The Black Madonna
Phenomenon – Part 2 – by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Malgorzata
Oleskiwicz of the University of Texas – San Antonio researches the concept of
personal geography and the role of black Madonnas in Latin American and Eastern
European liberation movements.
The
brown Virgen of Guadalupe figures into the “Black Madonna” pantheon according
to Oleskiwicz. Filming religious
ceremonies of Brazilian descendants of Yoruban slaves from Western Africa
(primarily modern-day Nigeria), Oleskiwicz was struck by how similar the
iconography and religious practices were between Yoruban and Polish worshipers.
Why
so many people are drawn to black Madonnas was discussed by Lucia Chiavola
Birnbaum of the California Institute for Integral Studies and China Galland of
the Graduate Theological Union. Both
emphasized that we must respond to this phenomenon with academic rigor.
Birnbaum
happily told the group, “Male geneticists and anthropologists have pinpointed
the origin of human life in Africa. And,
migrating Africans took their goddess with them.”
Galland
pointed out that despite our common genetic origins, the manifestations of the
black Madonna are as different as the cultures within which they develop.
For
Galland, the black Madonas beckon us to defend life on Earth. She stressed that our real enemies are not people,
but greed, hatred, delusion, and jealousy.
Galland
encouraged participants to have everyday spiritual practices such as prayers,
caring for plants, preparing family meals, and outdoor walks to bring love into
our lives. These acts allow us to transform
anger and act with compassion and levelheadedness.
The
birth of Chicana artist Rosa M’s son prompted her to literally deconstruct the
Virgen of Guadalupe down to the bones.
She left only the heart inside a painting of the Virgen, wanting to pass
on to her son something that would reflect both their Indian and European
heritage. She left the heart to show
that “We mature as individuals, when we sacrifice ourselves for others.
Anne-Marie
Sayers, founder of the Costanoan Indian Research Center and chronicler of the
persistence of culture offered wise remarks about resilience: When the ceremonies stop, so does the Earth.”
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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