There is a park here in Corozal. It is between the sea and the old market. I am told it is called mothers park. Here, there is a statue, and I am unable to learn much about the statue. Each time I see the statue, I am struck by how different it is from so many other statues I have seen. Most of the statues I have seen are of dead killers. This statue is very different. It is a woman nursing a baby. There is no indication of a past in this statue. There is nothing saying, "This, the glory that was". The statue seems to portray something outside of any temporal context. The inscription is worn away, covered with layers of paint, and I can not read it.
I have asked people about the statue. All that I have learned so far is that the statue has been there for at least 50 years. No one seems able to tell me much more than that. When it is clear a person has nothing more to say about it, I ask "Is it a statue of Mary?". There is always a "grab" onto this suggestion, always I am then told, "yes, it is a statue of Mary" This is a strange thing. It is only identified as Mary after I have offered that possibility. It is possible that no one I have talked to really knows much about the statue. The people here are often profoundly pious. It may be that in their eyes, any image of a nursing mother calls to mind thoughts of the Blessed Mother. It may really be a statue representing Mary, however it is strangely simplistic. If it were Mary, one might expect to see a serpent beneath a foot, the dress would likely be blue rather than red, there would likely be a symbolic intimation of the status of Queen of Heaven, stars beneath her feet or the very ancient crescent moon beneath her feet. There is nothing to indicate any sort of status to this woman. The artist seems to have represented a simple idealized image from natural daily life.
That's the thing too. This is an image taken from daily life here. The people here were influenced by the English for a very long time. Men simply do not go about with out a shirt, no matter what the temperature. Yet several times I have seen women nursing infants, on one occasion on a crowded bus. There is no indication that either they or anyone around them see this in anyway as unusual or odd. It is of course a very normal and natural part of human life. Yet to our eyes, it is something odd, something that is supposed to be hidden away.
The hiding away of pure, natural, and good human interactions is something that may take a toll on a culture. It appears to me, that the violence in American society has apparently crossed some new threshold. It was reported here, that in the U.S., there were three school shootings in a recent week. All, I think, were not the disaffected student type, but a new, stranger more shocking type. Adult men who entered schools with intent to apparently rape and murder girls. There has apparently been a rash of murders of families. A family in a car was shot to death on a highway I think, a home invasion, left all residents dead somewhere. It seems from here, that there have been a number of clusters of even more horrific acts. It seems from here, that American society has "achieved" a new level of human interaction.
I strongly suspect that the reasons for these sorts of behaviors are complex and multi-generational. I do not imagine that a change in artistic sculpture would make the slightest difference. But it may be that the art and symbols a society produces indicate what is going on in the psyche of that society at a very deep level. It may be that art can be thought of as a symptom of a deep rooted process.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing pictures of your new home and town. I printed them for our friend, so you can change your color scheme again if you like. Would like to see a picture of your church.
My sons are excited about Halloween. Do they celebrate it in Belize? Would pumpkins grown there?
Can you find pizzas for your sons? Has Rebecca learned new ways of cooking?
I think you are right to wonder about why longer-term residents of Corozal are so quick to latch on to the "Mary" identity for the statue only after it is offered. From what you have shared about the mix of religious perspectives [if not practices -- and I hope you put that little bag of stuff back in the wall with an appropriate blessing! :-)], I wonder if the statue might be trans-denominational and even trans-religion. A mother suckling her young could easily be a modern depiction of the Earth (vegetation) goddess as much as anything else.
Your choice of an American piece of art was equally interesting. Time Magazine a few weeks back ran a 9/11 Retrospective with the headline "What we Lost". The cover art included a Roman/militaristic depiction of an eagle much like what you displayed. The gist of the Time article was the loss of support worldwide for America in the wake of its turn to a more militaristic approach to "solving" its problems.
I think the art accurately reflects the mindset of the current regime. And, yes, it is ominous; possibly too late to undo.
There is a piece of graffiti on the stone wall that forms the curve of the I-71 ramp to 3rd Street in Cincinnati. It reads, simply, "RIP Habeas Corpus 1215 -2006"
Succinct. Accurate. Scary.
The recent spate of horrors inflicted on schoolgirls is, as you noted, another Sign of the Times. In the Colorado incident, the sheriff was quoted as saying that the members of his SWAT team could hear the girls screams and SEE them being raped. Still, they waited until five had been raped before they did anything . . .
So, SO GLAD you and your family are there and not here.
Abundant Love and Peace to you, your wife and family.
- StormRider, Cincinnati
[if not practices -- and I hope you put that little bag of stuff back in the wall with an appropriate blessing! :-)]
Ah, the obeya. A friend brought it to my attention, I do not know precisely where it was initially placed. I put it on a high narrow shelf between the dining room and family room. As I did so, I was intentionally very cognizant that someone had put this here in an attempt to draw luck to us. I was aware that that alone was very fortunate, and that any luck that it might draw should go to the person who put it there unless we desperately needed it. I don't know if that is an appropriate blessing. In the "system" that this thing originates in, I suspect spraying it with rum might be more appropriate, however what I did was sincere and I believe there is a power in that.
A mother suckling her young could easily be a modern depiction of the Earth (vegetation) goddess as much as anything else.
The word for the week appears to be archetype. I want to know more about why the statue was commissioned, the events surrounding that time. But for now, the statue is to me a trans-religious icon. The place is called mothers park, and the status is of course the Mother. But who can say for sure if the Mothers name is Mary, Akna, or Akhushtal.
The cover art included a Roman/militaristic depiction of an eagle much like what you displayed. [...] I think the art accurately reflects the mindset of the current regime.
In another post you mentioned that words have deep meaning. Symbols may have even more meaning. Especially "official" symbols. That's why the statue is interesting to me. I think I know what it "means" and apparently at some point the "town fathers" paid money to have it placed there. That eagle is from a United States postage stamp. If you scan contemporary symbolism, our culture is currently displaying all the symbols of a recurring death cult.
I chose the stamp because I didn't want to hurt anyone who by now must be incapable of getting it. I think it is important to speak clearly. Our culture appears to be locked in a cycle that will eventually lead to a phoenix like rebirth and a return to the more humble endeavors of our ancient ancestors. During a time like this it is always important to have a point man, a cezar, or a great leader. It is no accident that at a time like this the US would be lead by a man with the extrodinary attributes of the president. I found this picture of the president at a website that is rather critical of the administration. Regardless of their attitudes toward him, the picture clearly shows the mark of history that rests on the president.
Still, they waited
Well, the cult of Mithras requires its sacrifices.
This venue is not the place, mostly because someone else is doing it better than I could. Simply put, "By doing certain things certain results follow". We spoke three times. We never spoke of these things, but I got the impression that you might be aware of them. There is an unbelievable darkness. Something that might well be a preternatural agency. You mentioned in your other comment that you and your second wife are familiar with uncommon sources of information. It may be that such contacts are not uniformly ....
You know that there are practices that can increase compassion and loving kindness. You know that there are unusual sources of information that can communicate advice, offer suggestions and assist in understanding. You know that there are individuals who see no value in increasing compassion or kindness. It may be that there are unusual sources of information that can advise and instruct them, and it may be that there are ways of increasing those personality attributes that they value. There may be an entirely different set of skillful means.
I don't wish to dwell in or on the darkness. They are powerful but not as powerful as they appear. They are collectively everlasting, but individually they always seem to put a bullet in their own heads.
If you can accept that there is no justice, if you can live knowing evil will not be held to account, if you can accept that nothing will be proven to you, and you still want to know why these horrific crimes take place, you might find some things to speculate about on some other blog. It isn't that I won't talk about this stuff, I just don't think anyone really wants to look at it. And thats ok.
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