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Pueblo Christianity

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 13 min
Pueblo Christianity
Potrero Ditch at Santuario de Chimayo.jpg
Acequia at El Santuario de Chimayo
Regions with significant populations
Southwestern United States (New Mexico)
Scriptures
Bible
Languages
Related ethnic groups
Folk tradition of Christianity

Pueblo Christianity, sometimes referred to as simply New Mexican folk Christianity, is the Christian traditions that developed in the Southwestern United States, originating from Pueblo and Hispano heritage in Santa Fe de Nuevo México.[1][2][3]

Distinctive practices in New Mexico can include unique pilgrimages such as to El Santuario de Chimayo,[1] the usage of prayer circles and kivas, various shrines like traditional Christian symbolism or santos/kachinas in Territorial Style Pueblo architectural niches, unique agricultural heritage prayers associated with acequias, and customs like the matachines. Various elements of syncretism exist between Pueblo religion,[4] and some Judeo-Christian identity thought to be related to converso Crypto-Judaism.[5] As an active Christian community in New Mexico, they believe in the authority of the Bible, take part in evangelism, are usually practicing Catholics or Protestants,[6][7] and believe in maintaining a personal relationship with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.[8]

Popular aspects include the festivities of bizcochitos and luminarias during Christmas in New Mexico.[9] Christians make up 75% of the New Mexican population, of which are the nation's highest percentage of Hispanic and Latino Americans and the second-highest percentage of Native Americans. Those include Robert Fortune Sanchez,[10] Angelico Chavez,[11] Ben Ray Luján, Yvette Herrell, Elisa Martinez,[12] and Renee Begay.[13] The Christian arts of New Mexicans are well known, especially Indochristian art including santos, and the Christian media produced in the state has included numerous works of Christian radio and Christian literature.[3]

Traditions[edit]

Agricultural[edit]

The connection of Christianity and agriculture is very apparent within Pueblo Christianity, and is usually cited as the primary origin of Pueblo Christianity.[14] For example, the New Mexico PBS program Colores, did a segment on the importance of acequias as a physical manifestation of faith and unity for New Mexican reservations and towns.[15]

Plazas and placitas[edit]

San Felipe de Neri Church from the placita in Old Town Albuquerque

The placita (Spanish for little plaza) and their associated church, are a historic core of numerous communities throughout New Mexico.[16][17] And they continue to be hubs like Old Town Albuquerque's San Felipe de Neri Church, or the Santa Fe Plaza's San Miguel Mission, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, and Loretto Chapel. There are also Acoma Pueblo's plaza, Taos Downtown Historic District, Mesilla Plaza, and Las Vegas Plaza. Some retain their placement culminating in agricultural areas, like the San Ysidro Church in Corrales.

Artwork[edit]

Santos on display at the Martinez Hacienda in Taos, New Mexico

George López and Bernadette Vigil are very well-regarded Santos artisans.

Southwestern niches[edit]

A Territorial Style addition to Pueblo architecture was the niche, which was also added to later Pueblo and Territorial revival architectures as a feature in living rooms and foyers. They are usually adorned with Christian symbols, Pueblo pottery, santos, kachinas, and other art of the American Southwest.

Place names[edit]

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the north have legends associated with them, and some places share holy land naming conventions like Belen being the Spanish word for Bethlehem.

Events[edit]

Fiestas[edit]

Puebloan matachines at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1992
Fiesta of San Esteban at Acoma Pueblo

The most regularly occurring fiestas are the Pueblo Feast Days and the many of the church fiestas around New Mexico.[18][19] These usually feature New Mexico music, New Mexican cuisine, and carnival activities.

Pueblo Feast Days[edit]

While the Pueblos are often open during Pueblo Feast Days, and other holidays.[20] There are times when the dates and public access can change. These dates are usually updated at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and on various websites run by the New Mexico state government and Pueblo governments. January:

  • 1: Pueblo Tribal officials transfer canes to successors, and on Kings Day they honor new tribal officials with public dances.[18]
  • San Ildefonso Pueblo offers vespers the day before having their feast day on January 23, which honors the San Ildefonso. They celebrate with traditional dance, Deer and Comanche dances.[21]

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

Holidays[edit]

Christmas in New Mexico is quite visible due to bizcochitos and luminarias being nearly ubiquitous in the region.[39][40][41] Businesses and homes will adorn their properties with luminarias, called farolitos in some areas. Homemade biscochito cookies are found in most homes, restaurants like Blake's Lotaburger will even even feature items like biscochito milkshakes.

Pilgrimages[edit]

The pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo is regarded as one of the most important in the United States.[42]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Hendrickson, B. (2017). The Healing Power of the Santuario de Chimayó: America’s Miraculous Church. Religion, Race, and Ethnicity. NYU Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4798-1550-0. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  2. ^ Galgano, R.C. (2005). Feast of Souls: Indians and Spaniards in the Seventeenth-century Missions of Florida and New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8263-3648-4. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Kessell, J.L. (2012). Pueblos, Spaniards, and the Kingdom of New Mexico. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8061-8483-8. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  4. ^ Murrieta, Cynthia Radding (March 28, 2007). "Feast of Souls: Indians and Spaniards in the Seventeenth-Century Missions of Florida and New Mexico (review)". Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 110 (3): 411–412. doi:10.1353/swh.2007.0021. ISSN 1558-9560. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Wheelwright, Jeff (September 30, 2008). "The 'Secret Jews' of San Luis Valley". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  6. ^ Hendrickson, B. (2021). Mexican American Religions: An Introduction. Religion in America. Taylor & Francis. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-000-44152-9. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  7. ^ Evangelical Alliance (1878). Evangelical Christendom. J.S. Phillips. p. 305. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  8. ^ Tarángo, Angela. "From Pueblos to Pentecostals - Christian History Magazine". Christian History Institute. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "Biscochitos: An enchanting Christmas treat from the Southwest". Catholic Courier. December 17, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Torres, Larry (January 1, 1970). "Remembrance: Archbishop Sánchez left a legacy in Taos". The Taos News. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  11. ^ Pearson, J. Stephen (2017). "Biblical Typology as Oppositional Historiography in Fray Angelico Chavez's From an Altar Screen". MELUS. [Oxford University Press, Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS)]. 42 (3): 152–175. ISSN 0163-755X. JSTOR 26566072. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  12. ^ The Christian Science Monitor (November 21, 2019). "US Senate race in New Mexico adds GOP Navajo Nation member". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  13. ^ "Renee on Native American Ministry". THE TALKING CIRCLE. June 5, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  14. ^ Quintana, Frances Leon (1990). "Land, Water, and Pueblo-Hispanic Relations in Northern New Mexico". Journal of the Southwest. Journal of the Southwest. 32 (3): 288–299. ISSN 0894-8410. JSTOR 40169748. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  15. ^ "Acequia - ¡COLORES!". ¡COLORES!. October 28, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  16. ^ Treib, Marc; Imbert, Dorothée; Jackson, John Brinckerhoff (1993). Sanctuaries of Spanish New Mexico. Berkeley. ISBN 0-520-06420-8. OCLC 27680434.
  17. ^ Nostrand, Richard L. (1992). The Hispano Homeland. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-585-16883-0. OCLC 44956583.
  18. ^ a b "Feast Days". Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  19. ^ "San Felipe de Neri Fiestas, June 3, 4, 5". San Felipe de Neri Parish. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  20. ^ "NM's pueblos welcome visitors for festivals, feast days". Albuquerque Journal. May 11, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  21. ^ "San Ildefonso Pueblo – San Ildefonso Pueblo website". San Ildefonso Pueblo – San Ildefonso Pueblo website. July 11, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  22. ^ Fallstead, Cheryl (March 17, 2020). "New Mexico Native American Feast Days, Pueblos Dances, Festivals". SantaFe.com. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  23. ^ "Old Acoma Pueblo/Governor's Feast Day (2018-02-03)". American Indian Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico. January 1, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  24. ^ "St. Joseph's Feast Day, Laguna Pueblo". Albuquerque Public Schools. March 19, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  25. ^ "TOURISM Santa Fe Eight Pueblos North of Santa Fe". TOURISM Santa Fe. January 1, 1970. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  26. ^ Journal, Glen Rosales / For the (April 9, 2017). "Native American culture shines across Northern NM". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  27. ^ "Katishtya (San Felipe Pueblo)". School for Advanced Research. January 1, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  28. ^ Hammons, Suzanne (May 3, 2016). "Santa Maria de Acoma Feast Day". Voice of the Southwest. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  29. ^ "EVENTS". Taos Pueblo. August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  30. ^ "Pueblo Dances Calendar". STLCC.edu. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  31. ^ "The Missions of New Mexico Since 1776 (Sandía)". National Park Service History Electronic Library & Archive. December 24, 1999. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  32. ^ "TOURISM Santa Fe Seasonal Celebrations". TOURISM Santa Fe. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  33. ^ "The Jemez Pueblo Harvest Celebration". Palms Trading Company. August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  34. ^ "Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico – Legends of America". Legends of America – Traveling through American history, destinations & legends since 2003. February 6, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  35. ^ "Picuris Pueblo celebrates annual feast day". Indianz. August 8, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  36. ^ "Santa Clara Pueblo Feast Day". Greyshoes Sculpture. December 6, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  37. ^ "Thanksgiving in New Mexico". Deseret News. November 10, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  38. ^ a b c "Pueblo Christmas Celebrations". New Mexico Tourism & Travel. January 1, 1970. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  39. ^ "New Mexican Recipes - Biscochitos, State Cookie". New Mexico True. January 1, 1970. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  40. ^ Curtis, Susan; Ammerman, Nicole Curtis (December 19, 2020). "Biscochitos". Leite's Culinaria. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  41. ^ Capizzi, Anna (December 22, 2020). "RECIPE: Biscochitos: An enchanting Christmas treat from the Southwest". Catholic News Service. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  42. ^ "El Santuario de Chimayo". Atlas Obscura. June 4, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2022.

Further reading[edit]

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_Christianity
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