MINISTRY THY573OUTREACH IN CONTEXT I: THEORY Douglas L. Rutt THE RITUALS OF THE CURANDEROS OF CHICHICASTENANGO, GUATEMALA DESCRIPTION OF THE RITUAL SETTING The following observations were made on Thursday, October 14, 1993, between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. The ancient Catholic church building on the east side of the central square in Chichicastenango, Guatemala is the setting. It is a typical Thursday in this town located in the western Guatemalan highlands. Thursday is market day and the square is jammed full of makeshift booths and stands where almost anything imaginable can be purchased, from live chickens to tools to any article of clothing to perfume. Over ninety percent of the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding countryside are Quich Indians, descendents of the ancient Mayans. They have maintained traditional clothing, language, and many of their customs. Twenty to twenty-five steps lead from the central square to the main entrance of the church. Today, however, those doors are closed. There are several men and women on the steps. Some are swinging copper pots of an ancient burning incense called pom. Some are inserting bombas--mortar shell like explosives--into tubes made of iron pipe to be shot into the air where they explode with tremendous force. Some men, who appear to be somewhat inebriated, are almost leaning over, looking into the tubes as the bombas fire upward into the sky. Other people are selling candles of various colors, flower petals and bottles of aguardiente (literally "burning water," basically cheap rum) that can be taken into the church and used in prayer requests. Several old carved wooden masks are also offered for sale. Some of the masks are painted, others are not: Some of them are of animal heads, others are of human faces. Since one cannot enter the church through the principal door, it is necessary to go to the south side courtyard where a constant flow of people are coming and going. Virtually all the people around and in the church are Quich Indians, which makes it difficult to understand what is being said since they normally speak their language rather than Spanish. As one enters the church, it is possible to see that most of the artifacts typically found in a Catholic church in Guatemala are present. Several altars with their respective "saints" are found on the sidewalls. There is an altar for St. Peter, for St. James, for St. John, and an especially prominent one for St. Thomas, patron saint of Chichicastenango. As one faces the chancel area, to the left there is a larger altar before St. Mary, and to the right of the chancel, an altar to Jesus. There is a stand with a metal tray in front of each of the altars. Dozens of candles are burning in each of those trays. There are several steps up to the chancel area. In the center of the chancel there is a freestanding altar, where the consecrated elements are deposited in the tabernacle for safekeeping. The chancel area is off-limits to the people, and is protected by a railing. In the nave there is a row of crude wooden benches on each side of a center aisle. In the back of the church, on the right side as one faces the closed doors of the main entrance from inside, a Catholic catechist is standing on a wooden table shouting into a microphone as if preaching a sermon. He is using the Quich language so it is difficult for this observer to understand the 1
content of his message. An informant states that he is basically exhorting the people to attend the mass, and to have their children baptized and catechized. This is all part of the setting, for the ritual activity under observation for this report is that of the curanderos (curers) who carry out their activities on four stone slabs arranged in a row down the central aisle of the church. Each slab was about three feet wide and about four feet long. DESCRIPTION OF RITUAL ACTIVITIES Sitting in one of the pews near one of the stone slab altars, it is possible to observe the way in which a curandero goes about his business. A man approaches, kneels down before the slab, and begins to extract candles from his morral, the woven bag with shoulder strap that is commonly used in Guatemala for carrying smaller items. His dress is quite common. He is wearing a half worn-out shirt, a pair of wornout and somewhat dirty slacks, and a pair of leather sandals. In other words, there is nothing about his appearance to distinguish from him any Quich Indian going about his daily routine. A little behind him, and to his side, stands a young Quich Indian couple. They actually are dressed better than the curandero. As they watch him go through his ritual, they are smiling, whispering to each other, and laughing quietly to each other. The anticipation is quite evident in their faces. It is as if something very special is about to happen. The curandero places twenty-four candles in two rows of twelve on the left rear part of the slab, since other parts of the slab are already filled with burning candles and flower petals. He lights the first candle with a match, and afterward lights each candle from the flame of the previously placed candle. As he methodically does this, he chants continuously in a low hushed voice. It is almost impossible to hear him, let alone understand what he is saying. He is speaking Quich for the most part, but at a few places he recites the Lord's Prayer or Rosary. Before he places the first candle and after he places the last candle he makes the sign of the cross over the area where he is working. After all the candles are lit and arranged, he takes a bundle of flower petals from his morral and sprinkles them around the candles. At this time his chanting becomes louder and more deliberate, although it is still impossible to understand what he is saying. When the flower petals have been set out, the next act is to take out an eighth-liter bottle of aguardiente. Upon removing the cap, the first thing the curandero does is to take a long drink for himself, directly out of the bottle. Wiping his mouth, he then begins to sprinkle the rest of the bottle out on top of the flower petals. Again, the incantations become louder and more deliberate. The couple looking on have an especially satisfied and contented look on their face. Having completed his duties, the curandero rises to his feet, smiles at the young couple, turns around and walks out the side door of the church. The candles, flowers and aguardiente are left on the slab as the couple also departs, obviously very happy. The entire ritual takes about fifteen minutes. It all happens while other curanderos are carrying out their practices on other of the slabs. Sometimes two are doing their rituals simultaneously at the same slab. All the while the catechist continues his preaching in the back of the church.
2
After the candles burn down, about one-half an hour later, another curandero comes up to the slab under observation and brushes the leftovers of the previous ritual aside, and begins anew with his candles, flowers and aguardiente. FUNCTION OR MEANING OF RITUAL I...