Part 11

One of the Popes said concerning the Catholic church: “Its catholicity is its credentials to Divine origin and authority.” It is not the intention of the writer to challenge this statement, but the broad, liberal Catholic idea would seem to suggest that the influence of the church should be directed along lines laid down in the Divine Law, and not exerted in an effort to control political policies.

It is not the purpose to discuss here the individual merits of the clergy, but to consider it as a body politic, its influence for weal or woe with the people and upon the nation. It is a significant fact that every law on the statute books tending to secure greater liberty of action, freedom of thought and speech, has been opposed by the political element of the church. Such progressive measures as the civil register law, providing for a public record of births, deaths and marriages, and requiring civil marriage ceremonies; the establishment and maintenance of public and private schools, and the designation of non-Catholic cemeteries, where Protestants might receive burial, have received the opposition of the clergy.

To try to lift the veil and look into the private lives of the clergy would seem little less than sacrilege. It would reveal acts pure and noble, lives worthy of example and emulation, and it would also show startling and shocking scenes enacted in the name of religion. There are those who are sacrificing their lives in the cause of the Master, others living vicious and licentious lives under the cloak of Christianity. The illiteracy and superstition of the people give to the unworthy and insincere opportunities to practice deception and imposition. Upon the other hand, these same conditions afford an ample field and unlimited opportunities for good, with those who are conscientious and possess the true Christian spirit.

There are more than ten thousand monks of different orders in Chile. During the summer months they go about the country in pairs or in trios, holding mission services, which they conduct without price or reference to money. The expenses of these itinerant clergymen are paid from the funds of the order they represent. They do much good in the way of instructing the poor country and village people in the rudiments of civilized life, cleanliness, and how to rear their children. These mission services usually continue for a week or ten days in one place, during which time many of the women and children of the community remain about the church, sleeping upon the ground at night. These mission fathers in no way clash with the regular priests, everything being understood and prearranged. Medallions and colored prints of their patron saints are freely distributed, and never fail to create a pleasing effect upon the women and children. The children are gathered into classes and turned over to the more intelligent of the women of the church, who teach them the catechism, and to sing the chants. If the children appear indifferent, or especially stupid in these first instructions and church discipline, their minds are brightened and their memories sharpened by whacks with a stick in the hands of the monks. But alas, these poor children only memorize the printed prayers, no explanations of their true meaning being made, and so through life they go on repeating prayers without knowing the significance of the words. Not infrequently this smattering of an education, gained through the mission teachings of the traveling monks, is all that many of them receive. It is through these methods of early instruction that the prolific growth of superstition prevalent in Chile is cultivated and kept alive. Children are taught that the several saints on the calendar, the anniversary of each of which is celebrated with a religious feast, are all powerful, and that the good offices of the saints can be secured through the intermediary of the priests.

FEAST DAYS.

The chief national feast in Chile is September 18th, the anniversary of the independence of the Republic, known as “El Diez y ocho.” There are, however, numerous other anniversary celebrations, commemorating victorious battles and historic events, which are observed with much demonstration in the cities and thickly populated districts. All other holidays, of which there are something like seventy in the year, are called religious festivals. Every saint has his or her feast day, known as church feasts, except the patron saint of the local church, in which event the festival lasts for a week or more.

Ordinary feasts are held at private houses. The adobe walls of the room selected for the service are covered with paper, and an improvised altar arranged by placing lighted candles upon a table. Upon the wall above the table is hung a colored print of the particular saint whose anniversary is being celebrated. Those taking part in the services are usually seated around the room upon stones or blocks of wood, and if such seats are not available they squat upon the dirt floor, the crowd frequently extending into the open in front of the house. There are harpists, guitar players and singers. The feast, which is held after the service, consists of boiled beans mixed with hulled corn, and as extra, boiled dried peaches mixed with flour or toasted wheat. After the food has been served someone in the crowd gives a “chaucha” (twenty cents), to one of the players and music is rendered in praise of the donor. Someone then buys wine or chicha and the health of the saint is drunk. When the singers have rendered what they consider the value of the donation, another person contributes, and by this means the music is kept up. Liquor is passed and repassed until the supply is exhausted, and the festival continues until the candles are burned out and the crowd lapses into a state of innocuous desuetude, to sleep off the effects of the debauch.

Religious ceremonies and feast day demonstrations are events of much general interest to the country people. Easter on a farm brings about the annual festival of “Correr á Cristo” (running to Christ). A mounted procession with waving flags and banners, and weird shouting, makes a tour of the farm, and the day is given over to a saturnalia of noise. Sometimes the procession will stop by the roadside, or in the garden in front of the farmhouse to hear mass, or long enough for those in attendance to receive the blessings of the priests. The procession is usually headed by a cart draped with palms and decorated with flowers.

PROCESSION OF THE PELICAN.

One of the peculiar religious festivals of the country is “La Procesión del Pelicano” (procession of the pelican), a passion play held annually at Quillota, one of the first communities established by the Spaniards in Chile. To the old city in the valley of the Aconcagua, there is an annual pilgrimage of thousands of devout Catholics, and others attracted by curiosity, to witness the strange procession.

The Procession of the Pelican has no mythological origin or significance, as is generally supposed, but derives its name from the colossal bird, which has figured in the demonstration for more than a century. The Cathedral of Quillota was built by the Bishop of Romero, in the beginning of the eighteenth century. By the influence of the Bishop the ladies of the community formed the society of the “Santo Sepulcro” (Holy Sepulchre), and by collecting alms raised the funds for this traditional procession. The annual arrangement was always placed in charge of one of the ladies of the society, and as only those from the first families were selected it was considered a great honor.

About the year 1776, Doña Amilia Alverez de Araya, whose family founded the original town of Quillota, was selected to direct the demonstration. Previous to that time the Santo Sepulcro, on which the figure representing the body of Christ was placed, on being lowered from the cross, was a common wooden box. With the help of a San Franciscan monk, who was a good joiner, Doña Amilia planned the receptacle since used, which represents a swan with wings extended. The huge image, constructed of wood, represents the bird with arched neck, picking at its breast upon which there is a bright red spot, in imitation of a blood stain.

On Good Friday a cross is erected in the Plaza, on a miniature mount, covered with green. During the day it is guarded by huasos, dressed to represent the Jews. Previous to the procession a man is placed upon the cross in imitation of the Crucifixion. In the evening the Cura, standing upon the steps of the cathedral, preaches a sermon on the “Passion of Our Lord,” after which the procession is formed. The “andas” (floats), carried upon the shoulders of men, represent scenes in the life of the Savior, such as “Christ Before Pilate,” “Christ Carrying the Cross,” “The Virgin Surrounded by Angels,” etc. The feature of the procession is the Pelican, which is borne by twelve men. The procession marches from the cathedral to the mount, and the body of the man representing Christ is lowered from the cross and placed in the Holy Sepulchre, the Pelican. During the procession the wings of the Pelican, which are covered with mirrors, open and shut mechanically, adding a spectacular feature to the scene. After marching around the Plaza, and through the principal streets the procession returns to the cathedral, and the Pelican is placed back of the altar where it remains until the recurrence of Good Friday, when it is again brought into service in “La Procesión del Pelicano.”

The hotels in the provincial town are inadequate to accommodate the people who journey annually to Quillota to witness the strange scenes presented in the procession of the Pelican, and when the ceremony is concluded there is an undignified rush for trains. The crowd, that stands quietly with bared heads during the passion play, resolves itself into a mob, each individual scrambling and fighting for the most advantageous position at the railway station. Those who cannot secure accommodation in the trains must spend the night in the streets, and following “La Procesión del Pelicano” the usual quiet of Quillota is turned into a drunken rabble. The police are unable to control the crowd, and the scene of religious fervor and devout Christian spirit shown by the multitude during the procession representing Christ crucified, is changed to a bacchanalian carousal. The event brings out the peculiarities of the Chilean character. One hour they are intoxicated with religious excitement and the next on aguardiente, entering as enthusiastically into the spirit of one condition as the other, with never a thought, apparently, of the inconsistency of their actions.

FEAST OF THE PATRON SAINT.

The celebration of the anniversary of the patron saint of the parish church is an important event. The little vice-parroquia (district church), where the annual feast is held, is generally whitewashed, and has a tile roof, blue doors, and yellow painted windows, and is topped by a square belfry tower. It is usually situated upon a slight elevation from which the ground slopes down to a nearby country road. The only relief to the monotony of the dreary surroundings is a few flowering shade trees. About the time the “novena” is concluded, carts begin to arrive and form in line along the roadside. As the crowd augments the scene resolves itself into one of animation and activity. People are constructing out of tree boughs, places of temporary residence, in which they sleep and where they conduct a small business during the festival. Women are engaged in bringing in firewood and jugs of water, which they carry on their heads. Oxen are unhitched from carts and driven home, as the feast lasts many days. Often as many as fifty carts, covered with canvas, branches of trees or skins are arranged side by side in close proximity. They serve as places of shelter for the owners, who remain throughout the feast. Each cart is supplied with a barrel of chicha, wine and aguardiente, and also with fowls and vegetables, from which is made cazuela, to supply the hungry crowd.

During all the day before, and up to the hour of the feast, which begins at midnight, active preparations for the event continue. People are arriving from every direction, those from a distance on horseback, and those from the neighborhood on foot, each carrying a quantity of supplies to eat or drink, and each expecting to do a little business on the morrow, and succeeding days, in the way of catering to the appetite or thirst of the mixed multitude. Some are ladened with skin bags filled with wine or chicha, others carry earthen pots or baskets containing such articles as they may have to dispose of. Fires are blazing, pots are boiling, and the scene along the roadside resembles a miniature military camp, with active preparations for the customary meal of soup and beans going forward.

Later the crowd is divided into groups, squatting upon the ground and eating from black earthen dishes. There is a tapping of barrels, uncorking of skin bags and earthen jugs, in which the supplies of liquor are stored. Small groups of gentlemen, or families, possessing a little more money than the average persons present, are seated at home-made tables, which are covered with coarse sacking. All are merry, and apparently happy to renew acquaintances, many of which have been neglected since the last feast of our lady of mercy, Santa Mercedes, the patroness saint of the little church where the feast is being held.

The parish priest has not yet arrived from his parochial residence, hence the feast has not formally begun. A murmur along the line of feasters announces the approach of the cura, the church bells peal joyously, and the crowd files into the little church, where lighted tapers and gilt images add a spectacular effect to the scene. The priest preaches a pleasing sermon, for the purpose of conciliating his congregation, which has not yet made its offering to the virgin. At the conclusion of the service the people give to the priest such money as they think they can afford to contribute, or that which has been entrusted to them by others who could not attend. They have come from every section of the surrounding country, some from great distances, who wish to show their gratitude to this particular saint, for favors they may have received, or may desire to receive in the future. The priest is not made aware of the object of the donations. The donors place their faith implicitly in the saints, believing that they will execute the bequests. These poor contributors for the most part have nothing to do with the particular church where the offering is made. As an example, in case of serious illness or threatened calamity in a family, the friends or relatives, as the case may be, make a vow that if spared the impending trouble, they will give a certain amount to a certain saint for a given number of years. These promises are usually redeemed, and the obligation is discharged at the particular church patronized by the saint to whom the promise is made. Many individual instances might be cited to illustrate the fidelity with which these people make offerings to the saints.

The day following the midnight services is “La Mercedes,” and the early morning shows hundreds of additional votaries en route to the church. After the morning mass the image of the virgin Mercedes, bedecked with flowers, is removed from the church altar, and carried at the head of a procession that marches about the church. The priest, leading the procession, and reciting prayers, is showered with flowers. After this parade the image is again placed upon the altar, there to remain until the following year, September 8th, which is the date of the anniversary of Mercedes. The priest then goes his way and the real fiesta, for which a majority of those present have come, that of eating, drinking, dancing and carousing uninterruptedly for several days, begins. The scene about the church presents some features peculiarly novel and picturesque. The hundreds of people dressed in the costumes of the country, in which bright colors predominate, dozens of clumsy bullock carts, and hundreds of horses huddled together in the church grounds, where they remain for days without being unsaddled, and in many instances without food or water, are some of the features of this feast day picture. There are improvised dance halls, bowling alleys, and every cart and temporary hut is turned into a shop where is dispensed such articles as those in possession may have to offer. At each place where liquors are dispensed there is singing, dancing and music of guitars. Everyone seems to have something to sell, and money with which to buy. Having made their contributions to our lady of mercy, they pursue the god Bacchus with enthusiasm and reckless indulgence. Good fellowship prevails, drinks encourage generosity and the feast goes merrily on.

This festival falls upon a date that marks the approach of spring in Chile. The espino is in bloom, and the odor of the yellow blossoms of that repellant, thorny bush, which grows abundantly throughout the country, fills the air with sweet perfume; birds in the mating season are revelling in the first green of the trees and the bloom of wild flowers. Under clumps of blossoming trees women are cooking cakes and vending sweets, while señoritas send winning glances at young men who, too often under the influence of liquor, are easy preys to the arrows of cupid. The feast continues to increase in interest and enthusiasm for three or four days, continuing night and day, when it reaches the climax, after which from loss of sleep and deficiency of drink, the tide begins to recede, and the crowd to decrease. At the end of the sixth or eighth day, at the farthest, the last of the crowd disperses, leaving only the trodden grass and the blackened remains of camp fires as evidences of the greatest and merriest local frolic of the year.

SUPERSTITIONS

In Chile there are large tracts of sparsely populated territory where there are neither doctors nor drug stores, and in such communities it is necessary in case of illness for the people to resort to home remedies. In these rural communities there are many old women who assume the rôle of doctresses, calling themselves “Medicas.” They are absolutely ignorant of medicine or its effect upon the human system, yet with their odd preparations of herbs they sometimes effect cures within a very short time. However, it is said that they more frequently kill than cure the persons they treat. Should the patient live for several days under the treatment of the Medica, and then die, nothing is said by the friends of the deceased, but should the victim succumb with the first dose the doctress is asked to change her residence at once.

“Brujeria,” or witchcraft, is common among the women in the lower classes in Chile, many of whom claim to be “brujas,” or sorceresses. The women profess to be able to inflict strange and wonderful punishment upon their enemies, or persons who refuse to accede to their demands. The most common delusion of these superstitious people, especially the women, is the power of the “brujas” to place reptiles or insects in their stomachs. Frequently when one becomes ill or distressed with a pain, she is possessed with the idea that she has been bewitched, declaring that she has a frog, a toad, a snake, spider, or other object in her stomach, placed there by a sorceress. These poor women believe that they cannot recover from an illness of this sort until they have made peace with the person having bewitched them, which means the giving of money or its equivalent in presents. It is a sort of faith cure, and any other treatment seems useless, as it will not dispel the delusion. The man or woman with dropsy or other affliction will almost invariably attribute the malady to an evil sorceress. These superstitions even extend to matters of business and chance with the country people. The methods employed by these witches are curious and ridiculous. Many claim, and the claims are accepted as true, to be able by slipping into the presence of an enemy and burning a certain kind of herb or vegetable, to place the person in their power. In some cases persons so bewitched assume a form of madness, which unfits them for service, and sometimes makes them dangerous. Many of these people claim to cure disease by prayer.

There are few diseases among the ignorant country people attributed to legitimate causes. They are believed to be due to the influence of witches; to be ill from any cause is to be bewitched. It is one of the many superstitions inherited from Indian ancestors, and is deep rooted in the minds of the people.

To predict the elimination or uprooting of these primitive customs would be hazardous, as they are countenanced, fostered in the minds of the people and encouraged by the priests. They preach and teach the supernatural, and in the rural districts the clergy sell “santitos” (small images representing saints), and medallions that are alleged to have been consecrated by them, as cures and preventatives for all kinds of diseases and maladies. Sometimes when a liberal donation has been made to the church, the donor is given one of these consecrated objects, which is highly prized, and the curative powers of which are never doubted by the possessor. Although the laws of the Catholic church prohibit its members from eating meat on Fridays, the priests sell privileges, called “bulas,” which permit purchasers to eat whatever kind of food they like on that day. A very poor person can secure a bula for fifty centavos, while a well-to-do member will pay according to his ability, and very rich people in Valparaiso and Santiago have paid as much as one thousand pesos for the privilege of violating a fundamental law of the church. With the encouragement of such beliefs and practices by those who are accepted as teachers and who should stand as exemplars of moral and intellectual progress, it is little wonder that the masses among the poor and ignorant cling tenaciously to customs that seem obsolete in this age of enlightened progress.

Superstitions are generally prevalent among the better classes also, particularly those engaged in agricultural pursuits. It is believed that sowing, reaping, planting, wood cutting, grafting or pruning trees, storing of crops, etc., should be done during the last quarter of the moon. Seed planted during the new moon will not grow, crops harvested will be damaged, trees pruned will die, etc. The weather for the following month is always judged by the Indian sign indicated in the position of the new moon on its first appearance.

A curious superstitious custom in Chile is the manner of marking the place where a person has been killed by accident or murdered. Along the country roads one frequently comes upon a crude sort of altar by the roadside, which marks the last resting place of some victim of violence. It may consist of a little enclosure made of rough boards and covered with the same material, in which lighted tapers are kept burning practically all the time. In each of these places there is a small box for the reception of coins, and many passers-by add small contributions to the collection, and when the candles have burned out, the money in the receptacle is used to purchase more. A strange feature of this practice is that no sneak thief, of which there are many in every community, will ever rob one of these houses of the dead. He has a superstitious belief that the money is sacred, and that the one who steals it will be cursed.