Talpa de Allende Part 3 of 3: Museum of Our Lady of the Rosary

Statue of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. This sumptuously dressed statue is one of several displayed in the museum dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, located just behind her Basilica. However, this is not the statue that draws millions of pilgrims to Talpa. That one can be seen in my previous posting on the Basilica. I encourage anyone who visits Talpa de Allende to drop into this fascinating museum. 

In this posting, I show only a few the many artifacts displayed here. The exhibits include some of the history of Talpa, particularly as it relates to Nuestra Señora, the Basilica, the pilgrimage, and Catholic liturgical traditions dating back centuries. To find the museum on a Google map, click here.

Items associated with the altar area

Gowns used to decorate the Basilica's statue of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Attendants dress her in different gowns according to the annual seasonal fiestas. According to the Bible, Mary was the wife of a humble carpenter from a small town in a backwater area of the Roman Empire. Over the centuries, Catholic tradition has transformed her into royalty, wearing sumptuous gowns and a crown.

A monstrance is used to display objects of piety. Objects are displayed in a container at the center of the monstrance. These items might include the consecrated host during the Eucharist ceremony or the relics of a saint. The Latin word for monstrance is  "ostensorium". Both words are derived from the verb "to show". 

Bookstand, probably used to hold a Bible. There was no sign to indicate the material used to create this lovely little bookstand, but I doubt it would have been openly displayed if it were made of gold, or even gold plated.

Beautifully crafted flower vase displaying the image of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Catholic altars often contain floral displays. The horse heads framing the mouth and the designs on the body of the vase show great artistry.

Statues

Our Lady of the Rosary, this time with with cherubs holding a banner. Statues, paintings and other images were important in the era before widespread literacy. This was true of pre-hispanic religious images as well as those of European Christianity. Over the millennia, pre-hispanic civilizations often conquered one another. The losers were often required to build temples devoted to the statues or other images of the winners' favorite gods. Thus the pre-hispanic pantheon grew ever-larger over time.  

Consequently, it was not a tremendous leap for the native people to accept the religious beliefs, images, and symbols brought by their Spanish conquerors. What was different was the requirement that the old gods and their associated rituals be totally abandoned in favor of the new Christian ones. The destruction by the Spanish of the images and temples of pre-hispanic deities sometimes led to large scale revolts and the martyrdom of the evangelizing friars.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron of Mexico and its poor and indigenous people. The spikes extending out from her body represent the rays of her halo. One of the reasons why the Virgin of Guadalupe became so powerful a figure for the recently conquered people of Mexico is that much of her image carries both Catholic and pre-hispanic religious meanings. 

In fact, the Virgin of Guadalupe was originally encountered in the ruins of a temple devoted to Aztec earth goddess Tonantzin. This resulted in a century-long controversy among colonial evangelists as to the true nature of the apparition. Some felt that the reverence shown by the native people was simply a covert way to continue honoring the old gods. 

An early 20th century statue of San Juan Nepomuceno, carved from cedar. Also called St. John of Nepomuk, he is the patron saint of Bohemia (the Czech Republic). Born in 1345, he was martyred in 1393 by King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia for reasons that are a matter of historical dispute. Some accounts hold that it was a political killing related to a schism that was convulsing the Church at the time. John of Nepomuk supported one side but the King backed the other.

Other accounts say John was the confessor to the Queen, whom the King suspected of having an affair. When John refused to violate the sanctity of her confession to reveal the name of the lover, the King was infuriated. According to both accounts, San Juan Nepomuceno was martyred by drowning after the King ordered him thrown from a bridge over the Vitava River. Some historians contend that the political reason may have been only a cover for retaliation by the king when the lover's name was withheld. Whatever the truth, it's a great story.

The statues above are of two of the three Magi said to have visited Jesus shortly after his birth. The term Magi means "wise men" and, assuming the truth of the story, they were probably Zoroastrian priests from Persia. Such priests were famed as experts in astronomy and astrology. It would not be out of character for them to follow an unusual star.

The tradition of gift-giving at Christmas originated in pagan winter solstice customs from Northern Europe. After Christianity was established, the rationale for gift-giving was re-directed to the presents brought by the Magi. These included gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold has obvious value, but the other two are less well known in the modern world. Frankincense was a gum resin used for perfume, incense, and religious rites. Myrrh was a tree sap that had many important medicinal properties. All three were widely traded throughout the ancient world. 

Indigenous marriage ritual? I puzzled over this little vignette, which was not accompanied by an explanatory sign. Finally, I decided it must relate to marriage rituals. The man and woman hold hands and exchange tender looks. With their other hands, they each hold one end of a cloth sash. This probably represents the marriage bond. Between them, a man leans heavily against the sash, apparently trying to break their grip on it. This suggests a phrase in the Christian marriage ceremony: "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder."

Religious Vestments

This surplice and cassock are among a variety of vestments displayed. The undergarment known as a cassock is the long, lacy vestment seen above. The surplice is the white tunic worn over it. The garment to their right, embroidered with a cross, is called a chasuble.

Embroidered chasuble and stole. This outer garment would be worn over a long, gown called an alb. The stole is the long, narrow piece of embroidered cloth draped over the shoulders.

"Thank you" cards to Nuestra Señora del Rosario 

Card left by a pilgrim. One display contained many hand-painted cards, some of which carried messages of thanks describing a miraculous intercession by Nuestra Señora del Rosario. The card above was left by a man named Alberto Verdias in 1955. While traveling over a rough road, he had been thrown from the back of a truck. He believed that the fall would have been fatal under ordinary circumstances 

In the moment of his tumble from the truck, Sr. Verdia had desperately grasped a small image of Nuestra Señora. When he recovered his senses, he was surprised to find the image still clutched in his hand. After he fully recovered, Sr. Verdias created the card above as a gesture of his thanks and brought it on a pilgrimage to the Basilica.

An unsigned card shows a man miraculously surviving an assassination attempt. The panels tell the story of a man walking along a street, followed by another man armed with a pistol. The first man is shot and left lying in the street. Blood streams off his back as his assailant flees the scene. 

In the top left panel, the injured man has miraculously recovered. Kneeling before the image of Nuestra Señora, he holds a lit candle as an offering of thanks. Who are these men and why did one attempt to kill the other? All that is left unstated. The miraculous recovery was the only important matter to the pilgrim who left the card.

This completes Part 3 of my Talpa de Allende series. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below, or email me directly. If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE include your email address so that I may respond.

Hasta luego, Jim