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Confraternities
The first confraternity was that of the Virgin
of the Rosary, founded in 1547 by Spanish and Indigenous women.
Ten widows, known as "captains," make up the Confraternity;
upon entering as captains of the of the Virgin of the Rosary,
they must strictly maintain their widowhood and solitude. When
one of these captains dies, a successor is sought from among
the widowed or solitary women.
They process dressed in distinctive
huipil (hand-woven blouses) and perraje (shawls), and on their
heads they wear a tocoyal (large headdress)
and over that a certain type of madrilena. Over the years they
have been invited to participate in various processions; they
typically walk a couple of meters in front of the processional
floats.
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They walk four to a side, bearing
an enormous candle. In Quetzaltenango a confraternity is different
from a brotherhood; a confraternity in our culture signifies something
like an association of indigenous people; while a brotherhood is something
more serious and formal. In the Quetzaltecan confraternities, only
indigenous people are found; brotherhoods include both indigenous
and ladinomembers.
The confraternity carries the principal
statue of the image to the home of its president, who was known in
olden times as the 'head steward' or mayor of the community and in
whose home a variety of ceremonies are performed. These ceremonies
which have mix Christian traditions with indigenous ones like the
burning of copal and incense, offering up a mixture of Catholic and
indigenous prayers. In a special circle or cross inscribed on the
floor they light hundreds of white and yellow candles, and by means
of these colors they mix and sanctify the Catholic images with the
Mayan deities. In the Lenten pilgrimages in Quetzaltenango or on the
feast days of the patron saints of the various indigenous villages,
the indigenous people put on the floor candles by the dozen or wooden
candlesticks of all sizes. The confraternities are a mixture of Catholic
and indigenous customs, and the brotherhoods are totally tied to the
Catholic Church.
The
Indigenous nature of the cofraternities
The leadership of the confraternities changes annually in a special
session in the home of the outdoing president. First the session is
opened and then the transfer of authority from the outgoing president
occurs; then the physical instruments of authority, which consist
of the principal processional image, the processional platforms, ornaments,
jewelry etc. are handed over. Then those present separate into groups
of friends of each of the presidents. The two presidents approach
their respective groups and invite them to lunch. Prior to the day
of the procession, the image is brought to its corresponding church
in order to celebrate a special mass. Then the procession leaves for
the home of the new president, where all those accompanying the image
are welcomed with a breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on the time
of day.
The
following day the action known as the 'seating of the image' takes
place. Around the middle of the day the principal members of the confraternity
meet and proceed to quit the altar of the previous day of the principal
image or images, many of which are from the colonial period. The members
move the images from the altar and then proceed to clean them lovingly,
while a young woman floods the altar with incense. The incense arises
from a bowl or clay brazier with live coals, over which "estoraque"
is placed -- a special incense which contains pulverized chocolate
and other ingredients. The members put the image or images in their
respective cabinets or storage room, where they will stay until the
day before the procession the following year. After this ceremony,
the new president invites those present to a welcome party that consists
of a luncheon typical of Quetzaltenango.
In Quetzaltenango there are roughly 62 confraternities, but some are
a combination of confraternities and brotherhoods. The brotherhoods
do not have any type of rituals or customs like the confraternities
mentioned above; they are directed by statutes approved by ecclesiastical
authorities and the government. Each has a meetinghouse where its
sessions are conducted weekly, and in which the physical instruments
of authority are kept. Their processions begin and end in their respective
churches; their obligations are mandated by the Catholic Church. Catholic
Quetzaltecos form themselves more around the brotherhoods than the
confraternities, which have many fewer members.
Document updated in May 2007
