VENEZUELA THOUSANDS GATHER TO HONOUR quotGUIDING SPIRITquot MARIA LIONZA

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(14 Oct 1996) Spanish/Nat • • They may call themselves Catholics but thousands of Venezuelans also practise a religious ritual blending indigenous and African beliefs. • • Each year thousands gather in the mountains of Sorte to honour Maria Lionza -- a guiding spirit venerated for her healing and psychic powers. • • On the day of her feast scores of believers become initiated into her cult, a ceremony in which they become possessed by her spirit and take on her healing powers. • • Believers of the Maria Lionza cult arrive each October to the Sorte Mountains to pay tribute to their guiding spirit. • • They camp out for three days which coincide with the celebrations of Columbus Day. • • Practitioners set up an altar with offerings to the spirits including candles, rum, fruits, cigars and live chickens. • • The cult is a blend of indigenous, Christian and African beliefs. • • SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) • Originally it was an Indian myth, purely indigenous. With the arrival of the Europeans and the African slaves symbols and myths from other cultures were incorporated and today it is a syncretism which many say has now even more added elements from other cultures. • SUPER CAPTION: Chichi Frias, Lawyer • • The myth dates back to the period of the Spanish Conquest. • • An Indian princess ran away to the woods after her father's defeat at the hands of the Spaniards. • • She was later identified with a landlady -- known as Maria Lionza -- who also lived in the forest. • • More than 500 years later her followers still gather to celebrate her alleged powers. • • On the day of her feast scores of people are initiated into her mysteries. • • They become materias -- Spanish for subjects. The subjects are bestowed with the power to become possessed by the spirit of Maria Lionza and other Indians. • • The subjects lie on the ground while an elder practitioner cleanses them with a live chicken and performs the entire initiation ritual. • • Maria Lionza is known as the queen of the harvests and love. • • Believers summon her to the woods and ask for special favours. • • SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) • She is the queen of the harvests, of abundance, the queen of love and we summon her to ask for positive things we need. In the mountains she manifests herself in many ways. • SUPER CAPTION: Alberto Pastor Perdomo, Spiritualist • • The first sign of possession is a constant shaking of the body until the subject becomes completely possessed by the spirit. • • The subject then acquires the personal traits of the spirit including its psychic and healing powers. • • The feast concludes with the traditional dance of the burning coals (baile de las candelas). • • To the beat of the drums, practitioners dance around and on top of burning coals. • • Only those possessed by a spirit can perform this dance without getting burned. • • Maria Lionza's cult has a history of secrecy. • • Until 1940 her feast was a closed ceremony. • • Today the ceremony is open for those who may wish to experience the powers of the queen Maria Lionza. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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