The Cult of Maria Lionza_ Summoning the Spirit of Venezuela - The Argentina Independent

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he Cult of Maria Lionza: Summoning the Spirit ofenezuela

Rachael Getzels, 20 October 2010.

ar smoke clogs the hazy air, only the steady drums break through, as a crowd gathers, clapping their hands and chanting furhythmic frenzy. The mountainside teems with bare-chested young men and jostling women and children; a man in the midd

group lies on the ground, writhing and contorting his body to the rippling vibrations.

rence Ramirez welcomes a new born infant into the

world (photo/Zoe Getzels)

has been possessed by Mara Lionza. The blood that drips down his face is now a powerful talisman; babies are brought in

crowd, and he kisses them one by one, leaving a bloody stamp on their foreheads that will welcome them into the world.

erwards, 19-year-old spirit medium, who appears unscathed by the blood that spurted from his mouth minutes before tells m
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doesnt remember a thing. Only that the force of Mara Lionza had invaded his body and captured his soul.

e Cult of Maria Lionza

ueen Mara Lionza was the daughter of an Indian slave and a Spanish Conquistador, who fled to the wilds of the Venezuela

untains to escape the turmoil of her conflicted identity. Today, she is Venezuelas most prominent folk hero, ruling a colourfu

theon of historical deities that includes past presidents, liberators, Indian ancestors even gangsters who have earned Robin

us.

ce a year, thousands of Venezuelans flood to El Sorte mountain where Mara Lionzas rebel spirit permeates the water and tnational park. Here, healing rituals are performed. Dark forces are summoned from the earth temporarily occupying the bod

it mediums who razor blade their tongues and stick metal skewers through their cheeks evidence of the great queens

gnanimous powers.

e rite takes place on 12th October, more commonly known in the north as Columbus Day, which marks the discovery of th

w World. The day has since been renamed across Latin America in recognition of the indigenous peoples who lived on the

tinent before the Conquistadores arrival, and is called The Day of Indigenous Resistance in Venezuela. As President Hugo

vez seeks to reinforce the legacy of Venezuelan heritage, Mara Lionza stands as a perfect symbol of the struggle, her mixe

ts reflecting that of just about every person in Venezuela.

e Courts

I approach the park gates of El Sorte, bare-chested young men and shoeless women emerge from the dusty paths, donning

ourful bandanas that identify them with their chosen spirit courts ramshackle campsites transformed into healing churches.

heres the court of the Africans, the celestial court, the court of the liberators, the court of the criminals, the court of the gringo

lains Angel Guarana, a recent initiate into the court of the Indians. His list stretches back to the beginning of time, each histor

ociate of Venezuela tumbling off his tongue like the name of an intimate friend. As the 19-year-old speaks he prepares for hi

tracing a six-pronged star into the ground with chalk dispensed from an old ketchup bottle.

A young girl puffs on a cigar, using the smoke to summon the spirits (photo/Zoe Getzels)
http://zoegetzels.photoshelter.com/


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lowers of the court of the Indians summon El Negrito and other indigenous ancestors, channeling their powers in light trance

mbers of the celestial court wear white, their peaceful, more Catholic-centred camps illuminating the mountain, the light shini

ough the haze of cigar smoke, which is said to summon the spirits; even small children puff away on cigars, lingering by the al

r parents rein in the mountain forces.

it is the court of the Vikingsthat really quakes under the force of the mountain shades. Young men some still in school c

king spirits, the most powerful of all, and slice their tongues with razor blades. Others break whisky bottles over their heads, t

ent blood spattering across the audience who keep the spirit alive with enamored applauses and magnetic chants.

lando Pinto: ErikEl Rojo

first time I see Rolando Pinto his skin is pallid and his eyes are unblinking, grey, fixed on some invisible force in the distance

present at all. It looks like all warmth has left his body, all personhood, gone. He writhes on the dusty ground, growling,

metimes highlighted with the piercing decibels of fear. His legs are twisted awkwardly to the side and all his movements refrac

short, sharp bursts that are led by the banco or aid who helps channel the Viking spirit of Erik El Rojointo his body w

ar smoke, hand gestures, sprays of alcohol. As the drumming reaches a frenzy, he runs the shiny silver razor blade across his

gue; rapidly, over and over, effortlessly, like splicing the peel off a carrot. Blood and foam pour down his chin and the banco

get him a stool, his hands raised in the air, as members of the audience come forward to be blessed.

Rolando Pinto channels the Viking spirit, Erik El Rojo (photo/Zoe Getzels)

e blood and sweat, no longer that of 21-year-old Rolando, takes on the omnipotent viscosity of El Rojos, strengthening all

me into contact. Disengaging from the clamour for a minute, a young man in the crowd turns to me. You know, this medium

h demand.

ing him for more information, he explains that many men in the audience are members of the national guard: government emp

rking in customs or at checkpoints. Chvez bodyguards come here to build their strength, he says. The president needs

tection.

e last part of the trance is the most painful to watch. Violently resisting the soothing gestures of the bancos who attempt to re

andos own self, he squirms and kicks on the ground. The bancos swarm around, waving their palms above his forehead. F

ond it looks like there might be a panic, like they may be unable to revive him. But they are experts in this field, seamlessly


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kering with the twilight zone between life and death; and with all the astuteness of paramedics, their airy hand gestures and mu

nts restore a lost soul to an empty body. Suddenly he returns, his proud family embrace him, kiss him on the forehead, squee

d, Good work! they say, patting him on the back.

n minutes later, cleaned off and changed, Rolando says that he has no memory of the trance. There are no remnants of the sp

his tongue, no lisp, no lingering blood. He is calm, locking his fixed gaze with mine, evidence of human presence, returned.

ando is a chemical engineering student and works at Empresas Polar, the biggest food manufacturing company in Venezeula

speak I can see the steady focus of a scientist shine through. His eye contact never falters and he invites me in, captivating m

persistence of his logic. Rolandos everyday reality of food packaging and mathematical equations compounds the mysticalonalism of Mara Lionza, along with the many more students and government employees who flood to the mountain for the r

An unscathed Rolando kisses his girlfriend just minutes after being in a trance (photo/Zoe Getzels)

his is a religion for everyone he says, repeating, for everyone. Good or bad. It depends how you use the spirits. Rolando

n learning how to summon spirits since he was a young boy; the art of going into trance is passed down from older spirit me

ve been doing this since I was six, he explains. But it is the sport of men. Those who self-mutilate are all in their twenties, str

fit, they hanker through the campsite as the sun catches their muscles; Viking tattoos on one arm, scars from spirit possessio

other. The more violent the display, the more potent their power.

in an interesting twist on the macho showcase, it is transvestites who really control the ceremonies. Men who have undergon

gery and hermaphrodites tiptoe in and out of the campsites, wiling their feminine charms to harness in the guiding forces of M

nza; this special connection to the buxom earth spirit displayed conspicuously on their bodies.

de in Socialism

ile the festival is rooted in indigenous folklore, what really seems prevalent is the Venezuelan national spirit. The flag is every

rning altars and decorating piercing spokes; it is also part of the dress code with many donning the national colours.

ce Chvez was elected in 1998, the court of theLibertadores has rapidly grown. Here, ordinary Venezuelans gain strength

liberators of their nation, thrown into unearthly seizures, through the powers of Smon Bolvar and Jos de San Martn. Ch


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on the altar yet, explains an old man, as he pours holy-river water over his head, but in the next 20 years, hell be up there

others.

a former Chvez supporter who has been coming to El Sorte for many years notes that this year the mountain appears more

pty than usual. Less people can afford to come hereIf it were real socialism, Chvez would have provided free buses!

vertheless, there are still more than 8,000 people present at El Sorte. A blend of folkloric hero worship, Catholicism, African

odoo and Cuban Babalawo, the cult of Mara Lionza permeates all levels of Venezuelan society. Chvez endorses these pra

d since he came to power the more violent, bloody spirit mediums have moved down the mountain and out in the open. It is

moured that Chvez himself engages in such magic. Whispers fly that his recent decree to exhume the bones of the celebratedrator, Smon Bolvar, was merely a ploy to use them for his own Babalawo rituals.

ether or not Chvez is trying to carve out a place for himself on the future altars of spirit mediums is unknown. But many

porters are enraptured with his mission, reciting his mantras without even realizing.

peaceful healing ritual at Yuraima Nunas camp site

(photo/Zoe Getzels)

ealthcare should be free for everyone, explains Yuraima Nuna, a teacher and mother of three, who prides herself on the free

ative rituals that she conducts under the bridge. The altar of her celestial court glitters with candles and flowers; hidden amon

m is a gangster effigy holding a gun, a Mary statue, and the buxom Mara Lionza riding her tapir.

raima doesnt possess the brute physicality and youthful hubris of the Vikings; Im not God, she says, wistfully. Im the

rument of God. Dont let anyone tell you that they can heal people. Only God can do that. Her family sits around and watch

ding to the candles, preparing for the next rituals. Under the dark bridge, her campsite glimmers through the shadows, the pu

ginal white piercing the noise of the drumbeats and bloodletting that pours forth from the mountain above.

mmoning the Spirit of a Nation

ra Lionza freezes the memory of a fractured past and bridges the indigenous history of Venezuela with contemporary politic

mbols are so intermeshed, drawing on Catholicism, voodoo, even remnants of druid religions; it is impossible to tease out thends. The cultural rite stands for Mestizo heritage, a shared history so engrained that all sense of individual identity has instead

ome wrapped up in the state.

at it means to be Venezuelan is unclear, but on the Day of Indigenous Resistance, this syncretic cult humours the discussion.

mewhere in the confusion, lurks a grain of truth. Perhaps it is of healing, of recovery, of unity. Either way, the perplexing choi

king spirits powerfully pervades the performance. On the Day of Indigenous resistance, contemporary Venezuelans throw off

ckles of oppression by summoning their most ultimately European of roots: war hungry Vikings who are said to have reache

w world long before the Spanish Conquistadors. Some sort of mistranslated joke that has become twisted and distorted in th

oes of a tumultuous history.

we leave El Sorte behind us, the blood, sweat and phlegm drying on our clothes, the world of everyday Venezuela boasts it


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real quality. We pull up at a petrol station and pay US $1.84 for a full tank. A man sweeping the forecourt suddenly rushes t

e. I saw you on the mountain! he says, proudly flashing his Viking tattoo and embracing us one by one, his scarred left arm

shing against my neck. Turning our backs to depart, he remains in the shadow with his broom, grinning with all the force of M

nza herself. To be Venezuelan perhaps, is this. A return to everyday life, bolstered by what he has seen on the spirit-saturate

untain. The cacophonous chants offuerza! fuerza! running through the land as if normality truly depends on it.

ad Image by Zoe Getzels

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Responses to The Cult of Maria Lionza: Summoning the Spirit of Venezuela

1. Allan Marsden says:

May 14, 2011 at 6:07 pm

As with most rticles I have read about Sorte and the cult of Maria Lionza, this article concentrates on the spectacle. Relig

more than spectacle. I have been to Sorte, and I have been transormed by it. Now I worship at Her altar in my own hom

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Francis Joseph

the way to hell.

Reply Like June 8 at 6:51am

Leonardo Vazquez Flight Attendant at World At lantic Airlines

Todos esos cultos son obras del Diablo.

Reply Like December 19, 2012 at 8:01pm

Tracey Maria Hill Park Hall School

santeria

Reply Like September 4, 2012 at 1:55pm

David Veronezi Perube

Maria Lionza, tiense su semelhana cn la Umbanda brasilena

Reply Like February 16, 2012 at 9:32am

Azekaz Rios Top Commenter Escuela Basica El Paseo

no es santera no es umbanda es espiritismo venezolano 100 % hecho en Venezuela y se aesparcido en todo el continente americano y espaa salu2.

Reply Like October 2, 2012 at 7:22pm

Azekaz Rios Top Commenter Escuela Basica El Paseo

pobres de los comentarios de leonardo ignorante ve si respetas los cultos y creencias de losde mas.

Reply Like February 3 at 4:55pm
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I do not spend my time in flashy show. I spend my time in loving worship of a powerful Spirit, and in dedicating my life to

making the world a better place, as is her will.

ackbacks/Pingbacks

1. The Indy Eye: The Cult of Maria Lionza | The Argentina Independentsays:

October 22, 2010 at 3:03 pm

[...] in Venezuela, thousands of people gather on El Sorte mountain. They come to summon the spirit of Mara Lionza, th

countrys most prominent folk hero, and a host of other historical deities in a series [...]

2. The Indy Eye: The Cult of Maria Lionza Beloit Photography and New Media says:

October 25, 2010 at 12:37 pm

[...] in Venezuela, thousands of people gather on El Sorte mountain. They come to summon the spirit of Mara Lionza, th

countrys most prominent folk hero, and a host of other historical deities in a series of [...]

3. The girl and the serpent | SCOPE Magazine says:

October 31, 2010 at 9:24 pm

[...] A perfect accompaniment to Zoe Getzels photos (or vice versa) is this terrific piece of reportage on the rituals, writtArgentina Independent journalist (and Zoes sister) [...]

4. Holy Thugs and Vikings Myth & Popular Culture says:

December 14, 2010 at 10:32 pm

[...] from The Argentina Independent, comes this further explanation/description: But it is the court of the Vikings that real

quakes [...]

5. Maria Lionza and the future of religion Reditus: A Chronicle of Aesthetic Christianity says:

December 15, 2010 at 12:05 pm

[...] The Cult of Maria Lionza: Summoning the Spirit of Venezuela [...]

6. kult Marii Lionzy Wenezuela w odcinkach says:

March 26, 2011 at 11:47 pm

[...] Sorte i przykladowy rytual [...]

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December 9, 2009

5. Venezuela in Russian Arms Deal

September 14, 2009
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9/9

es the phrase tribute band makes you think of balding Meatloaf wannabes in bulging leathers playing to an empty bar on a

nday night? Well, time to think again. Argentina's tributes are different, as Sarah Gill's piece from 2010 testifies...

Argentine Tribute Bands: The Inside Scoop

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The Cult of Maria Lionza_ Summoning the Spirit of Venezuela - The Argentina Independent

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