Syncretism, Revitalization and Conversion

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RELIGIOUS SYNTHESIS AND CHANGE IN THE NEW WORLD: SYNCRETISM, REVITALIZATION AND CONVERSION

Stephen L. Selka, Jr.

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of

The Schmidt College of Arts and Humanities

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, Florida

August 1997 ABSTRACT

Author: Stephen L. Selka. Jr.

Title: Religious Synthesis and Change in the New World: Syncretism, Revitalization and Conversion

Institution: Florida Atlantic University

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Gerald Weiss, Ph.D.

Degree: Master of Arts

Year: 1997

Cases of syncretism from the New World and other areas, with a concentration on

Latin America and the Caribbean, are reviewed in order to investigate the hypothesis that structural and symbolic homologies between interacting religions are preconditions for religious syncretism. In addition, definitions and models of, as well as frameworks for, syncretism are discussed in light of the ethnographic evidence. Syncretism is also discussed with respect to both revitalization movements and the recent rise of conversion to Protestantism in Latin America and the Caribbean. The discussion of syncretism and other kinds of religious change is related to va~ious theoretical perspectives, particularly those concerning the relationship of cosmologies to the existential conditions of social life and the connection between religion and world view, attitudes, and norms.

11 RELIGIOUS SYNTHESIS AND CHANGE lN THE NEW WORLD: SYNCRETISM. REVITALIZATION AND CONVERSION

Stephen L. Selka. Jr.

This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate's thesis advisor. Dr. Gerald Weiss. Department of Anthropology, and has been approved by the members of his supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of The Schmidt College of Arts and Humanities and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ~0~~ .l?r. Gerald Weiss Thesis Advisor

7 <:::; Chairperson. Department of Anthropology

Date

Ill ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my thesis chair, Dr. Gerald Weiss, and my committee members, Dr. Susan Love Brown and Dr. Santo Tarantino, for their guidance with this project. I would like to thank Dr. Weiss especially for undertaking the painstaking task of editing my sometimes disjointed and often messy drafts. I would also like to thank my family, especially my father, for the constant support. To my roommates, Chris and Dan, to Dulce and the many other good friends that I have made over the past two years, and to

Heather, I would like to offer thanks for your moral support, encouragement, and tolerance.

lV Table of Contents

List ofTables ...... vi

Introduction: Research Problem and Methods ...... 1 Statement ofPurpose ...... 1 Survey of the Literature ...... 2 Hypothesis ...... 4 Methods and Research Area ...... 4 Overview of Thesis Organization ...... 6

Definition, Models and Frameworks ...... 9 Definition ...... 9 Models ...... 17 Frameworks ...... 33

Theoretical Perspectives ...... 41 General Considerations ...... 42 The Ordering Process and the World-response ...... 43 Behind Symbolic Systems : Plausibility Structures ...... 44 World-Responses ...... 47

Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Data: The Influence of Catholicism ...... 56 Primary Cases of Syncretism: Catholicism in Mesoamerica, the Andes, Haiti and Brazil ...... 56 Additional Cases of Syncretism with Catholicism ...... 90

Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Data: The Rise ofProtestantism ...... 100

Analysis, Discussion and Conclusion ...... 120 Analysis of the Ethnographic Data ...... 120 General Discussion ...... 134 Conclusion ...... 144

References Cited ...... 146

v List of Tables

Table I.--Analysis ofEthnographic Data by Area and Case, Type of Contact, Occurrence of the Borrowing of Elements Between the Interacting Religions, and the Emergence ofNew Syncretic Configurations ...... 124

Table 2.--Sumrnary of Ethnographic Cases by Result of Contact (Syncretism, No Syncretism, Conversion) and the Number of Instances ofEach Resulting from Catholic and Protestant Contact ...... 127

vi Chapter I

Introduction: Research Problem and Methods

"If the anthropological study of religion is in fact in a state of general stagnation, I doubt that it will get going again by producing more minor variations on classical theoretical themes. Yet one more meticulous case in point for such well-established propositions as that ancestor worship supports the jural authority of elders . . . or that myths provide charters for social institutions and rationalizations of social privilege, may well finally convince a great many people, both inside the profession and out, that anthropologists are, like theologians, firmly dedicated to proving the indubitable" (Geertz 1973 :88).

Statement of Purpose

My thesis has three primary objectives. The first is to provide a meaningful and useful definition and model of religious syncretism to be placed in a larger framework of cultural change and compared to other types of religious change. This includes the identification of preconditions for, stages in, types ot: and patterns associated with the process of syncretism. The second is to investigate, through a survey of the ethnographic literature, the contention that certain similarities between interacting religions are preconditions for syncretism, such as Camara (1988) has argued. The third is to draw

1 generalizations from my comparison of my ethnographic sources and to develop an

explanatory framework that accounts for the occurrence of syncretism versus other types

of religious change resulting from culture contact, such as conversion and revitalization

movements.

In this thesis I propose a definition and model of syncretism that is synthesized

from the important works of earlier authors and based on a comparative survey of the

ethnographic data, such as Wallace (1956; 1966) has done for revitalization movements. I

aim not only to provide a descriptive characterization of syncretic religions, but to

investigate explanatory systems that account for the various types of religious change that

result from culture contact.

I investigate what syncretism and other types of religious change reveal about the

relationship of religion to the other facets of cultural systems and to total cultural systems.

More specifically, I examine the connection between (1) the principles, themes and

patterns that are inherent and recognizable in a religion's cosmology and are expressed in

attitudes (the emotional and evaluative responses) and norms (behavioral rules) prescribed by the religion, all of these taken together as the world-response of the religion, and (2) the existential conditions to which the cultural system must adapt itself and the life experiences of the individuals who are members of that cultural system.

Survey of the Literature

There is a wealth of documented cases of syncretism from all over the world.

2 Here I restrict my survey primarily to Latin America and the Caribbean, although I include

"representative" cases from other areas. In general, I found that there is lack of agreement as to how syncretism should be defined, and attempts to place the concept within a larger analytical framework of cultural and religious change or to compare and synthesize ethnographic accounts are somewhat scarce. The general treatments of the topic I found included a collection of essays on interreligious dialogue and case studies edited by Gort, Vroom, Fernhout, and Vessels (1989); a discussion ofMaya and Aztec syncretism with Christianity and of the study ofboth nativism and syncretism in anthropological science by Edmonson, Thompson, Correa and Madsen (1960); and

Stewart and Shaw's (1994) volume of articles that address the politics of discourses about syncretism as part of the politics of religious synthesis.

In addition, there are a number of sources that propose models or theories of syncretism based on case studies, such as Bartelt's ( 1991) application of schema theory to the contemporary southern Californian powwow; Camara's (1988) discussion of the similarities of African religion to Catholicism and the differences between both of these religions and Protestantism, as well as how this led to the formation of African/Catholic syncretic religions in Brazil and to the lack of syncretism in areas of African/Protestant contact in the U.S.; Morrison's (1990) use of the ideas of Victor Turner in order to explain Montagnais/Jesuit syncretism in Canada; Nutini's (1976; 1988a; 1988b) model of the syncretic process based on ethnohistoric and contemporary data from Mexico; and

Watanabe's (1990) examination ofthe recombinant patterning of symbols in

Maya/Catholic syncretism.

3 Hypothesis

In order for religious syncretism to occur, certain similarities (symbolic and structural homologies) between the interacting religions must be present. In cases in which important similarities are absent, and the religions are therefore incompatible, the

"introduced" religion may be rejected or non-syncretic conversion may occur. I will operationalize this hypothesis by identifying Camara's (1988) list of resemblances between

African religions and Brazilian Catholicism as the important characteristics or structures that must be present in a religion in order for it to "syncretize" with Catholicism.

These similarities include: "Elaborate ritual and sacramental structures ... Magic and divination ... The cult of the dead ... Polytheism ... Sacrifices and offerings ... Direct deity-devotee relationship ... Hierarchy of power ... No formal separation between the sacred and the profane ... Pragmatic orientation ... [and] Collectivism" (1988:304-305).

In my survey of the literature, I should find these characteristics and structures present in the indigenous religions in instances of Catholic- Amerindian /African-American syncretism. On the other hand, inasmuch as fundamentalist Protestantism can be shown to lack these characteristics and structures, I would not expect to find cases of syncretism of

Protestantism with religions in which they are present.

Methods and Research Area

My thesis is based on a survey and sampling of the existing ethnohistorical,

4 ethnographic and theoretical literature. I define key concepts and place them within

analytical frameworks, then present models of the process of religious syncretism

proposed by earlier scholars and test them against selected sample cases. I amend these

models when necessary and discuss theoretical implications.

The primary sources in my survey are investigations in Latin America and the

Caribbean of cases in which Catholic syncretism has occurred. These are cases in which

symbolic and structural homologies were present between the interacting religions, and for

which there is documentation of the response to later fundamentalist Protestant

missionization and influence. Additional instances of syncretism from a variety of areas

are also included in the survey for comparative data and to "strengthen the case" to some

degree.

I have hypothesized that certain structural and symbolic homologies between

interacting religions are preconditions for syncretism. This is not to say that the presence of these similarities by themselves causes syncretism to occur, but only that they are

necessary prerequisites. Therefore, my hypothesis will be refuted if I find cases in which

religions that are incompatible (in terms of the characteristics and structures that I have identified) have syncretized. This includes Protestant syncretism with indigenous religions that encompass the "constellation" of features that are, as Camara (1988) argues, inimical to Evangelical Protestantism. Conversely, to the extent that these features are embodied in Catholic religion, finding an instance of Catholic syncretism with a religion that lacks them will also refute my hypothesis.

My survey does not include a true systematic sampling of documented cases of

5 religious changes resulting from Christian contact, although by incorporating supplemental

cases from around the world I attempt to eliminate any unreasonable bias. Technically,

this type of "nonprobability" technique is referred to as "judgment" or "purposive"

sampling and is often used "in pilot studies before testing a hypothesis with a

representative sample" (Bernard 1994:94-96). The disadvantage ofnonprobability

sampling is that "[y]ou can't generalize beyond your sample. On the other hand, when

backed up by ethnographic data, studies based on these sampling techniques are often

highly credible" (Bernard 1994:94). If! do find instances in my search that contradict my

hypothesis, then the proposed preconditions and processes of syncretism will be

reevaluated and reconsidered in light of the circumstances of these counterexamples. If I

do not find such cases, I will have identified, defined and described a pattern that is

prevalent in Latin America, the Caribbean and elsewhere, and which might be then tested

against a larger or more representative sample.

Overview of Thesis Organization

In Chapter IT, I first review and discuss definitions of syncretism, and I formulate a

definition that will be used in this thesis. Next, I present models of the syncretic process that have been proposed by other authors. These will include preconditions for, stages in, types of, and regularities and patterns found in the process of syncretism. Finally, I introduce frameworks of cultural and religious change within which religious syncretism

(and eventually other types of religious change which I examine in this thesis) can be

6 better understood.

In chapter ill, I introduce the theoretical background for my thesis. I present selected works on the subject of religion in general, including structuraVfunctional, symbolic and cognitive approaches, as well as perspectives which focus on power relations. Here I explain my theoretical approach and assumptions. I also discuss and define the concept of world-response, which I illustrate with examples from earlier theoretical and ethnographic writings.

In Chapter IV, I examine the cases of syncretism with Catholicism from Latin

America and the Caribbean, focusing primarily on Haiti, Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala, as well as the Andean region. I also introduce additional sources and studies from outside these primary areas in order to provide further test cases for my hypothesis as well as supplemental and comparative information. Chapter V provides the ethnographic and ethnohistorical data for Protestant contact.

In Chapter VI, I present my analysis, discussion and conclusion. Here I provide a tabulation of important ethnographic data for each of my primary cases, showing the type of contact (Catholic or Protestant), whether interreligious borrowing of elements occurred, and whether syncretism occurred. The results of this analysis are discussed in terms of my hypothesis. In my general discussion, I note amendments or alterations to the definitions, models and frameworks presented in Chapter II.

In this last chapter I also explain my findings with reference not only to the importance (or irrelevance) of symbolic and structural homologies, but also to the compatibility of the world-response of an introduced religion with that of the indigenous

7 religion (or with that of certain individuals or groups within the recipient population).

Finally, I apply the theoretical perspectives outlined in Chapter ill in order to discuss the relationship of syncretism, conversion, and revitalization movements to the cultural system as a whole and especially to the social and political process involved with and resulting from conquest and/or enslavement.

8 Chapter II

Definition, Models and Frameworks

Defmition

The term "syncretism" is of Greek derivation; its earliest known use was by

Plutarch in referring to the inhabitants of Crete with regard to their temporary

reconciliation of differences and combination of forces in facing a common enemy

(Droogers 1989:9; Stewart and Shaw 1994:3). Since then, the word has shifted in

meaning and valence a few times. During the renaissance, Christian theology was

influenced by the writings of classical philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. This kind

of "syncretism" was largely regarded as positive at that time (Stewart and Shaw 1994:4).

However, by the 17th century, the term had come to be evaluated negatively and referred

to "the illegitimate reconciliation of opposing theological views" (Droogers 1989:9).

By the middle of the 19th century, historians of religion used the word more

neutrally (Droogers 1989:9), although syncretic religions were still widely regarded as

"impure." Nevertheless, G. Vander Leeuw, one of the first scholars to thoroughly deal with the concept of syncretism, saw all religions as syncretic. He claimed that all religions

"combine various forms, or Gestalten," and introduced the idea of transposition, or

9 "changes in meaning where the fonn remains constant" (Droogers 1989:9), as essential to the process of syncretism.

Stewart and Shaw (1994) point out that today, there are still reservations about its use. They explain that this uneasiness among contemporary anthropologists

"may be due to the term evoking for some of us the existence of a 'purity' or 'authenticity' in contrast to which it is defined .... But just as 'fetishism' has been usefully reclaimed from its pejorative nineteenth century significance by current anthropological usage (for example, Taussig 1980), our aims ... are to recast syncretism" (Stewart and Shaw 1994:2).

As a first step in my "recasting" of syncretism, I introduce a "prototypical" definition provided by Edmonson et al. (1960) in Nativism and Syncretism. Syncretism is there described as "the integration (and consequent secondary elaboration) of selected aspects of two or more historically distinct traditions .... Operationally we may agree that the conjunction of cultural elements from various sources becomes syncretistic when the elements are integrated into a new pattern ... traceable to neither original culture by itself'

(1960:192, 194). Furthermore, "[t]he combination is thus more than additive, but rather involves considerable semantic readjustment ofthe pre-existing elements" (1960:195).

Edmonson et al. oppose an "elemental" model of syncretism. Stewart and Shaw criticized the elemental sort of model when they wrote, with reference to Herskovits' discussion of syncretism ( 1941 ), that "his depiction of an 'acculturative continuum' entails a concept of change as an automatic mechanism analogous to the blending of elements in a chemical process" (1994:6). "Elemental" models treat syncretism as the "mixing" or

"blending" of disconnected elements of interacting religious systems. These elements

10 include sacred symbols, paraphernalia, activities, and so on. These elements have no

significance outside of their positional meaning, or outside the context of the cosmological

or ritual configuration of which they are components.

Elemental perspectives on syncretism are problematic in that they are based on the

division of elements observed in a syncretic religion into the categories of, for example,

"Catholic" and "indigenous." These kinds of unqualified distinctions neglect the meaning

and function of the "trait" or element within the syncretic religious system, which should

be treated as a new and viable religion in its own right. With this in mind, I argue that in

addition to the elemental or symbolic level, the recognition of the "configurational" and

"world-responsive" levels are essential for an analysis of religious syncretism. A

configuration is the conformation or structure resulting from the relative arrangement or

placing of the parts, elements or symbols within a cosmological representation or rituaL

This is the level, or context, within which elements derive their positional meaning.

The other level is that of the world-response or the system of unified themes,

principles and patterns inherent and recognizable in a religious system. These may exist at a high level of abstraction and may not be explicitly expressed in the symbolic or structural levels but they are implicitly present and identifiable in a religious system. The world response explains why elements are configured this way, and not that way, with reference to certain key cosmological ideas, attitudes and norms that are part of a religion.

I have discussed these different levels in order to "pave the way" for the argument that borrowing of traits does not, in itself, constitute a syncretism. I argue that what should be called a "syncretic religion" is one that has not only bo"owed individual

11 elements from another religion and reworked them into its own configuration or

cosmology, but a religion in which the cosmology is "reconfigured" or has undergone a

"shift" as a result of this process of bo"owing or introduction.

Furthermore, the fact that this reconfiguration may stabilize itself, so that religion

A does not come in time to be absorbed by or made identical to the "introduced" religion

B, can be accounted for partly by differences in the world-responses of the respective

religions. The world-responses that guide perception for the members of these religions

may not converge and this may foster misinterpretations between them and lead to the

situation in which "[t]he recipient of a message does not ... understand that message in the

same way as the person sending it meant it to be understood. This alone can mark the

start of syncretism" (Droogers 1989: 19).

This leads to the presence of ambiguity, which some scholars have seen as an

important aspect of syncretism. According to Droogers ( 1989: 11 ), M. Pye takes ambiguity to be the essential characteristic of syncretism. Pye thus defines syncretism as

"the temporary ambiguous coexistence of elements from diverse religious and other contexts within a coherent religious pattern" (Droogers 1989:11). When this type of ambiguity is present, there are at least two identifiable interpretations, associated with different identifiable groups, of the composition and configuration of the cosmology, ritual performances and institutions associated with the operation of the syncretic religion. For example, the Catholic clergy may recognize folk Catholicism as unorthodox and evaluate it negatively, whereas the practitioners of the syncretic religion may view themselves as

"good Catholics." The variations are numerous and sometimes ironic, as when both

12 groups believe that the syncretic religion is "orthodox."

The issue ofpower, which is related to ambiguity, is essential to an understanding of syncretism. One way in which power manifests itself is in terms of which interpretation is enforced as "true." Along these lines, Droogers claims that without exclusive claims of truth on the part of a religion, accusations of syncretism would not arise:

"[I]t has often passed unnoticed that deviation, contra diction, etc., are not the essence of syncretism, but rather the contesting of that deviation by an orthodox clergy, without whom syncretism would not even exist as a term. Only if relations of power are included in the analysis is this basic characteristic of syncretism uncovered" (Droogers 1989:20).

Droogers asserts that the religious and secular elite may be interdependent, so that

"the religious elite may receive secular help in the struggle against all those who produce religion in their own way, without the consent of the clergy and in contradiction to official religion" (1989:16). Moreover, "[t]he symbols used in syncretism may represent the aflliction people experience .... Syncretism, then, may be viewed as an expression of protest, against clerical and secular authorities for example" (Droogers 1989:16).

In Syncretism/Anti-Syncretism: The Politics ofReligious Synthesis, Stewart and

Shaw (1994) provide further comment on the issue of power. The authors write: "[W]e wish to focus upon the processes of religious synthesis and upon discourses of syncretism.

This necessarily involves attending to the workings of power and agency" (Stewart and

Shaw 1994:7). Central to their argument is the concept of"anti-syncretism," which is defined as ''the antagonism to religious synthesis shown by agents concerned with the defense of religious boundaries. Anti-syncretism is frequently bound up with the

13 construction of 'authenticity,' which is in tum often linked to notions of 'purity"'

(1994:7). Thus, syncretism is often a subversive process, in that it is a challenge to the official, orthodox version of religion. The authors explain that "[t]he appropriation of dominance and the subversion of that dominance may be enacted at the same time, in the same syncretic act. Subversion may even be an unintended consequence of a syncretic process in which actors intend to appropriate rather than subvert cultural dominance"

(1994:21).

In recognition of the fact that the subversion of orthodoxy may be intended or unintended, it is helpful to note Droogers' distinction between conscious and unconscious syncretism, or between "explicit, constructed, reflected, and often intellectual syncretism on the one hand, and implicit, spontaneous, relatively unreflective, popular syncretism on the other" (1989:14). Unconscious syncretism may be seen mostly as a complex process of "unintentional re-interpretation." Conscious syncretism, however, encompasses multiple distinct situations. It may refer to the intentional subversion of orthodoxy on the part of syncretists, but it can also refer to purposeful promoting of associations between indigenous and orthodox beliefs on the part of the authorities of the dominant religion.

This is intended to establish some sort of middle ground between the indigenous and introduced religion in order to facilitate eventual "true" conversion.

Finally, it is clear that conscious syncretism implies human agency. Here I bring the discussion back to the critique of the elemental perspective, which largely neglects this issue. Stewart and Shaw note, again in reference to Herskovits' writings about syncretism, that in Herskovits' thought "there is no sense of social actors who could have

14 acted differently to produce alternative outcomes"; they take issue with Herskovits,

arguing: "While people do 'acculturate' in the sense of picking up a dominant culture if

they have to live in the midst of one for any length of time ... this does not happen in any

necessarily logical, progressive way'' (1994:6). But this assessment goes beyond criticism

of elemental perspectives. It warns against the reification of"cultures" and "cultural

dynamics" to the extent that human motives and intentions are left out of the equation.

With all of this said, there are still a few difficulties involved with defining

syncretism. As Stewart and Shaw (1994) have pointed out, "Simply identifying a ritual or

tradition as 'syncretic' tells us very little and gets us practically nowhere, since all religions

have composite origins and are continually reconstructed through ongoing processes of

synthesis and erasure" (1994:7). Furthermore, Droogers (1989) raises the point that

syncretism may refer to

"the process of religious interpenetration, or as the result of such a process, or a combination of both.... One could therefore ask whether syncretism is a temp orary or a permanent phenomenon. There is accord ingly some confusion with regard to elements consid ered to be contradictory or ambiguous: are they to be called syncretic only as long as the contradiction remains, or also if a new synthesis occurs through a change in meaning?" (1989:13-14).

The implication of the problem raised by Stewart and Shaw is that if all religions

are in fact syncretic, it makes no sense to speak of syncretic religions but only of the process of syncretism As I have argued, this process involves the reconfiguration of cosmologies and rituals as a result of the contact of religions, and as the outcome of this process a new religion emerges that is distinct from the original entities. While it is

15 probably true that all religions have composite origins and that they are "continually

reconstructed" by "synthesis and erasure," the borrowing and integration of elements from

another tradition does not necessarily entail a cosmological reconfiguration, and

reconstruction may be the outcome of internal developments that are not necessarily the

result of contact with another religion. In other words, it is not obvious that the process

of syncretism has been or is common to all religions, at least as I have defined it.

Furthennore, this process does have a result, and that result is what may be called

a syncretic religion. However, the syncretic state is temporary. The process of

syncretism does not really leave identifying marks on the religion that has gone through it.

The syncretic religion is a viable religious system in its own right, indistinguishable by

itself from "non-syncretic" religions. A syncretic religion can only be distinguished in

context and by "residues" of the process of syncretism; that is, the presence of ambiguity.

When the context changes, and the residues fade, the religion can no longer be identified

as syncretic. When the meanings have become established and no group contests them or

points to the more authentic version, the syncretic past of a religion disappears.

With this in mind, I characterize the process of syncretism as follows. First, it is

associated with distinct groups of people (such as societies or ethnic groups within the

same society) so that it is not a personal or idiosyncratic phenomenon, but public and

shared. Furthennore, the groups are typically not only religious in character but are

distinct in ethnicity and status, for example. Second, one of these groups is subordinate

and the other dominant. This is usually the result of conquest of the subordinate group, involving minimally political incorporation and often economic incorporation into the

16 dominant group. The dominant group has the power and often (but not always) the

inclination to define the religious beliefs and activities of the subordinate group as

"unorthodox." Finally, the process entails the reconfiguration of the cosmology, ritual,

symbols, etc. of the subordinate group in response to the influence of the introduced

religion of the dominant group.

Finally, this process results in the formation of a syncretic religion, which can

superficially be recognized by the co-presence of elements from distinct religious

traditions. However, these elements have been semantically transformed and reintegrated

into a configuration that is separate from those of the original religions. Consequently,

there are differing interpretations by various groups of the symbols, practices and beliefs

identified with the syncretic religion. Semantic ambiguity is present, and typically the

dominant group claims exclusive possession of the true and authentic version of the

religion.

Models

Preconditions

Camara ( 1988) identifies ten major characteristics of Afiican religions that facilitated the formation of a syncretic religion with Catholicism, as practiced in Brazil.

He proposes that homologies such as these are structural preconditions for the formation of a syncretic religious system and argues that the lack of syncretism in areas of

Evangelical Protestant contact can be traced to a lack of necessary structural homologies.

17 In Camara's words:

"[T]he special character ofBrazilian Catholicism aided the preservation of religious Africanisms via a strong structural parallelism between the two models, manifested in syncretism and greater accommodation on the part of the dominant church toward the minority one(s). Evangelical Protestantism in the United States, on the other hand, proved inimical to • the continuation of African religious practices due to their structural incompatibility, and to the resulting systematic suppression of African cultural traits by Protestant clergymen, (Camara 1988:299).

Camara begins his argument by explaining Weber's differentiation between this- worldly and other-worldly religion. Of particular importance to Camara's study are {1) the distinctions between magic and religion, and {2) the issue of religious ethics. The author explains that with magic, "prayer, (i.e., incantation) has a practical basis. It is

"technically rationalized,; its goal is realization of economic and political objectives through the use of magical formulae that serve to manipulate and coerce the deity towards which the ritual is directed (Camara 1988:301). By contrast, in religion "the individual resorts to prayer as a form of supplication, (Camara 1988:301). In this context, prayer is aimed at other-worldly, that is, not practical, economic or political ends. This distinction is further evident in sacrifice, an activity common to both magic and religion. Camara explains that in the context of magic "sacrifice embodies the instrumental aspect of transaction ('cool and calculated trading') and magical manipulation. In the more purely religious response, on the other hand, sacrifice ... amounts simply to a tribute or gift to the deity, (1988:301). Furthermore, the author notes that, according to Weber, "as conventionally understood, sacrifice is conspicuously absent from ethically based religion,

18 (Camara 1988:301).

With regard to religious ethics, Camara focuses on the problem of sexuality

(1988:301). This-worldly religions have incorporated sexuality. "In this connection, the

'orgiastic ecstasy' does not emerge as an end in itself, but as the outcome of the sexualization (through dance, etc.) of the worship ritual, as a particular element in the process of sanctification" (Camara 1988:301). This is particularly evident in Luso

Brazilian Catholicism during the colonial and imperial periods (1988:301). On the other hand, due to its ascetic character, evangelical Protestantism is hostile to sexuality.

According to Camara, Weber links this to rationality. The spontaneous and "irrational" character of sexuality, which cannot be "rationally organized," is in opposition to the methodical self control of the "ascetic" Protestant.

Camara writes, "The this-worldly features discussed here, to wit, a pragmatic orientation to life, a foundation of magic and sacrifice, eroticism in ritual song and dance, were all predominant in the West African religious systems of the slaves .... [T]hey were also visible in the mainstream religion [Brazilian Catholicism]" (1988:301-302). This is interesting since, as the author notes, formal or orthodox Catholicism seems, in terms of

Weberian categories, to be more similar structurally to Protestantism. But Camara argues that ''upon closer scrutiny [Catholicism] shows tendencies that align it more directly with a this-worldly orientation" (Camara 1988:302).

He explains that it was the folk Catholicism of the plantations, not the formal

Catholicism ofRome, to which Africans were exposed (Camara 1988:302-303). The localized familial Catholicism of the Brazilian plantation was a "private" and not so much

19 "public" religion. It differed from orthodox Catholicism and was similar to African religion in that it "had the same dialectical basis: ritualistic and mystical on the one hand; experiential, practical and given to magic on the other.... [I]t was a dialectic that opposed and unified the concern with the business of saving souls and that of integrating diverse cultural elements" (Camara 1988:303). Furthermore, participation in the same religious sphere of this domestic Catholicism was shared by master and slave, unlike the separatist situation in the antebellum American South. Camara suggests "the African was not only deeply enmeshed in this religion, but also found in it a fertile terrain for syncretization and retention of his/her own native heritage" (1988:303).

Camara points out that the top ranks of both Catholic and Protestant churches were officially opposed to the "heathenism" of the slaves and advocated rapid large-scale conversion (1988:303). Camara explains that the obvious gulfbetween dogma and practice, evidenced especially by Catholic tolerance of non-Christian cultures in Brazil, was often due to "geographical and political problems faced by the Church" (1988:303), not to mention the fact that the resident chaplain of the plantation was much more concerned with the domestic religion of the plantation than with the orthodox Roman version (1988:304). However, he argues that "greater Catholic tolerance ... had less to do with administrative procedure than with structural affinity with West African religious practice" (Camara 1988:303).

Camara provides a detailed discussion of the specific "affinities" to which he is referring (1988:304-309). These structural homologies are: (I) elaborate ritual and sacramental structures, (2) magic and divination, (3) the cult ofthe dead, (4) polytheism,

20 (5) sacrifices and offerings, (6) a direct deity-devotee relationship, (7) a hierarchy of

power, (8) no formal separation between the sacred and the profane, (9) a pragmatic

orientation, and (10) collectivism (Camara 1988:304-305).

With respect to elaborate ritual and sacramental structures, Camara explains, "the

simpler rituals of the evangelical churches in the United States ... conflicted with the

complex ceremonial structure of African religion, whereas the pomp and display of the

Catholic liturgy gave the Africans a basis for identification and correspondence"

(1988:305). Magic and divination are prominent in African culture in general, including

"the use of, and belief in, charms, amulets, and the like" (Camara 1988:304), and Camara

argues that the Brazilian settlers had a mentality "as intensely superstitious as that of their

African slaves" (1988:307). As for the cult of the dead, Camara points out that it is

extremely important in West African religion as a sanctioning force for moral codes

(1988:304), and that a type of"ancestor worship" was an essential part of the Catholicism

of the plantations (1988:308).

Although the belief in a Supreme Being is a basic feature ofWest African religions,

this High God in not directly involved with daily concerns of human beings. Rather, these

concerns are the responsibility of a multitude of"lesser divinities and ancestor-spirits"

(1988:304), giving these religions a polytheistic orientation. The author points out the following functional equivalences between the Brazilian or Portuguese Catholic saints and the orishas of the West African pantheon: both had anthropomorphic attributes, both were often believed to control certain natural forces, both were arranged in a hierarchy of power, and the worship ofboth had a pragmatic basis involving the acquisition of material

21 goals. The personal "guardian angel" or "patron saint" of Catholicism corresponded to

the West African individual-deity relationship. Thus, "the profusion of saints which were

venerated in colonial Brazil may be seen as a parallel phenomenon to West African

polytheism" (Camara 1988:308-309).

Sacrifices and offerings are standard forms of worship in West African religion

(Camara 1988:304). Similarly, Camara notes that Brazilian Catholics often offer payment

to the Church and to the saints in order to secure favors (1988:309). In consideration of

the direct deity-devotee relationship, Camara (1988:304) suggests that an essential role of

both the orisha in West African religion and the saint in the Catholic religion is that of

intermediary between the individual and the Supreme God. Furthermore, specific orishas

and saints act as personal patrons and a source of identification for members of both West

African religions and Catholicism. In addition, both African orishas and Catholic saints

were arranged in a hierarchy of power, typically based on the extent of their jurisdiction

over natural and social phenomena.

Regarding the lack of formal separation of the sacred and the profane, Camara

writes that, as African religion was so much a part of daily life, the distinction between the

spiritual and the material was practically absent. Similarly, Brazilian Catholics "did not

centralize their religion in the temple and in the sacraments .... Instead, religion permeated the daily round oflife ... breaking down the sharp distinctions between the sacred and the

profane" (Camara 1988:306-307). Addressing the pragmatic orientation ofWest African religion and Catholicism, Camara notes that, for both, religion never took precedence over, and in reality served, "the exigencies of everyday existence" (Camara 1988:306).

22 Finally, regarding collectivism, Camara explains that "traditional African religion does not involve an ethically-based, personalized religious experience. Instead, it is a collectivistic, communal affair" (1988:305). As for Catholicism, he argues that because the state was so intertwined with the Church, what it prescribed for and required of its citizens in tenns of nonns and behavior was strongly in line with the Catholic model of morality (1988:307).

Therefore, Camara writes, "there was no need for religious commitment to be expressed in tenns of personal involvement with religious ethics. One simply has to be integrated into the mainstream of Brazilian cultural life to display the behaviors associated with

Catholicism" (1988:307). Again, Brazilian folk Catholicism was a localized, communal institution of the plantation.

The presence of these structural compatibilities is "a detennining factor in the process of African religious retention in Brazil" (Camara 1988:309). Regarding evangelical Protestantism, however, Camara argues that not only are these points of articulation with West African religion absent, but the characteristics that African religion and Brazilian Catholicism share are in fact inimical to the Protestant orientation as a whole

(1988:310). When Camara is speaking about the orientation of Protestantism "as a whole," he is referring to "some of the basic tenets Calvinism, an ideology which had a deep and pervasive effect on the evangelical sects ofthe United States" (1988:309).

Camara notes that, in the South, the Baptists and Methodists had the most influence on the African slaves. And although he admits that, theologically, these sects are usually not associated with Calvinism, he points out that:

"The doctrinal stipulations of Calvin and his specific

23 reservations regarding the Catholic Church appear to have had an important and far reaching effect on evangelical Protestantism considered in toto.... The dispute ... over the doctrine of predestination ... is not ... important here.... [A]ll of the evangelical sects alike emphatically disavowed worldly entertainment, material representations of the faith ... , religious intercession and intermediaries, and so forth .... [T]hey all displayed ... the same predominant tendencies of aversion to the world ... of absolute individualism ... and of stressing the absolute trancendentality of God and the corruption of all that was related to the flesh" (Camara 1988:310).

Camara notes that the initial attack on the Catholic Church by the reformist

movement was aimed at such things as "the hierarchy of ecclesiastical authority, complex

ritual and sacramental structure, prayers for the dead, and the veneration of the saints"

(1988:311). African religion, so similar to Catholicism in these and other respects, was

received by Protestantism with the same intolerance and hostility. Although th~ official

stance of both the Catholic and Protestant churches was antagonistic to indigenous

religions, "this oppositional stance became attenuated, even transformed, by the variable

of structural convergence, in the case of Catholicism, and exacerbated by structural

divergence, in the case ofProtestantism" (Camara 1988:316).

Types

Nutini, Desmangles and Droogers all have proposed typologies for syncretic

religions. I will begin with the work of Nutini (1976; 1988a; 1988b), who made a distinction between guided and spontaneous types of syncretism.· He argues that the instances of Mexican religious syncretism that he investigated can be called "guided

24 syncretism"(Nutini 1976:304). This term refers to the conscious and deliberate direction of the syncretic process by the Catholic church, "followed for two principal reasons: to convert the Indians rapidly; and to soften the impact of forced conversion and make the new religion more permanently palatable to the masses of the Indian population"

(1976:304). This type is contrasted with "spontaneous" syncretism, which emerges on its own without the implementation of some agenda on the part of the superordinate group.

Desmangles (1990; 1992) offers a distinction between syncretism, understood as the "fusion" of religions, and symbiosis. He contends that, in Haiti, traditional African religion and Christianity have not formed a truly syncretic entity, but rather have remained relatively distinct from each other (at least in terms of organization and ritual). The author suggests that Vodou is in a sort of symbiotic relationship with Christianity in this case. He argues that

"the prominence of Catholic doctrines in Vodou was not a fusion of African and Catholic doctrines, but a symbiosis ... a coexistence, a juxtaposition of religious traditions from two continents which do not fuse with one another. . . . [P]arts of the Catholic and African religious traditions [are] juxtaposed in space to form the whole Vodou theology" (Desmangles 1990:476).

I have already discussed Droogers' ( 198 9: 14) distinction between conscious and unconscious syncretism. Thus, we have the following oppositions or extremes: (1) guided versus spontaneous syncretism, (2) conscious versus unconscious syncretism, and (3) syncretic versus symbiotic religions. With regard to (1) and (2), guided and spontaneous syncretism can be seen as subtypes of conscious and unconscious syncretism. Guided syncretism occurs when the syncretic process is consciously and intentionally fostered by

25 the representatives or the dominant religion, and spontaneous syncretism arises without the direction and frequently despite the intentions of those representatives. There are

other possibilities, of course. The dominant group may be under the impression that the subordinate group has converted, while the subordinate group is deliberately trying to appease the dominant group. Or, alternatively, both groups might have conscious agendas, so that one is trying to guide the syncretic process towards conversion while the other is attempting to subvert this goal.

Since the cosmology and ritual configuration ofHaitian Vodou has diverged from

African religion (as will be shown in Chapter IV), I would oppose symbiosis not to syncretism itself, but rather to "syncretic fusion". As two poles along a continuum, symbiosis refers to the case in which the syncretic religion is practiced relatively independently of the dominant religion, whereas syncretic fusion refers to the cases in which the practice of the syncretic religion is more intertwined and dependent on the dominant religion. Again, this distinction will be made more clear in Chapter N.

Stages

Nutini (1976) presents the following scheme of the stages in the syncretic process:

"( 1) ... the confusion or identification of the ideao logical and structural orders of the interacting religious traditions. (2) ... an intermediate stage, marked by a serious struggle at the conscious and unconscious levels between the receding and emer ging structural orders in the embodiment of the stated ideological order. . .. (3) ... the [original] religious ideological order has been totally forgotten. What is remembered of the old religion are only structural

26 elements, disjointed and without a unifying pattern and no longer forming a part of the mainstream religious system, and the new ... religious ideological order is being successfully internalized. This stage is simply the assertion of a new ideological religious order with the syncretized structural elements of the second stage interpreted within the new context" (1976:313-315).

The difficulty with this model is that it associates the final stage of the syncretic

process with the disappearance of the ideological order of the indigenous religion. The

term "ideological order'' refers to "the belief system, and the discoverable rules,

imperatives and injunctions which are associated with a certain institution" (Nutini

1976:312), and it is essentially a "moral system" (1976:315). Thus, the term is very

similar to, if not as inclusive as, world-response. As I show in Chapter IV, a syncretic

religion may very well retain the indigenous world-response.

Desmangles provides a prime example of this from Haiti in his 1990 article, in

which he argues that "African religious traditions brought by the slaves to Haiti remained

intact throughout the colonial period in Haiti. ... Vodou served as a cohesive force in

[the] struggle against white domination" (Desmangles 1990:475-476). The incorporation

of Catholic beliefs and practices early in Colonial history did not lead Vodou eventually to

lose its traditional African character in general and its world-response in particular. The fact that Vodou came to have significance in political struggles can be recognized as a

major factor contributing to its persistence as a system distinct from that of the Roman

Catholic church and the dominant whites. Thus, although Nutini's stages (1) and (2) are generally valid, (3) is not a necessary consequence; a sustained or stabilized intermediate

27 stage must be recognized.

Regularities and Patterns

Certain symbolic and structural regularities and patterns have been noted in the

studies of the process of religious syncretism. These studies focus primarily on "typical"

types of change that occur in the cosmological configurations of syncretic religions. This

includes shifts and inversions of the character, valence, and associations of supernatural

entities and symbols, as well as the substitution of indigenous entities by Christian saints.

The majority of the studies I present here fall into three types, namely, those that examine

structural inversions and recombinant patterning (Watanabe 1990); those that apply

symbolic analysis, such as the type associated with Victor Turner (Morrison 1990); and those that employ more psychologically oriented frameworks, such as the cognitive

semantic model of schema theory (Bartelt 1991 ).

Watanabe describes what he calls "recombination of conventional forms" or

"symbolic reassortment" (1990: 131) in the syncretic religions of sixteen Maya communities located in Guatemala and Mexico. He stresses the dialectical process of syncretism within the Maya community, in which the "community" is "a problematic social nexus within which people constantly negotiate the immediate existential concerns and possibilities of their lives" (Watanabe 1990: 13 2 ), these being conditioned by economic, political and environmental contexts. According to Watanabe, the community is, first of all, centered strongly "on circumscribed local places in which presumed ancestral affinities, primary access to land, and immediate interpersonal familiarities inhere" (1990:132).

28 Secondly, inherent in the community are the opposed categories of"conqueror and conquered, master and servant, Ladino ... and Indian" (1990:132). He argues:

''Maya images of saint, ancestor, and earth lord clearly reveal that syncretism here constitutes a highly selective recombination of symbolic forms, not simply an indiscriminate homogenization of Maya and Catholic faiths .... [N]ative ancestors become Christian ritualists; local earth lords metamorphose into diabolical Ladino devils; Catholic saints take on Maya garb, speech, and temperament. Despite this, such a symbolic reassortment reflects highly motivated conventionalizations of local place, propriety, and permanence, not merely innate congruencies between Maya and Hispanic religion" (Watanabe 1990:145).

Syncretism seen in such a way reveals that the transformation of the structure that links saint, ancestor and earth lord is of a contingent rather than determinant nature. Thus, these cultural structures, or configurations, are flexible and "open to transformational incursions from the likes of saints, God, the Devil, and creeping doubt" (Watanabe

1990:145). Furthermore, Watanabe argues that the persistence of"Mayanness" from this perspective is neither "the direct survival of primordial Maya attachments not the ordained outcome of colonialist domination" (1990:146). Instead, the transposition and fusion of saints and ancestors, the "Mayanizing" of saints and the transformation of the Maya earth lord into a Ladino are argued to reflect and represent "an historically emergent social identity precipitated by moral propriety in the here and now of particular local places"

(1990:146).

Morrison (1990) discusses the interaction between the Native American

Montagnais of Canada and the Jesuits in terms of Victor Turner's discussion of ritual

29 responses in the face of disorder. According to Morrison (1990:416-417), Turner noted

that periods of disorder or crisis elicited two ritual responses from the African Ndembu.

The first was diagnostic, involving the search for the cause or causes of disruptio~ e.g., by

divination. The second was redressive, consisting of efforts to "counter the forces of

entropy and to reconstitute themselves symbolically through decisive religious action"

(Morrison 1990:416-417). Furthermore, Morrison points out that Turner's approach links

religious to social change. He argues that if a culture is considered only in structural terms, that is, simply in terms of economic, political, social and ideological patterns, then what is missed is "the motive force, particularly the community's rejuvenating goal of

ritual activity, that drives cultural change" (1990:417).

Morrison explains that in his own study cultural elements are treated as symbolic

and constitutive of symbol systems, that is, "as having an immediate and vital relationship to other elements in each cultural system of meaning; a change in meaning would therefore

shift the entire system" (Morrison 1990 :417). The meanings inherent in these symbol systems reflected Jesuit and Montagnais religious values. Morrison argues that these symbol systems are the means by which groups adapt, and not just reflections of their ways of thinking about life. He writes, "By shifting their symbolic story to suit the changing facts, the Montagnais in particular sought to ensure their survival. A symbolic integration of their tradition and that of the French was the eventual result" (Morrison

1990:417-418).

Morrison explains that, for the Montagnais, the contact period with the French was characterized by "growing uncertainty and social anomy'' (1990:417). Conventional ritual

30 techniques were no use against these disorders. Seeing the Jesuits as more ritually

powerful than themselves, the Montagnais looked to the French for effective ritual

procedures. He writes:

"It was more than fortuitous that the primal French ritual, the sacrament of baptism, highlighted just those symbols of social solidarity and cooperation that the Montagnais sought. Baptism opened paths to a new life of positive relations with animals and with other humans, demonstratably improved hunting, smoothed reciprocal relations with the French" (Morrison 1990:417).

Ironically, the integration ofMontagnais and Jesuit symbolism turned out to be counterproductive. The extension of Montagnais cosmology to include "heaven, hell and purgatory ... as ultimate life destinations arrived at through human responsibility and choice" (Morrison 1990:432) led to an internalization ofthe Jesuit concept of sin that caused overwhelming anxiety. This anxiety led to the adoption and exaggeration of certain penitent practices from the Jesuits, including flagellation and fasting. Morrison comments that, in their devotion to the Christian god, the Christianized Montagnais "erred on the side of excess" (1990:433). Furthermore, the "Christian" and traditional

Montagnais became divided, thereby undercutting the communal solidarity that Catholic ritual was supposed to renew.

Finally, Bartelt discusses the cognitive semantic perspective on syncretism, which is derived from schema theory (1991 :60-61 ). Schemata are "knowledge structures," alternatively referred to as gestalts, frames, and scripts. A schema "refers generally to a conceptual abstraction that mediates between stimuli received by the sense organs and

31 behavioral responses .... [S]uch abstractions serve as the basis for human information

processing, including perception and comprehension, categorization and planning,

recognition and recall, as well as problem solving and decision-making" (Bartelt 1991:60).

Schemata are hierarchical, with the higher levels occupied by general and invariant

concepts, while specific instances take up the lower levels. Furthermore, as generic

structures, schemata subsume "knowledge about all concepts, including those underlying

objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions and consequences of actions"

(Bartelt 1991 :61 ).

With respect to syncretism, Bartelt notes that schemata (for religion, in this case)

are elaborated by the participants through a process of filling in gaps and adding details

that conform to the participant expectations or notions of what ought to be (1991:61). In

other words, any omitted or ambiguous details will be filled in according to the schema

used by the recipient of the incomplete information. Furthermore, introduced elements

can be integrated into the indigenous schema by "analogizing" them to existing

components. For example, the degree of abstraction of divine attributes in orthodox

Catholicism and Protestantism contrasts strongly with the particular and personalized representations and characterizations in the indigenous religions of the New World and

Africa. Thus, from the point of view of the potential convert, the clergy leave many

details to be filled in. In addition, schema theory helps explain, at least on the

psychological level, why structural homologies are assumed to be so important as preconditions for the syncretic process.

32 Frameworks

With respect to culture change, Weiss (1973:1404) makes a distinction between

entity change and compositional change. Entity change refers to a change in the identity

of a cultural system as a whole as a result of fusion with another cultural system, the

fissioning of a cultural system into two or more new cultural systems, the termination or

extinction of the cultural system, or the migration of the cultural system to a new

environment. Compositional change refers to change in the elements or features within

the cultural system, including: gain by internal innovation (variation, invention, or

discovery) or by diffusion (complete, partial, or "stimulus"); loss, which is relatively rare;

replacement (gain-loss); and transformation, or a change in a trait until it has become

something else. An important part of compositional change is adaptation to the physical

environment which includes local, areal (or regional), and general (or general terrestrial) adaptation (Weiss 1996:unpublished course materials; cf. Weiss 1974:147).

The cultural systems examined in this thesis have undergone an entity change as a result of conquest or enslavement involving at least political fusion with another culture.

The composition of many aspects of these cultures, however, was not immediately altered by this incorporation as political units within a new state structure. Many indigenous features and institutions can be recognized as having remained in many ways unchanged after conquest, as among the Aztecs who were already tribute-paying subjects within a statal society long before the arrival of the Spanish (Woods 1975:28-29). In particular, I demonstrate that the religions examined in this thesis have a certain persistence and

33 continuity. The type of compositional change that occurred within the various sectors of these cultural systems can be most appropriately described as

"[a]cculturation ... a special kind of diffusion which occurs when two previously autonomous cultural traditions come into continuous contact with suffi cient intensity to promote extensive changes in one or both. This kind of change is qualitatively different from the diffusion of single traits and complexes in that it may involve the total reorganization of one or both groups in a relatively short period of time" (Woods 1975:28).

In some cases, this acculturation is an intermediate stage in the assimilation

(absorption) of the indigenous group by the conqueror, as Nutini (1976; 1988a) argues.

This trend toward assimilation is associated with the interaction of subordinate and superordinate groups, as is the situation in the cases investigated in this thesis. The relative success of assimilation in these cases is variable, as is shown in Chapter IV.

Within this framework, the primary cases of religious change that I investigate are instances of compositional change within a cultural system that has undergone an entity change as a result of incorporation into another cultural system. The compositional change is complex, involving gain of elements from the dominant culture, the loss and replacement of certain indigenous elements, and the transformation of elements of both religious "systems". This is a process of acculturation, and the result of this process in some cases is complete assimilation, but I argue and demonstrate that it may also lead to the formation of a new and viable syncretic entity that is integrated into the larger cultural system in a relatively stable way, even though it marks only partial assimilation.

Concerning types of religious change, I focus here on those movements that, like

34 syncretism, are associated with acculturation and/or culture contact. In particular, I

consider what have been called "reactive movements" (Woods 1975:36) or "revitalization

movements" (Wallace 1956). Wallace {1956:267) presents six different movements ofthis

type, including: 1) nativistic movements, which focus on the elimination of components of

alien cultures; 2) revitalistic movements, which seek to re-institute traditional ideas and

practices; 3) Cargo Cults, which incorporate the expectation that alien ideas and goods

will be imported as part of a ship's or airplane's cargo; 4) vitalistic movements, which are

similar to Cargo Cults, but importation is accomplished by the agency of something other

than a vessel, such as a foreign visitor bringing knowledge; 5) millenarian movements,

which emphasize the transformation of the world by supernatural means into some sort of

utopia; and 6) messianic movements, which are similar to millenarian movements, but with

transformation achieved through the agency of a divine savior in human form. In a later

work, Wallace ( 1966: 164) also adds a seventh type, that of separatist churches.

Wallace (1956:265) points out that in the classic types of culture change, namely

evolution, drift, diffusion, and so on, change is gradual and not dependant upon deliberate

intent on the part of the members of a culture. With revitalization movements, however,

cultural elements, both indigenous and introduced, are "shifted into a new Gestalt abruptly

and simultaneously in intent" (Wallace 1956:265). Related to this Gestalt is the concept

of "mazeway," which is defined as "nature, society, culture, personality, and body image,

as seen by one person ... organized by the individual's own experience" (1956:266). As

such, "it includes perceptions ... of the ways in which this maze can be manipulated by the self and others in order to minimize stress" ( 1956:266). Thus, a change in the mazeway

35 changes the total Gestalt, and at the same time a change in the objective, extra-personal

cultural system may occur. According to Wallace, these changes in mazeway and "real"

(in the sense of"objective" rather than subjective) systems is the goal of revitalization

(1956:267).

Wallace identifies five major stages in revitalization movements, (I) the steady

state, (2) the period of increased individual stress, (3) the period of cultural distortion, ( 4)

the period of revitalization, and (5) the new steady state (1956:268-275). L'l the initial

steady state, the culture is operating efficiently, in that chronic stress is kept within

acceptable limits for the majority ofthe population. During the second period, stress

reduction and need-satisfying techniques become increasingly inefficient, so that

individuals begin to experience increasingly higher levels of stress. If this increased level

of stress is prolonged, then the culture enters the period of distortion, in which the

culture's lifeway is no longer meaningful for many of its members. Widespread

disillusionment, apathy and depression, and the prevalence of regressive stress-coping techniques such as alcoholism, passivity and violence, are common in this stage.

This chaos may cause the extinction of the culture. However, it may also enter a

period of revitalization. Wallace (1956:270-275) identifies six tasks which a revitalization movement must achieve in order for a culture to "pass beyond" the period of cultural distortion. The first task is that of mazeway reformulation, which "generally seems to depend on a restructuring of elements and subsystems which have already attained currency in the society and may even be in use, and which are known to the person who is to become the prophet or leader" (Wallace 1956:270). Thus, according to Wallace, the

36 inspiration for the refonnulation is nonnally derived from the revelation by some exceptional individual (the prophet or leader), and not directly from some sort of group discussion.

Next, the prophet must communicate the revelation in order to gain converts, after which the movement may organize, or develop some level of politically based administrative structure. Wallace points out the critical issue in the organization of such movements is what Weber refers to as the "routinization" of the "charisma" of the leader of the movement (1956:274). The "charismatic leader'' is able to communicate ideas and win converts by nature of some sort of interpersonal power or influence, as opposed to a leader who "holds sway'' by nature of his/her status within an existing hierarchy of authority. Unless the charisma of the leader can be transferred to other individuals within a stable institutionalized framework, the movement may perish.

After the movement has organized, it must adapt and overcome resistance on the part of hostile factions or groups. This adaptation may involve "doctrinal modification; political and diplomatic maneuver; and force," and the movement may shift in emphasis from "cultivation of the ideal to combat against the unbeliever'' (Wallace 1956:274-275).

Once the movement has overcome resistance and is accepted by the majority, or at least a dominant minority, of the members of the culture, cultural transformation, or "a noticeable social revitalization[,] occurs, signalized by the reduction of the personal deterioration symptoms of individuals, by extensive cultural changes, and by an enthusiastic embarkation on some organized program of group action" (Wallace

1956:275). If these group action projects are realistic and effective at reducing stress,

37 then the cultural changes brought about by the movement may become routinized.

Finally, after the movement has achieved these six tasks and the new system has proved to

be stable and viable, the culture may then enter the new steady state period.

Concerning the relationship of revitalization movements to syncretism, several

differences can be recognized. First of all, it seems that culture contact is not a

requirement of millenarian and messianic movements, according to Wallace's description.

Although the term usually does refer to cases of culture contact, there is no reason why

revitalization movements of these types could not result from internal tensions and contain

innovative elements synthesized from within the culture. On the other hand, syncretism

involves culture contact by definition. Secondly, although revitalization movements often

seek to import elements from a foreign culture, in other cases they are explicitly "anti

acculturational," such as nativistic movements that aim at the expulsion of foreign

elements. Syncretism, however, always involves the incorporation of foreign elements.

Thirdly, revitalization movements are, by definition, conscious and intentional. Syncretism

is only sometimes so, and it can often occur without deliberate planning or group effort.

These differences have implications for the processual structures of the two types

of religious change, as can be seen by a comparison ofNutini's description of the stages of

syncretism and Wallace's of revitalization movements. Nutini notes the confusion and the

conscious and unconscious struggles inherent in syncretism. Wallace, on the other hand, emphasizes planning, organization and routinization. Discussions of revitalization movements typically reference human agency, whereas these considerations are usually absent from discourses on syncretism.

38 Thus, there are two extremes in terms of the religious response to culture contact.

On one hand, there is the conscious and deliberate nativistic type of revitalization

movement and, on the other, the unconscious conflation of the religions of the two

cult'.lres. In the middle, however, the distinction can sometimes be blurred. In Morrison's

study, for instance, the Montagnais borrowed from the religion of the Jesuits in order to

restore the health of their community. Although he treats this as a case of syncretism, it

could also be considered a vitalistic movement, in that the Montagnais were experiencing

a period of"stress" and sought to revitalize or reintegrate their culture through the

importation of ritual from the Jesuits (the foreign visitors). I therefore suggest that a

cross-cutting category of"vitalistic-syncretism" might be used to refer to cases in which

syncretism is a conscious attempt on the part of the subordinate group to improve their

situation.

Finally, Wallace proposes that "the stabilized coexistence of mutually contradictory

beliefs and customs in a society is the prior condition for a revitalization movement, which

- with more or less success - breaks up existing structures, conserving some of their

component elements and rejecting others, and combines the materials selected for

preservation into a new structure" (1966:211 ). Both syncretism and revitalization

movements break up existing structures by selecting and rejecting certain component

elements to form a new structure. However, for syncretism to occur, there must be some

"common ground". There must be a certain amount of mutually consistent and non contradictory beliefs between the interacting religions, out of which a synthesis can be formed. Finally, the stabilized presence of contradictory beliefs may result not only in

39 revitalization movements, but also in conversion from one religion to another.

40 Chapter III

Theoretical Perspectives

In this chapter, I suiVey selected theoretical works on the subject of religion in

general. Because my thesis deals with religious phenomena, I provide a brief definition of

religion. With respect to syncretism, the purpose of this chapter is to show that the

synthesis that results from the interaction of religions should be seen in the context of the

interaction of societies. Inasmuch as religious ideas and symbols are grounded in social

structures, changes in social structures resulting from culture contact require changes in

religious ideas and practices. This religious change is most often in the form of

importation and synthesis of elements and structures from the dominant religion.

This importation and synthesis is selective and the result is an entity that is

different from both religions from which it is derived. Although this is explained in part

by the similarities and differences between the specific symbolic and ritual contents of the

interacting religions, I argue that differences in world-responses play an important part in determining the form which religious synthesis will take. I provide specific examples and discussions of different types of world-responses that correspond to those of the

Europeans on the one hand and the Africans and Amerindians on the other. This chapter is not intended to be an exhaustive review of the theoretical literature, and the ideas of

41 these theorists will generally be considered only in those aspects that are relevant to my thesis. The major works that I consider here are those of Peter Berger (1967), Robin

Horton (1970), Mary Douglas (1970), Clifford Geertz (1973), Gerald Weiss (1975),

Mefford Spiro (1978), Michael Taussig (1980), Max Weber (1992), and Emile Durkheim

(1995).

General Considerations

A religion, or the religious sector of a culture, according to Weiss, consists of "( 1) a cosmology, (2) a religious organization, (3) the operation of that organization [ritual activities], and (4) a set of associated attitudes" (Weiss 1975:510). Furthermore, religion in general (I) "serves to explain the world of appearances," (2) "serves to make the universe meaningful by reducing it to more human terms: by such means as anthropomorphizing [or] conceptually reducing natural forces to humanly manipulable proportions," (3) "provides for the individual solace and hope in time of disaster and death, and security and confidence in time of stress or danger," (4) "enhances social solidarity through group participation in a common fund of ideas, common institutional membership, and common ritual activity,"and, (5) "helps maintain social order by legitimizing the status quo and postulating cosmic (supernatural) penalties for disruptive behavior" (Weiss 1975:510-511). In the following two sections, I discuss the relationship offunctions (1) and (2) to (4).

42 The Ordering Process and the World-response

Geertz claims that, "[w ]hatever else religion may be, it is in part an attempt (of an implicit and directly felt rather than explicit and consciously thought-about sort) to conserve the fund of general meanings in terms of which each individual interprets his experience and organizes his conduct" (1973: 127). As for the role of symbols, he writes,

"the power of the symbol ... clearly rests on its comprehensiveness, on its fruitfulness in ordering experience. . .. It is a cluster of sacred symbols, woven into some sort of ordered whole, which makes up a religious system" (Geertz 1973:128-129).

Berger (1967) has also discussed this "ordering" function of religion. He claims that religion "serves to maintain the reality of that socially constructed world within which men exist in their everyday lives" (Berger 1967:42). The constructed world (i.e., the cosmology) is produced by an ordering activity which he calls a "world-building enterprise" or "nomizing activity" (Berger 1967: 19), the objective of which is the integration of all experiences and meanings into a comprehensive and coherent whole or totality. In recognition of the fact that "worlds" constructed by actual societies are never completely ordered or self-consistent, Berger writes, "[i]f the ordering activity of society never attains to totality, it may yet be described as totalizing" (1967:20). The process of nomos building can be seen to refer to the construction of cosmologies or worldviews, and the totality that is sought by this process can be recognized as an essential aim of the world-response.

Geertz expressed (albeit somewhat vaguely) this idea of the world-response when

43 he wrote, " ... any religious ritual ... involves this symbolic fusion of ethos and world view

... in which a broad range of moods and motivations on the one hand and of metaphysical conceptions on the other are caught up, which shape the spiritual consciousness of a people" (1973:113). Furthermore, he asserts, "[b]y inducing a set of moods and motivations - an ethos - and defining an image of cosmic order - a world view - by means of a single set of symbols, the performance [of ritual] makes the model for and model of aspects of religious beliefs mere transpositions of one another'' (1973: 118). If"ethos" is understood here to refer to the attitudes and norms prescribed in the religious system, and

"world view" to the cosmology, then the concept of world-response can be referenced to

Geertz' statements. The model for aspects of religious beliefs can be seen as referring to prescribed emotional responses and interactions with the world, and the model of as referring to prescribed ways of thinking about the world, and I have referred to the integration of these as the world-response.

Behind Symbolic Systems : Plausibility Structures

Symbolic systems (e.g., cosmologies) are not arbitrarily configured. To some extent, they tend to reflect other aspects of cultural systems. In addition, symbolic systems do more than just provide individuals with a coherent view of the world. Along these lines, Durkheim argues that

"there is something eternal in religion that is destined to outlive the succession of particular symbols in which religious thought has clothed itself There can

44 be no society that does not experience the need at regular intervals to maintain and strengthen the collective feelings and ideas that provide its coherence and its distinct individuality'' (Durkheim 1995:429).

He writes, "starting with the simplest religions we know, the fundamental task of sacred beings has been to maintain the normal course oflife by positive action" (Durkheim

1995:26); he also identifies a society's "positive cult" as "a set of ritual practices" which

"regulate and organize ... positive bilateral relations" with "religious forces" associated with those sacred beings (1995:330). He goes on to conclude that "the effect of the cult is periodically to recreate a moral being on which we depend, as it depends on us. Now, this being exists: It is society'' (Durkheim 1995:352). Thus, for Durkheim, religious symbols and collective representations emanate from social structure.

However, Geertz (1973) warns against treating symbolic systems as mere epiphenomena of social structures. He writes:

"The drive to make sense out of experience, to give it fonn and order, is evidently as real and as pressing as the more familiar biological needs. And, this being so, it seems unnecessary to continue to interpret symbolic activities - religion, art, ideology - as nothing but thinly disguised expressions of something other than they seem to be: attempts to provide orientation for an organism which cannot live in a world it is unable to understand" (Geertz 1973:140-141).

Of course, it would be just as absurd to insist that religion, art, and ideology have no connection to politics, economics and social structure, as it would be to maintain that they are mere reflections of these. Symbolic systems are at least "anchored" or

"grounded" in social structures. As Berger (1967) argues, symbolic systems (i.e.,

45 cosmologies or "worlds") are socially constructed, in that they are human products, and socially maintained, in that they are supported by social processes; but one does not simply mirror the other. He refers to the ritual and social structural foundation for symbolic systems as "plausibility structures". He explains that:

"Worlds are socially constructed and socially main tained. Their continuing reality, both objective (as common, taken-for-granted facticity) and subjective (as facti city imposing itself on individual conscious ness), depends upon specific social processes, namely those processes that ongoingly reconstruct and maintain the particular worlds in question. .. . Thus each world requires a social 'base' for its continuing existence as a world that is real to actual human beings. This 'base' may be called its plausibility structure" (Berger 1967:45).

To illustrate this, Berger discusses the conquest of Peru. He argues that "the religious world of pre-Columbian Peru was objectively and subjectively real as long as its plausibility structure, namely, pre-Columbian Inca society, remained intact" (Berger

1967:45). When this structure was destroyed by the Spaniards, the Inca were eventually forced to live "a more or less nomized existence on the fringes of the Spaniards' world"

(Berger 1967:46). Furthermore, he argues that, since the Conquest, this process of the destruction of indigenous plausibility structures has been a central theme in Latin America in general, a fact which is important for an understanding of the resulting religious changes in the New World (Berger 1967:46).

46 World-Responses

In this section I discuss different kinds of world-responses that have been proposed

as "ideal types" by various authors. Far from being mutually exclusive, many of these

opposed types are argued often to coexist in a complementary relationship within the same

culture. Here I present Horton's (1970) distinction between parochial and universal

orientations, Douglas' (1970) differentiation between restricted versus elaborated codes,

and Spiro's (1978) discussion of Apollonian and Dionysian world-responses. In addition,

I review Taussig's (1980) consideration of precapitalist versus capitalist culture, and

Weber's (1992) classic study of the Protestant ethic.

Horton points out that traditional African religious systems contain, "on the one

hand, ideas about a multiplicity of spirits, and on the other hand, ideas about a single

supreme being" (1970:143). Horton explains that as these two types ofbeliefs have generally been seen as incompatible, scholars of comparative religion have "boggled at the idea that polytheism and monotheism could coexist stably in a single system of thought"

(1970: 143), and have argued that such belief systems must represent transitional forms between the two types. However, according to Horton (1970: 143), Evans-Pritchard identified these types as corresponding to different levels of thought which may coexist within one religion. Horton suggests that

"the spirits provide the means of setting an event within a relatively limited causal context. They are the basis of a theoretical scheme which typically covers the thinker's own community and immediate environment. The supreme being, on the other hand,

47 provides the means of setting an event within the widest possible context. For it is the basis of a theory of the origin and life course of the world seen as a whole" (1970:144).

He brings attention to the fact that most, but not all, traditional African religions

emphasize ideas about spirits and human action based on those ideas much more than they

expound ideas about a supreme being and human action based on them. "In these cases,

the idea of God seems more the pointer to a potential theory than the core of a seriously

operative one. This perhaps is because social life in the communities involved is so

parochial that their members seldom have to place events in the wider context that the idea

of the supreme being purports to deal with" (Horton 1967:144). Farris (1984:293-300),

in her application ofHorton's argument to an analysis ofMaya syncretism, characterizes

the opposition of these levels as that of particularistic, parochial, and local versus universal.

Douglas (1970:22-23) discusses Bernstein's distinction between elaborated and restricted linguistic codes. In the elaborated code, the speaker

"selects from a wide range of syntactic alternatives which are flexibly organized .... [It] is adapted to enable a speaker to make his own intentions explicit, to elucidate general principles.... [In] the restricted code, the speaker draws from a much narrower range of syntactic alternatives, and these alternatives are more rigidly organized" (Douglas 1970:23).

Furthermore, these types of communication are contingent on social experience.

The less flexible restricted code reflects and reinforces social structure, with the individual

"seen only in relation to the structure" in terms of roles and status (Douglas 1970:23-24).

48 Thus, this code would be associated with groups which emphasize the community more

than the individual. In contrast, the elaborated speech code is found in groups in which "a

fixed pattern of roles is not celebrated, but rather the autonomy and unique value of the

individual" (1970:26). Douglas' argument is that the restricted linguistic code is

analogous to "ritualism," and the elaborated code to "anti-ritualism" (Douglas 1970:50-

53).

As an example, Douglas points to the issue ofFriday abstinence from meat in the

Roman Catholic church in England. To large sections of the population, this practice is

taken quite seriously. But for the clergy, "the avoidance of meat on Fridays has become

an empty ritual, irrelevant to true religion" (Douglas 1970:3). Specifically, Douglas

addresses the argument between two London groups; the "Bog Irish" and the local

Catholic clergy. For the Bog Irish,

"Friday abstinence is the core rule of their religion ... It is the only sin they think worth mentioning in confession and they evidently believe that it will count against them more heavily on the day of judgment than breach of any of the ten commandments. . .. [However,] the rule ... has now been abolished in England and an active movement of new catechetics attempts to wean their offspring from magicality and bring them to a superior form of worship" (1970:3-4).

The rule of abstinence for the Bog Irish is a symbol of both allegiance to the

Catholic faith and community solidarity. However, "there is indeed a clear movement in educated Catholic circles in England, a movement from symbolic to ethical action"

(Douglas 1970:42), or from conformity to "meaningless" conventions that are external to the individual, to a truly personal commitment to and understanding of the principles and

49 ethics of Catholicism. Furthermore, this corresponds to the movement from restricted to

elaborated codes, and from ritualism to anti-ritualism.

In his discussion of Buddhism and supernaturalism in Burma, Spiro argues that,

"[s ]ince no cultural system is entirely self-consistent, religion [or the religious sector of a

culture] may provide alternative, logically incompatible explanations for the phenomena it

purports to explain" (1978:2). He points out that Buddhism, for instance, "is never the

exclusive religion of its lay devotees .... Wherever it is found, [it] is accompanied by some other religious ... system" (1978:2-3). He notes that in Southeast Asia generally, and in

Burma specifically, the companion religion is typically an "animistic" folk religion which

Spiro refers to as "supernaturalism" and which in Burma takes the form of the "nat cultus" (1978:3). He explains, "[s]ince Buddhism and supernaturalism are very different religions, it is not surprising that each offers its own explanation for suffering and its own techniques for its resolution. It is hardly surprising, too, that their explanations and their techniques are often incompatible" (1978:3).

Spiro characterizes the differences between Buddhism and Burmese supernaturalism (viewed as ideal types) in terms of the following oppositions: moral versus amoral, ascetic versus libertarian, rational versus non-rational, serene versus turbulent, otherworldly versus worldly - overall, by Apollonian versus Dionysian

(1978:257-258). However, he does mention that, at least originally, Buddhist practice was not so categorically different from supernaturalism. It was not "an exclusively ethical system, devoid of supernatural beliefs and rites" (1978:251). He nevertheless maintains that the two systems at present are separate religions that are clearly distinguished by the

50 Bunnese, i.e., they are not in a syncretic relationship (Spiro 1978:264-267). Spiro contends that Buddhism is the primary religion of the Bunnese: "On any of the dimensions examined here - time, energy, capital, sanctity, nonnative quality, and power -

Buddhism enjoys unambiguous primacy. But primacy is not monopoly" (Spiro 1978:279).

Spiro argues that supernaturalism persists in this context because it represents the

Dionysian side ofBunnese personality. He claims that:

''Buddhism with its otherworldly ethos creates a need for [supernaturalism] and its worldly concerns .... Without this animistic system, it might be argued, the Bunnese hostility to the repressive features of Bud dhism might have resulted in its overthrow, or in the incorporation by Buddhism of those anti-Buddhist needs which are now expressed in the fonner system. This, indeed, is what has happened in the Tantric Bud dhism ofthe Himalayas. In Bunna, however, the bac chanalian needs, prohibited by Buddhism, have been drained off into the nat cultus, thereby obviating the necessity either of opposing Buddhism or of corrupt ing it" (1978:279).

Taussig (1980) discusses culture contact in South America in tenns ofthe interaction between capitalist and precapitalist economies. In regard to indigenous, precapitalist cultures and their contact with capitalist cultures, he writes:

"Their [precapitalist] culture, like their work, organically connects soul with hand, and the world of enchanted beings that they create seems as intensely human as the relations that enter into their material products. The new experience of commodity production fragments and challenges that organic interconnection. Yet the meaning of that mode of production and of the contradictions that it now poses is inevitably assimilated into patterns that are pre established in the group's culture.... In short, the meaning of capitalism will be subject to precapitalist

51 meanings, and the conflict expressed in such a confrontation will be one in which man is seen as the aim of production, and not production as the aim of man" (Taussig 1980:11).

In order to illustrate this process, Taussig (1980) examines Colombian and

Bolivian peasants' beliefs about the devil. Plantations workers of the Pacific coast of

Colombia, for instance, believe that some male workers make contracts with the devil in

order to increase their productivity and wages. Such an individual, however, is believed

likely to die an early and painful death. He is "but a puppet in the hands of the devil"

(Taussig 1980:94), and any ~oney gained by the contract is "barren." It has to be used

immediately on luxury consumer items, "such as fine clothes, liquor, butter, and so on,"

and cannot be used as productive capital, as any investment will inevitably end in ruin.

Thus, the devil, which is the Christian personification of evil, is transformed by the

workers into the personification of capitalism.

Finally, regarding Protestantism and capitalism, Weber writes, "it is a fact that the

Protestants ... both as ruling classes and as ruled, both as majority and as minority, have

shown a special tendency to develop economic rationalism which cannot be observed to

the some extent among Catholics either in the one situation or the other'' (1992:39-40).

He points out that it is not the "commonly supposed" otherworldly asceticism of

Catholicism and the materialistic joy oflife of the Protestant that accounts for this

difference. Weber argues that such a general distinction has never applied, and, in fact,

"the supposed conflict between other-worldliness, asceticism, and ecclesiastical piety on the one side, and participation in capitalist acquisition on the other, might actually tum out

52 to be an intimate relationship" (1992:42).

Concerning the origin of "capitalism," Weber notes that "acquisition as an

adventure has been at home in all types of economic society which have known trade with

the use of money'' (1992:58, italics mine). However, this type of acquisition is still "pre

capitalistic in the sense that the rational utilization of capital in a permanent enterprise and

the rational utilization of labour had not yet become dominant" (1992:58). The ethic of

capitalism, according to Weber, calls for "the earning of more and more money, combined

with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment oflife" (1992:53). This is purely

an end itself, as acquisition becomes life's ultimate purpose. "Economic acquisition is no

longer subordinated to man as the means for the satisfaction of his material needs. This

reversal of what we should call the natural relationship ... is evidently as definitely a

leading principle of capitalism as it is foreign to all peoples not under capitalistic influence"

(1992:53).

In terms of the relationship of Protestantism to the development of capitalism,

Weber notes that not all sects have had equal influence. "That of Calvinism ... was among

the strongest, it seems, and the reformed faith [the unmoderated form of Calvinism] more

than the others seems to have promoted the development of the spirit of capitalism"

(1992:44). Important in this regard is the idea of"calling" that resulted from the

Reformation, which Weber describes as "the valuation of the fulfilment of duty in worldly affairs as the highest form which the moral activity of the individual could assume .... The only way of living acceptably to God was ... through the fulfilment of the obligations imposed upon the individual by his position in the world" (1992:80).

53 However, with regard to Calvinism and the other Puritan sects, the pursuit of worldly goods as an end in itself was not to any of them "of positive ethical value.... The salvation of the soul and that alone was the centre of their life and work. Their ethical ideals and the practical results of their doctrines were all based on that alone, and were the consequences of purely religious motives" (I 992:89-90). He explains that

"the Calvinist ... himself creates his own salvation, or ... the conviction of it .... [T]his creation cannot, as in Catholicism, consist in a gradual accumulation of individual good works to one's credit, but rather in a systematic self-control which at every moment stands before the inexorable alternative, chosen or damned" (Weber 1992:115).

Furthermore, Weber identifies the Methodist and Baptist sects in particular as sharing an ethic similar to Calvinism, despite the doctrinal differences (1992: 139-154).

According to this ethic ofProtestant asceticism, the acquisition of wealth from one's calling was taken as a sign of God's blessing, and "it had the psychological effect of freeing the acquisition of goods from the inhibitions of traditionalistic ethics. It broke the bonds ofthe impulse of acquisition in that it not only legalized it, but ... looked upon it as directly willed by God" ( 1992: 171 ). Therefore, wealth was unethical "only in so far as it is a temptation to idleness and sinful enjoyment oflife, and its acquisition is bad only when it is with the purpose oflater living merrily and without care" (1992: 163). Furthermore,

Protestant asceticism '"created the force which was alone decisive for its effectiveness: the psychological sanction of it through the conception of this labour as a calling, as the best, often in the last analysis the only means of attaining certainty of grace" (1992: 178).

In conclusion, in this section I have presented a number of opposed types of

54 world-responses. Some of these, such as those discussed by Horton and Douglas, are

suggested to be associated with different forms of social organization or kinds of social

relationships. Spiro's types, on the other hand, seem to embody opposed but

complementary psychological attitudes towards the world. And finally, Taussig and

Weber's types of religious world response are postulated to be related to certain types of

economic systems or behaviors. These abstracted examples of world-response variations

and interactions will serve as important tools for the analysis of the contact of cultures and

religions in the following chapters.

As for the theoretical approach of my thesis as a whole, I have reviewed many viewpoints in this chapter and the one before it. These have included symbolic and

cognitive, structural and functional outlooks, as well as perspectives that focus on power

relations. Although I lean most heavily on symbolic and cognitive approaches, I believe this thesis would be incomplete ifl did not address the issues raised by other perspectives.

As Droogers (1989:22) points out in his discussion of the application of functionalist,

Marxist and symbolic approaches to syncretism, some of these models, such as the functionalist and Marxist model, may sometimes contradict each other. He writes:

"Yet social reality combines cohesion and conflict in a dialectical way. It is within this context, including the relations of power, that man acts as meaning-maker, trying to make sense of both order and contradiction, at the social as well as at the symbolic level. The right to meaning-making may be at stake, as in the conflict between the clergy and the popular masses. The three models therefore belong together, even though their proponents would condem this approach as eclecticism or even as scientific syncretism" (Droogers 1989:22).

55 Chapter IV

Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Data: The Influence of Catholicism

Primary Cases of Syncretism: Catholicism in Mesoamerica, the Andes, Haiti and

Brazil

In this chapter I review selected cases of syncretism with Catholicism in the New

World. I also consider the case of the Phillippines, which might be considered an

extension of the New World colonial empire of the Spaniards. Before discussing these

cases, I consider Catholicism as it was practiced in Europe at the time of the conquest of the New World. To the extent that the Africans and Amerindians were influenced by the

Catholicism of the layperson at least as much as that of the version taught by the Catholic clergy, it is important to understand just how these versions differed. Furthermore, the fact that the clergy were accustomed to dealing with folk Catholic practices in Europe helps explain the indifferent attitude of some priests towards certain kinds indigenous cultural expressions and deviations from orthodoxy in this hemisphere.

The Catholicism of the Brazilian plantations owners was as ritualistic, mystical, magical and ultimately practical as the African religion of the slaves (Camara 1988:303).

This kind of religion was not unique to the Brazilian colonists; they had imported it from

56 Europe. Christian describes the two "levels" of Catholicism in Europe as "that of the

Church Universal, based on the sacraments, the Roman liturgy, and the Roman calendar;

and a local one based on particular sacred places, images, and relics, locally chosen patron

saints, idiosyncratic ceremonies, and a unique calendar built up from the settlement's own

sacred history'' (1981 :3). This type of Catholicism emerged after the eleventh and twelfth

centuries, at which time cultic devotion shifted from saint's relics in parish churches and

monasteries to localized devotion in countryside shrines ( 1981 :21 ).

The core of the local religion was the vow of dedication, that expressed the

relationship of the villagers to their patron saints ( 1981: 17 5). Vows were dedicated to

saints most often in response to natural disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes,

lightning, and pestilence (1981:31-35). Typically the saint to which a vow was made was

chosen on the basis of the coincidence of the disaster and that saint's day. Ifthe threat

afflicted the village more gradually, such as an epidemic, saints might be selected

according to their specialties ( 1981:42 ), or in some cases, by lottery ( 1981 :47). Vows to

patrons might include a promise to fast just prior to the day assigned to that saint on the

Catholic calendar, to carve an image of the saint, or to built a chapel dedicated to the

saint. Typically these promises were undertaken corporately, sometimes in a mass

ceremony but most often by the leaders and representatives of the community (1981 :57).

Brotherhoods dedicated to saints sponsored fiestas and banquets ( 1981 :51). These organizations were headquartered in the saint's shrines. For the day-to-day maintenance of the shrines certain laymen or mayordomos were hired to keep the accounts and pay priests for any services performed ( 1981 : 107), as these chapels were typically separate

57 from the parish churches and monasteries (1981 :70). Again, these shrines were sometimes

built in fulfillment of a communal vow made to the saint; however, they were often erected

on sites at which images of saints had appeared or been "found" (1981:75-76). As these

locations were most often in the countryside, Christian ( 1981 :91) suggests that the spatial

opposition of town to countryside embodied in the parish to chapel relationship might be

symbolic of the liberation from parish control. He suggests that it reflects the tension

between "the intensely social life-style of these urban-type villagers and their agricultural

and pastoral vocation" ( 1981 :91 ).

In France, the religious landscape was reportedly very similar. Even in the

eighteenth century, "the parish priest was confronting a whole world of customs and

magico-religious beliefs sustained not by theological doctrine but by local tradition"

(Tackett 1977:209), and the confraternities (devotional brotherhoods) had become

"integrally related to the community's system of symbols of status and esteem"

(1977:209). Embellishment by local ceremonies and superstitions was most pronounced

in the Catholic rituals ofbaptism, marriage, and funerals (1977:211). In addition, there

were folk practices associated with other Catholic rites and liturgical cycles, such as the

link of Carnival and Mardi Gras to Lent. Many of the local priests throughout Roman

Catholic Europe tolerated such practices, although many bishops attempted to eradicate them (Christian 1981:174-175; Tackett 1977:211-215).

In the following discussions of cases of syncretism with Catholicism in the New

World, many parallels with the folk Catholicism of the Old World can be noted, such as the importance of organizations devoted to particular saints; an instrumental, manipulative

58 and reciprocal relationship between saints and the community; and the convergence of

Catholic and pagan liturgical cycles.

Mesoamerica: The Maya and the Aztecs

"The supposition that religious syncretism is symp tomatic of a superficial Catholicism is contradicted ... by an ethnographic oddity found nearly everywhere in the Mexican countryside: the greatest dedication to the saints and other Catholic customs occurs in traditional communities, those that most preserve pre Hispanic beliefs and practices" (Ingham 1986:8).

Nutini characterizes the polytheistic system ofMesoamerican religions as including

a diverse, hierarchically ordered pantheon with its gods and goddesses associated with various human activities, natural phenomena and social groupings; a complex calendrical

and ceremonial system based on a yearly cycle; complex cosmology and theology; a

pragmatic relationship to the supernatural; a well-organized priesthood; a pronounced

emphasis on human sacrifices, ritual cannibalism, bloodshed and death; "and a cult of the

dead approaching ancestor worship" (1988a:53-54). Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican religions, including those of the Aztecs and Maya in particular, were remarkably similar to each other (Gossen 1986).

Furthermore, pre-Columbian religion was strikingly parallel to Catholicism. This was not lost on the Spanish friars in sixteenth century Mexico, who often capitalized on the similarities in order to expedite conversion by fostering identification of Catholic saints with native gods (Nutini 1976:306-313) or by adapting local traditions, such as songs and dances, to Catholic rituals (Ingham 1986:8). Burkhart (1989:44-45) points out that the

59 trouble with this approach is that much was lost in translation. In the context of the interaction between the Spanish clergy and the Nahua (Aztecs) ofMexico, many of the terms and concepts used in the dialogue between native and priest had particular, not universal, meanings for the Nahua.

The Christian association of the moral with the pure, and the immoral with the tainted was consistent with Nahua thought. However, the Nahua sought a balance between purity and its opposite, "filth," as the latter could not be avoided. In contrast, the

Christians emphasized one side of the equation - purity of the spiritual kind (Burkhart

1989:128). The Christian metaphor of spiritual sickness worked as far as the Aztecs believed that immorality caused physical illness. However, this literal understanding missed the point of the metaphor. And as the friars believed that sin could sometimes cause sickness, they were not consistent and clear on this point ( 1989: 183 ). Finally, the

Christian "good versus evil" dichotomy translated into Nahua as "order versus chaos".

The problem was that "chaos" was sometimes seen by the Nahua as "good" (1989:191).

Nevertheless, by about 1580, the Indians of central Mexico had been incorporated into the Spanish administrative structure and most of the Indian population had been catechized and nominally converted (Nutini 1988a:30). The pre-Hispanic principalities had been abolished, many Indians had come to be incorporated into the encomienda and repartimiento systems, and the Franciscans had established numerous regional monasteries

(Nutini 1988a:30). The initial acculturative stage lasted until about 1670, by which time

"rural culture and society were no longer either 'Spanish' or 'Indian' but rather were hybrids composed of diversely acculturized and syncretized traits and institutions that had

60 developed under the exigencies of religious conversion and economic exploitati\Jn"

(1988a:30-31; cf. Ingham 1986:9; Tedlock 1983:235-236).

Burkhart (1989:6-9) asserts that this interaction resulted in a syncretism that was more than just an additive process; rather, Christian traits were reinterpreted and transformed in a process of creative synthesis so that they would conform with preexisting models. Ingham explains that "[t]he company of saints replaced and assimilated tribal and clan gods, acquiring in the process their associations with meteorological phenomena, agricultural fertility, and healing" (1986:8-9). Furthennore, although many of the Indian religious techniques and traditions survived, such as "prolonged dance, drink, sacred play, invocation by manipulation of regalias," it was also the case that "[c ]ontexts of action, personnel, paraphernalia, social experience, social aspiration, all were changed"

(Clendinnen 1990:130).

Nutini's work in contemporary Tlaxcala, Mexico, revealed that "[t]he cult of the dead is at the center of the local folk religion. It and the cult of the saints, the mayordomia system [for the care and "feeding" of the saints], the ayuntamiento religiose

[the civil-religious hierarchy], and to a large extent the compadrazgo [ritual kinship] system constitute practically the whole folk Catholicism in the average rural Tlaxcalan community" (1988a:12). He points out that, while ritual complexes associated with the saints and those activities directed at pre-Hispanic supematurals (mountain owners and anthropomorphic spirits) are for the most part kept apart and enacted separately, "they are nonetheless the reflection of a common ideology and entail a single belief system that structures their respective ritual and ceremonial complexes" (1988a: 13). The most

61 fundamental principle that binds the religion is that of the human-supernatural covenant; it is a pragmatic religion, lacking the moral overtones of orthodox Catholicism (Nutini

1988a:l4).

According to Nutini, the cult of the dead (essentially pre-Hispanic) and the cult of the saints "constitute a single, undifferentiated system" (1988a:8), as the rituals associated with both are essentially identical. In pre-Hispanic religion, the dead join their tutelary patron gods in the supernatural realm, much as the medieval Catholics believed the dead joined the saints in God's court in heaven (1988a:9). Often, the highest supernatural in the cult of the saints is not one of the trinity, but the patron of the community. These patrons, as well as the souls of the dead, have ambiguous roles; although they are often the intermediaries between humans and the high God, they may also be appealed to directly as supernaturals "wit.h independent power of their own" (1988a:9).

The cult of the dead is primarily a private, household cult, whereas the cult of the saints is essentially public (1988a: I 0). Along the lines of the distinction between guided and spontaneous syncretism, Nutini ( 1988a:399) claims that guided syncretism was responsible for the public manifestations ofTlaxcalan religion, namely the cult of the saints, the civil-religious hierarchy, and to some extent the compadrazgo system. On the other hand, the more indigenous and private manifestations, including "the cult of the dead, the tutelary mountain owner complex, and to some extent anthropomorphic supernaturalism were structured by spontaneous syncretism" (1988a:399).

Nutini (1988a:32) claims that the many political and economic changes up until the

1880's had little effect on Tlaxcalan culture. In fact, such practices such as the

62 establishment of castas and the massive resettlement of Indian on haciendas as a result of

land tenure changes, resulted in further segregation and resistance to Spanish influence.

However, there has been a marked increase in the last century in the rate at which the

Indians become mestizos, and only a few villages remain basically Indian. Recent shifts in

rural economies that have further quickened the pace of change include those related to

land shortage and the decline of preindustrial peasant agriculture, such the increasing

incidence of wage-labor migration and the growth oflocal cottage industries (Nutini

1988a:33).

The Maya case was and is very similar to that of the Nahua. Farris (1984:289)

explains that in the early period ofmissionization in the Yucatan, the Spanish friars viewed

many of the "superstitious" beliefs and practices of the Maya to be born from simple

ignorance and of little importance. Most of these were rites performed by the shaman,

which were classified as venial sins and punished by mild penance. However, anything

resembling the idolatry of the former Maya priests was taken as a much more serious

matter. If detected, the idols were smashed and the participants were severely punished

(1984:291). Nevertheless, Maya idolatry continued for a while in the caves and houses.

The public religion of the pre-Hispanic Maya thus became the private religion of the

colonial Maya.

A decline in cases of idolatry reported began after a particularly zealous purge in the 1560's (Farris 1984:292). To some extent the Maya were simply being more careful.

But Maya idolatry was also becoming diluted into the private household cults. The public cult began to be expressed through Christianity via the saints and the liturgy (1984:293),

63 as "[h]idden worship can sustain a personal relationship with a supreme deity; ... [but it]

cannot express and sustain an entire community's link with the sacred" {1984:309).

Thus, as the calendar that governed the ceremonial cycle was forgotten, the Maya

gods were transformed into Catholic saints (Farris 1984:310). Initially, the gods had a

dual Maya/Christian identity, as idols were smuggled into churches and at the same time

idols that were worshiped in caves were given saint's names {1984:313). The Maya did

not absorb the histories and associations of the saints that fused with Maya gods, and it is

unclear which gods were initially identified with which saints (1984:310-312).

Organizationally, the Indian maestro cantores (the church secretaries, caretakers, and

deacons hired by the priests) "were the first bridge between the old and new religious

forms, leading a dual existence as deputy curates in the Christian structure and also

participating in the proscribed rituals" (1984:341).

The fusion of the religions became so complete that, in the later Caste Wars,

Christian elements were used as ideological support for the opposition to Spanish rule, as local saints were literally captured to serve as the patrons of the rebels (Farris 1984:314;

Bricker 1981 ). In the Cancuc revolt of 1712, the Indians referred to Ciudad Real as

"Jerusalem," to the Spaniards as "Jews," and to the leader of the revolt as "Jesus" (Bricker

1981: 155-156). These types of nativistic-syncretic symbolic recombinations in historicized myth and ritual are reportedly very common in Guatemala (1981 : 177-181).

Eventually, cofradias (devotional brotherhoods to saints) were formed; initially, these resembled the voluntary associations oflocal Iberian religion, but they became

"public institutions supported by the entire community and dedicated to promoting the

64 general welfare of the community through general obsequies to its sacred guardians"

(Farris 1984:329). The cult of the saints became the Maya's most important corporate

enterprise (1984:324), as it defined roles and statuses within the community and delimited

community boundaries (1984:330). It is suggested that the system was at least in part

based on pre-Hispanic patterns (1984:345-349; Early 1983:187-188).

As in central Mexico, the cult of the dead became very important among the Maya,

reflecting "the merger between the Catholic concept of ... souls in purgatory and Mayan

notions of the afterlife" (Farris 1984:323). The emphasis was due to the belief that it was

the ritual actions of the individual's surviving family that determined one's fate in the

afterlife; thus the concept of salvation through personal action and the importance of

confession did not take hold among the Maya (1984:328).

Farris argues that, in general, "the magical beliefs held by the Maya and the

Spanish in Yucatan seem like minor variations on the same theme" (1984:296). She

points out that Mayan religion and Christianity were compatible on the parochial level,

although not on the universalistic level (1984:299-300). The parochial level "concerns the welfare and identity of the community ... and the community's corporate relationship with the supernatural" (1984:299). Its rituals are a form of "manipulative pragmatism"

(1984:301). However, the writings of the educated elite among the pre-Hispanic Maya

"reveal a concern with the transcendental, in particular a highly elaborated eschatology"

(1984:30 1), and it seems that they held a more abstract and formal concept of divinity than the commoners. However, the elite, the priests, and their theology eventually died out

(1984:306). Thus, "Christianity did not replace Maya paganism at the upper levels of

65 theology, nor did it even blend with it; they both lost out to the syncretic parochialism of the cult of the tutelary deity-saints" (1984:306).

Watanabe (1990) points out that these Maya saint cults differ from Spanish folk

Catholicism of the 16th century in that "[l]ocal myths clearly depict the saints, and often

Christ, as local culture heroes or creators notably lacking in Christian virtues .... Maya saints also appear to intervene in earthly affairs mostly to punish transgressions against their persons - usually some real or supposed ritual neglect - rather than to uphold universal Christian principles or to enact divine covenants" (1990:137). The vows to saints that were characteristic oflocal religion in Spain are largely absent from Maya folk

Catholicism; there is rather an emphasis on "mutual sustenance" as expressed in the practice of"feeding the saints" (1990: 137). Furthermore, the Maya saints are more accessible, worldly and willful, and they display human idiosyncrasies. The Maya legends speak of forcing the saint to live in the town, thereby domesticating him, and incorporating him into the ethic of reciprocity of village social relations. By contrast, in Spain the saints appear to villagers and instruct them to build shrines outside of town (1990: 13 8).

Tedlock's (1983) discussion of the beliefs of the Quiche Maya in the community ofMomostenango in the midwestern highlands of Guatemala further illustrates the divergence of Mayan theological beliefs from those of both orthodox and folk Spanish

Catholics. She points out, in reference to the traditional Maya, who openly disagree with the village priest and orthodox Catholics on matters of religious doctrine, that,

"Instead of the standard trinity of Catholic doctrine, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, they assert that the proper pantheon consists ... of tiox (dios), the

66 mundo, and nantat. In this alternative trinity, Dios represents the entire Christian pantheon of dioses, including God, Jesus, ghosts, angels, saints, and virgins, together with their physical images in the local parish church and cemetery chapel. By mundo, they mean the earthly and physical world as a whole .... By nantat, or 'Mother-Father,' they mean the ancestors in general" (1983 :241 ).

The Andes

Inka religion can be described in the same general terms that Nutini (1988a) used to characterize Mesoamerican religion. However, the imperial cults of the Inkas disappeared relatively quickly from the Andes after conquest, many of them fusing with the better-entrenched pre-Inka traditions, these being "cults punctuating the agricultural calendar, and cults of the ancestors, of mythic founders, of the Sun, and of the atmospheric deities" (MacCormack 1991: 13 ). Among these, the cults of the Sun (later often identified with Christ) and of the huacas were generally the most important in the empire and the most persistent after conquest, according to MacCormack (1991:261).

Before the seventeenth century, the Andean religion was seen by many intellectuals in the church as a limited but valid approach to religious understanding (MacCormack

1991:8). But as the gulfbetween Andean religion and Christianity began to increase,

Andean religion came to be viewed as mere superstition and demonic fraud. Thus, conversion in the mid seventeenth century became less persuasive and more coercive

(MacCormack 1991:8; Mills 1994:21). The extirpators of idolatry ofthis period

"destroyed whatever objects of worship could be found and imposed ferocious penalties on religious leaders and many of their followers" (MacCormack 1991 : 13; cf. Mills

67 1994:109; Salles-Reece 1997:134-136). The extirpation campaign in Peru followed the procedural model of the Spanish Inquisition (MacCormack 1991:389).

Nevertheless, Christianity initially made little impression (MacCormack 1991:13), partly due to the fact that destruction of idols did not destroy the gods in Andean belief, as the Andean concept of deity was both concrete and abstract at the same time (1991 :411 ).

MacCormack points out that, ironically, "desecration and destruction provided Andean people with the occasion to restate and formulate more explicitly and sharply the theological concepts that defined the deities" (1991:408). Worship of native gods was done secretly throughout the Colonial Period (Gow 1976: 178), and the extirpation campaigns began to wane in the eighteenth century (Mills 1994:26).

Andean religion eventually came to resemble "the ancient residual paganism of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century European country people" (MacCormack 1991:405).

Vreeland notes that many celebrations of the Inca religion "were transformed into Catholic festivals corresponding to a similar ritual performed about the same time of year''

(1991:229-230). The Catholic celebration of All Souls Day, for example, coincided with the Andean month of the dead observed in November. And, although many of the Indian religious leaders shunned the Spanish colonial civil-religious structures, many others took positions on the municipal councils and worked for the parish priest (Mills 1994:56).

Those appointed as "stewards and standard-bearers of the saint's image" collected offerings to take to the malquis (mummified ancestors) of their respective ayllus so that the ancestors would not be offended by the people's participation in Catholic ritual

(1994:63-64). Depending on the priest and whether or not an extirpator was visiting,

68 many of the Indian celebrations were tolerated as crude but harmless features of festivals

(1994:70). However, when saint images were used in these ceremonies, this was a

different matter that was not ignored by the clergy (1994 :70-71 ).

Mills (1994:108-109) points out that in Peru, as in popular Christianity in Europe,

the most important goal of worship is to obtain a response, or an indication of favor, from

the object of devotion. Many indigenous religious leaders complained that the religion of

the Spaniards "gave the Indians nothing" of the kind (1994:109). Thus, MacCormack

argues that, although Andean religious practice had definitely been changed by

Catholicism, "the extent of this impact should not be overestimated. Andeans had

practiced confession of sin before the invasion and had entrusted their religious affairs to a

variety of specialists whose expertise was not supplanted by that of Catholic priests"

(1991:421). Along these lines, Metraux reports that during "mass" in a rural village in

Bolivia, the natives "chant and pray, light candles and burn incense, but at the same time

they offer to the Saint the blood of sheep. They use the church as a meeting hall for their

ceremonial orgies. There is no chapel or church the walls of which are not plastered with

blood from former sacrifices" (1940:59-60). However, I did not find any recent reports of

similar practices anywhere in the Andes.

The most noticeable component of contemporary Andean religion is that of the

pilgrimage (Vreeland 1991:229). Although identified with saints, many regional

pilgrimage shrines are associated with ritual cycles and striking natural features (huacas, or lithified forebears and protectors) that point to a pre-Hispanic origin (Silverman 1991 :219;

Vreeland 1991:229; Poole 1991:307; Urbano 1991:349, 355; Sallnow 1982:733; Urton

69 1990: 118). It is suggested that activities such as pilgrimages to regional administrative and ceremonial centers were undertaken by allyus and ethnic groups in the pre-Hispanic

Andes (Silvemtan 1991:226-227; Urton 1990:98). The reciprocal visitation and feasting that occurred between communities in pre-Hispanic times is paralleled today by reciprocal visitation of Catholic saints in different village shrines.

Annual festivals are held at these shrines. Many of the fiestas contain theatrical pageants which enact themes from the Catholic pilgrimage tradition, such as the journey of the Royal Magi; however, these displays incorporate "significant elements of indigenous cosmological symbolism" (Schaedel 1991 :257), and the characters are identified with

Andean personages. The pilgrims attend the fiestas grouped in their cofradias (Silverman

1991:221). The assemblage oftravelers at the shrine does not represent an undifferentiated, egalitarian assemblage of pilgrims, as is often the case in European pilgrimage (cf. Turner and Turner 1978). Rather, contemporary Andean pilgrimage affirms the "ultimately vertical or horizontal structuring of the social groups traveling to a pilgrimage shrine" (Silverman 1991 :226), and it is the means by which individuals attain cargos, or positions in their civil-religious hierarchies (1991:226; Sallnow 1982:737).

Shrines are ranked regionally, in a manner similar to pre-Hispanic practice

(Sallnow 1982:739-740). Mountain spirits, or apus, are also ranked hierarchically, but they are dealt with primarily by the shaman (Gow 1976:239), and public cults are generally not devoted to them (Sallnow 1980:740). However, they are invoked by individuals and during domestic livestock rituals (1980:740). They are thought to be responsible for "the fertility and general well-being of humans, crops, and livestock, while

70 Christian apparitional shrines are typically supplicated in order to effect some improvement in the temporal or spiritual fortunes of individual devotees" (Sallnow

1982:740). Among the Aymaras of the Andes, Bastien claims that the contemporary earth shrines and those for the saints are clearly distinguished (1978:58).

The founding of Andean shrines usually follows an apparition. An Indian receives a vision (usually at a site with pre-Hispanic significance) that leads to the construction of a shrine. Sallnow (1982:739) notes that, over time, these shrines become officialized by the

Catholic Church, which de-emphasizes their lowly Indian origins and prohibits the traditional pilgrimage practices. Subsequently, another shrine will be established nearby, unbeknownst to the priests, to allow the expression of the popular devotional forms of

Andean Catholicism.

Ayllu groupings continue to be important in the Andes (Urton 1992). Before the

Spanish conquest, Andeans were united with one another in ayllus socially and symbolically "by sharing the same territory and earth shines" (Bastien 1978:191). These structures and their connections to huacas survived in many areas (Salomon 1990) to the present day. The contemporary ayllus separate residents of towns and surrounding villages into sociopolitical, landholding, and ritual groups that are essentially pre-Hispanic in origin and structure (Urton 1992:233). In the town ofPacariqtambo, these ayllus are eleven in number, divided between an "upper" and a "lower" moiety, and composed each of some fifteen to sixty households (I 992:233). Often, the ayllus and the civil-religious hierarchy are intermeshed.

The realm of myth and oral tradition also reveals much about colonial and

71 contemporary Andean religion. According to Gow (1976:180), the Andeans often identify the Christian God as the creator of the world, but it is the Andean gods who actually rule over creation and intervene in human affairs. Weiss (1986:305-306) shows that the myth oflnkarri from the Central Andean Highlands combines pre- and post-conquest elements:

Inkarri is portrayed as the offspring of the sun; as a culture hero; as the founder of Cuzco; as having been captured by the Spaniards; as having been decapitated, after which his head still lives; and as a deity who may or will return, when his body and head are rejoined, in order to restore the prosperity of the Highland Indians, thus adding a millenarian element to some versions.

Pachamama, the pre-Hispanic earth goddess, has been identified with the Virgin

Mary (Metraux 1940:58). In the Central Peruvian Highlands, she is also associated with holy week, in which, like Christ, she dies and is born again on Easter Sunday. Here

Christ's resurrection symbolizes spiritual regeneration, while Pachamama's resurrection represents the regeneration of the natural order (Gow 1976:210). Gow suggests that two prominent figures in Highland Indian belief- Christ, in the form of£/ Seiior de Qoyllur

Rit 'i and St. James (Santiago) - may be seen as Christianized versions oflnkarri

(1976:252). In Bolivia, according to Metraux, Santiago is associated with the pagan lightning god (1940:58). Apu Ausangate, until recently the most important deity in the

Central Peruvian Highlands, is portrayed in historicized myths as helping the peasants in their battle with the Chileans and in other struggles, and has a tenuous identification with the Christian God (Gow 1976:239-244). Thus, nominally-Catholic sacred beings and indigenous deities coexist or merge, although Christian entities are typically assigned more

72 importance (1976:255).

Haiti

According to Herskovits, most of the slaves in the New World originated from a relatively restricted area in West Africa (1941:53). The slave population ofthe British,

French and Iberian colonies was composed mainly of the Ashanti and Fanti of the Gold coast, the Dahomeans, and the Y oruba, respectively. Slaves from the Congo were imported to the New World in large numbers, although Herskovits claims they had little impact on African-American cultural developments in the New World (I 941 :49-50).

Most of the Haitian slaves were taken from Dahomey and Nigeria, and the most important

Vodou divinities derive their names from Yoruba (Metraux 1959:26-28).

To the extent that West African religions are similar in their generalized aspects, the cultural contribution to New World African religion was rather homogenous

(Herskovits 1941 :53, 61 ). Herskovits writes that in West Africa:

"Everywhere some conception of the universe as ruled by Great Gods, customarily associated with the forces of nature, is found. The pervasiveness of divination would indicate a world view that implies beings whose decisions can be ascertained.... Everywhere the ancestors are sacred. . .. Magic is likewise universal in the area. Charms themselves are as different as the varied situations of life, but the use of certain materials in their manufacture . . . is encountered all over the region" (1941:83-84).

He goes on to say, however, that "[c]ult practices differ greatly" and "[t]he names of deities are as numerous as the localities with which they are identified" (1941:84).

73 Similarly, Parrinder writes that West African religions have in common belief in a high god or creator who is either supreme or at least primus inter pares, with lesser divinities or spirits often associated with natural forces, ancestor cults, and the use of charms and amulets (1961:12). Furthermore, West African religions are very accommodating of new gods. However, the evaluation of new deities is based on what that god can do for its devotees (Herskovits 1941:71-72). In Haiti, this practical theology is reflected by the Haitian attitude towards Catholicism; although Christianity is seen as the religion of the Whites that serves White interests, the Haitians sought to appropriate some of its magic (Laguerre 1989:68).

The cults of the "Great Gods" of West Africa typically had their own priests, societies and cult centers. Vodou has in common with the African religions from which it derives the collective worship of gods under the direction of a priest in a sanctuary

(Metraux 1959:61). However, in Haiti and the other areas of the New World the cults are not so specialized. A sanctuary may have a favored patron, but the "priest" is expected to accommodate the full pantheon of gods (Simpson 1980:293).

The kinship system in West Africa was sanctioned by the ancestor cult, and some ancestors, particularly those of royal or chiefly lineages, were often deified, as in Dahomey and among the Yoruba (Herskovits 1941:63). Conjugal families were polygynous, with various types of descent arrangements; lineages were grouped into sibs. In Haiti these social, political and family frameworks were largely destroyed by slavery (Metraux

1959:59; Laguerre 1989:25). In so far as the African cults were rooted in these structures, they could not survive in Haiti in their original form. In Haiti, most of the rites

74 directed at the dead serve to keep the departed from harassing the living, although some

ancestors eventually become tutelary spirits (Metraux 1959:243-265).

Initially, families in Haiti came to be grouped in extended family units. The

households therein grouped together both spatially and by the worship of a common "root

loa" (Metraux 1959:59; Desmangles 1992:65). Only occasionally was a hungan (Vodou

priest) needed to officiate over this domestic cult, as the extended family patriarch

performed most functions (Metraux 1959:60). Thus, Vodou had both private and public

manifestations (1959:61). However, these arrangements were eventually disrupted by

economic changes, so that these compounds were replaced by "house systems" (often

apartment buildings) and the religious specialist replaced the patriarch (Desmangles

1992:65).

The island ofHispafiola was first colonized by the Spanish. By 1697 the western

part of the island became the French colony ofSaint-Domingue (Desmangles 1992:19).

Between that time and Haitian independence of 1802, Vodou was treated with complete intolerance by the clergy and was forbidden by the Code Nair (1992:25-26). However, there was disagreement between the clergy and the plantation owners concerning the religious instruction of the slaves.

Although the slaves were required to be baptized upon arrival in Haiti, the owners generally felt that this was the full extent of their Christian duty. Generally, no more religious instruction was given to the slaves (Metraux 1959:33). In fact, the plantation owners feared that the teachings of Christianity might incite slaves to revolt {1959:34), and mass took away from productive time (Desmangles 1992:24). Thus, it was only the

75 slaves who lived in the master's house who came to have more than a superficial

knowledge of Christianity (Metraux 1959:34). However, the baptisms became important

early in colonial history, as newly arrived slaves who had not been baptized were treated

with scorn by the Haitian slaves who were (1959:331).

Vodou evolved over the period of the two hundred years of slavery before Haitian

independence. During this time, the leaders of the maroons, or communities of runaway

slaves, were almost always Vodou priests or devotees (Fick 1990:57). Vodou was an

organizing force which integrated slaves from different backgrounds, and it played an

important role in slave revolts and eventually in the revolution (1990:45). Fick notes that

Vodou "had become, by the eve of the revolution, a far more volatile and formidable force

than in the early days" (1990:41-42).

After the revolution, church control of religious activity diminished. Haiti was

officially separated from Rome from the revolution until the Concordat of 1860 (Metraux

1959:50; Desmangles 1992:42-43}, and the successors of the original colonial priests were

more lax and superstitious. This was the time of growth and entrenchment for Vodou.

During this period the country continued to identity itself as Catholic, although the Haitian

church had to be staffed by "unworthy" rejects of the French and Spanish churches

(Metraux 1959:50; Desmangles 1992:44). These priests had little objection to

accommodating themselves and Catholic ritual to the religion of the Africans (Metraux

1959:50). Furthermore, large numbers of slaves were concentrated together on plantations during the transition from a subsistence to a sugar-based economy, which aided the systemization and organization of the cults (Laguerre 1989:28-29}, as they were

76 during the formation of the maroon republics, or communities of runaway slaves, in the colonial era (Laguerre 1989:39, 51-52).

The first three presidents of independent Haiti attempted to suppress Vodou

(Desmangles 1992:45), although it became virtually the official religion of the state at one point (Metraux 1959:51; Desmangles 1992:46). This did not last, and Haiti was officially reunited with the Roman Catholic church under the Concordat of 1860. Initially, the

Catholic Church thought that Vodou would eventually simply go away on its own and be completely replaced by Christianity. In about 1940, the Church changed its attitude, during a period known as Ia renonce. Regarding the methods of the clergy during this period, Metraux writes, "the Dominicans and Augustans who hunted down demons with such zeal in Peru, would not have been ashamed of their French successors" ( 1959: 17).

Drums and other paraphernalia were being burned. Eventually the government had to step in to "moderate the zeal of the priests" (1959:56).

Later, under the Duvalier regime, the clergy of the Haitian Catholic Church became truly Haitian (Desmangles 1992:54). The decline in the number of foreign priests lead to a greater tolerance ofVodou (1992:55), although in some places a police permit was needed to conduct Vodou ceremonies (Metraux 1959:56). Today, Vodou ceremonies are held openly (Desmangles 1992:55). It is unofficially recognized as an important part ofHaitian culture (1992:57), and Vodou ceremonies has even become commercialized as a tourist attraction in urban areas (Metraux 1959 56-57).

One of the most remarked-upon aspects of contemporary Vodou is its merging of

African-derived Vodou gods (the loa) with certain Catholic saints. However, despite how

77 it appears, Metraux explains that true "fusion" of these entities has not occurred: "The

equivalence of gods and saints only exists in so far as the Voodooist has used pictures of

saints to represent his own gods" (1959:324). Nevertheless, the selection of a particular

saint is not arbitrary, but based on some iconographic similarity to the African god

{1959:324). The humfos are filled with images of saints who lost their Catholic characteristics and became loa. There is one example, however, of a saint actually replacing an African god. In Northern Haiti, John the Baptist has taken the place of

Shango (the storm god), although his characteristics and temperament are African and he is only superficially Christian (1959:327).

Metraux notes that sometimes the loa are understood to be God-sent "apostles" and their descendants, and the saints to be a later group of apostles together with their descendants (1959:326). Also, loa are sometimes understood to meet the saints halfway between heaven and earth in order to relay messages from the faithful {1959:326-327).

But although the Vodouisants note some functional similarities between the saints and the loa, and some have attempted to reconcile them theologically, Metraux insists that "they still stand apart and belong to two entirely different religious systems" (1959:326).

The Vodou pantheon itself divides the loa into the rada and petro groups, or

"nations" (Metraux 1959:39). The rada loa are the most African and the most benevolent, while the petro loa were added later and have many European characteristics and are more fearsome and dangerous than the rada loa (De Heuch 1989:298). Ceremonies in honor of

Ogou Feray, a petro loa, constitute "a symbolic reenactment of the Haitian Revolution"

(Desmangles 1992: 172), and, historically, the petro loa have been "reaffirmed" during

78 times of hostility and persecution (1992:53).

Bondye (from Bon Dieu) is the Vodou high god. He is remote from humanity and is not prayed to directly, no ceremonies are held in his honor, and he does not possess people (Desmangles 1992:162). De~mangles writes that, "[a]lthough Vodouisants (who call themselves Catholics) believe that God is the ruler of the universe, they do not accept him as a personal one" (1992: 169), as their concept of God is essentially African

The actual Vodou humfos (Vodou shrines) are organized autonomously and there is much variation between them. The hungans and mambos (male and female Vodou specialists) of separate humfos operate independently, although they may be ranked by prestige according to their reputations. Initiates, or hunsi, participate and assist, but the hungan or mambo is the leader (1959:61-62, 69-70). In addition, regular attendants ofthe

Vodou ceremonies may become patrons or supporters of the cult, forming a "support society" (1959:72).

The humfos are houses explicitly devoted to Vodou ceremonies and activities

(Metraux 1959:77). The front of the house is a peristyle, which encloses a dance floor and rows of seats. In the middle of this structure is the poteau-mitan, or center-post.

Here, in the peristyle, the most important Vodou ceremonies take place. Connected to the peristyle are the "chambers of the gods" or rooms dedicated to the various patron loa.

The actual sanctuary of the humfo contains one or more stone altars, some containing sinks for the water spirits. Some altars are divided into tiers for the arrangement of ceremonial objects (1959:77-79). The sanctuaries house the assortment ofVodou ritual paraphernalia. In addition, there is also usually a room in the humfo for the seclusion of

79 initiates (1959:80).

The ceremonies in honor of the loa take place in the peristyle. Drumming, singing and dancing take place as the hunsi are possessed or "ridden" by the loa, each of whom has characteristic paraphernalia, modes of speech, and gestures associated with them that allow the spectators to identify who is possessed by whom (Metraux 1959:120-141). It is the loa, and never the saints, which possess the participants (1959:326). Initiates must spend much time and money to become servants of the loa (1959: 192-195). A neophyte is usually called by a specific loa in a dream, or by a person possessed by that particular spirit. By the end of initiation, the bond between the hunsi and his/her loa is complete. In

Metraux' words: "The loa is now 'in the saddle'- for good and all" (1959:212).

It may be said that one must be Catholic in order to practice Vodou. Vodouisants observe Catholic rites, including communion, and the ritual calendars ofVodou and

Catholicism have come to coincide. Catholic liturgy is used often in Vodou ritual, including prayers and hymns, and the use of holy water is common. Vodou priests believe that the sacrament of communion increases their powers, and some loa take communion from time to time while possessing a voodooist. The sacraments of baptism and marriage are particularly important to the Haitians (Metraux 1959:323-334).

Although they are neither part of the Vodou hierarchy nor true priests, peres savane, or bush-priests, play the role of the cure when the Catholic liturgy is needed in a ceremony (Metraux 1959:76). Since in Vodou baptism has a different meaning from that of orthodox Catholicism, the ritual is somewhat different. Thus, a pere-savane generally stands in for the Catholic priest. For the vodouisants, baptism is a means of instilling

80 power, much as it is understood in West Africa, and Vodou baptisms resemble West

African initiation rites (Desmangles 1992:90). Not only people but also objects such as

drums, necklaces and clothing are baptized (Metraux 1959:332). These objects are

sprinkled with holy water and given a name chosen by a godfather and godmother.

Desmangles claims that in no other Vodou ritual do Catholic, creole and African

elements appear to be so intermixed as in the rite of baptism (1992:87). However,

Desmangles argues that the Catholic elements and the role of the bush-priest are

secondary (1992:87-88). Although the bush-priest says the opening prayers and sprinkles

the object to be baptized with the holy water, he is silent throughout the rest of the ritual.

Furthermore, those possessed by loa during the rite address the hungan as the host of the

ceremony, not the bush-priest. Finally, in many remote humfos, all Catholic elements are

absent except for the sprinkling of water (1992:88).

Desmangles (1992:8) refers to the relationship ofVodou and Catholicism as

"symbiosis." This concept has two components: symbiosis by ecology and symbiosis by

identification. The first employs the concept of"syncretism in mosaic," which Desmangles

attributes to Bastide, where Bastide discusses the spatial and temporal juxtaposition of

African and Catholic ritual elements in Vodou ceremonies, as well as the coincidence of

ritual observances between the Vodou and Catholic calendars (Bastide 1978:272-275).

Symbiosis by identification, on the other hand, refers to phenomena such as the

identification of the loa with saints.

Thus, Desmangles (1992:8-11) argues that, although in some contexts the

"distance" between Vodou and Catholicism seems to collapse, most often their elements

81 are just spatially or temporally juxtaposed. Although Vodou came to converge

structurally with Catholicism by its close association with it, the two religions nevertheless

maintain their separate ritual identities. However, he also insists that Vodou is a "tertium

quid," and much of it is a "creole" phenomenon, not traceable to Africa or Europe, but

"born out of the difficult and oppressive conditions of slavery and the necessary adaptation

to a new environment" (Desmangles 1992: 15).

On the one hand, then, Vodou is a religion that has converged structurally with

Catholicism and has emerged as a new viable religion in its own right. On the other hand,

Vodou has not been integrated into mainstream Catholic practice, although being

nominally Catholic and participating in certain sacraments are necessary for the

Vodouisant. I suggest that the relationship between Vodou and Catholicism can be

characterized as symbiosis, and I consider symbiosis a type of syncretism in which the

indigenous and dominant religions have converged to a some extent, although in practice

the two religions may not be well integrated with each other. However, inasmuch as this

relationship between the interacting religions gives rise to new, or "creole," structures, the

new entity can be considered syncretic. Vodou, then, is not simply a transplanted African

religion, but a syncretic entity.

Finally, Vodou was a tremendous force for pulling the Africans together and

played a major role in the revolution and in the slave revolts (Metraux 1959:41; Laguerre

1989:1). Vodou's emphasis on African elements (creolized as they were) stressed the distinctiveness of the slaves and helped reduce the burden of slavery and life on the plantations. Early in colonial history, the maroon republics provided sufficient insulation

82 from European influence for the African components of V odou to be elaborated and integrated into the lives ofthe Haitians (Desmangles 1990:481; 1992:170). Thus, although Vodou is largely a creole phenomena. it had an important nativistic dimension. It is interesting to note, however, as Metraux (1959:45-46) points out, that messianic-type revitalization movements, such as those among the New World Indians, were absent from

Haiti. He suggests that this may be due to the lack of messianic content in African mythology (Metraux 1959:46).

Brazil

Judging from the ethnographic reports, the religious landscape in Brazil is much more varied than that of Haiti. That is not to say that Vodou beliefs and practices are uniform throughout Haiti, for Metraux (1959) and Desmangles (1992) repeatedly stressed their variability. However, the cultural inputs from Africa seem to have been less homogenous in Brazil. Furthermore, other influences, such as Amerindian religion and

Kardecism, have had a significant impact on Brazilian religious developments. This has led to the formation of an assortment of cults that have combined elements of Bantu,

Yoruba. Amerindian, Catholic, Protestant, and spiritist beliefs and practices into numerous permutations.

Fortunately, there are enough commonalities, at least among the more recent cults, that not much insight will be lost by my focusing only on the major ones. In fact, just as the African-Brazilian cults are similar to each other in general features, as a whole they share many characteristics with Vodou and with other ''Neo-Afiican" religions of the New

83 World which I treat later in this chapter. These characteristics include:

''the names and characteristics of African deities, 'soul' concepts, ritual objects, drum rhythms, song styles, dance steps, spirit possession, the ritual use of stones, herbs, and water, seclusion and 'mourning,' animal sacrifices, belief in the immediacy of intervention of supernatural beings in human affairs, utilization of spirits of the dead, and ritual words ... blended with Christian elements - including the names of Catholic saints, Catholic and Protestant theological concepts, hymns, prayers, Bible verses, the cross and crucifixes, and with spiritualist doctrine - in diverse ways" (Simpson 1978:61}.

Most of the Brazilian slaves were originally either Yoruba or Bantu. The Yoruba had the biggest impact on subsequent African-Brazilian cultural developments, especially in the north. In Brazil, as in Haiti, the African family, village, and community structures to which African religion was linked were destroyed (Bastide 1978:17). During their first three centuries in the New World, the slaves adapted to the Catholicism of the plantations

(Bastide 1978: 109). However, "conversion" during this period involved participation in the external affairs of the Catholic church, and not necessarily the adoption of Christian spiritual and moral values (McGregor 1966:48). Bastide writes that the African-Brazilian

"conceived of Catholicism as a social activity rather than as a mystique, as an organization yielding benefits rather than as a celestial savings bank, as an institution rather than a faith"

(1978:158). Furthermore, African religious practices continued along with participation in

Catholicism.

In Chapter II, I presented Camara's (1988) discussion ofBrazilian plantation religion. Again, Bastide ( 1978: 109) emphasizes the characteristics that differentiate

84 Brazilian and formal European Catholicism as ''the substitution of the plantation chapel

for the cathedral or the provincial church, and the shift from a village religion to a

domestic one in which the patriarch's patron saint and other protectors watched over all

the activities of family life." He agrees with Camara that the slave participated in the

communal religious life of the plantation. In contrast, however, he emphasizes that they

were segregated to a large extent, and that "[t]his religious separation forced the Negro

into an awareness of his race just as it forced him to seek his own protectors. But his

model was always the domestic religion, which ... was essentially a cult of saints"

(1978:113).

Bastide explains that:

"Collective representations had to create new organizational forms in which to incarnate them selves and through which to incarnate themselves in time. . .. The African had to find, within the Brazilian social structure, ... 'niches' into which he could insinuate his native civilization. . .. [T]hese niches were the batuques, the colored fraternities, the organizations of the negros de ganho, the urban 'nations' established under the authority of kings or governors, and, to some extent, in the rural areas, Sunday dances" (Bastide 1978: 159-160).

The batuques were the dances performed by slaves that were sanctioned by their masters. The fraternities, negros de ganho, and nations were among the various organizations or groupings of Africans that were encouraged "by the Portuguese and

Brazilian governments for the purpose of fomenting interethnic rivalries and so preventing the development of class consciousness" (Bastide 1978:61 ). However, inasmuch as these organizations facilitated the development of the African-derived religious cults which later

85 became, as in Haiti, catalysts for slave protest ( 1978:81 ), this policy defeated itself.

The leaderships of fraternities in particular resembled African national kingships or

tribal chieftaincies, although the "kings" were elected (Bastide 1978:54). Often, the

patron of a fraternity was a black saint such as St. Benedict the Moor (Simpson

1978: 175). In so far as the church also encouraged these types of organizations, it was

actually helping to promote syncretism (Bastide 1978:56). However, the clergy tended to

close their eyes to deficiencies in spiritual conformity as long as the slaves participated in

the sacraments (McGregor 1966:51). Furthermore, the early slave owners tolerated, and

sometimes encouraged, the continuation of many other African cultural practices, such as

the beating of the drums. This policy was explicitly implemented in order to perpetuate

tribal distinctiveness so that slaves would not join forces in a revolt (1966:49).

Bastide (1978:48-49) sees a connection with the large concentration of slaves on the plantations and the survival of African religion, much as Laguerre (1989) has pointed

out for Haiti. Bastide notes that this is in contrast to the situation in the United States, where the number of slaves on the plantations was relatively small, and true Neo-Afiican

cults did not emerge (Bastide 1978:48). Furthermore, while many aspects of African religion survived on the Brazilian plantations, it did not in the mining colonies or the cattle

raising areas (1978:50).

Bastide (1978:50) argues that this is linked to the fact that the mining slaves, whose work schedules were not as cyclical as those on the plantations, were under constant supervision and were not given much unmonitored time for religion or any other cultural activities. In the cattle-raising areas, as in the United States, small numbers of

86 slaves were used on the ranches; thus, there was not enough concentration to allow the organization and systemization of a new religion. Finally, among the negros de ganho, who were hired out by their owners to work in the cities wherein the slave population was highly concentrated, African religion fared well (1978:51)

What survived in the Nee-African cults of Brazil were certain aspects ofYoruba religion, including: certain myths about the gods; divination; the cult of the dead and the extended and elaborate funeral rites; the priestly hierarchy and the names of the priests; initiation rituals; secret societies devoted to certain orishas (African gods; same referent as loa); the colors and liturgical ornaments of many of the orishas; the link between days of the week and different orishas; the cult of the sacred tree; and ideas about the life after death (Bastide 1978:197-198). Xango (Recife) and Candomble (Bahia) are two such cults that are practiced in northeastern Brazil and are very similar (1978: 191 ). Their relatively minor differences mainly stem from the economic levels of the participants; in

Recife the Xango members are poorer and mostly proletarian, so that this cult tends not to be as elaborated as those in Bahia (1978: 193). I will focus here on Candomble, as the ethnographic sources tend to do.

In Candomble organizations, ceremonies take place in houses or large tents.

Within the houses there are rooms called "seats" set aside for the orishas (McGregor

1966:72). The leaders of the cults are called the mothers- or fathers-of-saint, and women predominate (1966:72-73). The initiates are called the daughters- and sons-of-saint. As in Haiti, the participants are ranked by degree of initiation and ceremonial function, and there are also patrons ofthe cult. In original Yoruba belief, one's orisha is chosen at birth.

87 In Camdomble, it is chosen by the mother- or father-of-saint {1966:76). Once the orisha is

"divined," the neophyte must spend much money and time being initiated (1966:76-77).

The initiation ceremonies are structured like African rites of passage (1966:77-83).

In Bahia, both Y aruba and Catholic elements are present in Candomble,

(McGregor 1966:69), although they are kept separate spatially (Bastide 1978:273). A

Catholic altar to the saints is typically prominent in the cult houses, and Catholic prayers

are added to African ones (1978:189). In Candomble, vows are made to saints for

healing, but the promises are distinctly African, like vowing to wear a certain color for a

year (1978:350). The saints are much more truly fused with the orishas in Brazil than in

Haiti, and. inMacumba and Umbanda (both of which I discuss below), they have

completely fused (1978:273).

Cantimb6 is a (Tupi) Indian-Catholic syncretic religion. Early accounts of this

cult report that it was centered around a stone idol named Mary and was led by a "pope"

and a "mother of God." Its ceremonies were held in a "church," and the initiation rites

resembled Catholic baptism. Catholic paraphernalia such as rosaries were used in its

rituals. Indian elements included polygamy, Indian song and dance. and ritual use of

tobacco for shamanistic trance (Bastide 1978: 173-174). Candles were lit in honor of the

saints during Cantimb6 rites, and the participants were possessed by Indian spirits called

caboclos (1978: 176-177).

More recently, cults combining aspects of both Cantimb6 and Candomble have

emerged, which are called Candomb/e de Caboc/o. In these cults, both caboclos and orishas may possess the participants (Williams 1979:47; Bastide 1978:178-179). Indeed,

88 the caboclos are identified with particular orishas, but usually not with the Christian

figures (Trinity, Mary, saints) with which orishas had come to be identified in the older

cults (Williams 1979:51 ). Candomble de Caboclo appeals to the poor, as it costs less and

is therefore more popular than traditional Candomble (1979:49). Initiation times are

shorter, ceremonial dress is not as elaborate, and everything is conducted in Portuguese;

this last point is appealing because many traditional Candomble rituals contain prayers in

African languages (1979:49). The new cults have also been influenced by Kardecism

(spiritism), the followers of which are mediums of "enlightened spirits," or "brothers of

light," who are deceased members of the community believed to be free from all evil

(1979:52).

The most notable of the other major Neo-Afiican cults are Macumba and Batuque.

Bantu-derived Macumba combines distinctive Bantu and Yoruban elements with Catholic

saints and caboclo spirits (Bastide 1978:295-297). The Bantu religion was based on

ancestor cults which grouped ancestors into phalanxes of hundreds of thousands of spirits

each led by a particular ancestral spirit (McGregor 1966:46). Batuque is a similar cult which combines Y oruban, Dahomean, Catholic, Amerindian, and spiritualist elements

(Simpson 1978:291). Unlike many other Brazilian cults, the revered spirits ofBatuque, the encantados, are devoted to the saints, not equated with them.

Umbanda is basically Macumba with the spiritist component more emphasized

(Bastide 1978:319). Finally, with respect to the many Islamic slaves that arrived in

Brazil, this group generally managed to resist Catholicism and did not take part in the

Christian syncretic cults. They participated in the Mussulman cult, which was a

89 syncretism oflslamic and African animistic elements (1978:143-144). Interestingly, the

Islamic blacks were also the most involved in slave insurrections (McGregor 1966:56-57).

The Mussulman cult and the Islamic influence eventually died out in Brazil; Bastide

( 1978: 146) claims that, as the members of this group were recognized troublemakers,

many of them were either killed or deported.

Additional Cases of Syncretism with Catholicism

Other Neo-African Cults

In addition to Vodou in Haiti and the African-Brazil cults, there are many very

similar Neo-African cults in the Caribbean which conform to Simpson's (1978:61) general

characterization. These include Santeria in Cuba (Gonzalez-Wippler 1981), Shango in

Trinidad and in Grenada, and to some extent Kele or Chango in St. Lucia, although Kele

emphasizes the ancestor-cult aspect of African religions while Catholic identifications as well as paraphernalia are practically absent from this cult (Simpson 1978:73-106). Cults that are similar to these, but are less well integrated, are practiced less communally and more privately, and stress the "magical" as opposed to the "spiritual" side of African religion, include Dominican Vodu as well as the cults ofMartinique and Guadeloupe

(1978:70-71, 94-95). Interestingly, Simpson (1978:57) notes the absence of any such cults originating in Puerto Rico and claims that those of Martinique and Guadeloupe disappeared in the last century.

African religion did not survive as well in the Protestant South ofNorth America

90 as it did in Brazil and the Caribbean, as I discuss in the next section. Traditional "hoodoo" was rather diffuse magic among American Blacks, and the more focused ''voodoo" of

Louisiana is the only tradition comparable to the Nee-African cults of those areas to the south (Herskovits 1941:235-242, 245-247). However, the White population in Louisiana was originally French Catholic, and, according to Herskovits (1941:245), there was significant Haitian influence on the cult as many planters moved from Haiti to settle in

Louisiana with their slaves. The set of traditions known as ''voodoo" that survived in

Louisiana is rather fragmented in comparison to most of the cults of the Caribbean, and, as

Simpson writes, "(f]or the most part, the hoodoo of the plantation slaves was unorganized conjuring and healing" ( 1978:218).

Other Amerindian Syncretic Religions

With respect to Catholicism among the Latin American Indians, syncretic saint cults, fiestas, and pilgrimages organized by religious confraternities are reported for all over the region (Crumrine and Morinis 1991). Most ofthese are in areas oflarge and concentrated Amerindian populations, specifically Mesoamerica and the Andes.

Additional cases have been noted in Colombia and Venezuela (Smith 1974). Smith

(1974:1-3) mentions the conspicuously Indian camarico processions on the Pacific coast of Colombia, which occur during the fiesta of Our Lady ofLas Lajas. She also describes the cult ofMaria Lionza in Venezuela (1974:14-16). Maria Lionza is a saint oflndian origin whose shrine, located in a mountain cave, is a popular pilgrimage site for Indians and others. Statues of the saint, in which she is represented riding a tapir or in the nude,

91 are found on the altars of the cult centers. Simpson notes that the cult has also been influenced by African religion via Cuban Santeria and Trinidadian Shango and that it has incorporated spiritualist beliefs as in Brazilian Umbanda, devotees nevertheless identifying themselves as "good Catholics" (1978: 163-170).

In North America, several notable revitalization movements emerged that can be called syncretic. Among these were the Peyote Cult and the Ghost Dance. Interestingly, because different tribes in North America were missionized by different branches of

Christianity (Wax and Wax 1978:32-33), the Peyote Cult and the Ghost Dance were influenced by both Catholic missionaries and the missionaries of various Protestant sects as they diffused from tribe to tribe. I will consider these developments here and not in the next chapter because the influences of Catholicism and Protestantism cannot be disentangled.

The use of peyote began to spread to the United States from Mexico after about

1870 (LaBarre 1975:7). LaBarre argues that "[t]he rite as it came to the United States ... was aboriginal in character, as far as we can ascertain" (1975:162), although later

Christian "superficial" identification did occur among many tribes. Mexican Peyotism was influenced by Catholicism and North American Peyotism mostly by Protestants such as the

Russellites and the Mormons. Mexican Peyotism shows overt Catholic syncretism as saints are seen in visions and are believed to assist with rain-making ceremonies

(1975:162-165). Although the Peyote religion among the Navajo was also influenced by

Catholicism, its rituals are very similar to the cults of the other North American tribes.

There does not seem to be a significant difference in the ways in which Peyotism

92 influenced by Protestantism or Catholicism incorporated Christian elements ( cf. Aberle

1982: 169-173).

The Peyote Cult of the Navajo (as well as of other tribes) is institutionalized in the

Native American Church. Among the Navajo, it has historically been a minority religion coexisting with traditional religion and Christianity (Aberle 1982:xi). Traditional Navajo religion is polytheistic with faint monotheistic themes, strongly magical, immanent and reciprocal. There seems to be some implication that all supernatural powers are

"manifestations of, or products of, a single power'' (1982:47). The belief in sympathetic and contagious magic is important in traditional Navajo religion both as a cause of misfortune and as a means for recovery (1982:48). Furthermore, "[s]upernatural power pervades the world. It is not radically other than or alien to man" (1982:48), and the gifts and offerings to the gods are given with the intention of persuasion and the expectation of receiving favor in return. In keeping with these characteristics, traditional Navajo religion is primarily a healing religion in which "singers" charge fees to cure illness or to prevent misfortunes for their patients. It is a religion that reinforces public, not supernatural, morality (1982:45-50).

Aberle argues that, by contrast, Peyotism embraces the universal and the transcendent, rather than the particular, reciprocal and immanent relationship of man to the supernatural ( 1982: 195-198). This opposition is familiar by now, as it is the same one that characterizes the difference between orthodox Christianity and many of the

Amerindian and African-American religions that I have discussed so far. In the case of the

Navajo, Aberle argues that the opposition of the immanent to the transcendent nature of

93 the supreme deity parallels the transformation ofNavajo social relations from egalitarian

to hierarchical that resulted from the Whites' invasion (1982:xxiv-xxv).

The standard Peyote ritual is an all-night ritual enacted in a tipi or other structure.

A ceremonial fire is built and the participants undergo smoking and purifying ceremonies,

after which they ingest peyote buttons. A ceremonial drum, gourd rattle and carved staff

are passed around the group as each person sings four "peyote songs." Water-collecting

ceremonies occur at midnight and at sunrise. At the sunrise ceremony the participants

undergo a curing rite resembling baptism, and a ritual breakfast is eaten. During the

ceremony, the Peyotists receive communication from God. The Peyote meetings must

have a purpose, such as healing, to guarantee good fortune, or to offer thanksgiving to

God (Aberle 1982:11-12).

The pantheon of the Native American Church includes the Trinity, devils and

angels, as well as Indian spirits such as Waterbird, Peyote, and collections of various

traditional spirits varying from tribe to tribe (Aberle 1982: 12-13 ). God is equated with the

Great Spirit. Jesus is sometimes a mediator between God and man, and at other times a

local culture hero or simply a rejected man caring for the rejected Indian. Typically, the

Holy Ghost does not play an important role in the pantheon. The devils are evil spirits

which do harm, not the tempters of Christianity, and the angels are nature spirits. Peyote

is somewhat similar to Jesus in his benevolent and helpful role (1982: 13).

In some Plains tribes Peyote officials are equated with the figures of the Trinity.

The leader represents the Father, the drummer the Son, and the "cedar man" the Holy

Ghost (LaBarre 1975:163). Gourd rattles often have pictures of Jesus or scenes from the

94 Bible on them. and sometimes the intake of peyote is equated with the Christian casting out of devils or with communion (1975:164-166). The doctrine ofPeyotism. or the

''Peyote Road," preaches brotherly love, care of the nuclear family, self reliance, and the avoidance of alcohol (Aberle 1982:13-14). Furthermore, in the tension between economic individualism and communalism that emerges as the Indians interact with and are influenced by the Whites, Peyotism "seems to afford the possibility of a group within which families have different economic fates and yet retain an ethic of partial mutual support" (1982: 16).

The Native American Church among the Navajo grew from 12-14% membership in 1951 to 35-40% in 1965. During the same period, there was an explosion of evangelical and charismatic Protestant missions in Navajo country (Aberle 1982:xliii-xliv).

The new Protestant religions, like Peyotism. promise access to transcendental power and, unlike most established churches in the area, healing (1982:xlv-xlvi). Thus, they were successful in gaining a significant amount of converts. The new Protestant congregations, whether ministered by Whites or Navajos, preached the total abandonment of both

Peyotism and Navajo traditional religion, which offended unconverted Navajos

(1982:xliv).

The American Indians of the western United States do not see their situation in terms of an absolute choice between Christianity and other religions, such as their traditional religion and Peyotism. Some western Indians were members or even preachers in the Christian church while they continued at the some time to practice Peyotism or the

Ghost Dance (Aberle 1982:xxx). Nevertheless, among the Navajo, most ofthe members

95 of the Native American Church in the 1960's had come to see themselves both as

Catholics and as defenders of traditional religion from the exclusivist evangelicals

(1982:xlv). As a result, Peyotism became closely associated with traditional Navajo religion.

However, Wagner (1975:173) argues that this association did not result in synthesis. He states: "The Peyote religion is, in many ways, the diametric opposite of traditional ceremonialism. Both are focused on the harnessing of supernatural power and redirecting it toward the accomplishment of certain desired goals" (1975:173), such as health, mental well-being, and social harmony. However, Peyotism accomplishes this internally through the use of altered states of consciousness, while traditional Navajo religion is a mechanistic approach in which "power is harnessed externally by proper execution of specified ritual procedures" ( 197 5: 173 ). What resulted from their interaction was an excellent case of religious symbiosis or, more specifically, syncretism by ecology.

The association of these religions resulted in what Wagner describes as "double meetings" (1975: 166-170). In this type of ceremony, a regular Peyote meeting is held until midnight. Then the ritual turns abruptly to an exorcism of witchcraft, during which these is traditional singing and recitation with the lights off. When the lights come back on, the Peyote ritual resumes. The final ritual at dawn is traditional also. Breaks occur during the transitions between Peyotist and traditional ceremonies at this "double meeting." Note that the traditional rites are inserted at the point at which Peyotists usually perform their water-collecting rituals. Furthermore, Wagner (1975:169) reports that the traditional and Peyote elements are also kept apart spatially: a traditional crystal occupies

96 a prominent place on the altar, whereas Peyote items are not in their normal places and are

not as prominent.

Wagner points out that, since Malinowski's time, studies of syncretism have

tended to focus on the degree of similarity between different idea systems and the

characteristics of these systems which promote or hinder their combination (Wagner

1975:162). However, "when a Navajo classifies two things as being alike, he is thinking in

terms of analogies - similarities in function - rather than of homologies or similarities in

actual structure. Even though two religions may manifestly be quite different, Navajos

may classify them together on the basis of the benefits that may be derived from them"

(Wagner 1975:164).

Another revitalistic religion is the Ghost Dance, which is similar to Peyotism in

that it has been characterized as a transcendental and universalistic religion (Kehoe

1989:7). The Ghost Dance was developed around 1890 by the Paiute Indian Jack Wilson,

also known as Wovoka, who was a practitioner of traditional Paiute religion and was

familiar with Presbyterian Christianity (Kehoe 1989:4-6; Wax and Wax 1978:35).

Wilson's religion was based on a vision he experienced in which he was taken to heaven.

God instructed him to teach his people to live in harmony among themselves and with the

Whites, to work hard, to be honest, and to give up warlike ways. Wilson was told that, if the Indians obeyed, God would restore North America to its condition before the Whites came, and they would be reunited with their dead friends and relatives in a world with abundant game and no sickness. He was also given the Ghost Dance to be performed in order to quicken the delivery of God's promise. Furthermore, the Ghost Dance allowed

97 communication with the dead, who sometimes brought messages from God and Jesus.

When the religion diffused to the Lakota Sioux, it was reinterpreted significantly by two individuals, Kicking Bear and Black Elk. Kicking Bear transformed it into the more hostile millenarian movement associated with "bulletproof' Ghost shirts (Kehoe

1989:39). By contrast, Black Elk was instructed by "holy persons" he saw during a

Ghost Dance vision in 1890 to lead his people in worship in order to restore life as it was before the Indian Wars (1989:39). In 1904, Black Elk was converted to Catholicism and became a Catholic catechist in 1907 (1989:62-64). He recognized many parallels between

Lakota religion and Christianity, and by the 1930's he had "created a universal religion grounded in Lakota beliefs but resonating with Christian symbols" (1989:66). Finally, as for the other tribes to which the Ghost Dance diffused, Kract (1992:462) claims that many of them practiced the Ghost Dance together with Peyotism.

The Philippines

Catholic Spain took control of the Philippines in the second half of the sixteenth century. For a period of time they were administered by the Viceroy ofNew Spain

(Mexico) as a simple extension of Spain's New World empire (Worcester and Schaeffer

1956:1 05). The native religion of the Philippines, like those that the Spaniards encountered in Latin America and the Caribbean, bore some resemblances to Christianity.

These similarities were taken by the Spanish missionaries as evidence once again of the devil at work (Phelan 1959:53). According to the routine, idols were smashed and the

"sacred groves" (there were no temples) were destroyed (Phelan 1959:53-54).

98 Nevertheless, the Spanish had learned something from their experience in the Americas,

and they left important religious concepts untranslated from Spanish or Latin in order to

avoid confusion with native notions (1959:58).

The Filipino response was similar to that of the Indians in the Americas (Phelan

1959:72-84). The fiesta and confraternity system took root quickly and compadrazgo ties

allowed traditional kinship ties to persist sanctioned by Christianity practice. Phelan

writes that "the belief in miracles was boundless and virtually uncontrollable" (1959:79).

The Filipinos became fixated with holy water, which they believed was very powerful.

Phelan notes that "their demand for it was insatiable" (1959:75).

Catholic paraphernalia was used in divination (Phelan 1959:79-80), while at the

same time wooden carvings of saints were carried in the processions of the fiestas (Nelson

1968:101). "Some Filipino Catholics continued to ask permission from the spirits before

doing certain things" (Phelan 1959:80), these being the old nature spirits. Filipino

Catholicism came to be characterized by "outward ritual formalism rather than solid

doctrinal knowledge, [as well as] the tendency toward idolatry, superstition, and magic"

(1959:84).

99 ChapterV

Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Data: The Rise of Protestantism

Characterization and History

With a few exceptions, the Protestant churches and sects which are discussed in this chapter are those of the Baptists, Methodists, and Pentecostals. The Baptists and

Methodists are among the Arminian denominations that believe in the free and universal grace of God, in contrast to the more Calvinistic Presbyterian religion ( cf. Martin

1990:32). According to Stoll, evangelical Protestantism can be equated with "(I) complete reliability and final authority of the Bible; (2) the need to be saved through a personal relation with Jesus Christ, often experienced in terms of being 'born again,' and

(3) the importance of spreading this message of salvation to every nation and person, a duty often referred to as the Great Commission" (1990:3). Stoll further notes that the term fundamentalist is often used disparagingly by Latin Americans to refer those that show doctrinal rigidity and are less concerned with "spreading the good news" (1990:4).

The Pentecostals are an ecstatic or charismatic sect who believe in baptism and possession (speaking in tongues) by, and spiritual gifts such as healing from, the Holy

Spirit. Most evangelicals in Latin America are Pentecostals, while most North American missionaries are not (Stoll 1990:4). In reference to the relationship of these religions to

100 the "Spirit of Capitalism," Martin claims that Weber's characterization applied mostly to the Calvinistic Protestantism of the 16th and 17th centuries. As for Methodism and

Pentecostalism, these are recognized mostly in tenns of their contribution to democracy, individualism and the avoidance of violent revolution (Martin 1990:205). Manning claims that, in contrast to Weber's classical Protestantism, Pentecostalism "produces salvation in a single instant: the moment of conversion. It fosters a life that is more episodic than methodic, more ritualistic than rational" (1980:186). Furthennore, practices such as exorcism and spiritual healing indicate the accommodation of magical orientations to which classical Protestants objected so strongly in Catholicism (Manning 1980: 186).

However, Martin admits that Pentecostalism, by encouraging individuality and freedom of choice, may very well predispose people toward capitalist development

(1990:231). Manning confinns that this is indeed the case, although he points out that,

"[n]ot surprisingly, much of the upward mobility that Pentecostals display results from opportunistic means such as the exploitation of personal networks ... rather than the methodical and relentless hard work that impressed Weber in classical Protestantism"

(1980:186).

In any case, there is no debate about the fact that Protestantism as a whole has experienced quite a growth spurt in Latin America over the last fifty years. Evangelical

Protestantism made its way to Latin America beginning in the 19th century, showed some growth in the 1930's, and exploded in the 1960's (Martin 1990:49). The proportion of those converts who belong to Pentecostal churches has risen at an impressive rate. In

Central America in 1936, Pentecostals composed 2.3% of all Protestants, in the 1960's

101 one third, and by the 1980's one half; in Chile, 80% of its Protestants were Pentecostals

by that time (Martin 1990:52).

As for Protestants as a whole, Stoll notes that non-Catholic Christians had grown

to 10% of the population in Latin America by the 1980's (1990:6). The lowest growth has

been in the Andean countries, with percent-of-population figures between 1 and 5% for

Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and 2 to 8% for Bolivia. Mexico is also low,

showing only 2 to 5% (Stoll 1990:7). There has also been smaller than average growth in

Jamaica, the Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Suriname, and Guyana; but Haiti (between 15 and 20%) and Puerto Rico (between 7 and 30%) have had larger increases (Stolll990:7-

8). In Brazil, the figure is 18%, and, in Chile, as much as 25%; in Brazil, the Protestant

population grew by 77% from 1960 to 1970, and by 155% from 1970 to 1980 (Stoll

1990:8).

Historically, the first "wave" of missionization in Latin America came from the mainline denominations ofNorth America (such as the "Puritan" churches and the

Anglicans) in the nineteenth century (Stolll990:101). However, they produced only small numbers of converts. The second was that of the fundamentalist denominations that replaced the mainline churches after the World War II, but Stoll claims that "they tended to be too straitlaced for Latin Americans. They opposed emotional forms of worship, for example, and were slow to let converts run their own affairs. As a result, even these fervently evangelical groups produced only small churches" (1990:101). The third wave was that of the evangelicals. By the 1960's, two-thirds ofLatin American Protestants were Pentecostals, and by 1980, three-fourths. The most successful of these included the

102 Assemblies of God, the Church of God, and the Four-Square Gospel Church (1990:101).

Puritan and Methodist Protestantism were difficult to transport to Latin America, but Pentecostalism was successful "because it was equipped with local adaptors and easily became indigenous" (Martin 1990:5). Furthermore, though the early Methodists may have been as "enthusiastic" as the Pentecostals, they did not have the some emphasis on exorcism, divine healing and speaking in tongues (1990:28), all ofwhich have wide appeal in Latin America. Thus, Pentecostalism offers a viable alternative to traditional healing practices (Margolies 1980:3).

The evangelicals were a challenge to the well-established Catholicism ofLatin

America. Stoll claims that, "[w ]hile the Catholics were holding down the territorial system of an established church, the evangelicals concentrated their resources on winning new members. Wherever there was a field ripe unto harvest, evangelists swarmed there to blare at the people with loudspeakers, visit them door to door, and put up little cement block churches on every street" (1990:35). The evangelists explicitly connect North

America's prosperity with its Protestant heritage, which tends to get the attention of Latin

Americans. The missionaries are also aware of the connection between conversion and social stress, so they tend to concentrate their efforts on disaster areas (Stoll 1990: 11;

Margolies 1980:2).

Simpson argues that the transition from folk Catholicism to Pentecostalism is facilitated by the fact that both religions emphasize mystical experiences, spiritual possession, and charismatic leadership (1978:155). Furthermore, Stoll argues that:

"In Latin America, pentecostal movements obviously

103 rechannel the popular religiosity of folk Catholicism. . . . [P]entecostalism expresses popular traditions of holy intoxication, mystical unity with the divine, and miraculous healing, all of which, until recently, have been thought of as Catholic .... [I]nstead of praying to the Virgin for a cure or going to a folk healer, pentecostals pray for deliverance by the Holy Spirit. In Mexico, a country with a strong indigenous heritage, many rural pastors are former shamans who, in effect, continue to divine and cure under the new religion, as a more effective source of power and legitimation" (1990: 112-113).

One of the results of the social disruption caused by capitalist development is an increase in complaints about evil spirits among many Latin Americans, which may account for the popularity of Pentecostal exorcism (Stoll 1990: 112). Margolies notes that, in general, there is a close association between Pentecostal growth, modernization, the transition from agrarian to urban society, and various types of regional migration (1980:1).

She suggests that Pentecostal organizations may serve to replaced extended family ties that are disrupted by migration, and its ethic of reciprocity and mutual aid replicate those of traditional communities (Margolies 1980:2). Still, there is a debate as to whether

Pentecostalism is a progressive movement for social change or a conservative force

(1980:3-4).

Stoll (1990: 19) points out that, although they typically claim to be apolitical, evangelical leaders tend to be conservative, if not reactionary, in their political views.

They encourage the Latin Americans to work on self improvement, not social change, and often support dictatorial military regimes and strongly oppose communism. The somewhat Marxist and revolutionary "liberation theology" of many Catholics is seen by

104 some Protestants as "a Moscow-inspired tactic to deceive the church into destroying itself' (Stoll 1990: 19-21; cf. Martin 1990:265).

Martin claims that "Pentecostalism has radical symbolic resonances, but it takes an apolitical conservativeform" (1990:43). Furthermore, he writes, "What is above all most evident is the capacity of Pentecostalism simultaneously to conform and transform. It finds out the morphology and shape of the local society and participates in the life of people. At the same time it provides new networks of participation and offers lines of organization and communication along which signals of modernity and symbols of equality may travel" (Martin 1990:133).

Recently, spiritism in its various forms appears to be beating out Pentecostalism in

Brazil and in other areas of Latin America. Stoll points out that Pentecostalism, like spiritism, "appeals to the magical proclivities of the population. But unlike spiritism, which encourages amoral clientalistic relations with a plethora of deities, pentecostalism places authority in a single godhead, creates universal ethical standards, and promotes individual responsibility" ( 1990:318).

Protestantism in the American South

Bastide writes:

"[W]e must distinguish between two quite different types of environment, each of which produced its own characteristic 'marriage of religions': the Catholic and the Protestant. In the latter, the Negro was not accepted as a member of the church until he had undergone a very thorough course of instruction. Missionary work, therefore, was carried out in depth.

105 and this led to the eradication of 'Afiicanisms.' Religious amalgamation never (or at best very rarely) took the form of true syncretism.... " (1971: 152-153).

Furthermore, Herskovits writes, "when the New World is considered as a whole,

the Negroes who adhere to Catholicism, with its elaborate ceremonialism, far outnumber

those who are affiliated with Protestant sects having simpler rituals" (1941 :208). He also

argues that "Catholic theology and ritual are too fixed to give rise to the variation

characteristic ofthe type ofNegro Christianity engendered by Protestantism" (1941:220).

Thus, African-derived religions are practiced outside of the Catholic Church, as official

Catholicism "only partially satisfies the heritors of African religious traditions"

(1941:220). On the other hand, certain Protestant churches seem flexible enough to be

able to be adapted to the needs of the Africans.

Herskovits (1941:209) points out that most North American Protestants of African

descent became affiliated with the Baptist church. It was more appealing than the more

"sober" sects, and the Baptists church was more flexible and egalitarian than other

denominations (Simpson 1978:225-226). In addition, the autonomous organization of

individual Baptist churches was appealing. Soon after emancipation, independent Black

churches began to be formed. Herskovits points out that although these are structured

much as conventional Protestant churches (Herskovits 1941 :xxiii), there are many aspects

of ritual and theology that seem to be of African derivation. When possessed by the Holy

Ghost, the churchgoers show African motor responses, and the harmony and rhythm of their singing and dance styles seem distinctly African (1941 :xxiv). Furthermore, in these churches "God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are all concerned with the immediate fate of

106 those who worship them" (1941 :xxiv), which he views as yet another "Africanism"

(1941 :xxv).

Herskovits claims that these autonomous black churches have in common salvation by faith, vernacular singing, sermons punctuated by exclamations such as "Amen" and

''Hallelujah!," emphasis on sins rather than blessings or the hereafter, charismatic leadership, frenzied emotional expression, and testimonies of miracles, healings and visions, as well as possession by the Holy Ghost ( 1941 :211 ).

In addition, among many North American rural blacks, the Devil is often not the fallen angel of Christian dogma, but closer to the ambiguous trickster figure of West

African known as Legba or Eshu (Herskovits 1941 :252-253; Simpson 1978 :217). Also,

"mourning" or initiation rites which are similar to African rites of passage are common for new members ofblack North American churches (Herskovits 1941:222-223; Simpson

1980:218). However, despite these few surviving Africanisms, even the independent churches show nowhere near the African influence of the cults in Catholic areas of the

New World.

Simpson (1978) suggests that differences in the concentration of slaves in the various slave-importing countries of the Caribbean and South America versus the United

States might help account for the difference in the extent of the survival of African culture in these areas. Blacks made up the majority of the population of the Caribbean countries in the colonial period, whereas they were only a minority in the United States and there were far fewer slaves per plantation in the United States. Furthermore, at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, the majority of the slaves in the

107 British and French islands had been born in Afiica, while by 1860, 99% of the U.S. slaves were born in the New World and most of them were second- to fifth-generation

Americans (1978:18-19). Thus, the number and concentration of Afiicans were significantly lower in the United States, and far fewer new slaves, bringing with them their

Afiican traditions, were brought to the United States in the eighteenth century. These factors served as a barrier to African cultural continuity in this country (1978:317-318}.

Haiti

The Protestants ofHaiti comprise about 15% of the population and include the

Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, Adventists, Pentecostals, and others. The Protestant converts are required to renounce Vodou and Catholicism completely (Metraux 1959:351;

Conway 1980:12}. Metraux claims that many Haitians have converted to escape the wrath of the loa, as Protestantism represents a shelter or a "magic circle" (Metraux

1959:352; Conway 1980:16). However, most have converted in connection with an illness, as a hungan who has tried all his cures and failed to heal a patient may advise the family to "try Protestantism." The "patient" typically returns to Vodou if the conversion does not appear to work (Metraux 1959:352-356; Conway 1980:23}.

Pentecostal sects seem to pull in many who have decided to convert, due to their similarities with Vodou (Metraux 1959:357). Healing is an important aspect of

Pentecostalism, and its free healing services are attractive considering the expense of

Vodou cures. Conway notes that the other sects do not stress healing as much as the

Pentecostals (Conway 1980: 15). Furthermore, the emphasis on possession is similar to

108 that in Vodou, except the loa are classified as evil (1980: 13 ). Conway argues that

Pentecostalism is a innovation within, not a restructuring of, traditional religion (1980:23).

Trinidad

The Shouters or Spiritual Baptists of Trinidad believe in the inerrancy of the Bible,

the authenticity of the Bible miracles, and the primacy of Jesus, much as the Protestants of

the United States. Simpson claims that they are more similar to the independent black

churches ofNorth America than to other Protestant sects (Simpson 1980:140).

Nevertheless, the Spiritual Baptists have more in common with the Shangoists and the

otherNeo-African cults than any church found in North America (Simpson 1980:141-

152).

Although the Baptists worship the Trinity and the Shangoists the orishas, many

Trinidadians often participate in both religions (Glazier 1982: 17). Glazier estimated that

about 80% of the Shangoists participate in Baptist worship and 40% ofBaptists in Shango

rituals (1982:25). Sometimes the rites of the two religions are held successively by the

same congregation (Simpson 1980:146; Glazier 1982, 1985), and as the Catholics do not

allow Shango ceremonies in their churches, many of the Shango groups arrange to rent

those of sympathetic Baptists (Glazier 1982:23).

During the Baptist ceremonies themselves, African embellishments occur for the

most part only before and after services (Glazier 1982:21). The Baptists also adopt

elements from Hinduism and Islam, although each borrowed element is generally provided with its own spatial and/or temporal context, as "[e]ach religion is said to have its greatest

109 efficacy within its own context of origin" (Glazier 1985:51).

Glazier explains that most churches have at least three separate ritual areas, which

include outdoor shrines. Additional buildings are necessary for those churches involved in

Shango, as certain Shango rituals are never held on church grounds. Shrines, however,

may be dedicated to African gods as well as Catholic saints. Separate buildings containing

their own set of ritual paraphernalia are also provided for Pentecostal exorcisms (Glazier

1985:5 1-52).

Within the main sanctuary, Christian elements are prominent, while Hindu and

Islamic paraphernalia are set in the back of the church (Glazier 1985:52). The altars are

also arranged with different types of paraphernalia on different tiers, with the Christian

cross always on the highest level (I 985 :53). Temporally, Shango rites, including

possession by orishas, may be performed before Baptist ceremonies, but not during the

actual service. Also, Shango animal sacrifices must be performed elsewhere, and are

believed to be less effective if performed on the same day as Baptist ceremonies

(1985:54).

During the service, rites from different traditions are separated by periods up to 15 minutes. It is believed that separation is most critical when the rites of different traditions are the most similar, and thus apt to be confused; between the recitation of the Protestant and Catholic versions of the Lord's Prayer there is a two or three minute break wherein the congregation leaves the church. Any rituals performed at the African-derived center pole must also be temporally separated before worship at the altar resumes. Glazier cites this as an example of syncretism by ecology (1985:56).

110 Independent Pentecostal churches are becoming more common in Trinidad.

Although exorcisms are provided by other Protestant churches, the Catholic clergy and the

syncretic cults such as Shango, Pentecostal exorcism is popular partly because there is no

prying into the lives of the afllicted, unlike other exorcisms. Also, Pentecostals believe

that even good people can be possessed by evil spirits, unlike the Spiritual Baptists. In

addition to performing exorcisms, the Pentecostal groups are well funded and help find

employment for their members (Glazier 1980:70-71). Moreover, the Pentecostals

emphasize their relationship with economic success in order to lure converts (Stoll

1990:11, 21).

Jamaica

Protestants were not allowed into Jamaica to missionize its slaves until about the time of the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century, as the slaves were not thought to have souls to save (Wedenoja 1980:27; Simpson 1978:44-45). Before then, a few "non conformist" missionaries attempted to evangelize the Africans, but their results were meager. However, after emancipation, the Protestants of all denominations flocked to the island. The Jamaican revivalist cults of today represent the institutionalized syncretism of early evangelical Protestantism, particularly the Native Baptists led in part by freed North

American slaves, and the West African religious cults already existing in Jamaica, such as

Cumina and Convince (Simpson 1978:45, 112). Both Cumina and Convince emphasize the ancestor-cult aspect of African religion. Although both have diverged from the original West African cults, Christian elements seem to be absent from Cumina and, other

Ill than some use of Biblical readings in ceremonies, Christian elements are not important in the Convince Cult (1978:98-102).

The pantheon of the Revival cult in Morant Bay includes a remote God the Father,

Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost "dances" or possesses the participants in the service (Simpson 1980:163). In addition, below the trinity are the archangels and the prophets of the Old Testament, who also "dance." Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the rulers of the four corners of the earth, who come down through the center pole of the church during services to possess the faithful (1980:163). The disciples join in also, as do deceased "shepherds and shepherdesses" (leaders) of the Revival groups in the area

{1980:163-164). One is initiated into the church under the direction of a shepherd or shepherdess after being called by the Holy Spirit (1980: 182). The shepherds and shepherdesses are ranked and functionally distinguished like many other Neo-Afiican cults

{1980: 195-196).

Pocomania, a similar cult, inverts Revival by considering the four evangelists of the

New Testament, the disciples and some of the prophets diabolical "fallen angels." Instead of calling on the Holy Ghost and Michael, the faithful call on Lucifer (Simpson 1980: 165).

Simpson notes that in neither Revival nor Pocomania are any African deities worshiped by name {1980:157).

The Pentecostals in Jamaica comprised 4% of the population in 1943, 13% in

1960, and 20% in 1970. Rapid growth did not begin until Jamaica started to modernize between 1950 and 1970. This period represents the transition of Jamaica from an agrarian peasant society to an industrializing state (Wedenoja 1980:32-33). Traditional Jamaican

112 life was disrupted by the replacement of subsistence labor by wage labor, of personal ties

by economic achievement as the basis of prestige, of communal effort by individual effort,

and of the division oflabor by age, sex and kinship by skill (Wedenoja 1980:34).

Wedenoja argues that Pentecostalism seems to encourage the psychological changes

required for this transition (Wedenoja 1980:3 8).

Brazil

Ireland (1991) investigated a group of"Crentes" (Protestant converts) in Campa

Alegre in the Northeast of Brazil in order to find out whether they in fact represent latter

day Weberian Puritan types who, "driven by anxieties arising from their faith, . .. strove to

achieve upward mobility and to opt for economic and political individualism, in pursuit of

salvation-ensuring success" (Ireland 1991 :49). Alternatively, Ireland hypothesized, their

conversions and confidence in their salvation might serve instead as "psychological

compensation for intolerable political and economic repression," leading them to accept

the world passively as it is rather than to strive actively for economic and political

mobility.

He gathered from his informants that salvation is not a source of doubt, as for the

Calvinist; the terms of salvation are clear for the Crentes (Ireland 1991:54-5 5).

Furthermore, they do not equate wealth with moral stature as do the classic Protestants.

Although they believe meritorious work is good in the eyes of God, moral lawfulness is primary and hard work is not necessarily seen as good in itself (Ireland 1991:55-56). His informants see the world as corrupt, and their emphasis is otherworldly. They are

113 generally apolitical and not driven towards individual worldly success, although they are

highly active in community improvement through cooperative effort (1991:57-61, 70-75).

Along these lines, Hoflhagel (1980) argues that Pentecostalism is not a

"revolutionary'' religion. It does not represent a departure from the traditional social

order. Hoflhagel points out that Pentecostal growth in Brazil has taken place during a

period "marked by an increased pace of industrialization, a rationalization of export

agriculture and a demographic shift from rural to urban areas" (1980: Ill). In this

transition, Pentecostalism offers members a model of community life that is familiar and

comforting (1980: 121).

Interestingly, both Pentecostalism and spiritualist-influenced Umbanda have grown

in Brazil during this period of modernization. However, Howe argues that these religions

are fundamentally contradictory (1980:128). Umbanda is amoral and manipulative for

mundane purposes, polytheistic, particularistic, mediational, and in it spiritual relations are

optional. By contrast, Pentecostalism is monotheistic and universalistic, and its spiritual

relations to the one true God are obligatory (1980:129-130).

Howe asks: "If modernization is really a coherent process, how could it give rise to contradictory representations?" (1980: 130). He points out that this situation challenges the notion of the social grounding of religious beliefs. However, Howe discovers in Brazil that, parallel to the contradiction between Pentecostalism and Umbanda, "there is a social contradiction between legal-rational universalism and negotiated particularistic relations"

(1980:132). Furthermore, both of these seem to result from "modernization."

Howe argues that the "negotiated particularistic relations," constituting an

114 "emergent system of mediated, personalistic, and frequently extra-legal exchanges(,] is

the social basis for the cognitive legitimacy ofUmbanda. The spiritual system at one and

the same time reflected and expanded the mundane system of interaction and resource

distribution" (1980:134-135). Howe considers that Pentecostalism, by contrast, appeals

to and has attracted marginal members of the society existing outside the patronage

networks. "In this situation it comes as no surprise that the penetration of Pentecostalism

should be so limited" (1980:135). Pentecostalism corresponds to the "legal-rational

universalism" of the government, but without deriving any benefits therefrom (1980:136).

Guatemala

In the highland Guatemalan town of Almolonga, 52% of the population now call

themselves Catholic, and the other 48% Protestant, as compared with 87% Catholic and

3% Protestant a generation ago. Participation in the traditional civil-religious hierarchy

has decreased from 42% to 26% in one generation; and the practice of costumbre (or

rituals associated with the earth and other Maya deities) has decreased from 82% to 42%

(Goldin and Metz 1991:327). Goldin and Metz's (1991:327) converted informants, when

speaking of the previous generation, emphasized their parents' poverty, lack ofland, and

drunkenness. Goldin and Metz claim that increased trade, diversification and participation

in a broader market system created a need for "constant dedication to this [new kind of] work [which] was in conflict with the maintenance of traditional ritual cycles. . .. The new

occupation, professional trade, was guided by a different set of temporal and spatial assumptions" (1991:329). They point out that the type ofbehavior required in this new

llS type of economic situation was gradually acquired as land for cultivation became more and

more scarce, and evangelical Protestantism eventually linked this kind of behavior to a

higher moral code.

Although there were other enticements for conversion, including the fact that

ministers gave sermons in the language of the people (not Spanish) and the appeal of the

relatively egalitarian organization of Protestant congregations, Goldin and Metz

(1991:333-335) argue that the new religion, more so than folk Catholicism, drew converts

primarily because it was able to respond to the changing needs of the community that

resulted from land loss and occupational changes. Protestantism in this context promoted

competition and individualism (although the impact of these was softened by the

traditional emphasis on group solidarity); measurement of personal and communal

progress in terms of investments, material gain, and wealth; and a shift from "social"

activities, such as fiestas, to "productive" activities, such as trade ( 1991 :3 34 ). Goldin and

Metz write: "The encouragement to develop commerce, to become wealthy or wealthier

than others as a reward from God rather than a cause for supernatural and social

punishment (envy, disease), and to improve the standard of life, are all principles that underlie the change" (1991:335).

Koizumi (1984) argues that the introduction of evangelical Protestantism to a community in northwestern Guatemala (which he refers to by the pseudonym "San

Francisco") has lead to the segregation of the town into religiously defined "communities."

He asserts that, in this case, religion serves primarily to differentiate people outwardly into various political and economic factions ( 1984: 11-19). Although Protestants renounce

116 folk Catholic rituals, Koizumi (1984:9) cites the persistence of the traditional belief that

sins and personal misfortunes are directly related through supernatural agency as evidence

that the converts have not fully accepted orthodox Protestant doctrines. On the other

hand, Scotchmer ( 1986) investigated the contrast between the cosmologies of the

traditional Maya and the Protestant Maya of the western highlands of Guatemala, and

found that the difference between their cosmologies corresponded to the Weberian

opposition between "the parochial and the universal, the traditional and the rationalized, or

between the concrete and the abstract religions" (1986:214).

Africa

Hammond-Tooke (1986) reports that Pentecostal and Zionist churches are

increasing in Southern Afiica. As in the Caribbean and Latin America, these churches are

gaining many converts, partly due to the appeal of their emphasis on healing and baptism

by the Holy Spirit. However, many converts still retain their traditional beliefs concerning the power of the ancestors and witchcraft. Similarly, Twumasi-Ankrah (1994:95-96)

reports that, in Ghana, independent Pentecostal, or "spiritual," churches have recently challenged the dominance and prestige of the older Christian missionary churches, such as those of the Anglicans, Catholics, Methodists, and Presbyterians. These churches synthesize Pentecostalism and traditional Afiican religion, using as justification the authority ofthe Old Testament. Twimasi-Ankrah (1994:104) writes that most ofthe converts to the "spiritual" churches who are "first time" Christian converts did so primarily for protection from witchcraft and evil spirits.

117 Among the Yoruba, Peel (1968) notes that the early Christian missionaries

(Anglicans, Methodists and Baptists) stressed the abandonment of the worship of idols, to be replaced by Christian prayer (or adura in Yoruba). The Christian God was to be accepted as the supreme being, and the orisha became devils (1968:126). However, some native clergyman continued to practice native medicine and divination, claiming that these were not religious but philosophical in nature (1968:127). In the independent Yoruban churches (called Aladura, or "praying" churches) that arose in the early twentieth century, there was a rejection of native medicine and divination. This was done, however, not so much in response to a commandment of God, but in terms of the belief that this renouncement is necessary in order to gain the forces of power, life, and victory over spiritual adversaries (Peel1968:131-132). Furthermore, actual Christian "prayer" took on the character of magical formulaic incantation (1968:131).

Finally, Mbiti (1969:230) writes that the church ofEthiopia combines a primarily

Catholic organization and liturgy with various Jewish practices and many African features.

The members of the church are very much concerned with evil spirits, and, as in the

Aladura churches, prayer has taken on a magical character. Amulets in the form of prayers and formulae written by priests on scrolls and in booklets are carried by Christian and Muslim alike in order to ward of evil spirits. Similarly, Hilton (1987:292) argues that, in the Congo, Catholic crosses and medallions replaced the traditional African fetishes, and that Christianity did not supplant the role of the African priestly chiefs there but merely became a new means by which to express spiritual power.

118 Handsome Lake and the Iroquois

In closing this chapter, I wish to make brief mention of the early Handsome Lake religion among the Iroquois in North America. Although influenced by the puritanical attitudes of the Quakers, Handsome Lake's gospel to the Iroquois was essentially nativistic, not syncretic. He did, however, visit purgatory, hell and heaven, as well as meet

George Washington and Christ in his inspirational vision of 1799 (Kehoe 1989: 119).

After his vision, Handsome Lake instructed his people to give up drunkenness, witchcraft, promiscuity, wife abuse, quarreling, and gambling. He revived the Iroquois Midwinter

Ceremony, and added four new sacred rituals, the content of which were traditional

Iroquois themes. What was not traditional was the emphasis on the nuclear family, the shift to which was required after the longhouses and the matrilineal extended family had disappeared. The movement was selective in its revival of Iroquois beliefs that were adaptive, based on the Quaker model of a good, clean life (Snow 1994:159-161).

119 Chapter VI

Analysis, Discussion and Conclusion

Analysis of the Ethnographic Data

General Overview

In the New World, certain patterns emerge for the different groups and types of contact included in my survey. For the cases ofCatholic-Amerindian contact in Latin

America, which includes Mexico, Guatemala, the central Andean region, Colombia, and

Venezuela, it seems that, whatever amount of variation there may be in the folk Catholic beliefs, practices, and organization of the religions in these areas, there are many fundamental similarities. Religious confraternities (devotional brotherhoods) in both

Mesoamerica and the Andes are an important part of the local Indian civil religious hierarchies, through which the Indians perpetuate pre-Columbian forms of political organization and religion by the association and transformation of ancestors and huacas into saints and shrines. Furthermore, this process of transformation involves more than the simple identification of Catholic entities with pre-Columbian ones. Considerable symbolic reassortment and semantic readjustment of both Indian and Catholic elements has occurred, as was shown by Watanabe (1990) in particular as discussed in Chapter II.

120 The elements are integrated into a system distinct from both orthodox Catholicism and

pre-Columbian religion. It therefore seems impossible to truly sort out and disassociate the

separate contributions to the folk Catholicism in these areas.

On the other hand, Protestantism has historically had little impact in these areas,

and the recent growth in the number of Protestants seems to be a result of conversion, not

syncretism. There are many cases of Protestant contact from this area for which I

indicated there was "not enough data" to make a determination as to whether local

religious elements had been incorporated into the Protestant churches or their

configurations had changed (see Table I). However, in none of the writings that dealt with Protestantism in Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole was there any reference to Protestant syncretism. Although some aspects ofProtestantism are necessarily understood within an Indian frame of reference, this does not mean that the Indians have transformed Protestantism into a new religion.

In the Caribbean and Brazil, a notable pattern has emerged from Catholic-African contact. The African-derived religions in these areas are remarkably similar, both in the

African elements that they have retained and, with the exception ofKele, in their incorporation of the Catholic saints, liturgy and paraphernalia. It seems that there is a consistent pattern of syncretism in Brazil and in the predominantly Catholic countries of the Caribbean that imported African slaves, just as there is a different but equally consistent pattern in Mesoamerica and the Andean region.

However, the differences are important. In Mesoamerica and in the Andes, syncretic or folk Catholicism is the communal religion of the Indians. There are also many

121 more private household practices, which, although they have been reshaped to some

extent by coexisting with Catholicism, remain primarily pre-Columbian in character.

Nevertheless, in the public religion in Mesoamerica and the Andes, Catholicism seems to

be the initial foundation or starting point of the syncretic synthesis, although Catholicism

as practiced and understood by the Indians has been transformed and reconfigured in order

to express fundamental aspects of Indian religion.

By contrast, in the Caribbean and Brazil, the communal religion is most often the

Neo-African cult. Although the members of these religions are professed Catholics,

African elements are not regularly incorporated into Sunday mass, so that the cults and the

official church are not as well integrated as among the Amerindians in Latin America. In

Haiti, Vodou organization is not linked to the Catholic church as the syncretic religion of

the Indians is in Latin America and the Caribbean, and communal Vodou rituals and

ceremonies are enacted in locations removed from the Catholic Church. Furthermore,

African gods and Catholic saints have not undergone the same process of symbolic reassortment which has occurred in Latin America; images of Catholic saints either simply represent African Gods or are believed to be separate entities altogether. In addition, there is often a marked temporal and spatial separation of Catholic ritual elements from

African ones within Neo-Afiican cults ceremonies.

These religions have remained predominantly African despite having borrowed selected elements from Catholicism. Thus, in reference again to Haiti, Desmangles (1992) has argued that Vodou and Catholicism are in a symbiotic relationship which he distinguishes from true syncretism. However, the ritual, organizational and cosmological

122 structures ofVodou have definitely been reconfigured through its association with

Catholicism. I have argued that symbiosis is in fact a type of syncretism, and I will

address this issue again later in this chapter.

Protestant contact in the Caribbean, at least in Trinidad and the former British

colony of Jamaica, has resulted in another important pattern, that of African-Protestant

syncretism. Although in other countries such as Haiti and Brazil converts are required to

adhere exclusively to Protestantism, many Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad and Revivalists in

Jamaica syncretize African and Protestant religion. Spiritual Baptist and Revival ceremonies take place in churches, and are led by African-American ministers. To this extent these religions are different from the Catholic-African religions in that the

Protestant-African religions locate and express themselves primarily within and through the structures and framework of the church. The Trinidadian and Jamaican responses to

Protestantism stand in contrast as well to the non-syncretic Protestantism of the Southern

United States.

Finally, in reference to the revitalization movements of the North American

Indians, the Peyote Cult and the Ghost Dance in particular were influenced by both

Catholicism and Protestantism in different areas. Furthennore, whether the Peyote Cult in a particular tribe was influenced by Catholicism or Protestantism does not seem to have made a significant difference with respect to how the cult is practiced. The Ghost Dance, which originally seems to have been influenced by Protestantism, provided Black Elk with the inspiration to revitalize Lakota traditional religion. Later, after he had become a

Catholic catechist, Black Elk integrated Catholic elements with the revitalized Lakota

123 religion.

These cults, in addition to incorporating some Christian elements, emphasize the transcendental and universal nature of God (Aberle 1982; Kehoe 1989; Wagner 1975), and at least the Ghost Dance cult as well as Handsome Lake's religion among the Iroquois adopted certain mores and values similar to those of Christianity. As for the Peyote Cult

LaBarre (1975) argues that this religion was originally strictly aboriginal. Therefore, it is possible, at least for the Peyote Cult, to have moved from what Aberle calls an immanent and particularistic to a universal and transcendent orientation on its own, more in response to the social and environmental conditions created by the Whites than as a result of borrowing Christian concepts. In consideration of the fact that the extent ofChristian influence on the fonnation of the these religions has been debated, I have placed a question mark next to my characterizations of these cults in the following table.

Table I.--Analysis ofEthnographic Data by Area and Case, Type of Contact, Occurrence of the Borrowing of Elements Between the Interacting Religions, and the Emergence of New Syncretic Configurations

Area/ Case Catholic or Borrowing of Emergence of Protestant Elements between New, Syncretic Contact Religions in Configurations? Contact?

Mexico Folk Catholicism Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant No No

Guatemala Folk Catholicism Catholic Yes Yes

124 Evangelization Protestant No No

Central Andean Folk Catholicism Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

Bolivia Folk Catholicism Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

Colombia Saint Cults Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

Venezuela Saint Cults Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

Haiti Vodou Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant No No

Brazil Candomble/Xango Catholic Yes Yes Cantimb6 Catholic Yes Yes Macumba Catholic Yes Yes Batuque Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant No No

Jamaica Cumina Indeterminate Indeterminate Indeterminate Convince Protestant Yes No Revival Protestant Yes Yes Pentecostals Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

Cuba Santeria Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

Trinidad Shango Catholic Yes Yes Spiritual Baptists Protestant Yes Yes

125 Pentecostals Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

Grenada Shango Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant Not Enough Data Not Enough Data

St. Lucia Kele Catholic Minimal Indeterminate

North America Peyote Cult: Navajo Catholic Yes Yes? Other Tribes Protestant Yes Yes? Ghost Dance: Paiute Protestant Yes Yes? Sioux Catholic t Yes Yes Handsome Lake Iroquois Protestant Yes Yes? African-American Contact: In the South Protestant Yes No Louisiana Catholic Yes Indeterminate

Philippines Folk Catholicism Catholic Yes Yes

Africa African Catholicism Catholic Yes Yes Evangelization Protestant Yes Yes t I am referring to Black Elk's response to the Ghost Dance.

Evaluation ofHypothesis

According to my hypothesis, assuming that the Amerindian and African religions that either existed in or were brought to the New World are analogous to Catholicism in that they shared with it an emphasis on elaborate ritual and sacramental structures, magic and divination, the cult of the dead, polytheism, sacrifices and offerings, direct deity-

126 devotee relationships, hierarchies of power, no formal separation between the sacred and the profane, pragmatic orientations, and collectivism (Camara 1988:304-305), it would be expected that these religions would generally form syncretic religions with Catholicism in cases of contact. And assuming that Protestantism is structurally antithetical to these same Amerindian and Afiican religions, it would be expected that syncretic religions would not emerge from this type of contact. Either Protestantism would be rejected or the Indians or slaves would abandon their traditional religion and convert. These are the test implications of my hypothesis.

In terms of Table l, for any given area the combinations that conform with my hypothesis are: Catholic contact with a "yes" for the borrowing of elements and a "yes" for the emergence of syncretic structures (although ifthis is not the case in a few areas, that would not contradict the hypothesis), and Protestant contact with a "no, for the borrowing of elements and a "no, for the emergence of syncretic structures. The table includes 20 cases of Catholic contact, 20 cases of Protestant contact. I have omitted

Cumina in Jamaica as it could not be determined if there was any significant Christian contact. The results are summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2.--Summary of Ethnographic Cases by Result of Contact (Syncretism, No Syncretism, Conversion) and the Number oflnstances ofEach Resulting from Catholic and Protestant Contact

Result of Contact # of Instances Resulting # of Instances Resulting from Catholic Contact from Protestant Contact

127 Syncretism 16 6 (Borrowing of (1ofthese I have (3 of these I have Elements and marked as marked as Presence New questionable) questionable) Configurations)

No Syncretism 1 2 (Borrowing of (There are 2 additional Elements with indeterminate cases) No Syncretic Configurations Emerging)

Conversion None 4 (No Borrowing (There are 8 additional and No New indeterminate cases) Configurations)

In terms of my hypothesis, the cases of Catholic contact conform well to expectations.

However, there are between three and six cases of Protestant contact which resulted in syncretism, which contradicts my hypothesis.

One of the cases of Catholic syncretism and three of the cases of Protestant syncretism have been marked as "questionable." These are the North American Indian revitalization movements. Again, there is a question as to the extent to which these religions or revitalization movements were influenced by Christianity, if at all, beyond the incorporation of selected elements. As these have been included as supplemental cases, they will remain duly noted as probable but questionable cases of syncretism, and I will not elaborate on them at this point.

Regarding Christian contact in Africa in general, both Catholicism and

128 Protestantism seem to have syncretized with African religion in similar ways ( cf.

Hammond-Tooke 1986; Hilton 1987; Mbiti 1969; Peel1968; Twumasi-Ankrah 1994). In both Catholic and Protestant churches, belief in evil spirits and witchcraft coexist with the apparent acceptance of the Christian God as the supreme deity. Catholic and Protestant prayers, which in orthodox Christianity are a form of supplication to God, are transformed by the Africans into magical spells, and Catholic paraphernalia often become replacements for traditional "fetishes." Furthermore, it is illuminating that the Yaruba in particular appear to have syncretized Protestantism with West African religion, as it is Y oruba religion that seems to have had the most influence in the New World.

The two clear-cut examples of Protestant syncretism in the New World both result from African-Protestant contact in the Caribbean. These are the Revival cult in Jamaica and the Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad (Glazier 1982; 1985; Simpson 1978). Both these syncretic churches were formed around the beginning of this century, before the "wave" of

Pentecostal evangelization in the fifties. One difference between these cases is that

Jamaica was a British colony, so the Protestants were the first Christians to interact with the slaves, whereas Trinidad is a Catholic country, so that Spiritual Baptism syncretized with the already existing Catholic-African Shango cult. As I discuss below, the later

Pentecostal churches in both countries appear to be non-syncretic and exclusive of

African-derived religions.

Jamaican Revival and Trinidadian Spiritual Baptism appear to be notable exceptions to what seems to be the general pattern in Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole: Catholic contact results in syncretism, whereas Protestant contact leads to

129 rejection (as it generally did before the 1950's) or conversion (most notably to Pentecostal

churches since the 1950's). These apparently "anomalous" cases need to be explained.

I believe this problem stems from the assumption concerning the incompatibility of

Afiican religions and Protestantism. Herskovits (1941) observed that, in the New World

as a whole, those African-Americans who "adhere to Catholicism, with its elaborate

ceremonialism, far outnumber those who are affiliated with Protestant sects having simpler

rituals" (1941:208). However, he also points out that Catholic theology and ritual are

too rigid to allow enough variation for the expression African forms of worship, so that

Afiican-Catholic cults are practiced "outside" the official church, while the Baptist and

Methodist churches in the United States were sufficiently loose in their patterns of worship to allow certain generalized aspects of Afiicans religious expression (1941:220).

This is not to say that West African religion does not have in common with

Catholicism the similarities that are posited in my hypothesis. But there are other aspects

ofWest Afiican religion which are not shared with Catholicism, orthodox or otherwise,

and these aspects are those that are seen in the Vodou or Candomble shrines, outside of the actual Catholic church. The most notable aspect of African religion enacted in these

shrines are ceremonies involving spirit possession. These ceremonies are the most important and public manifestations of these Neo-Afiican cults, and a large portion of them is relatively unstructured and given to overt, spontaneous emotional expression.

The Protestantism that contributed to the fonnation of the syncretic churches in the Caribbean and Brazil was different from the Baptist religion to which the slaves of the

Antebellum South were introduced. By the tum of this century, groups such as the

130 Spiritual Baptists, and the independent churches of freed slaves such as the Native

Baptists, had become more like the later Pentecostal churches than the earlier, more

"sober" churches. Thus, "Spiritual" Baptists and "Revivalists" were evangelized by

churches that were more charismatic and enthusiastic than fundamentalist, and they were

certainly not Weberian classical Protestants. The emphasis on emotional expression and

inspiration or possession by the Holy Ghost may have served as a specific point of

articulation between Protestantism and the African-derived religions, which facilitated

syncretism.

Interestingly, although Native Baptism was not an African-Protestant syncretic

church in the American South, it was quickly integrated with the African cults practiced in

Jamaica. This lends some support to Simpson's {1978) argument that part ofwhat

accounts for the relative lack of Africanisms in the United States is the relative lack of

concentration of slaves on North American plantations that inhibited the continuity of

African traditions, and not so much the lack of compatibility between Protestantism and

African religion (cf. Bastide 1978).

However, the fact remains that syncretic Protestant churches do not seem to have arisen in the other slave-importing countries of the New World, and Pentecostal churches in particular do not appear to have syncretized in Jamaica, Trinidad or elsewhere. The relatively autonomous organization of the churches resulted in much doctrinal variability, and different churches or missionaries of the same denomination differed in their attitudes towards African-derived religion. In Trinidad, for instance, many Spiritual Baptist churches are opposed to African-derived religions such as Shango. Thus, there is much

131 variation in attitudes about exclusivity and syncretism among the independent churches

(Glazier 1982). In terms of the Pentecostal churches, while these are also loosely

organized, those in Latin America and the Caribbean are still strongly linked to their

"parent" churches in the United States, which tends to deter religious "drift" (Stoll 1990;

Glazier 1980).

In any case, where syncretism has not occurred, conversion to Protestantism is

growing. Conversion generally represents a shift from the traditional communal religion

ofboth Latin Amerindian folk Catholicism and the African-derived religions of the

Caribbean and Brazil. Realistically, there certainly are "backsliders" (those that convert

back to traditional religion), and "double-dippers" (those that profess to be Protestants

and may even be affiliated with a church, but continue to adhere to some of the practices

of traditional religion). However, the fact that many Latin American and Caribbean

Protestants have abandoned their syncretic religion for another, in many respects

incompatible, religion without the "incentive" of overt coercion that was present in the colonial period, certainly requires explanation.

Most commentators on this phenomenon have linked it to the transformations and disruptions associated with the process of"modernization." Some suggest that

Pentecostalism in particular is a conservative force that replicates traditional patterns of relationship in the context of social dislocation ( esp. Flora 1980; Glazier 1980; Stoll

1990). Others argue that Protestantism fosters an entirely new ethic, that of the "Spirit of

Capitalism," which is associated with the increasing capitalization ofLatin America (esp.

Wedenoja 1980; Goldin and Metz 1991). Yet others argue that the Pentecostal churches,

132 at least, are flexible and dynamic enough to embody both modernization and conservatism; although they are ideologically modern, their organization replicates traditional patterns

(Martin 1990). In terms of the argument that conversion to Protestantism has effects on economic behavior, however, it is interesting to note that, although it is fairly obvious that the churches which are gaining converts in Latin America do not represent Weberian

Classical Protestants of the Calvinistic type, there seems to be little attention paid to what

Weber said about other Protestant sects.

In fact, Weber (1992} distinguishes between emotional forms of Protestant religion and that of rationalized Calvinism. With reference to German Pietism, Weber writes,

"[e ]vidently ... the orientation of religious needs to present emotional satisfaction could not develop so powerful a motive to rationalize worldly activity, as the need of the

Calvinistic elect for proof with their exclusive preoccupation with the beyond"

(1992:138). Nevertheless, Weber (1992:139) maintains that, although Pietism and its

Anglo-American counterpart, Methodism, are "emotional," they are at the same time ascetic in character as is Calvinism.

This emotional type of Protestantism, then, still has effects on economic behavior, although these effects are different from the spirit of capitalism embodied by the

Calvinists. Weber writes: "If we can, at least provisionally, point out any practical consequence of the difference, we may say that the virtues favoured by Pietism were more those on the one hand of the faithful official, clerk, labourer, or domestic worker, and on the other of the predominantly patriarchal employer with a pious condescension"

(1992: 138-139).

133 Although Weber does not explicitly include the Baptists in this characterization, I suggest that the more enthusiastic Baptist sects as well as the Pentecostals can be classified as of the emotional type. Weber's description of the economic behaviors associated with this type of religion corresponds well to Manning's comments with regard to Pentecostalism, which Manning claims "produces salvation in a single instant: the moment of conversion. It fosters a life that is more episodic than methodic, more ritualistic than rational" (1980: 186).

Furthermore, I suggest that it is illuminating to consider the economic behavior associated with this type ofProtestantism in the context of Stoll's (1990) somewhat conspiratorial comments on the relationship between Pentecostalism and political behavior. Stoll contends that the Protestant evangelization of Latin America represents a sort of cultural invasion, and he suggests that there is a connection between evangelical missions and militaristic U.S. policies (1990:9-10). It seems clear that evangelical missions tend to be politically conservative, to oppose communist regimes, and to foster acceptance of and obedience to secular authority. Moreover, if the type ofProtestantism that has "invaded" Latin America and the Caribbean produces, as Weber suggests, capitalistic "workers" and "bosses," then it might be argued that evangelization has important consequences for North American business in these areas as welL

General Discussion

134 Definition

The "prototypical" definition of syncretism cited in Chapter II described syncretism

as "the integration (and consequent secondary elaboration) of selected aspects of two or

more historically distinct traditions .... Operationally, we may agree that the conjunction of

cultural elements from various sources becomes syncretistic when the elements are integrated into a new pattern ... traceable to neither original culture by itself' (Edmonson et al. 1960:192, 194). Furthermore, "[t]he combination is thus more than additive, but rather involves considerable semantic readjustment of the pre-existing elements"

(1960: 195).

A weakness or omission within this definition is the description of syncretism as the integration of distinct traditions. Considering that symbiosis, as a type of syncretism, does not generally involve the true integration of the syncretic religion with the other(s) with which it is in contact and by which it has been influenced, I believe that it is more accurate and inclusive to say that syncretism involves some amount of convergence, rather than integration, of cosmological, organizational and ritual configurations as the result of contact and interaction.

In Chapter II, I discussed the elemental, configurational and world-responsive levels of syncretism. In terms of the ethnographic data, an example of the borrowing of elements without a shift in the configurational or world-responsive levels would be that of

Jamaican Convince, into which a few Christian elements have been incorporated while the cult remains most similar in its cosmological and ritual configuration to the Afiican ancestor cults. Most of the other cases that I have included show both the incorporation

135 of elements and the reconfiguration of cosmological, organizational and ritual structures.

However, the world-responses of the syncretic religions thus formed remain parochial and

particularistic, and relations towards the supernatural remain practical, reciprocal and

manipulative. Thus, the world-responses of these religions have not converged with the

universalistic orientation and transcendent conception of God inherent in orthodox

Christianity. On the other hand, the revitalization movements of the Indians ofNorth

America embody what appears to be a Christian world-response, while the elements and

configurations of the religions remain mostly Indian.

The concepts of ambiguity, power and human agency were also important to the

definition of syncretism that I have developed in this thesis. As I have shown repeatedly,

Christian elements that have been incorporated into syncretic religions rarely retain the

same meaning they had in the context of the orthodox Christian church. Furthermore, the

efforts on the part of the clergy to convert practitioners of syncretic religions to an

orthodox or authentic version of Christianity, whether by guiding the process of

syncretism or by extirpating pagan practices, shows clearly the imbalance of power

inherent in the process of syncretism through the sometimes violent enforcement of the

exclusive claims to true religion on the part of the dominant group. The intentional

subversion of the efforts of the clergy and use of Christian elements by Indians and African slaves in revolts and protests exemplify both the rejection of this domination and the factor of human agency in the process of syncretism.

136 Models

With regard to preconditions for syncretism. I presented Camara's (1988)

discussion of African-Catholic syncretism in Brazil, and the lack of African-Protestant

syncretism in the United States. As I have shown, African religion, or at least African-

derived religion, has in fact syncretized with Protestantism in some cases. In order to

explain this, I have argued that the more emotionally expressive and unstructured aspects

of African religion, especially as witnessed in the possession ceremonies ofNeo-African

religions in the New World, are compatible with the more enthusiastic or charismatic

Protestant churches, particularly those which are autonomously organized and allow for a

relative wide range of variation in practices.

In other words, I challenged the specific claim that African religions and

Protestantism are incompatible, not the general position that structural homologies between interacting religions are necessary for syncretism. Nutini summarized the latter argument when he wrote that syncretism occurs when these is a "moderate to high degree of structural, functional, and/or symbolic similarity among the supernatural, ritual, and/or administrative elements and institutions in interaction" (Nutini 1988a: 17). However,

Stewart and Shaw argue as follows:

"[J]ust as religions are not 'given' entities, equivalences are not simply 'there' as channels through which meanings from different religions flow automatically. In order to serve as conduits for integration, they must be perceived as equivalences and given significance as such. Not only are equivalences in the eye of the beholder, but even when they are perceived they do not always facilitate synthesis" (1994: 16).

137 Along these lines, Wagner (1975:162) observes that studies of syncretism tend to focus on the degree of similarity between idea systems and on the characteristics of these systems which promote or hinder their combination. However, recent developments affecting the Navajo have lead to a combination of religions that are dissimilar in their idea systems and seem incompatible with each other. Peyotism and traditional religion have historically been mutually exclusive and even antagonistic to each other, but the recent threat to both religions, and to Navajo culture in general, posed by Protestant missionization has caused Peyotists and traditional ceremonialists to come together in face of a common enemy. Wagner points out that Peyotism is in many ways "the diametric opposite of traditional ceremonialism," yet "[b]oth are focused on the harnessing of supernatural power and redirecting it toward the accomplishment of certain goals"

(1975:173).

Wagner (1975) argues that these religions became compatible in the eyes of the

Indians on the basis ofjunctional similarity, not on the basis of the similarities and compatibility of the ideas held by the two religions. He explains that ''when a Navajo classifies two things as being alike, he is thinking in terms of analogies - similarities in function - rather than homologies or similarities in actual structure. Even though two religions may be manifestly quite different, Navajos may classify them together on the basis of the benefits that may be derived from them" (Wagner 1975:164). Thus, perceived functional homologies between interacting religions can apparently be as important as perceived structural and symbolic homologies. Furthermore, the homologies

138 or incompatibilities identified by an investigator may not be the same as those which are

important to the syncretists.

Due to their subjective nature, the similarities and differences that the investigator

identifies between religions might seem to have little predictive value and to provide an

explanation for syncretism only after the fact. However, when religions such as

Catholicism and Protestantism are involved, for instance, it is possible, based on our

knowledge of their respective policies, attitudes, and histories, to make an informed

judgement as to what the clergy of these religions would perceive as acceptable or inimical

to orthodox doctrine. Thus, one might predict what kinds of elements and structures are

likely to be involved in the syncretic process by knowing, in general, what kinds of beliefs

and practices the representatives of the dominant religion are likely to accommodate or

repress.

In terms of types of syncretism, I identified three oppositions: guided versus

spontaneous, conscious versus unconscious, and "integrative" (i.e., syncretic fusion)

versus symbiotic. With respect to guided and spontaneous syncretism, it appears that the former was, for the most part, practiced intermittently in Mesoamerica and the Andean region, whereas it appears to have been absent as a policy from the Caribbean and BraziL

At least in Haiti and Brazil, the slaves interacted more regularly with the plantation owners than the clergy. As the slave owners were not very interested in the systematic instruction of slaves in religious matters, most African-Christian syncretism was spontaneous.

As for conscious and unconscious syncretism, I would suggest that most of the cases which I have examined do not simply represent misinterpretation of Christianity on

139 the part of the slaves. They appear to be to some extent the result of a creative process of

intentional synthesis, or, in some cases, deliberate subversion of orthodoxy. And although

the clergy at times have overestimated the piousness of the "converts," it would be

inaccurate to characterize either the Catholics or the Protestants as oblivious to the

deviations from orthodoxy among the Indians and the slaves.

I have discussed integrative syncretism and symbiosis throughout this thesis.

Again, I contend that symbiosis is a type of syncretism. In Haiti, for instance, although

Vodou and Catholicism are not integrated to the extent that pre-Columbian religion and

Catholicism are in Mesoamerica and the Andes, Vodou still represents a reconfiguration of

African cosmology, ritual and organization in response to interaction with Catholicism.

Furthermore, from the perspective of the Vodouisants, both Vodou and Catholicism are aspects of the same religion.

Regarding stages in the process of syncretism, I have noted Nutini's (1976; 1988a) association of the final stages of syncretism with the disappearance of the "ideological" order (a term I argued is comparable to the world-response) of the indigenous religion, so that only isolated and disconnected "structural" elements remain. At least in

Mesoamerica, it seems that as a result of the increasing rate at which Indians become

Mestizos and the collapse of the civil-religious hierarchy, folk Catholicism may be reaching Nutini's final stage in many places. However, as for the African-derived religions of the Caribbean and Brazil, their strongly African world-response does not seem to be fading over time. In fact, Vodou is flourishing as a tourist attraction in Haiti, and Santeria has diffused to the United States from Cuba. It may very well be that the African-derived

140 religions, particularly those involved with Catholicism, tend not to fade into orthodox

Christianity because the practitioners view the two systems to some degree as "separate

but equal" parts of the same religion that cannot be collapsed into each other.

Concerning regularities and patterns in the process of syncretism, I presented

Watanabe's {1990) discussion of symbolic recombination, Bartelt's {1991) consideration

of schema theory, and Morrison's (1990) application ofTurner's notion that religious

symbols serve to counter the forces of entropy within a culture. It is notable that symbolic

recombination seems to be more elaborated in the Latin Amerindian instances of

syncretism than in the African-derived ones. For example, in Haiti and Brazi~ Catholic

saints generally lose their Christian histories and attributes when identified with African

gods, whereas, in Latin America, the histories and attributes of saints and ancestors are

commingled. From the perspective of schema theory, the use of saints' images to

represent the loa and orishas in Haiti and Brazil does not seem to alter the schema for the

African Gods, whereas the schemata for ancestor and saint have become integrated in

Latin America. Finally, the incorporation of religious symbols and rituals from other traditions as a means to counter forces of entropy within a culture is characteristic of vitalistic-syncretism, which I discuss below.

Frameworks

As I pointed out in Chapter II, Morrison's (1990) case of the Montagnais borrowing symbols and rituals from the religion of the Jesuits in order to restore the

"health" of the Indian community represents what could be called the vitalistic type of

141 syncretism. And, as I have shown in the cases of Vodou in Haiti and of the Indian Caste

wars in Mesoamerica, syncretic religions often employ symbols of the dominant religion in

resistance movements and revolts. Slave owners throughout the New World recognized

the potential for Christianity and its egalitarian teachings both to create solidarity among

the slaves and to serve as a moral rationale for resistance to slavery, and it seems that their

fears were well founded.

As syncretic religions often perpetuate selected aspects of traditional cultures while at the same time adjusting religious expression to the changed environment resulting from conquest or slavery, syncretism often has both vitalistic and revitalistic undercurrents.

Furthermore, many classic revitalization movements, such as those of the American

Indians, show syncretic tendencies. I suggest that many revitalization movements and cases of syncretism can be seen as responses to the some thing - that is, the period of

"stress," or social dislocation, resulting from contact. As polar extremes, syncretism involves an adjustment to the dominant culture, whereas revitalization movements represent more of a rejection. However, both syncretic religions and revitalization movements often employ symbols of the dominant religion in their opposition to cultural subordination.

Theory

For the Amerindians and the West Africans, the social basis of life, and for the

African slaves the environmental basis also, were disrupted by contact with the

Europeans. Inasmuch as these conditions served as plausibility structures for the religions

142 of these peoples, and to the extent that their religions provided an ordering of the universe

and a world that was coherent and understandable, this disruption required a change in the

way these peoples understood and represented the world. The resulting shift tuned the

cosmology of the Amerindians and Africans to the colonial situation, and this was

accomplished to a large extent through the incorporation of elements from the religion of

the Europeans. Later, when Latin America and the Caribbean began to modernize and

these peoples were drawn further into the dominant system, conversion to Protestantism,

which represents more so that folk Catholicism and the Nee-African cults the world

response of the dominant culture, has become increasingly frequent.

The contact of Christianity with the religions of the majority of the Latin

Amerindians and the West Africans represented the interaction between different world

responses. In Chapter ill, I presented a number of oppositions which express this

difference, including the parochial and the universal, the restricted and the elaborated,

precaptalist and capitalist, and in some cases, notably those in which symbiotic syncretism

emerged from contact, Apollonian versus Dionysian. Oppositions of these kinds are

evident in the characterizations of the authors I cited in the ethnographic chapters. I

suggest that syncretism in the New World as a whole represents the translation of

Christianity into the paradigm of the parochial, reciprocal, restricted, and precapitalist

paradigm of the religion of the Amerindians and West Africans. In cases such as that of

Brazil, this was facilitated by the fact that the religion of the planation owners was already similar to the religion of the Indians in these respects. More recently, true conversion to

Protestantism represents a move from the traditional paradigm to the more modem

143 paradigm as expressed by orthodox Christianity.

Conclusion

There have been at least three major responses to Christian interreligious contact in the New World: syncretism, conversion, and revitalization. Each of these responses is related to the disruption or disappearance of the plausibility structures, or the social base, through which religion, conceived as system that provides understanding of and prescribes interaction with the world, is grounded in everyday reality.

Each of these responses seeks to provide a coherent framework by which the believers adjust and tune their thoughts and behavior to the conditions created by conquest or slavery. In the case of syncretism, this is accomplished by reconciling the religion of the subordinates with the religion of the conquerors through channels which represent homologies and which serve as points of articulation between the interacting religions.

Inasmuch as the similar elements and structures are configured differently, and the world responses of the religions are often opposed, the resulting synthesis becomes a new entity in its own right, different from the interacting religions from which it resulted.

Where the channels or points of articulation are absent, it would be reasonable to expect that a synthesis would not occur, and the religion of the dominant group would be rejected. However, where subordinated groups were forcibly acculturated, rejection of the introduced religion was not an option. Under these conditions, the subordinate group, not being able to find channels through which their traditional religion could continue to

144 be expressed except in the most general ways, were forced to abandon their own religion in favor of that of the conquerors. More recently, in areas where the social base of the religious adaptations to colonial structures has deteriorated as many groups are drawn further into the dominant system, voluntary conversion to religions which represent in many way a true departure from traditional religion, and which embody more of the world-response of the dominant group, has become more frequent.

Finally, syncretism and revitalization movements, most notably those of the nativistic and revitalistic types, can be seen, not as distinct, but as interrelated responses to cultural and religious contact. Syncretism is often nativistic, in that its incorporation of elements and structures frequently serves to perpetuate important aspects of indigenous culture under the guise of the dominant religion. In addition, dominant symbols may also be associated with the resistance to subordination. Furthermore, as revitalization movements seek to revive and perpetuate selected aspects of traditional religion, the criteria for the selection of these elements and structures is often based on the model of the dominant religion.

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