- Title: Venezuela recognizes fiery ritual honoring goddess as cultural heritage
- Date: 14th October 2024
- Summary: JABALIA, GAZA (OCTOBER 13, 2024) (OBTAINED BY REUTERS - Access all) VARIOUS OF MEDICAL WORKERS CARRYING WOUNDED PALESTINIANS MEDICAL WORKERS PUTTING WOUNDED PALESTINIAN IN AMBULANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEDICAL WORKER AT SCHOOL HOSTING DISPLACED PALESTINIANS, HANY HAMAD, SAYING: "What is happening is a process of attrition, a siege, and artillery shelling. Tanks are presen
- Embargoed: 28th October 2024 19:11
- Keywords: Columbus Day Day of Indigenous Resistance Maria Lionza Venezuela ancestors indigenous ritual syncretism
- Location: QUIBAYO, YARACUY, VENEZUELA
- City: QUIBAYO, YARACUY, VENEZUELA
- Country: Venezuela
- Topics: South America / Central America,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001153113102024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Hundreds of bare-chested men circle flames on a dark night to the beat of drums in central Venezuela's mountains. They dash across the blaze with bare feet over hot coals.
Even more daring souls beat themselves with the burning wood, while others pour alcohol over their backs.
In a nearby river, families cleanse themselves to welcome the spirits of the dead and smoke tobacco.
The religious ritual, known as the "baile en candela" or "candle dance," was recognized by Venezuela's government late last week as part of the South American nation's cultural heritage ahead of festivities over the weekend.
The ceremony pays tribute to Venezuela's Indigenous ancestors who performed such rituals, said Richard Perez, head of the Venezuelan Association of Spiritualism.
The devotional dance now honors the goddess Maria Lionza, whose following began in the early 1900s out of a combination of Indigenous, Catholic and African beliefs.
A statue of Maria Lionza looked on as Villegas declared her celebration a cultural heritage in the mountain town of Quibayo, around 315 kilometers (195.7 miles) west of the capital Caracas.
The goddess of nature, love, peace and harmony is depicted riding a tapir and holding up a female pelvis to represent fertility. Yet the dance goes even deeper.
Venezuela's Indigenous ancestors "walked over these embers to be imbued with the sun god, to fight against the white man," Perez said at the event, referring to oppression at the hands of the area's former colonial masters.
(Production: Efrain Otero, Anna Portella) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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