZ

117

\Vihwss to dIC' Beautiful i"lestiza:

as Experil'llce "f the SacreJ

BY SYLVIA TAN

128

PART IV.

GuaJa\upe an d tIle Native American Experience

Indigenous fl.lysticism

BY MARIA WILLIAMS

137

Guadalupe:

An InJigenous Mythic EJucation Perspective

BY GREGORY A. CAJETE

143

Th e Pueblo Indian 13xperience

BY 10 E SANDO

159

P A ~ T v.

Comparative Concepts in th e Praxis of Religion as Art

Th e Virgins of Guadalupe (Tollantzin)

an d La Caridad ,leI Cobre

BY FRANCISCO J. CRESPO

167

Guadalupe, Yemanja, an d tl1C Orixas of CalldOlnble:

All ElllhoJimelll "f Reli,;!ion. A

BY CLARENCE BERNARD HENRY

179

Dauced Relililious Practices as Everyday ;\ rt :

c in MoLion

BY TFRESA MARRERO

189

ObservinlOf h < . ~ Uuobservahle

BY CHARLES E. MOORE

203

Patll to tbe Divine:

. in the Sufi Experience

BY ALI JI HA D RACY

214



Yornlm Rcliliii()us A rb , Secularization,

an d ~ 1 o d ( ' r n Music Tlleatcr

BY AKIN EUBA

219

PART vr.

The Spirit of Gua,lalupe:

ImmiliiraLioll, Human Ri¢llts, .1l1d Spiri tual Conflict

TlecuauIltlazupcut II:

' I ~ m a n t z i nBY IUAN GOME Z -QUINONE S

231

Call I rispallic 11I1Iniliirat.ioll Cllanliic I:lIl1damcl1till Attitlldcs

in Ullited Slalcs I ~ ( ) r e i ~ n Policy'(

BY I.UIS ANTONIO PAYAN

258

R(,liJO!ioll alHl A rl:

Tlw SanLa Fe Art Cnnlrovt'rsy Ahoullllt ' Imprinl

of l.")ur I.atly of (illatlalupc

BY JANICE SCHUETZ

275

{ ln1,rai(linJO! Stories A I)()ut Law, St>xlIalily, am I l\1orality

BY MARGARET MONTOYA

296

BY TIMOTHY A. CANOVA

301

The Contributors

347

Acknow edgments

This volume is the fruit of ardent, dedicated work. There are a number of

and individuals to be thanked for their invaluable contribution s

to the project.

To the staff of the Arts of the Americas I nstitute at the University of

New Mexico during my directorship there, I wish to express my most per-

sonal and special gratitude, specifically to Dr. Maria Williams, associate

director; Beverly Ortiz, program coordinator; and Angela

istrative assistant. W ithout these three dedicated and Iovine: DeoDle. the

by the contributions in not

are many individuals and administrative units within the

of New Mexico that gave immensely of both their time

ral Provost Brian Foster; James Mciver, associate pro-

Steven Block, chair, Department of Music; Jorge Perez

professor of music and director of the University Symphony

Dorothy Baca, profes sor of theater arts; Greg Cajete, director of

Native American studies; Shiame Okunor, director of African American

Enrique Lamadrid, director of Chicano studies; Richard L. Wood,

director of religious studies; and Steven Feld, professor of anthropology

:1 tid music.

For their very import ant role in facilitating the confe rence location and

performances, [ extend our appreciation to Thomas Chavez, former direc-

lor, National Hispanic Cultural Center; Reeve Love, director of performing

,Iris; and Joseph Wasson, program production manager.

III 3ddition to the Arts of the Americas Institute, the National

(:IIIII1r:Il Center, and Ihe City of Albuquerque's Department of

Snvi(('s. sponsors ill( Illdl' IIH' Un of New Mexico's Center for



I"troduction

STEVEN lOZA

I Il lS COl.LECTJON 01' ESSAYS 15 TESTl MaNY TO TH F BEAUTY NOT

"lily of art, but of religion, and its inherent relationship to the making"f ;lrL Since humankind's earliest expressions of the abstract and unex

themselves among the progenitors of religion, art, in its vari

"liS manifestations, has emerged as the one constant and persistent

, loss-cultural, global, universal ideal, and the common denominator

III<' I1I0st divergen t cultures. I have for many years agreed with Italian phi

I""opher Benedetto Croce and so many others, both academic and artist,

111,11 art is the most direct and purest bridge to the metaphysical, or what

III:ly rnore fluidly be called the spiritual. I have agreed with the cosmologi

;Iwareness of many indigenous cultures, especially that of the Native

I\ ! Ill'rican, of the oneness of spirit, mind, body, and the infinite universe.

Th is anthology probes the concept of the arts and their

I" ! I'iigious belief in three cultural areas of the world, expressed through

til!' I digious cultures and practices of the Mexican mestizo belief in the

Vll j ; l ' l l de Guadalupe, the West African Yoruba religion base d on Orishas'

11:ltion system, and the Sufi sect oflslam and its musical/textual prac

I, I of devotional ecstasy to God. As Croce (1952) defined art as "intu

111011" ;Ifill as the supreme form of knowledge, how do the "artistic" aspects

"i II'Jil'ion transcend mere symbol?

'II{' ('spnia lIy sign ilica lit feature of this volume is based on inter

111';( ry ell'S igl l ;1 i;IIOI;11!' lil:l! occllrred at the convocation that

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produced it. The essays were originally presented on May 1214 , 2004 . at

the international conference Towards a Theoryfor Religion as Art: Guadalupe,

Orishas, and Sufi, organized by the Arts of the Americas Institute at the

of New Mexico, where I served as director from 2002 - 2005 . In

these essays, scholars from history, art history, Spanish, ethnomusicology,

political science, religious studie s, communications, photography, law, lit

erature, and other disciplines exchange views on the topic of religion as

art in the three specific areas of Guadalupe, Sufism, and the Orishas of

the Yoruba tradition. The intellectual exchange is stimulating and pro

ductive, especially in those cases where similar practices of art and reH-

arc discussed cross-culturally. It is also of great significance that a

diversity of the arts is conce ptualized cross-culturally, ranging from visual

art and poetry to music and dance, with analysis of their relationships

to society, politics, and culture in general. A good number of the essays

arc comparative studies of two of the three culhlral areas focused on at

the conference.

Enhancing the academic proceedings was a concert produced at the

historic KiMo Theatre in the heart of downtown Albuquerque, featuringan intercultural diversity of music and dance related to the three religion/

arts matrices represented at the conference. Three symphonic pieces

were performed by the University of New Mexico Symphony Orchestra,

directed by forge Perez Gomez: Music of the Arab World: A Sea of Memories,

composed and performed by A. f. Racy; "Ritual Dance" from Orunmila's

Voices, composed by Akin Euba; and SueFto Guadalupano. composed by

Arturo Marquez.

This last piece was especially commissioned for the conference by the

Arts of the Americas Institute, and its performance was its world pre

miere (followed a week later by its California premiere at the

of California Los Angeles by the UCLA Philharmonic under the direction

of fon Robertson). The first half of the concert was equally diverse and

exciting, featuring performances of an Afro-Cuban batd ensemble inter

preting Lucumf (Yoruba) toques and cantos of the orishas; a Sufi medley

terpreted by A. f. Racy and Souhail Kaspar; the Aztec drum circle and

dancers Kapulli Ehekatl, which performed various pieces and recited an

original Nahuatl excerpt from the Nican mopohua. the Aztec description

of the Guadalupe apparition; Black Eagle, the Grammy Award-·winning

drum and voc;J! ('nscrnblc from femez PtH'blo; Latif Bolat. a Turkish artist

of Slifi d('volion:d songs and po<'lry; and filially. three poems rerited

Araceli Chapa and Orlando Ricardo Menes from the latter's anthology of

Latino writings on the sacred accompanied by harp, flute, and symphony

orchestra with music by Mario Ruiz Armengol and Steven Loza.

Yet another installation of art related to the conference was a one-week

exhibit at the fonson Gallery on the University of New Mexico campus

of the Guadalupe Suite of prints, secured for the conference from Self

Help Graphics in East Los Angeles. The suite features about twenty-five

prints based on the Virgin of Guadalupe by various East Los Angeles

Chicano artists.

TIle Essays

Twenty-five of the thirty-two papers presented at the conference are

i Ilcluded herein. I have reorganized the eight original panels into six

essays form a vast, interdisciplinary diversity of both subject

:Ircas and viewpoints, in terms of historical perspective, method, theory,

:llId style, as some of the work is heavily research-based while some is

philosophical or even, in specific cases, polemic. This cross-section:llId mixture of methodological and ideological approaches is one I have

invested much thought and belief in through the years, and I continue to

[il!low this basic philosophy of employing a diverse as possible integration

of both content and form.

I n Part I, Guadalupe and the Historical I nterpretation of History as

Art, various historical underpinnings of the Guadalupe cult, images, and

social and cultural contexts are analyzed and contemplated in essays by

hancisco Miranda Godinez, Martinus Crawley, Linda B. Hall, and Stafford

['oole. Each of these scholars ha s dedicated a major portion of his/her aca

demic life to the study of La Virgen de Guadalupe, and the four essays

to an abundance of questions regarding origins of the cult, the

IIS( ' of art, the meaning of Guadalupe on both sides of the border, and the

111:lterialist validity of the apparitions.

Part II , Visual and Poetic Art: History, Aesthetics, and Religion, also

I'l( IISCS on a plurality of perspectives and subjects, bu t with a common

f(':ld of artistic expression and its conceptualization, both as art and

1111('lkctual inquiry. In my essay exploring the idea of developing a the

y fill religion as art, from which the con terence itself germinated,

I itlsl qll('slion, rdying heavily on the theories of Croce, the material

1'.1, ivisl school o[ 1I':lsoning arl. and Ihen a critique of the



of assessing the religious intersections and oneness with art,

Guadalupe as my case in point. Ray Hernfmdez-Dur{m examines

issues in his essay in addition to probing the questions of how we

of art, especially those predating our contemporary era

contexts. In his assessment of various historical texts, Hernandez

Duran detects both diversity of thought and intemretation, but also the

In his precis on L V l l l l ~ U Ithe Sacred," Orlando Ricardo Menes offers a

he developed the project and interprets some of the

of two specific poems, one by Pat Mora representing what Menes terms a

"Mexican identi ty at the level of the mythic," and another by him, a medi

tation in which Menes aims "to fashion a language of sacredness through

images, or figures, of hybridity, in addition to surrealism and the Afro

Cuban religion of Santeria."

Part III, Musical Relationships of Faith and Art in Celebrating the

Tradition, focuses on musical expression in its relationship

and contains essays related to the religious cultures

Lorena Diaz NIHtez surveys the more recent

Mexican composer celebra

hon of Guadalupe in Mexico

of why La Virgen retains

looks at art as that which mediates the work

of symboL

Part IV, Guadalupe and the Native American Experience, is

to the panel that contemplated the issue of Native American cultures in

their solidarity of demanding not only an understanding and

concerning their religious/expressive beliefs, but a respectful and mutual

implementation of and adherence to such beliefs and practice. Maria

Williams's essay stresses the import ance of comprehending indigenous

western modes of religion, which she concepts as

lsolales," with the indigenous, that Native American worldview, which

is "holistic and examines the physical world as an interconnected whole

with the spiritual world." Furthermore, Williams, an Alaskan Native,

emphasi:zes the of viewing the world in a compartmentalized

manner in favor of viewing what she refers to as "the meta-matrix," that

which includes the spiritual and mystical, or "the ephemeral," and of

incorporating this viewpoint and philosophy into one's work, especially

in the areas of teaching and research. Gregory A Cajete, Tewa mem-her of Santa Clara P ueblo in New Mexico and director American

Studies at the University of New Mexico, explores the concept of "indige

nous education" from the perspective of the mythic complexof Guadalupe

;IS an "Earth Mother" symbol. From this indigenous educational context,

lie presents Guadalupe as part of a continuing process of coming to know,

( ornbin ing "history, myth, legend, tradition, emoti on, religion, and artisI if expression to metaphorically teach about relationship to spirit and the

feminine, nurturing, and care-taking qualities of Earth

thologies." Th e section's final essay is one by Joe Sando, an

member of Jeme:z Pueblo in New Mexico. He offers a

I ndian experience since its colonial inva"lOll beliefs,

"Il ls an intcrplay of

Yomba diaspora of the Orishas. Two of the papers are

oj Francisco Crespo and Clarence Henry. Crespo considers

V('1 sensitive similarities between the virgins of Guadalupe

,d Mexico and La Caridad del Cobre and their equation with the santeria

( llisha Ochun of Cuba, while Henry compares Guadalupe with Yemanja

.11 Id the other Orishas of the A ro-Brazilian, Yoruba-derived religion can-

Teresa Marrero's essay on Afro-Cuban <lanced religious practices

,I'; ('v('rvd::lv art provides us with the opportunity to focus on the art of

"as an integral psycho-physical, cultural, and

within Cuban tradition of danced religions, which

Palo Monte, and Abakua." In this highly interesting

the ritual differences between Catholic and the

and then proceeds to examine the differ

dance as ritual and its folkloric interpretation as

I I I ( ' . l ln, Charles Moore presents a svnODsis of

I•• II J( ' Imderstanding of religion

( 111,,11;1 within the philosophical

• "111(·xl. A. J. Racy concepts his essay on the myStICl

i i i i ' SIJ!i IrlOVement, and defines mysticism as "an approach to knowing

II " I)ivi 11(' III rough direct experience, through intuition rather than mere

,I", II lilt'," I.i k(' Racy. Ak i11 I':ui>a is also both composer and musicologist,

11111111 hi S ('ss;IY 111l'()111'('S rlj(' <,;('clll:irizalioll of"rdigiolls arts hy cx;nnining







problems that are not only unique when compared to many other academic

disciplines. but are unique in and of themselves. Foremost is our encoun

ter with the art versus science dilemma. I that many of us engaged in

ethnomusicology are still largely artistically inclined. yet still dedicated to

the pursuit of strongly conceptualized approaches in research methodol

ogy. theoretical notions and their applications, and broad planes of analysis

in general. Our role as artists has, in fact, been one of the greatest opportunities to enhance our research and scholarship and to adapt our

and intuition as musicians and scholars in joint practice. But the academy

we work in has largely ignored this blessE'd vocation when the science is

and the art undervalued. Charles SeE'ger spoke of the problem

of speE'ch communication in our field (1961). Little did he know that not

only would we becom e obsessed with words and vogue theories expressed

only literally. but that we would become almost totally deoendent on ana

lytical emanating almost exclusively from othE'r

I also that our obsession with definitional words often

nowhere can be traced back some time, notably to the 1960s, partly personified through the often frustrating debates of Mantle Hood and Alan

Merri am (Hood 1957.1963; Merria m 1960, 1963,1964,1966,1974). More of

the same would eventually follow, and can be traced through Lomax

1971, Herndon (1974), Kolinski (J967, 1976). and others. I must

agree with the words of Nettl (1990, 1) originally written in 1980: HI havE' not

encountered an academic field or discipline whose me mbers spent as much

time worrying about defining themselves as ethnomusicology. Definitions

abound and they can be discussed historically, something done

Alan P. Merriam in one of his last articles" (Merriam !976).

Merriam had becom e obsessed with the idea that ethnomusicology is the

dual discipline, the fusion and welding of ethnology and musicology, of

the social sciences and the humanities, and he understated the arts and

artistic aspects. Agreeing with perspectives of Harold Cassidy,

who drew ideas from Bertrand Russell, and who considered the context of

an artist conveying knowledge as a "bonus" (Cassidy 1962, 14), Merriam

(1964,19-20) thus wrote the following:

Ifweacceptthis pointofview it is clear that in ethnomusicol

ogy the basic problem is notthe artist versus the social scif'Tl tist. t(Jr since

the artisl is not ('oTlct'rned prim:lrily with ( ' o m n l l l n i ( ; l t i l q ~ kllowl.

"

• I

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he is not concerned primarily with ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology

is not creative in the same sense that the artist is creative; it does not

seek to communicate emotion or feeling, but rather knowledge . . .

The artist as such, then, little part, so far as his creative capac-

Hies are concerned, in ethnomusicology, for it is not involved in creat

works of art. Its concern lies in the problems ofthe artist, in how

he creates the work of art, the functions of art. andso

forth. Thus

the process of creating art differs from the study of that process, and

ethnomusicology is concerned with the latter the accumulation and

communication of knowledge about music. In this sense, its studies

fall on the scientific rather than on the artistic side .. .

The conclusion is almost inescapable. that what the ethnomusicol

desires is not the subjective, qualitative, discursive. aesthetic and

so forth but rather the objective, quantitative, and theoretical. wher

ever this is possible. There is a valid distinction to be drawn between

the process of creating art and the artistic outlook, as opposed to the

of such processes. The ethnomusicologist seeks knowledge and

sepks to communicate that knowledge; the results for which he aims

are more scientific than artistic.

Ilerein is a pernicious, positivist notion of knowledge and a Pharisean

at htude toward art and the artist. And what of musicology? Did Merriam

('ver respond to and Hood, who both desired to witness the various

Llcets and branches of the discipline of musicology incorporated into

ill 'ld of ethnomusicology? And I mean really respond. Whatever went on

I II the laboratory portion of analysis that Merriam incessantly referred to?

it' saw no point in pragmatically defining that part, for. as he explained,

"The second, or laboratory, of ethnomusicological

lIecd not concern us in this phase the investigator turns to the tran

and structural analysis of the materials he has recorded in the

and is, of course, basic in the field and this is, of course, basic in

"'il:lblishing the taxonomy essential to the study" (1964,1°7-14). In

words, Merriam seemed to like the idea of defining ethnomusicology the

wanted us to accept the musicological norms

of the time. How, then, was this a welding, a

'ISiOIl of the ethnologist and the musicologist?! It wasn't. And it is still

Illl!. Alld one 01 Mnri;ltI l 's l:1st contributions to this debate? A compen

,1111111 of morl ' ddl l l l ! ! ! 'ITi;11I1



~I do not note these things out of disrespect for Merriam. In my sem

inars surveying the field of ethnomusicology, Merriam's writings are

referred to. I do believe Merr iam was certainly a field eulogis t. But was

not an artist, and for that reason I have found his methodological ideas

difficult to accept.2 Also the obsession with definition has been a charac.

teristic of not only Merriam's thinking. It can be located in much of the

ethnomusicologicalliterature. Someone may call me on the fact that I am

so audacious as to criticize scholars because they wanted to define some.

t{

!ihing the way they wanted. Well, I feel that is part of the whole problem.

We are not here merely to do what we want. We are here (and especially !

in academia) because of moral responsibilities and ideals. We are

for many reasons, most of them metaphysical. spiritual ones. I was quite

inspired by something that anthropologist Sir Edmund Leach wrote in

It is not a it is an

Iocial anthropology is not, and should not aim to be. a "science" in the

natural science sense. If anything it is a form of art .. . Social anthro·

pologists should not see themselves as seekers after objective

their purpose is to gain insight into other people's behavior or, for that

matter, into their own. "Insight" may seem a very vague concept but

it is one deep understanding which, as critics, we attribute to novel-

composers; it is the difference between fully understanding the

nuances of a language and simply knowing the dictionary glosses of l

the individual words. (Leach 1977. 48) i

In sum, it is my estimation that contemporary research an d scholarship.

especially in the field of ethnomusicology in the United States, is per

vaded by a psychological complex that can be loosely conceptualized as

a dialectical paranoia. As artists. not only have we largely discarded our

intuition in our role as scholars. but we have also chosen to ignore the

metaphysical and its extreme potential in b eing at least a reference block iin our research. a philosophy. Perhaps discarding intuition inevitably cor

responded to ignoring the metaphysical (here. I am directly influenced by

the writing of Benedetto Croce (1952), who defined art as "intuition") )

But the real gist of this dialectical paranoia goes even beyond th e above

contradiction. Academia, with its various aesthetical and political dimen.

sions, has become our religion. All of the characteristics are there. Yet

w( ' Shllll anu th(' r(,:lson for which it was ('rcakd. II111(1i

j

ago than the scientific quest for knowledge superseded religion's

meaning in our society. Religion, humankind's socially organized stmc

ture serving various pursuits of the spiritual and metaphysical has been

thrown by the ways ide--c ast away from the very stmcture it was so instm

mental in formulating. molding, and socially renovating. Certainly this

was not a historical model of error-proof idealism. But it was certainly

idealistic, for it chose not to censu re the concept s of metaphysicalthus religious inquiry. The idea oflearning and acquiring knowledge

:ll1d developing it was more than a concept. The concepts were only tools

10 be applied to quite lofty questions, but questions that were based on the

intangibles of hope, faith, and morality. We are uncomfortable communi·

cating with each other what it is that we believe and hesitate to be human

with the grace and honesty of the believers we scrutinize.

It is at this point that we should perhaps ask whether we should

Illake professions of faith in our role as academics. Should I, at this

make the rhetorical and professional (as in "to profess") statemen t,

'" belieVE' in Christ?" Should othe rs say they believe in the GodofAbraham,

in the Orishas of the Yoruba tradition, the teachings of

the Great of the Native American? Or all of the a hove?

I ~ d i ) i f l o l l as Arl: 'rIIC AcstlH'lico: of Guadaltlpe

The case study I will refer to is one I am currently developing, based on

.1 stlldy of La Virgen de Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe) as

dated to the arts. The study is part a larger, ongoing research

foc1lsing on a diversity of religious traditions and their relationships to

111(' arts.

The rationale for conducting interdisciplinary research for this

IS :In essential factor in its planned framework. As an ethnomusicologist,

I bye found it increasingly difficult and contradictory to segment musical

,1(1 ivity out of the various artistic contexts that I have studied and taught. It

1<; ('specially in th e arts th at interdisci pI inary work is needed. and especially

'; 0 ill the intensive character of topics such as religion and its relationship

10 Ihe arts. Illustrative of this interdisciplinary need and growing interest

!I world religions and their relationship to the arts are the recent World

I, s! ivals Sacred Music in Los Angeles (1999 and 2002). Reflective of

i ntcrcuitur:d spirit W:IS I l l l ' participation of the music directors of varl

IIIIS (1iIIrdH's. S y l l , I j : ' I I : I W ~ . , ;IIHll(·lllpks. I\n excerpt from the l.os Angeles



~ 'f1mes coverage of one of the festivals also reflected the diversification of

sacred music in a diverse

A number of religious leaders see their community as a mirror of the

ethnic diversity and the festival as an opportunity to show that

peaceful coexistence is possible. The cross-cultural Buddhist chant

of the Shin shin Temple in Los Angeles melds the voices of thepie's 40 0 Japanese American members with sacred texts written

in Chinese. "The sound becomes effective. more so than the

says the Rev. Masao Kodani. who oversees the Shinshin community.

"Oneness is achieved through the sound." (Rourke 1999)

What has happened here is not so different in concept than what

pened in sixteenth-century Mexico. where the indigenous Nahuatl lan

guage was adapted to Western-based polyphony sung by Indian choirs in

honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe as equated with "onantzin, the

enous mother spiritofthe Aztecs. The concept of mestizaje in Mexico and

Latin America has been developed by a number of Mexican

(e.g., Vasconcelos. Pompa y Pompa). and its place in this study will be

an essential link to Mexican perspectives and contemporary views in the

United States on multiculturalism.

TowarJ a Theory fo r Reli!2'iol1 as A rl

In bis studyof the Japanese poetic art of haiku, Kenneth Yasuda (1957) con

ceptualizes three levels of analysis-those of the economic, the scientific,

and the aesthetic. Yasuda coincides with many of the aesthetic theories

of Croce (1952). who not only defined art as intuiti on but also critiqued at

length the issue of art and morality.

In conceptualizing the art ofOur Lady ofGuadalupe,we are able to ask

some philosophical questions based on Yasuda's framework. First, is

tilma (the Virgin's cape enshrining her image) of Guadalupe socially or

otherwise based on economic value?4 Second. is the beliefof Guadalupe

based on scientific data or analysis? Third, is there a relationship of the

belief in Guadalupe to her artistic presence and quality as related to mean

experience. and is this meaning and experience the essential fac-

tor of the belief syst<:>m? r propose that the answer to this third

is y ( ~ . ~ .

The concept of truth can easily and rationally be separated from sci

mtific or social fact. Whether the tilma is painted by human hands is not

the basis of meaning for belief in Guadalupe, nor are such facts in such

case the basis for the issue of truth in an experiential context.s This is

neither a r ecent idea in the history of ideas nor of art criticism. In

1932 the pot't T. S. Eliot recognized this paradox by expressing the notion

that when philosophical theories enter the realm of art (e.g., poetry), "its

t ruth or falsity in one sense ceases to matter. and its truth in another sense

is proved" (248). S. K. Langer also differentiated the interpretation and

experience of truth, especially as related to art where factual tru th is not

artistic truth. "Artistic truth does not belong to statements in the poem or

their obvious figurative meanings, but to its figures and meanings as they

are used. its statements as they are made . .. in short, to the poem as

nitlcant form'" (1942, 26).

The "significant form" of Guadalupe does not lie in its factual truth,

its physical origin and material analysis. or its financial value. The signifi

cance of Guadalupe is a belief, concept, and practice associated with that

The experience and meaning of devotion to the Virgin denote what

believers know as truth-a truth not based on materialist truth but on

metaphysical

The art signifying Guadalupe is primarily visual- that of the tilma; but

:tn extended repertoire of art is also closely associated and experienced

various practices, as in the case of musical expression. Hundreds

of hymns performed by various types oHolk ensembles exist in addition

10 a rich repertoire of sacred music composed for ecclesiastic purposes

(e.g.. Hernando Franco's sixteenth-century piece composed as homage

to Tonantzin). Additionally, a complete archive of symphonic and cham-

her works composed during the nineteenth century is currently

by musicologists in Mexico. In the basilica where the tilma

indigenous dance troupes periodically dedicate intricate

choreography and music in commemoration of feast days. The mixing

or indigenous and Christian concepts continues to characterize the mes

t zaje of the numerous artistic expressions dedicated to the Virgin.

On another level of theoretical orientation, G. Bachelard has sug

that various contradictions in the history of science represent

breaks" (see Certeau 1971). Michel de Certeau

sllggesting that variolls contradictions(1()71)

• I A ••• :" .... , • f



" :111 "pt'l "llS<.;IO"" 11110 ( I 'H 'S l IOI1. 1'('1 , ,"ssio" 1:111 I t ' l l ' l I . "1"-11' II I t '_"" III

1o " , 'wi lL" C"ri t ' ; l l l nosils Ik'i "Chrisliallily i l l lpli l 's" " ' I . I I I I I I I , , I I IP 10 11f('

it." The series ofillte1k,ctu;ti alld IIiSlol ic;tI sOli;d

event, that of Christ on earth,taken shape

the will to be faithful to

from these beginnings" (142).

La Virgen de Guadalupe and her role in Mexican and world history fit

well into the conceptualizat ions of Bache ard and Certeau. As both an epis

temological break and a contradiction to the inaugural event, La Virgen

has changed certain of earlier Christian concepts while also main

and even reinforcing much of Christianity's basic dogma. Roth

and resolution lie in the fact that La Virgen appeared on a

hill associated with the indigenous belief and cosmology of the Nahuatl

speaking

Mexico City

resents a dynamic example of a conceptual and

would begin to charact erize Mexico since the sixteenth

Another theoretical shi t that might be developed through the propose dstudy is what I refer to as the verb/icon dichotomy, which to my knowledge

has not been formally presented in the related scholarship. It is appropri

ate to this study to compare the types of belief systems largely (but not

conceived icons versus other belief

written word (e.g., the Bible). A good com

of movements

as associated with Astrong argument can be made that a major

exists between the two general categories of "Christians." One group is

Iargely reliant upon the written-word concept of the Bible, literally defined "

as tbe "word of God." Jcons such as that of Guadalupe are condemned

much of this constituency as idol worship, demonic, and as false gods,

due to literal and ofien dogmal ically irresponsible interpretation. One cri

is thai tht, Bihle is lan"ely poetic and thus artistic

would argue and resist the011111

of Cllad:tlllpl', 011 III!' 01

philosophy Illdl wOlild sl lpporl Ill:IlIy of

abow, fo r l'X;lIllpl,·. sigll"" dtll f i l l i l i . and meaning as a mode

.11,,,. t I, V I, N I () I ...\

"I IllId(,ISI;IIHlillg. lil('olY.. 111.1 1.11111. dlll i l i tc will 1o be bilhful to Ihe iIlJU-

I:111. Ii t 'V( '111 wit i Ie si III II 11;11 l l 'Ol i sly requiring a difference

11<111) horll Ihest' beginnings. Dorothea 01kowski-Laetz's position (1990,

ILll.lphrasillg Steiner 1982) on the contradiction of rhetoric versus art

"Is ilselfwell to the conceptualizations I present above:

Prose stresses the already established signifying system, while paint-

stresses the work of art as a thing. The more it is a thing, the more

lrouble it has being meaningful within the system of the signifying

norm. This is because structuralism has made language the

f(H understanding all cultural phenomena.

of painting is not dependent upon the

lIor upon the rules of syntax. (108)

notwithstanding the issue of whether Guadalupe is a human paint

I l lg or not, there is a clear distinction within this verb/icon polarity in

h'rrns of experience based on meaning and interpretation. The experi

versus fundamentalist biblical interpretation

do human acts and practices, both resulting

radically opposing and aesthetic/spiritual

lIlentalities. Do they, therefore,

Some basic research questions in t : O I l U U U I I l ~ religion. morality, and the arts have been raised

mg to negotiate the problem. Yasuda (1957) has critiqued at

of morality in art and has expressed the viewpoint that many

Western critics have eluded tbe "relationship between an artist's mode of

life or sense of artistic morality and his [her] works" (18). He proceeds to

remark that "students of art have also tended to feel that the matter lay

outside of their area, which is perhaps another instance of the fragmentof learning in the West." Although a number of scholars have addressed

the issue since the 1950S (Sowande 1972; Ricouer 1991; Loza 1994; Sancho

Velasquez 1994), it still remains largely a

(1989) has been critical of what he refers to as

tion" of culture concepts and the disciplines in general separating

religion from other cultural practices, which becomes higbly superficial

and contradictory in the American Indian context). Susan McClary. who

has called for a radical reevaluation and practice of the field of mUSicology,

has unabashedly dismissed "the neat ordering ofinstitutionalized music

From Merriam to Guadalupe 813



~ cholarship. especially as it is practiced ill thl' Ullilt'd S l . l k ~ ; " (I<)X'). 1'1(»)

McClary has shared with me her personal observatiolls amI l'xpl'ri(,l1( (.

similar to mine on the difficulty in teaching to u.s. student seminar

addressing music and religion, which unfortunately, perhaps due to U.S.

diversity, becomes an over-subjectivated and culturally conflictual conk.xl

for study. McClary foresees a much more relative and useful approach to

research in musicology as a response to what she witnesses as "the rise of

positivistic musicology and pseudoscientific music theory, both of which

depend upon and reinforce the concept that music is autonomous, unrelated to the turbulence of the outside, social world" (149)-

My methodological goal, therefore, includes going even beyond the

problem of musicology by incorporating an interdisciplinary approach

as described at the outset of this essay. Although ethnomusicology is an

interdisciplinary approach combini ng the techniques of the humanities

and the social sciences (more specifically. musicology and ethnology), the

field has yet to incorporate much scholarship from the other art disciplines

(e.g., art history and criticism, film and television studies, theater, dance,

visual and plastic arts, literary studies, and architecture). This research

project centering on La Virgen de Guadalupe necessitates such interdisciplinary methods because of the intercultural relationships represented

by her and the interactive and diverse means and practices of individuals

devoted to her. To many, La Virgen transcends the issues and categories of

class, ethnicity, gender. age, ideoloh'Y' and even religion. As scholars, how

do we account for such social possibilities? In my estimation, we cannot

rely on preconceived methodologies or theory, especially in the type of

study r am proposing here.

Th e Lil r¢er Picture

In this essay it has been my aim to examine two worlds of thought as

related to the arts, and to propose a more humanistic, interdisciplinary,

and philosophical base for the field of ethnomusicology. Croce's concept

of art as the imaging of a superior dimension of our existence permits

us to think of the arts as a "supreme" channel to an intuitive level-one

higher than the intellectual. This differs radically from Mer riam's consid

eration of the scholar's role as a scientist, not an artist.

Assessing the arts from a unified approach, instead of the separate

disciplinary modes of music, dance. visual art, theater, and so on, enables

82 STEVEN lOZA

10 (OIIlPI('ll('lId tllV IllIily 01 til(' ;Irls alit! art ists as a basi! (

I ! O I , , ~ 1 1 lilll(' ;!lId span'. in his Pllfnomenon orMan (1965), Pierre Teilhard

I. (11:mlill wrote of infinity as both outward and inward, and he recog

III/ni ('voilition as both a physical and metaphysical process; in fact, in

III, ( 011( ('pillalization of these two planes, Teilhard de Chardin perceived

"" ·;t·p:lr:ltion. Only our present perception and stage of evolution limits

'.111 ,Ihilities to understand on a larger or more prolific level. With time we

ILly proceed to understand more, but as long as we are living the human

I (11,,1 ilion, we will never arrive at a complete understanding of a constantly

. \ •• iving infinity.

Why do so many artists through out the world base so much of their work

"11 I"emes, experiences, meanings, and perceptions (or feelings) pertaining

It l theologies? If one adapts the ideas of Croce and Teilhard de Chard in toI' '" shldy of music as an essential element of culture in addition to being

IIdinitely linked to art in general, it is possible to conceptualize a theology

"I :Ilt. Through a plethora of world religions, past and present, humankind

II:IS participated in the ingenious act of achieving belief. hope, and faith

( "'ating r t ~ t h e closest and most illuminating bridge that has existed to

( :roce's "supremely real," or to what so many have described as the spiritual

r('alm or another dimension. But there are no Hother" dimensions. We live

tI\l ' all-encompassing dimension of infinity-one where art has emerged as

Ihe one lasting componen t of this mysteriolls, yet fulfilling ph enomenon.

Noles --.-- ------------This chapter has evolved frum a paper presented at a UCLA conference on musi

in 1999, Portions of the first section of the chapter have been adapted from:1 previously published article (Loza 1994).

1. 1should point out that Merriam did defend himselfon this one. Responding

to reviews by Codere, Graf, Hood, Maceda, Nettl, and Nketia (Merriam 1966,

217-30), he pointed ou t that he had written, "Both groups [anthropologists andmusicologists] agree. however, that the ultimate objective is the fusion of the

two as an ideal inevitably modified by practical reality." The reviews, how·ever, testify that this was not a consensus ideal. Merriam later proceeds in his

defense as follows:

Th us the poin t of the book is not to attempt th e synthesis of the two

approaches-,-indeed. I am not sure any of us yet knows how-but

From Merriam to Guadalupe 83



rather to clarify one approach in order that the task of synthesis,

which is clearly the next step, may possibly, be more readily achieved,

(1966 ,229)

It is this "task of synthesis" that I have resisted and considered an unnecessary,

dialectically constrained ideal.

2. Some might cite the fact that Merriam was a musician. But to me he did not

write as an artist.

3- For the reader, I cite the fact that although Croce refers to the concept of imagein his references to art, he considers music as a part of this imaging process,or intuition, in that the reproduction of images involves the "apparent trans·

formation of intuitions into physical things" (1979,36-37). In the case of

music, this process involves tonal. aural. physical properties. It is thus that

Croce differentiates between the theoretical and the physical. In my estima

tion, this concept of intuition also refers to the balance of metaphorical (or in

Croce's term, "conceptual") knowledge an d the various forms of conscience

(including Croce's notion ofintuili ve knowledge), which in his view did not

"enjoy the same cognitive status as 'concephlal knowledge: which operates

with 'concrete universals.'" (1979,

4. Here I refer to the tilma i t s e l f ~ not to the industry that markets innumerable

images or representations of it.

5. There have been numerous scientific studies of the tilma, attempting to determine if the image is composed of paint. Here again lies the problem of materi

alist view versus spiritual possibilities, or the conc ept of"tmth." One view has

questioned that even had the image been painted by the hands of an Indian,

who are we to say that the act itself was not a miracle' Furthermore, shouldthe scientists prove that the image is composed of paint, does such evidence

prove that human hands painted it ' My response to this paradox has been that

if I were God, the supernat ural being, or merely a mystic, I would certainly not

create a miracle leaving supernatural substances to capture the dubious faith

of my mortal human subjects. I n other words, what do the scientists expect tofind? If I were God, I would use paint.

R e f ( ~ r e n c e s

Cassidy, Harold Gomes. 1962. The Sciences and the Arts: A New Alliance. New York:

Harper.

Certeau, Michel de. 1971. "How is Christianity Thinkable Today?" Theology Digest

19:334-45. Reprinted in The Postmodern God: A Theological Reader, I'd. Graham

Ward, 142-58. Oxford and Malden: Blackwell Publishers.

Champagne, Duane. 1989. American Indian Societies: Strategies and Conditions of

Political and Cultural Survival. Cultural Survival Report no. 32. Cambridge,

Mass.: Camb ridge University Press.

Croce, Benedetto. 1979 [1952J. Guide to Aesthetics (Brevario de estetica). Translatedby Patrick Romanell. South Bend: Regnery IGa teway Inc.

Eliot. T. S. 1932. Selected Essays. New York: Harcourt I1rJcC'.

" lirth, Rosemary. 1971. "From Wife to Anthropologist." In Crossing CulturalBoundaries: The Anthropological Experience, ed. S. T. Kimball and j. B. Watson,

10-32. San Francisco: Chandl er Pub. Co.

ll'rndon, Marcia. 1971. "Analysis: Herding of Sacred Cows?" Ethnomusicology 18,

no. 2:219-62.

lood, Mantle. 1957. "Training and Research Methods in Ethnomusicology."

Ethnomusicology Newsletter 1, no. 11:2 -8.

__ _. 196} "Music the Unknown." In Musicology, I'd. F. Harrison, M. Hood, and

C. Palisca, 215-326. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Kolkinski. Mieczyslaw. 1967. "Recent Trends in Ethnomusicology." Ethnomusic%gy

1J:1-24·I ;mger, S. K. 1942. Philosophy in a New Key. Harvard University Press.

I ('wis, 1. M. 1984. Religion in Context: C I ~ l t s and Charisma. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

.omax. Alan. 1967. Folk Song SLvie and Culture. New Brunswick: Transaction

Books.

--.1971. "Song-Structure and Social Structure." In Readings inEthnomu.licology, ed. David P. MeAlIester, 227 -51. New York: Johnson Reprint

Corporation.1974. Cantornetrics: A Method in Musical Anthropology. Berkeley: University

of California Press.

I oza, Steven. 1994. "Fantasmas Enmascarados: Pensamientos Sobre NuestraInvestigacion y 10 A c a d ( ~ m i c o en Etnomusicologia." Heterofonia 109-110:416.

McClary, Susan. 1985. "Afterward." In jacques Attali, Noise: The Political Economy

Music. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Merriam, Alan P. 1960. "Ethnomusicology: Discussion and Definition of the Field"

Ethnomusicology 4:107- 14.

__. 196} "Review of Harrison, Hood, and Palisca." Musicology.

Ethnomusicology 8:179-85.

- - . 1 9 64. The Anthropology of Music. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

1966 . "A CA Book Review: The Anthropology of Music." Current

Anthropology 7=217-30 .

1974. "Definitions of Comparative Musicology' and 'Ethnomusicology':

A Historical-Theoretical Perspective." Ethnomusic%gy 21, no. 2:189- 2°4 .

Nettl. Bruno. 1964- Theory and Method in Ethnomusicology. Glenco: Free Press.

1983. The study ofEthnomusicology: Twenty-Nine Issues and Concepts.

Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

"The Ethnomusico logist and Black Music." Black Music Research

Journal 10, no. 1:1-4. Originally published in Black Music Research Newsletter 4. 2

(fall 198o): 1-2.

N"{'tiJ, j. H. Kwabena. 1990. "Contextual Strategies of Inquiry and Systemization."

Ethnomusic%gy 34, no. 175-97·

"A Postmodern Language in Art." In

and the Arts, ed. Hugh J. Silverman, 101-19. New

Chapman and Hall, Inc.

1'''1111':1 y !'mllp", AIII'HIIl> ''lX, ,.., ·/hu,/ l/onri1rl'. EtiitorialLihros de Mexico.

FtdHI AAo, i l lHt In (:fHfilill"w'



"icouer, Paul. 1989. A Ricouer Reader, ed. Mario Valdes. Toronto: University of

Toronto Press.

Rourke, Mary. 1999. "What Religious Diversity Sounds Like." Los Angeles Times,August 25.

Sancho Velasquez, 1994. "Interpreting Metaphors: CroSS·Cultural

Aesthetics as Hermeneutic Project." In Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology10): Musical Aesthetics and Multiculturalism in Los Angeles, ed. Steven Loza, "f\laravi11aAmericana"

Los Ethnomusicology Publications. Dept. of Ethnomusicology,

of Los Angeles. T h ( ~Virgin of Guadalupe"Semantic, Logical. and Political Considerations Bearing

Ethnomusic%QV 577-80. altd lllC Ideal SpectatorSowande. Fela. dans la societe africaine tradition·

e1le. La revue musicale Issue No. Also published in English in

1972 as "The Role of Music in Society." In African Music, RAY HERNANDEZ-DURAN

UNESCO. Paris: La revue musicale.

Steiner. Wendy. 1981. The Colors oIRhetoric: Problems in the Relation Between ModernLiterature and Painting. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Teilhard de Chardin. Pierre. 1965. TIu; Phenomenon oIMan. New York: andRow.

Vasconcelos, Jose.

Afterward by Joseha Gabilondo. Baltimore: lilt roduclion

Wimberly, RichardE.

1988. "Prophecy, Eroticism, and N SPRING 2001, TH E BB e NEWS REPORTED A STORY INVOLVING ANMusic: Prince." Black Sacred Music

Popular Music) 3, no. 2:125-)2. :lrt in Santa New Mexico. The following is an excerpt fr om

Yasuda, Kenneth. 1957- The Japanese HaiktJ: Its Essential Nature, hat article: activists have desc ribed the digital collage by LosPossibilities in ringlish. With Selected Examples. Rutland: Charles

artist Alma L6pez as disgusting and insulting and said they wantCompany.

removed . . . Archbishop Michael Sheehan said the work . . . depicts

'as if she were a tart."'1 The work in question, titled Our Lady, was

of the artist. wearing a two-piece, floral bikini and sur

elements. Th e image was included

Arte: Tradition meets Technology" held at the

Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe in 2001-2002. As a result

of this work's presence in the show, protesters picketed and gathered in ;1 town meeting. A committee was formed by the museum to discuss the

lIcident. The committee members ultimately elected to keep Our tady in

Ihe show; however. the exhibition's run was shortened as a result of this

d('cision and the perceived need for a

As a canonical work that is

worldwide, the painting of the Virgin

dOl nain and inevitably experiences

:111(1 ;IS a subject of investigation and expression. The cont1lcted response

10 1'(')I)('z's image. whit II W;IS ('vickntly inspire d by and thus

( Id i lor l l l : t i c!( ' I IWIII· ; Wil l i .111 ( Ille devotional

<.J/. ..



'l

Musical Witness to the Beautiful ~ l e s t ; z aArL ilH HxpcrienL'c or tIle Sacrcd

SYLVIA TAN

EACH YEAR ON TH E DAYS PRECEDING DECEMBER 12 , THOUSANDS OF

pilgrims make their way toward l.a Villa de Guadalupe, in the north part

of Mexico City. They are of all walks oflife. Some cycle, some drive, some

slowly advance, inch by inch, on their knees. All approach the same sub

ject of devotion: in a massive basilica, the paint ing of a woman surrounded

by the sun, draped in turquoise and stars. The woman is known by many

names: Virgen de Guadalupe, umantzin, or simply, La Virgen.

Outside on the plaza, indigenous dance troupes from various parts

of Mexico perform in honor of La Virgen. Decked in traditional garb and

accompanied by musicians, they dance as pilgrims watch. On December

11, the eve of the feast day of La Virgen. th e sound of stomping feet accompanied by beating drums approaches a frenzy. Meanwhile, thousands

of pilgrims stretch out on blankets throughout the plaza, keeping vigil

beneath the stars. At the stroke of 11 p.m.. the entire congregation sings

Las Mananitas, a happy-birthday song to the Virgin.

Inside the basilica, mass is celebrated continuously throughout

the night and into the following morning. The apex of liturgies is at

te n o'clock. The choir performs newly composed sacred hymns in the

loft. Meanwhile, the stomping feet and indigenous drumming continue

outside. The rhythmic drumming blends in with the melodic singing of

the choir to produce a uniquely fascinating music.

Devotioll 10 the Virgin OfCll:HblllP(' is tr:lIIsnaliofl:1i :111<111.1-; ('Ildlln'd

through the centuries. Guadalupanismo. as the cult of La Virgen is called,

has been the subject of intense investigation and implicated in sociopo

litical ideologies secretly enforcing traditional divisions of power (Limon

1986

). However, in th is essay 1would like to address why La Virgen might

retain significance for the people. Somehow, this image possesses the

ability to transcend boundaries, be they social. cultural, or religious. The

various artistic and musical forms of devotion give witness to this tran

scendence. Each song and dance, while performed within its individual

tradition, is also performed for the same woman, viewed as personal

Mother. I will reflect on the phenomenon of artistic and musical experi

ence surrounding La Virgen that inspires the people and commands their

respect. I ground this reflection in a little philosophy, a little ethnography,

and a lot oflove and admiration for La Virgen.

First, let's briefly discuss the phenomenon of artistic experience. How

might works such as La Virgen de Guadalupe command the respect of

millions across cultures? I suggest this is due to its status as art, which

provides people an "access to the sacred" (Sierra 2001). Art mediates

sacred experience through the work of symbol. A symbol references the

intangible. that is, the "sacred," withou t fixing its meaning (Ricoeur 1967);

the meaning of symbol is grounded first in the individual tradition of one

who encounters it. Also. the meaning of symbol is dynamic in that it is

reworked at each and every encounter, base d on the current life experience

one brings to it (Gadamer 1991). Thus. artworks such as La Virgen have

the potential to mediate the sacred with everyday life experience be cause

they work symbolically.Aida Sierra. art historian at the Centro Nacional de Investigacion.

Documentacion e Informacion de Artes Plasticas (CENIDIAP). gives wit

nesS to this phenomenon of La Virgen as more than a fixed belief: "Beliefs

can explain this experience [of La Virgen], bu t the experience holds more

than the discourse. it's the renewed experience of the sacred. It's not only [a

'religious' experiencej, it's an experience in your brain and your body, in

everything. It's not only this image, or the story related to this image, or

the goddess behind this image, but it's everything combined. This figure

hrings the tradition into everyday life." (Sierra 2001, emphasis mine).

The artistic encounter of the sacred also inspires a renewed concept

of self in rdation to I I l l ' s;lcred (Ricoeur 1978. 154)· The icon of La Virgen

(ollligltrt ,I d1';p;11.11I- ;lrr:1Y of Aztec Cllld Spallish Catholic sym

holisills 111:11\111\' IWI ,II 1111'" , I I ' ,-:;:;ihlt- 10 dilkrl'1l1 (ullllral groups. Th e



{'willing IradlllOn holds that all who approach this image, regardless of

backgrollnd, may turn to her as personal Mother who intercedes with

the divine (Sierra 2001). This renewed encounter of La Virgen as mestiza

inspires a celebration in conceptual and cultural syncretism, t11('mcstizaje identity.

finally, this renewed understanding of sacred and self itself

inspires a creative, artistic response. In essence, these artistic responses

reflect and even further promote the renewed world view. In the particu.

br example of La Virgen, the artistic responses of devotion themselves

transcend cultural boundaries. Mixed musical expressions of devotion to

La Virgen witness to this celebration of mesti7.aje, visible and auralevidence of the renewed encounter of the sacred.

Traveling to Mexico City in December 2001, I had the privilege of wit.

nessing, firsthand, these mixed musical expressions of devotion to La

Virgen. I was amazed, first, by the variety of expressions. T stood in

of the Basilica during mass on December 12, pressed in on all sides

hy throngs of people. The choir performed Gregorian chant in the loft; at

the same time, conchero dancers reenacted a prehispanic dance just outsideopen doors. They wore large feathered headdress es and rattles strapped

to their ankles, the fim:eful sounds of hueheutl drums accentuating their

movements. Where I stood, the indigenous drumming outside combined

with the solemn sounds of the chant inside, prodUCing a unique music that

seemed a fitting offering to the mestiZa

However, what truly impressed me was that the pllgrims on the plaza

were not disturbed by the various sounds of regional groups performing

within close proximity of each other. It was as if their ears were already

;Iccustomed to the mixing of music. Tt was as if, through these

expressions, the people understood mestizaje as "normal," as something 10 be celebrated. Pilgrims participate in a personal journey to access the

sacred. With freedom and confidence, they approach La Madrecita and

/()r whatever they may need. The December 12,2001, editi on of LaJornada

mfltained an interview with Mateo Jimenez, who journeyed from Veracruz

to the Basilica in Mexico City to ask the Virgin to lower the prices of cof-

1(>(' and corn. His confidence in his Madrecita exuded in expressions of

as he performed La Danza de los Quetzales (the dance of

birds) together with his family on the plaza. In his words, he

for the' Virgill. <lnd he also dances in thanksgiving for tIl(' birds that

"!wndiu'n!1/\ ( 0 \ ( ( ItII\ 1'1111111'<;/1'11 tiara" (bless the' harwsls ill 0111 /;111!1).

.. Yr v I t' 'A. N

In my own interviewofM s. Sierra that same day, I expresse d my amaze·

Illent about these extremely personal expressions of devotion, such that

raditional boundaries are blended or cease to exist. In the case of Mateo

jimenez, he dances simultaneously for the Virgin and for the birds that

I)less the harvests, breaking the boundaries of traditional Catholicism and

ndigenous belief. Sierra helped me reflect on how the phenomenon of

1.<1

Virgennurtures

this renewed experienceof the

sacred.

A. S.: "With La Virgen, the people have the freedom to interpret, and the

church cannot really impose; you can make up your own mles. in

a way."

S. T.. "So, you have the freedom to interpret using your own imagina·

hon?"

A. S.: "Yes! And by your own and I don't mean intel·

lectua1 f'xnf'rif'T1 but life experience. That's how this

image goes thro ugh classes.

S. T: "I t transcends boundaries?"

A. S.: "Yes! 1was trying to say that! It transcends the boundaries you have

in everyday life. It does not matter ifyou are middle class, a

a person who works at home, or a person who washes the clothes.

When you talk to I.a Virgen, you are similar to everyone else."

As an example of the ability of the image to transcend boundaries,

I present an anecdote from an interview [ conducted with Lidia Guerberof

flaIm (2001a). Ms. Hahn is a music archivist who took it upon

the hundreds musical compositions recently discovered at

the rear of the ol d Basilica of Guadalupe. We initially spoke about the

music and examined one of the scores. However, out of my own interest

in art and music as sacred experience, I inquired after her impressions of

Guadalupanismo. Thus, she revealed her story.

Born in Argentina and trained as a classical pianist, she arrived in

Mexico City unfamiliar with the Virgin of Guadalupe. Even after the excit·

discovery of the compositions in the Basilica, she did not feel any

nation toward the subject of devotion. She was only struck by the beauty of

the music, which "dice mas que mil palabras" (says more than a thousand

words) (Guerberof Hahn 20mb).

On e day. ('very thing She had been working in the archive

:1 year, W:II< hlill' ('liter and ('xit the Basilica. She thought.





which included numerous outstanding performers and composers

rnong its members, has been viewed as the musical conservatory of the

()!toman Empire. We may ask: Why did the Sufis in general so much

interest in the arts, to the extent of making music and dance an

P;lrt of their rituals, all this against a backdrop of Islamic conservatism

Patl. to tile Divine

Music in Sufi I

AL I JIHAD RACY

MYSTICISM IS DEFINED AS AN APPROACH TO KNOWING TH DIVINH

through direct experience, through intuition, rather than mere doctrine. It

is regarded as a quest that stems from within, rather than as a dictum that

exists on the outside. Mysticism has been viewed as the innate propen

sity for the soul to reach out toward the otherworldly, the sublime, the

embracing. Existing in Judaic. Christian, Islamic, Hindu, and other world

traditions, the mystical quest has over the centuries assumed different

social configurations, ritualistic practices, and ideologies.

In the world ofIslam, mysticism is represented by the Sufi movement,

which began as asceticism that turned away from worldly attractions duro

ing the early centuries of Islam, but by the thirteenth century had

developed into myriads of sects (or turuq, singular tariqah, literally "path"or "way"). Each of these sects paid homage to and venerated the teaching,;

and life experiences of a founding saint, whose legacy was upheld by

sequent generations of shaykhs, or sect leaders, and followers.

The impact of Sufism upon Islamic culture has been profound. To

with, Sufi groups exist practically throughout the Muslim

from Mauritania to Iraq, from Turkey to Pakistan and India, from

Yugoslavia to South East Asia. Over the cenhuies, Sufism has been a Jriv.

force in the domains of poetry, storytelling, calligraphy, architecture,

and certainly music and dance. For example, the Mevlevi

fOllnded bv Mevlana lalal al·Din RlIIni in Turkey ill tfw tlml('{'nlll celltmy.

I

Illat frowned upon such expressions and at times even declared them

;llItithetical to religious piety?

Sufis have traditionally followed the basic sacramen ts of Islam and

;I(lhered to the teachings of the Qur'an. the holy book revealed through

Prophet Muhammad. However, they added to the prescribed principles

of the faith an all-encompassing worldview that integrated such presum-

disparate realms as the secular and the sacred, this world and that

the obvious and the hidden, the human and the rest of the cosmos.

Their vision as such was expressed through a rich repertoire of images,

and

were fundamental to Sufism: one is Divine Love (al-

known to have originated with one of the early Islamic mys·

a woman by the name Rabi'ah al-'Adawiyyah (d. 801 AD), who lived

lt1 Basra, now in Iraq. Rabi'ah spoke oflove for God, not for fear of

or ambition for paradise, but rather as a natural affinity for the beauty of

The idea of Divine Love is linked to the desire lor wasl. or the urge for

reunion with the beloved. a symbolic motifubiquitous in Sufi love poetry.

The other closely related principle is the Unity of Being (Wahdat al-

Wujud), according to which the universe exists in the form of emanation

I om the Divine, or the One. Rooted in Neoplatonic philosophy, the con

of cosmic unity implies that (I) the divine substance is omnipresent

<'ither in a manifest or hidden form, and that (2) the human soul, which

similarly derives from tl1e Divine Source, may yearn to return to, or to

prior experiences of its place of origin. This happens when music

is ,;aid to soften the soul and cause it to remember. In the writings of

{'k'venth-century Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (n.d.), remembrance, which leads

10 a state of transcendental ecstasy, is a combination of pain (because of

s('paration) and pleasure (because of the rekindled hope to merge into

III\' broader realm of consciousness). It may also lead to what has been

as f(ma' (literally, annihilation), metaphorically speaking,

wil heri ng aW;IY 0\ ord ill;lry consciousness or sense of being in favor of a

suhslImillg r(';ilitl of , 'X l ' ; I t ' IH (' 01, ill [xlradoxic;JI terms, a whol esome void

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Meanwhile, the themes ofseparatioll alllliollging I<Jr reunioll are ql l il('

often expressed through symbolic allusions and double mean ings. In Silli

poetry, the beloved could be a human being or the Divine (the two consid

ered interlinked). Such symbolism also underli es Rumi's celebrated poeTII

about the nay. the reed flute, an instrument that the Mevlevi dervishe s

(sect members) venerate and use in their ritual. Here, the basic themes of

separation. remembrance, and longing for reunion are illustrated:

Hearken to the reed-flute, how it complains,

Lamenting its banishment from its

"Ever since they tore me from my osier bed,

My plaintive notes have moved men and women to tears. . . .

He who ahides far away from his home

Is ever longing for the day he shall return.

My wailing is heard in every

In concert with them that rejoice and them that weep.

Each interprets my notes in harmony with his own feelings,

But not one fathoms the secrets of my heart. My secrets are not alien from my plaintive notes,

Yet they are not manifest to the sensual eye and ear.

is not veiled from soul. neither soul from body,

Yet no man hath ever seen a sou!." . ..

Tis the fire oflove that inspires the flute,

Tis the ferment oflove that possesses the wine. (Whinfield 1975. I)

In Sufi rituals, the music--buttressed by spiritually uplifting lyrics

and the dance serve as catalysts for the occurrence of wajd. namely

ecstasy associated with spiritual yearning. French ethnomusicologistGilbert Rouget. who in his Music and Trance (1985) examines the music

trance relationship cross-culturally in spirit possession, shamanic. mysti

cal. and secular contexts, speaks of three models related to Sufi practice.

The first model fits the early mystical concert, or sarna', as described by

al-Chazali and others, and continues to apply in contemporary

and secular concerts. Here, those who perform the music for others who

go into trance do not go into trance themselves. Instead, they arc mer('

"musicators," as he calls them. Tn other words, (I) the t rancees' experi.

ences are instigated by someone other than themselves, and similarly

their own trances afe passively received, and (2) 11t(· tr;l1l«(' is caused

21 6 ALl Pi lAf) RACY

directly by the music, which Rouget, in this case, calls "pure message."

In today's Sufi music, this is perhaps illustrated by the qawwali concert,

which uses Sufi lyrics and often feahlres highly celebrated singers from

India and Pakistan, or the performances of Sufi vocalist Shaykh Hamzah

Shakkur of Syria.

The second of Rouget's models is equated with the Sufi dhikr ritual, in

which the participants themselves dance, as they sway their torsos, breathe

rhythmically to the accompaniment of some percussion instruments, and

reiterate certain mantra-like religious formulas. such as Allah (God) or la

Ilaha ila I-Lah (There is no deity but God, or Allah). Accordingly, the group

here is scI f.musica ted , as the participants induce their own trance state.

The third of these models is associated with the Whirling Dervishes,

llamely the Mevlevis, or followers of Mevlana Jalal aI-Din Rumi. Here we

find elements from the other two models. On the one hand, the partici

pants are essentially musicated by others. since the musicians produce

within them a mood conducive for dancing. On the other hand, their own

dancing (in this case whirling) generates ecstasy within them.

are both musicated and self.musicated.

To conclude, music and dance are basic to the Sufi experience for a

number of reasons. Essentially. they propel the desired state of spiritual

transcendence, the sense oflosing oneselfinto the bliss of Divine Oneness.

happens as a result of three types of mergers or dualities. First, as

explained in the writings ofSu6 Inayat Khan (1976). Seyyed Hossein Nasr

(1987), and others, music is worldly. as it appeals to our human senses,

and at the same time otherworldly, as it symbolizes the perfect harmony

of the higher cosmos. Second, the musical i diom links its innate ecstatic

message with pertinent lyrics that imbue it with distinct spiritual

tionality. The poetical themes of devotion, yearning. reunion, and being

intoxicated by the beauty of the beloved all direct the Sufi seeker toward

the higher state of consciousness. Third, music, as a ritual practice. crc

ates an appropri ate synergy for the various participants who listen as

perform. In this regard, I believe that Rouget's rather mutually exclusive

models need to be qualified. For one thing, I believe that, in real prac

tice, his constructs overlap considerably. The listening and the perform

ing dynamics can, and most often do, occur simultaneously. This takes

for exampit" whcll mem\J('fs of the congregation reiterate certain

rc Iigiolls f(Hlllil Lis wl l II,' "It' 1(';1( I soloist challts h igh y ornate and at's! heti

c;dly( · t 1 t ~ ; I ! ~ i l l l ' .

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1L ~ k l l l l l l : d,,(·s 1101 .t!V,':IYS :Ipply. For ( 'X.lll1pl( ', III Alai> countries,

II\(' :!!ldi('lH<' (,ngages ill:t dyn:Jlnic /cl'Jback process Ihat inspires the per.

f(ltrners 10 excel (sec Racy 2003). Active listening is extremely desirable ill

Sufi and secular contexts.

I n any case, music remains at the heart of the ecstatic religious experi.

ence. By observing the different Sufi approaches to mystical transformation,

we become more cognizant of the intimate relationship between art and

spirituality and, in a related sense, of music's own transformative powers.

l ~ e f c r c n c c s

Abu Hamid. n.d. Ihya' 'Ulum ai-Din, Vol. 2. Damascus: Maktabat 'Abdal-Wakil al-Dumbi.

Khan, H.1zrat rnayat. 1976 [1962J. "The Mysticism of Sound," "Music," and

"The Power of the Word." In The Sufi Message oj Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. 2. Wassenaar, Netherlands: Service for the International Headquarters ofthe Sufi Movement, Geneva [originial ed., London: Barrie and Rockliff].

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. 1987. Islam/I: Art and Spirituality. Albany, N.Y.: StateUniversity of New York Press.

Racy, A. J. 2003· Making Music in the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry oJTarab.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Rouget, Gilbert. 1985. Music and Trance: A Theory oj Relations Between Music and

Possession. Chicago: Chicago lJniversity Press.

Whinfield, E. H., ed. and trans. 1975. Teachings orRumi: The Masnavi. New York:f.P. Dutton.

Yoruba Religious Arts,

Secularization, and

~ l o J e r n M u s i c Theater

AKIN EUBA

AMONG TH E YORUBA OF SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA, RELIGION IS AN

important aspect of traditional life and is also one of the principal contexts for the display of traditional arts. The status of a divinity as perceived

by members of Yoruba society is directly related to the artistic quality of

the rituals performed for that divinity by his or her devotees. In major

celebrations for the divinities, several different arts are combined within

the same context, including poetry, music, dance, mime, drama, together

with the plastic arts. The eflect of such a combinati on is akin to total the

ater, and Yoruba religious ceremonie s are a prime example of theater as it

existed in Africa before the coming of Europeans.

In modern Yorubaland, thi ngs are not what they used to be and, in the

space of twenty years, between the early 1970S when I was doing doctoralresearch and 1991, when I again did some fieldwork, there was a sharp

decline in the celebration of the divinities. My observation of a decline

was confirmed by Chief Muraina Oyeiami, Eesa ofIragbiji, some twenty

kilometers from Osogbo, whom I interviewed during my 1991 visit to

Yorubaland. One might ask: "Have the Yoruba become less religious, or

have they transferred their allegiance to other religions?" The answer to

that quest ion is that most Yoruba are today fairly equally divided between

Islam and Chris! : l t l ily ; l l ld !he devotees of traditional divinities are in

111(' minorily,

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3 ALI J IHAD RACY

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