Maria Lionza, A feminist and indigenous cult of Latin American origin
Why is the Cult of Maria Lionza so important for Venezuelan sorcerers and Latin American esoteric cults?
I have written about this recognizable Venezuelan deity before, if you don't know who she is, you can CLICK HERE to read my post about her, and you can also CLICK HERE to read a second article I wrote about her for Tess Whitehurst's blog.
Maria Lionza, queen of witches and fairies, aboriginal goddess, warrior and sorceress, matriarch of all spiritualist courts, among many other titles that she holds, is perhaps one of the deities of Venezuelan origin with the greatest exposure outside the country, her legend is one of the few that has survived unchanged over time, and its native name Yara remains one of the most religious names mentioned in the esoteric cults of South America, where it is not only venerated in Venezuela, but also in other countries such as Colombia and Brazil, as well as in different cities of the Caribbean.
The cult of Maria Lionza does not stop growing, this cult is divided into two parts, the initiatory cult persecuted and studied by the traditional spiritists of Venezuela, the so-called "Sorte spiritists", or "mountain spiritists". And the cult is open to the public, which, unlike the first, does not require passing the initiation rites of Sorte, and is an open cult surrounded by folklore, magic, spells, and all kinds of spirits.
But beyond all the magical and esoteric part, beyond the cult in the mountains, the candles covered with frost and the homemade flower incense, why is the cult of the goddess Maria Lionza so important?
Maria Lionza, warrior goddess and sorceress
Maria Lionza, whose native name is Yara, is a native aboriginal deity of the Venezuelan people, her cult dates back to the arrival of the Spanish in Venezuela when the name of Yara began to move from mouth to mouth as a mythical character among the peoples. indigenous being enslaved, for some scholars and academics she would descend from the Caribbean tribes, for others, she would descend from the Arawak (as well as the famous witch Tituba), and for others, she would be a representative of the peasant peoples.
Yara or Maria Lionza, not only represents an aboriginal female deity and thus, the power of matriarchy among indigenous peoples, but she is also a powerful sorceress who leads the fairies and all the spirits of nature, a deity in a certain pantheistic way. , a woman leader and warrior of the indigenous peoples, a sample of the power of the resilience of these peoples who are often not represented among our esoteric communities beyond the esoteric and ritualistic part.
The cult of Maria Lionza is a feminist cult that celebrates the equal role of women in the native peoples prior to the colony, it is a celebration of the embodied power of the mother goddess among the indigenous people, mostly pagans, and in turn, a cult of a local divinity that survives in the face of patriarchy, the church, and Christianization, although many have mistakenly tried to misrepresent her cult as an "indigenous incarnation" of the Virgin Mary, a purely Christian deity.
Maria Lionza does not represent the typical (entirely heteronormative) modern aspect of a peaceful and loving mother goddess, compassionate and homely, as a counterpart to modern pagan cults where the male deities are mostly hunting, wild, strong, warrior, and indomitable gods. Maria Lionza is, on the contrary, a warrior goddess (an aspect that she possibly inherited from the Yanomami indigenous people) as well as a matriarchal deity of enormous respect.
The followers of the goddess Yara and her initiated priests celebrate the beauty of things (as can be seen in their elaborate rituals where flowers and frost are never lacking), but they also celebrate the strength and skill of warriors, whether painting their faces as the native peoples of the Caribbean did, consecrating blades and knives in honor of the indigenous goddess, or dancing in the rituals of the mountain to the rhythm of the drums, mimicking the movements of the warriors with bows and arrows, or with spears. and knives in hand.
The cult of the goddess Maria Lionza has survived because it responds to modern cults that seek to represent most of the female deities as peaceful and loving figures while giving the male gods the savage strength and animal prowess of a hunter and warrior god.
Maria Lionza sitting on her Tapir represents the native peoples who refuse to be silent, represents a feminist and indigenous movement that has survived colonialism, patriarchy, and Christianization, and is also one of the few cults in Latin America where the sexual preference of individuals is not important or relevant to form a vital part of the cult.
(C) 2019, Elhoim Leafar, All Rights Reserved.
Blessings to every one of you.
My Next Workshops Online Here:
A different class every weekend in October, totally online, each class has a total duration of 90 minutes, followed by a 30-minute Q&A. Classes are limited to 25 participants per class and cost $12-$14 per person.
Comments
Post a Comment