"Indians at the Door:" Power and Placement on New Orleans Spiritual Church Altars1
2007; Western States Folklore Society; Volume: 66; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2325-811X
Autores Tópico(s)Religious Tourism and Spaces
ResumoA native thinker makes the penetrating comment that all sacred things must have their place (Fletcher 2:34). It could even be said that being in their place is what makes them sacred for if they were taken out of their place, even in thought, the entire order of the universe would be destroyed. Sacred objects, therefore, contribute to the maintenance of order in the universe by occupying the spaces allocated to them. Levi-Strauss 1962:10 The first message I heard was as follows: Mother Ann has sent two angels to inform us that a Tribe of Indians has been round there two days, and wanted the Brothers and Sisters to take them in, they were then outside the building looking in the Windows. I shall never forget how I looked around the Windows expecting to see their yellow faces . . . after which the Hall Doors were opened and the Elder invited the Indians to come in . . . whereupon eight or nine of the Sisters became possessed of the Spirits of Squaws and about six of the Brothers became Indians: Then ensued a regular Pow Wow, with whooping yelling, and strange antics, such as would require a Dickens to describe. Andrews 1953:170 (emphasis mine) Jes' in a small business. Like havin' a [gin] house. Yo' know like dese houses are. Yo' kin put a head penny wit de face pointin' tuh de street, de head on dere wit de face pointin' toward de street, an a horseshoe ovah de [door] an' dat'll draw 'em [customers]. Hyatt, 1970:612 In American spiritual practice from Shaker services to Hoodoo and rootwork, the figure of the American occupies a strange and loaded territory. Stereotypical representations of Native Americans become icons of spiritual power, inspiring a wide range of beliefs and behaviors in non-Natives. Otherwise sober, prayerful Christians whoop and yell in a Dickensian Pow-Wow. An head penny tacked above the door-sill becomes a powerful talisman for drawing prosperity. In each of these instances, the image of the Spirit, whether expressed in stereotypic pantomime or figured on an everyday coin, is made to embody sources of holiness and spiritual strength linked to its occupation of a particular sacred space. Metonymically abstracted beyond reference to actual Native American culture, the serves as an expression of an elemental Outside brought into the service of an ordered spiritual Inside. Concepts of space and placement play a crucial role in the establishment of the as an icon of power, and also help to define the particular spheres of influence over which these figures are said to preside. An examination of Indian beliefs and behaviors from a wide range of related traditions (particularly those material traditions involving the veneration and manipulation of statuary and other physical objects) suggests a persistent association of the Spirits with doorways, thresholds, and similar liminal spaces. One consistendy sees the Spirit ritualized as crossing the threshold (as in the Shaker example cited above)2 or established as a guardian figure warding and controlling the threshold itself (as in the case of the Hoodoo Indian-head penny charm). In the following pages, I would like to explore the role of space and placement in the traditions of one particular religious community: the clergy and congregants of New Orleans' Spiritual Churches. Specifically, how does the configuration and orientation of images within the sanctified spaces of the Spiritual Church establish the as a sacred category? What particular qualities are assigned to the Spirits by juxtaposing their sacred spaces with those of other figures in the Church pantheon? What is the relationship of the arrangement of images in the space within the Church to the world which occupies the space outside the Church? Ultimately, what does it mean for Spiritual Church members to keep their Indians at the door? …
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