Sierra Gorda Part 5 of 14: The Ancient Huastec City of Tancama and its Plaza el Mirador

Edificio de las Mariposas de Cobre is the largest and most important structure. The name means "Building of the Copper Butterflies".  This pyramid looms over the Plaza de Mirador ("Lookout Plaza"). It stands at the very southern end, and highest point, of the ancient Huastec city of Tancama, The pyramid was actually much larger in pre-hispanic times, but much of its stonework was removed for building materials after the Spanish arrived. Even so, it is still an impressive structure.

In Part 4 of this series, I took you through some of the history, culture, and artistic creations of the Huastecs. They are a people who have continuously populated the region called the Huasteca from around 1100 BC until today. Parts 5 through 8 will focus on the ruins of Tancama, which was the main Huastec city in the Sierra Gorda. 

Overview

Google map of the route from Jalpan to the Tancama Archeological Zone. For directions from the Lago de Chapala / Guadalajara area to Jalpan, see Part 1 of this series. From Jalpan, take Highway 120 west toward Xilitla about 10km (6.2mi). For a Google interactive map showing how to get from the pueblo of Tancama to the ruins, click here.

Site map of the Tancama ruins. The city was built sometime before 500 AD during the Early Classic period. It stands on the slopes of a mountain that the Huastecs called Tancama, which means "Hill of Fire" or "Place of Flint". The city has a south to north orientation along a ridge that drops down in a series of steps. Each of the descending steps was leveled by the pre-hispanic people into a separate plaza. The Plaza de Mirador is the highest level and can be found at the bottom, or south end, of the map above. Next down the hill is Plaza Santiago and then Plaza de la Promesa. 

Part 5 of my series will focus on the large, north-facing building called the Edificio de las Mariposas de Cobre located at the very bottom of the map. In addition, we'll take a look at the four structures on the west side, called Los Cuatro Huastecos (the Four Huastecos).  Part 6 will cover the ball court in the center of the Plaza, as well as the structures on its north and east sides. Parts 7 and 8 will show Plazas Santiago and Plaza de la Promesa.

Edificio de las Mariposas de Cobre

View of the pyramid, looking east down the front (north) side. The four-stepped pyramid was built facing north, onto the Plaza. There is one broad staircase on the north side that once extended up to the fourth level. However, much of the stonework of the staircase was removed. Above the first level, there is only a grassy slope covered with scattered trees. The interior of the pyramid was constructed with rounded river stones, while the surface of the exterior is covered with cut stones. The wall in the upper right has even more finely cut stones.

Archeologists estimate that the pyramid lost about two-thirds of its volume due the looting of its materials. The current height of the structure is 7.5m (24.6ft), but it may have once been significantly higher. Whether there was a temple on top is unknown. However, if there was, it most likely would have been constructed with perishable materials such as wood with a thatched roof and has therefore long since vanished. 

The central staircase only has five remaining steps. They are bracketed with stone balustrades. Above the fifth step, the people who reconstructed the staircase built a retaining wall to prevent any collapse. Traces of the balustrades extend all the way up to the fourth level. This indicates that the stairs originally extended all the way up. In front of the bottom step are two stelae (standing stones). The meaning of these is unknown. However, in the ruins of other civilizations, I have seen stelae sculpted with markings that commemorated important events such as royal births, deaths, accessions to power or military victories.

These copper butterflies were found in the pyramid and gave the building its name. The earrings are beautifully crafted so that the butterflies appear to be feeding on the nectar of the copper flowers from which they dangle. The butterfly earrings were found in a burial containing several human remains in the upper part of the pyramid. Given the importance of the structure, and the craftsmanship of the earrings, the individuals in the tomb must have been part of the highest level of the social elite.

Butterflies held great symbolic meaning in pre-hispanic times. They appear in wall murals at Teotihuacan and on statues of Toltec warriors, who wear butterfly-shaped breastplates. The Aztecs believed butterflies carried the souls of warriors who were either killed in battle or sacrificed, or of women who died in childbirth. Live butterflies were sometimes used as a form of tribute and skilled craftsmen often created butterfly ornaments or jewelry. 

It is significant that the earrings were made of copper, rather than jade, obsidian or some other natural material. By smelting copper, and making useful objects from it, the Huastecs had entered into the early stage of the Chalcolithic (copper) Age. This period was the transition between the Neolithic (New Stone Age) and the Bronze Age. 

Along the eastern side of the pyramid is the Callejon (alleyway). This was the main entrance into the Plaza de Mirador, an area usually restricted to the elite. The low stone structure on the left side of this entrance corridor is called the Edificio del Callejon. It is unclear whether this structure had some purpose other than to simply create an eastern border to the walkway. 

To the left (east) of this structure, the land drops off fairly steeply, creating a natural barrier along the border of the elite area. During some important occasions, common people may have been allowed into the restricted areas. One such occasion might have been a ball game played on the court located in the center of the Plaza de Mirador. If so, the common people would have entered through the Callejon.

Los Cuatro Huastecos

A large circular huasteco stands to the west and slightly north of the pyramid. This one is called Edificio de los Muertos (Building of the Dead). It gets its name from the large number of human remains buried within it. Whether they died of natural causes or were sacrificed is not clear. This huasteco is one of four that form the west side of the Plaza. In addition to these, I have identified at least six more huastecos scattered among the plazas of Tancama. 

Huastecos are a distinguishing feature of other Huastec cities, as well as Tancama. These include Tamtoc, Tancol, and Tamuin (all in the state of San Luis Potosí). At Tancama, they have from two to four stepped levels, with a base level that is sometimes circular, but also may be semi-circular, square or rectangular. The upper levels are always circular and the topmost levels form broad flat platforms. 

Map of Los Cuatro Huastecos. The huastecos on the west side of the Plaza form an arc. Beginning on the left (south) is Edificio de los Muertos and then Edificio de la Culebre Azul (Blue Snake). Next comes Edificio del Patojo (Duck) and finally Edificio de las Espinas Mantarrayas (Manta Ray Spines). Each of these was named according to what was found when they were excavated. 

When I first saw the huastecos, I suspected that their shape was connected to the god of wind, known as Ehecatl. In most pre-hispanic cities, the important structures are rectangular or square, with each side facing in one of the four sacred directions (north, south, east, west). Edificio de las Mariposas de Cobre conforms to this pattern. 

However, since the wind can come from any direction, temples devoted to the worship of Ehecatl are circular in shape. Over the years, I have found similarly shaped temples at Xochitécatl, a Pre-Classic city, the Classic-era site called Guachimontones, and  the Post-Classic Aztec city of Calixtlahuaca. All of their circular temples were devoted to some version of the wind god.

View of the Edificio de los Muertos (foreground) and Edificio de la Culebre Azul. This shot was taken from the top of the Copper Butterfly pyramid. Los Muertos has four levels with a circular base, while La Culebra Azul has two levels and a semi-circular base. The wind god was worshiped in Mesoamerica for a very long time, dating back at least to the Olmec period (1500 BC - 400 BC). 

However, the name Ehecatl is from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. The Aztecs were one of the last groups who migrated from the far north into central Mexico, arriving during the 13th century AD. They were cultural sponges and soaked up the customs of the various cultures they encountered, much like the Romans adopted many styles, customs, and gods of ancient Greece (the Greek Zeus became the Roman Jupiter).

When the Aztecs invaded and conquered the Huasteca, they adopted the Huastecs' wind god and renamed him Ehecatl. They viewed him as a facet of Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent), another of their adopted gods, and built a number of circular temples to worship this amalgamation of gods. This process of cultural adoption not only enriched their own culture, but probably was also part of their strategy for the pacification of conquered peoples. 

The flat tops of the huastecos once contained structures made of perishable materials. This drawing is a reconstruction of a structure in the ruins of the Huastec city of Flores in the Tampico-Panuco region. Note the resemblance of the stone base to Edificio de los Muertos. Since the styles of architecture were quite similar among Huastec cities, there is every reason to believe that this is how the perishable structures atop Tancama's huastecos once appeared. 

The drawing above shows a strong similarity to the nah (houses) of modern Maya that I saw while visiting Yucatan. It also closely resembles the sculpture of a nah carved onto the facade of the Nun's Quadrangle at the ancient city of Uxmal. The Huastecs had migrated from Guatemala in 1500 BC and their language is a derivative of Proto-Mayan. However, their connection with their cousins in Yucatan and Guatemala was severed by the rise of the Olmecs back in 1200 BC. Even so, the style of their houses and temple-top structures has maintained a close resemblance after 1800 years! (Drawing is from Archeology of the Huasteca: The Ekholm Collection)

Edificio de la Culebra Azul. This huasteco was named after the large number of snakes encountered by the archeologists when they excavated it, no doubt an unnerving experience. There is a staircase on the east side of the circular structure, which probably means that its perishable structure once faced to the east. That is the most important of the sacred directions because it is where the sun rises. 

During their excavations, archeologists discovered evidence that there had been at least two phases of construction. I have not found mention of any human burials within this huasteco. Fortunately, the encounters with the snakes didn't result in any modern human burials either.

Edificio del Patojo. The first two levels of this huasteco are rectangular in shape. It is likely that materials were scavenged from whatever circular level once existed. There is a staircase leading up from the east, similar to the one at La Culebra Azul. The staircase faces directly into the ball court in the middle of the Plaza. This suggests a relationship between the huasteco and the ball game, perhaps involving ceremonies conducted before or after a game was played. 

The Edificio de Patojo gets its name from this piece of pottery. It was found during the excavation and is said to resemble a duck . The word patojo comes from the Spanish pato which means "duck". Oddly, it also means "child" in Honduras and "a limp" in El Salvador. (Photo from Lugares INAH) 

Edificio de las Espinas de Mantarraya. The structure has been mostly looted of materials. It faces south and forms the northwest corner of the Plaza. The remains of a stairway are located halfway down the building's south side, facing into the Plaza. The remains of an individual woman were found buried within the structure. Among her burial goods were several manta ray spines. These were highly valued at the time and probably originated on the Gulf Coast.

Manta ray spines were sometimes used in a ritual practice called "auto-sacrifice" (self- mutilation). Pre-hispanic people thought that life was a gift from the gods. Since blood was vital to life, it was a sacred substance. The shedding of blood, either through sacrificing victims captured in war or through auto-sacrifice, was considered necessary to propitiate the gods. In auto-sacrifice, a person would use a manta ray spine to pierce his own tongue, ear, thigh, arm, or genitals. This produced the blood desired by the gods and pain which sometimes produced an halluncinogenic trance. 

This completes Part 5 of my Sierra Gorda series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I am able to respond in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim

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Sierra Gorda Part 4 of 14: The ancient Huastec people

 

This head of a Huastec boy is part of a full-sized statue. The ears have large holes intended to contain jade spools for personal decoration. The skull was sculpted to show a deliberate deformity. Such deformations were performed by elite parents on the skulls of their infants when the bones were still soft. The purpose was to create an appearance that immediately identified the person as one of the elite class. There are also traces of tattoos on the forehead. 

This posting will focus on the ancient Huastec people who occupied the Sierra Gorda and other areas that comprised the region called the Huasteca. They were an artistic culture and carried on an active trade with people on the coast such as the Totonacs, as well as those of the interior, including the Teotihuacans, Toltecs, and Aztecs. They also had contact with the people of western Mexico known as the Shaft Tomb Culture, who lived in what are now the states of Jalisco, Colima, and Nayarit. This is the first of five parts in my Sierra Gorda series that will focus on the Huastecs and their city of Tancama.

Overview

The Huastec culture occupied parts of the Gulf Coast and Sierra Madre Oriental. The area shown in pink above is called the Huasteca. It incorporates parts of the Mexican states of Vera Cruz, Hidalgo, Querértaro, San Luis Potosi, and Tamaulipas. The Huastec occupation of this area began as early as 1500 BC. Their language is still spoken by

66,000 people, about two-thirds of whom live in San Luis Potosí and one-third in Vera Cruz. The ancient Huastecs were never a single kingdom, much less an empire like the Aztecs. Instead they lived in a large number of independent city-states, like the ancient Greeks. 

The Huastec Adolescent

The "Adolescent of Tamuin" statue is located in the Querétaro Regional Museum. It is a replica of the original, which is in the Museum of History and Anthropology (INAH) in Mexico City. The original was found at a ruined Huastec city near the pueblo of Tamuin in the state of San Luis Potosí. However, the sign on the base of the statue above indicates that a similar statue was found in Jalpan, in the Sierra Gorda, close to an ancient Huastec city named Tancama. 

The Adolescent of Tamuin is considered the finest piece of Huastec art in existence. The right hand of the nude statue has its fingers curled in a way that could have once held a flagpole. The oval eyes and the open mouth are features that suggest a strong Teotihuacan influence, possibly brought about by trade contacts. It is even possible that Huastec artists visited Teotihuacan itself during the period when the two civilizations were contemporaries.

Rear view of the Adolescent statue. The life-size adolescent figure appears small, but in the pre-hispanic era people in general were smaller than those of today. Note the odd protrusion in the middle of the statue's back. I was surprised at what I found when I examined the figure more closely.

Most of the cultures of pre-hispanic central Mexico arrived as part of a series of great migrations from the far north that occurred periodically through the centuries. Unlike these others, the Huastecs migrated from what is now Guatemala, near the border with the modern Mexican state of Chiapas. 

Scientists have determined this through linguistic studies. The Huastec language is an offshoot of Proto-Mayan, from which the many Mayan dialects evolved. It is believed that the Huastecs developed their version of Proto-Mayan around 2000 BC. Five hundred years later, around 1500 BC, they began their great migration toward the Huasteca. 

On the statue's back are the upside down head of a child and the outlines of its body. The child appears to be strapped on like a papoose. Some scientists believe that the presence of this papoose suggests a link to the god Quetzalcoatl. The outline of the child's body on the replica is too faint to be seen clearly. It is much sharper on the original statue in the Mexico City museum. This may be because the mold used to make the replica did not fully pick up some of the details. 

Over a period of at least 200 years, the Huastecs slowly migrated northward. First, they moved northeast along the Rio Usumacinta, which today forms the border between Mexico and Guatemala. Eventually they turned northwest, following the Gulf Coast. About 1200 BC, the migrants arrived in the area of central Veracruz. For a while, they settled there among a Mixe-Zoque-speaking population who had arrived about 200 years previously. These were the people who eventually developed into the Olmec civilization. 

The neck, left arm, and shoulder are covered with simulated tattoos. At the base of the neck, you can see four small concentric circles and two more on the upper left of the back. Each circle is bisected by two vertical and two horizontal lines. The Teotihuacan and Aztec civilizations both use similar circles in religious contexts. In the Nahuatl language, they are called chalchihuites ("precious stones" or "emeralds"). They represent blood or water, both essential to life. The four lines in each circle may represent the four sacred directions of the world (north, south, east, west), with the circle's center representing the world's center.

As the Olmec civilization rose to power the Huastecs were pushed northward. They moved along the coast and into mountainous areas like the Sierra Gorda, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas. By about 1100 BC, they had settled the region we now call the Huasteca.  However, the rise of the Olmecs in central and southern Veracruz effectively cut off the Huastecs from their Maya-speaking cousins in Yucatan and Guatemala. This isolated them from the later developments of the Maya civilizations in those areas and made the Huastecs a distinct cultural group. 

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Three more large circles appear on the right hip and leg. These are also concentric and have the same vertical and horizontal lines. However, unlike the smaller circles, the larger ones each contain a complex design in their centers. This design appears to be the same in each of them. According to the History and Anthropology Museum of Mexico City, some of the designs on the statue refer to maiz (corn). This is another association with Quetzalcoatl, the god who pre-hispanic people believed gave the gift of maiz to mankind. Some scientists suggest that the statue may be a representation of Quetzalcoatl himself.

Like many other cultures in Mesoamerica, the Huastecs were strongly influenced by the Olmecs, who have become known as the "Mother of Cultures". The Olmecs were the first to build stepped pyramids and the first to play the Mesoamerican ball game. They also pioneered large scale production of maiz, created a 365-day calendar, invented the concept of zero, and may have developed Mesoamerica's first written language (this is disputed). The cities the Huastecs later built show that they adopted many of these Olmec innovations.

Ancient artifacts of the Huastec culture

Necklace with an animal head pendant. The necklace was made with bone and shell. The beautiful little rabbit head appears to have been carved from bone. Jewelry like this was created both for personal use and for trade. Since there were no draft animals in pre-hispanic Mesoamerica, everything had to be carried by human porters. Therefore, items for trade needed to be light and compact. Trade networks throughout the Americas existed from a very early time and were responsible for the spread of goods and cultural ideas. 

While the Huastecs adopted many Olmec innovations, no evidence of a written language has yet been discovered in the Huasteca. The elaborate system of hieroglyphics that the Maya of Guatemala and Yucatan developed did not come about until many centuries after the Olmecs had cut the Huastecs off from those areas.  Consequently, we know very little about their history or system of government during the twelve hundred years between the end of their migration in 1100 BC and the beginning of the Classic Era around 100 AD. Much about the Huastec civilization remains a mystery. 

Jewelry was made from a variety of seashells. The shells would have come primarily from the Gulf Coast, but some could have arrived through trade routes from the Caribbean or even the Pacific Coast. The two shells on top are from some kind of clam, while the four in the middle row appear to be from mollusks, given their spiral openings. The three on the bottom left are probably cowrie shells. I can't identify the six small pieces on the bottom right, Worldwide, people have been making jewelry from shells for as much as 135,000 years. 

Over the centuries, waves of Nahuatl-speaking migrants settled to the west of the Huasteca.  Further north, fierce nomads inhabited the great deserts. To the south were the Olmecs and later the Totonacs. Being surrounded by these other groups increased the isolation of the Huastecs from much of the rest of Mesoamerica. However, the ruggedness of the Huasteca also spared them for a long time from the incursions of outsiders through invasions or migrations. However, with the rise of the Aztec Empire, all this changed.

Miniature masks and ceremonial pipe, all from Teotihuacan. The finely detailed little masks were probably made from molds. The use of molds to mass produce trade items was a Teotihuacan innovation. The larger mask in the upper right was sculpted from stone and carries the features typical of Teotihuacan facial sculptures. Pipes for smoking tobacco were used for ceremonial purposes as well as for everyday consumption.

The Aztec pattern of conquest started with trade. Their traveling merchant-traders were called Pochteca and they were agents of the state as well as businessmen. During their trading forays, they spied out the riches of the land and the people in an area. If the inhabitants refused to trade, suspecting treachery, the Aztecs took this as a provocation justifying a military response. However, if trade was allowed, eventually the Aztecs proposed that the area's inhabitants become part of the Empire. If these proposals were rejected, military force was always available to change peoples' minds.

A large and heavily weathered stone head, also of Teotihuacan origin. The great trading city of Teotihucan (100 AD - 650 AD) was founded in the Valley of Mexico. It dominated Mesoamerica during the Classic era both economically and culturally. After it fell, nothing comparable existed in Mexico until the Aztec Empire, nine hundred years later. During the period between the rise of Teotihuacan and the rise of the Aztec Empire, the isolation and ruggedness of the Huasteca seems to have spared its people from conquest. 

However, in the mid-1400s, the Huastec city-states finally lost their independence when the Aztecs invaded and conquered them. Following the usual Aztec practice, they left the Huastec culture and governing elites in place for the most part, but demanded regular tribute and recognition of the supremacy of the Aztec emperor. Less than a century later, the Aztecs themselves fell to the Spanish conquistadors and, not long after that, the Huasteca became part of Nueva España. See Part 2 of this series for an account of the arrival of the Spanish and so-called Spiritual Conquest by the Franciscans and other evangelical Orders.

Fragment of a Teotihuacan-style ceremonial "yoke" worn by ball players. Ornamental stone yokes like this were worn on the front of the waist of players during the game's ceremonies. The actual yokes used in play were made of leather and wood and protected a player's midsection against the impact of the heavy rubber ball. The stone version would have been too heavy to use during these intense ball games. According to the display's sign, the design is Teotihuacan. This may be another example of an import or it might have been a copy by a local artisan. 

Clay statue of a seated man with a bowl. This sculpture shows a strong resemblance to those produced by the people of the Shaft Tomb Culture in western Mexico. The figure's long straight nose, high forehead, and seated position holding a bowl are all typical features of the lifelike sculptures they produced. Once again, it is difficult to determine whether this was an import or an imitation by a local sculptor.

By the late Post-Classic period, the Huastecs were producing copper alloys to make jewelry and tools. Metallurgy probably arrived in the Huasteca from trade with the Shaft Tomb people and the Tarascan Empire of Michoacan. Both of them were actively engaged in metallurgy, a practice that they had acquired through trade with the civilizations on the west coast of South America.

A clay statue of an inquisitive deer peers up at visitors. The little statue is missing its left foreleg and part of one antler. I found it a charming example of the work of a long-ago Huastec artisan. The Sierra Gorda abounds with wildlife, including white-tailed deer. The sculptor clearly knew his subject and caught the stance and expression of the deer perfectly. The opening on the deer's back might have been used for burning incense.

This completes Part 4 of my Sierra Gorda series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim

Sierra Gorda Part 3 of 14: The interior of the church at Misón Jalpan

The interior style of Misión Jalpan de Santiago is different than its facade. The church facade is New Mexican Baroque, sometimes called mestizo Baroque. In contrast, the interior is Neo-Classic, a style that came into favor in the late 18th century and continued into the 20th. The church is part of a Franciscan mission that was founded in 1744. The Franciscan friar Junipero Serra arrived in Jalpan in 1750 and directed the construction of this church, a project that lasted from 1751 to 1758.

In the last posting, I showed you the exterior of the church, including many details of the complex facade. This time, we'll take a peek inside at the architecture and decor, including some side chapels, statues, and the cloister area. If you'd like to check out a Google map showing how to reach the Magic Pueblo of Jalpan de Serra, see Part 1 of this series. If you'd like to see where the four other Franciscan mission churches are located in the Sierra Gorda, see Part 2.

The Nave and Main Altar

View from the church entrance into the nave toward the main altar. The single nave, which is the main room of the church, was redone in the Neo-Classic style. This happened sometime after 1770, when the Franciscan Order was required to turn the mission facilities over to the secular clergy. Simply put, the difference between Baroque and Neo-Classic is the difference between an emotional approach to art and architecture and one that is more intellectual. 

As a result of this change in styles during the late 18th and 19th centuries, many churches that were originally constructed as Baroque were gutted on the inside and remodeled with Neo-Classic features. However, as with this church, the exteriors usually retained their original Baroque appearance, unless the remodeling was the result of significant damage from disasters such as fires or earthquakes.

The apse containing the main altar clearly shows the Neo-Classic style. It is framed on the outside by two pilasters with two classical pillars on the inside. All four have Ionic capitals. These are features that often appear in Neo-Classic architecture. The inner columns border a painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe and a crucifix. On either side of these, between the pilasters and columns, are statues of San Joaquin (left) and Santa Ana (right), the parents of Mary, mother of Jesus. Under the crucifix is the reliquary and at the very top of the retablo, under the small arch, is a statue of God in front of a sunburst.  

The placement of the Virgen de Guadalupe  in the center of the retablo is another reminder, along with her statue on the facade, of her pervasive influence in Mexico. Her image appeared on a banner used by the insurgent forces fighting against the Spanish during the Independence War (1810-21). It was carried again by various factions during the Revolution (1910-17). She is considered the patrona (patroness) of the whole Mexican Nation, particularly its poor and indigenous people. I have visited hundreds of churches in Mexico and have nearly always found a painting or statue of her, often draped with the national flag.

The reliquary is guarded by two angels. A reliquary is a container for sacred relics, such as the ashes or bones of a saint or pieces of clothing that may have come into contact with a holy person. Reliquaries are usually found on or near an altar. The term comes from the 12th century word "relik". Reliquaries have been used since the earliest centuries of the Christian era. In the 5th century, a reliquary was usually stored within a stone container for its protection. Over the centuries, many reliquaries were created as objects of religious art and were proudly displayed, as this one is. 

Some relics are no doubt genuine, at least in that they come from the person to which they are attributed. However, trafficking in spurious relics is a very ancient custom. Thousands of pilgrims travel long distances in hopes that a visit to a relic will result in holy intervention in their problems. During the Middle Ages, the funds that church officials collected during these visits could be so substantial that famous relics were sometimes stolen from one church for use by another. This occurred often enough that there was actually a term for it: furta sacra ("holy theft").

The Transept

The church dome stands over the place where the transept crosses the nave. The ceiling inside a dome is richly decorated. What appears to be the design of a flower in the center is actually a large chandelier, viewed from directly below. The octagonal dome is supported by four arches. Where they meet the dome are four triangular spaces which contain scenes from the legend about the Virgen de Guadalupe's first appearance in 1531.

Chapel at the end of one of the transept's two arms. The transept's arms form two rooms at right angles to the nave, with altars at their ends and pews for seating. A statue of Jesus stands in the niche behind the altar above. Another statue of Jesus hanging from a cross stands on the right. There are actually two altars in this room, which is somewhat unusual. The second is on the wall to the right of the crucifix. 

The second altar in the transept. The figure of Jesus on the cross is quite detailed anatomically and drips with painted blood. I haven't been able to identify the figure in the niche behind this altar, but it doesn't appear to be Jesus. Below the statue is a painting of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Soriano (Our Lady of Sorrows of Soriano). She is the patrona of the city of Querétaro.

Chaple of the Holy Child of Mezclita

A large doorway on the side of the nave opens into another chapel. This one is devoted to the Santo Niño de Mezclita (Holy Child of Mezclita).  This small statue of Jesus as a baby is associated with various miracles and draws pilgrims from around the Sierra Gorda and elsewhere. Throughout the year, people visit the chapel and leave notes asking for help with various problems or thanking the Santo Niño for good outcomes from previous requests. For the story of how the statue passed through various hands before ending up at the Jalpan mission, see Part 2 of this series.

Santo Niño de Mezclita was sculpted by Andrés Zavala in the early 20th century. The statue is displayed in various sumptuous gowns, which are changed according to the occasion. The annual fiesta devoted to the Santo Niño is attended by thousands of people. Pilgrimages begin on December 28 from pueblos all over the Sierra Gorda. The pilgrims arrive in Jalpan on January 5 for the fiesta, which officially begins on the 6th. 

The night of the 5th, thousands of people sleep in the open on the atrium in front of the church, despite the rain and cold typical of that time of year. In the morning, they are roused by bells and cohetes (explosive rockets). During the day, the statue is paraded through town in a procession that finally ends back at the church, where the Santo Niño is placed back in its niche.

Other Statues

Statue of Jesus, with various items tucked in his belt. He wears a crown of thorns and his face has a ghastly pallor, as if he has been dead and has just risen. The items in his belt appear to include rolled up notes, probably asking for help. When visiting Mexico's Catholic churches, I am often struck by the apparent secondary position that Jesus occupies. He is often tucked in a side chapel or, in this case, off in a corner, Usually, the central figure is one of the versions of the Virgin Mary or one of the many saints. 

As a person raised in the Protestant faith (although non-practicing today), this has always puzzled me. In the Presbyterian church I attended with my parents, Jesus was always the central figure, and usually the only one. Catholicism, by contrast, is hugely populated with holy figures and Jesus sometimes seems almost an afterthought.

Statue of San Junipero Serra, the Franciscan friar who built this church. He also oversaw the construction of the four other mission churches in the Sierra Gorda, although the actual work was done by Christianized indigenous Pame, directed by resident friars. The mission itself was founded by Pedro Perez de Mezquia on April 21, 1744. In the years between 1744 and 1750, five other friars presided over the mission, changing almost yearly. 

It was a turbulent period with much conflict between the native people and Spanish settlers. Junipero Serra arrived in 1750 and immediately began work to build this church. He also settled many of the issues between the Pame people and the Spaniards and recovered much of the land the colonists had stolen from the natives. Junipero Serra remained here until 1758, the longest serving friar in the Jalpan mission's history. 

The Cloister

The cornice over the entrance to the cloister has more Baroque decorations. The Virgin is guarded by two broad-winged angels and vines with red flowers curl off in both directions. A cloister in a mission like this had several functions. It was the residence of the friars, as well as the place where their meals were prepared and eaten. In terms of work, it provided space for offices and a chapter house where the friars could meet to discuss mission business. The cloister also included storage space for the mission's provisions. Its covered walkways provided an area for exercise and recreation, especially in bad weather. 

The cloister's courtyard contains a fountain and gardens. Even within a bustling town like Jalpan, this area still has an aura of cool tranquility. This would have been a place where friars could engage in study, contemplation, and prayer. However, much of the work of the friars involved evangelization and religious education. This would have taken place during visits to sometimes distant native villages, involving circuitous journeys through the surrounding valleys and mountains of the Sierra Gorda.

Wooden benches line the walls of the arcade that surrounds the courtyard. In colonial times, benches like these would have been made by native carpenters. Because of the isolation of the missions, self-sufficiency would have been the rule. Only those few items that could not be made at the mission itself, or in local villages, would have been brought in over the long arduous trails from Querétaro.  

This completes Part 3 of my series on the Sierra Gorda. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim

 

Sierra Gorda Part 2 of 14: The baroque exterior of Misión Jalpan's church

 

 Jalpan's Franciscan mission church, viewed over its atrium wall. This was the first of five churches constructed between 1750-60, under the direction of Junipero Serra. He was a Franciscan friar who arrived in Jalpan in 1750. The five churches are each attached to a former Franciscan mission in various valleys scattered throughout the Sierra Gorda. The overall design of each of the churches is quite similar. This indicates that they may have all been constructed by the same team of builders, indigenous Pame under the supervision of Franciscan friars.

For example, each has a single bell tower on the left side and each has an elaborate facade. The facades all have niches resembling retablos found behind church altars. All the facades were done in the New Spanish Baroque style, sometimes called the mestizo Baroque. Finally, all the churches overlook large atriums with atrial crosses in their centers. However, each also has many unique features, particularly in the decorations found on the facades and in the interiors. 

In this posting, we'll take a look at the exterior of Jalpan's church. In my next posting, we'll walk through the interior. For a map showing how to get to Jalpan from the Lake Chapala/Guadalajara area, please go to Part 1 of this series.

Overview

Map of the Sierra Gorda area showing the locations of the five missions. Jalpan is located just below and to the left of center.  Landa, the pueblo with the 2nd mission, is about 20 km (12.4 mi) east of Jalpan on Hwy 120. About 10.7 km (7 mi) further along on Hwy 120, you reach the pueblo of La Lagunita. Turn rigth there on the road to Tilaco, where the the 3rd mission is located. 

After visiting Tilaco, head back to La Laguinta and turn right on Hwy 120. Travel about 5 km (3 mi) to a Pemex gas station where you make a left on Hwy190. The pueblo of Tancoyol, site of the 4th mission, is 23.6 km (14.6 mi) from the intersection with the Pemex. To reach the Misión San Miguel Concá, take Hwy 69 from Jalpan northwest about 40 km (25 mi). Turn left at the highway sign for Concá. Take your time on these short journeys because the countryside along the way is gorgeous.

Santuario del Santo Niño de la Mezclita (exterior)

The formal name of the church is Sanctuario del Santo Niño de Mezclita.  In the photo above, you see the complexity of the facade. The church was built to serve the Misión Santiago Jalpan. In addition to the church, the mission complex includes an atrium, a cloister, and a chapel annex attached to the church's right side. This facade is designed to imitate a retablo, which is a large structure often found behind an altar. Like a retablo, the facade has niches for statues. There are two on either side of the facade and each of these is framed by a pair of large pilasters (decorative columns). Two smaller statues stand in niches beside the door. 

The facade was created using stucco and stone work. The pilasters are of an ocher color, while the rest is yellow. As is typical with the Baroque style, virtually every square inch is decorated, mostly by carvings of plants and animals native to the Sierra Gorda region. At the top of the facade is a large niche containing a clock. However, this niche originally contained a statue of the Virgin. According to one story, the statue was confiscated by a passing general and later replaced by the clock. 

The dome covers the area inside the church directly in front of the altar. It has an octagonal shape with a small cupola on top. Mexican colonial churches were generally constructed as a cruciform (in the shape of a cross). The long, rectangular central room, called the nave, has an entrance at one end and the main altar at the other. It is crossed by an area called the transept, which has an altar at each end. The dome covers the area inside the church where the transept and nave intersect. It has windows on each of the octagonal sides to provide light to illuminate the designs and paintings on the inside of the dome.

Sanctuario del Santo Niño de Mezclita gets its name from a small statue of the Santo Niño (Holy Child) that was created at the beginnng of the 20th century. It passed through several hands and eventually became the property of Antonio Velasquez who lived in the pueblo of Mezclita, to the south of Jalpan de Serra. He donated the statue to the Parroquia de Santiago de Jalpan de Serra. After the church had been secularize (taken away from the Franciscans) in 1770, it became the parroquia (parish church) of Jalpan.  In the years following the donation of the statue, miracles were attributed to the Santo Niño. 

The campanario, or bell tower, has two levels and several bells. The lower level has openings for eight bells, but some of them have been filled in. The upper has the capacity for six bells, but none can be seen in this photo. Today, many churches use recordings of bells that are broadcast with loudspeakers. However, the bell shown above is still rung by pullng on the hand ropes draped down the side of the church. The openings for the bells are framed by Solomonic columns, another feature of the Baroque style.

The use of bells to call people to worship was established early in the Christian era. At first, handheld bells were employed but, around 400 AD, Bishop Paulinus of Campania introduced the idea of hanging  bells in churches. The Spanish word for bell is campana and the bell towers in Mexican churches are called campanarios. 

By 750 AD, church bells were common and priests were ordered to ring them at particular times. A set of rules for the use of bells was established by 1000 AD. Over the centuries church bells were used to sound the time of day, as well as to announce religious events, deaths, attacks by enemies, fires and other impending disasters. 

Two visitors walk hand-in-hand through the main entrance. On either side of the door are small statues standing in niches with pointed moorish arches. On the left is San Pedro (St. Peter) and to the right is San Pablo (St. Paul). San Pedro was one of the Twelve Apostles and became the first Bishop of Rome. San Pablo came a bit later. He was one of the most important Apostles, although he was not one of the original twelve. San Pablo is purported to be the author of 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament. 

The arch above the door is scalloped like a shell. This is a reference to a legend about Santiago (St. James), another of the original Twelve Apostles and the saint to whom the mission is dedicated. One version of the legend is that, after Santiago was martyred in Jerusalem in 44 AD, his body was returned to Spain where he had been evangelizing. The ship was caught in a storm off the Spanish coast and Santiago's body was lost overboard. When it washed up on the shore, the body was miraculously intact but covered with the scallop shells. Pilgrims still wear scallop shells when visiting his shrine in Compostela, Spain.

The niche on the lower left of the facade contains a statue of Santo Domingo. I found this a bit odd, since St. Dominic was the founder of the Dominican Order, one of the rivals of the Franciscans. Notice the incredibly complex floral carvings that surround the statue and its pilasters. In addition to copying native flora, local fauna was sometimes used as well. These included jaguars and rabbits, which had been sacred to the indigenous people far back into pre-hispanic times. This was a deliberate strategy of Junipero Serra, who wanted to appeal to the natives by using their symbols in Christian contexts.

Santo Domingo was born in 1170 in Caleruega, Spain. His parents were well-to-do and his maternal uncle was an archbishop. He was named after St. Dominic of Silos and was well-educated in religious schools, becoming a priest at age 24. In 1208, he had a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she gave him a rosary. As a result, he became responsible for the spread of the use of the rosary. Dominic founded the Dominican Order in 1216 as a way of addressing the spiritual needs of the 13th century's growing cities. He died at the age of 51 and was canonized in 1267. 

A statue of San Francisco stands in a niche on the lower right side. Like the niches for San Pedro and San Pablo, those containing Santo Domingo and San Francisco also were designed with moorish pointed arches. The Muslim Moors, who invaded Spain in 711 AD and were not driven out until 1492, had a profound influence on Spanish Christian culture, particularly its architecture. After Christopher Columbus discovered the New World the same year as the final defeat of the Spanish Moors, their cultural influences were brought to Nueva España.

The Baroque artistic style, which flourished in the 17th and early 18th centuries, was very different from what preceded and followed it. Rather than appealing to the intellect, Baroque appealed to the emotions. It also was used with great theatricality to convey messages of power. Perhaps this is why I often feel attracted but also overwhelmed when confronted with something like these Franciscan facades. Baroque is very warm and florid, as opposed the the Neo-Classic style, which I find somewhat cold and severe.

On the upper left of the facade is a statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Above her head is a smaller version of the scalloped arch over the church door. The Virgen de Guadalupe was the first apparition of the Virgin in the New World. The person who interacted with her was a Christianized Aztec named Juan Diego. He encountered her in the ruins of a temple of the earth goddess Tonantzin. This apparition of the Virgin was dark skinned like a native and spoke to Juan Diego in Nahuatl, the Aztec language. 

All this made the encounter very controversial. The Franciscans asserted that it was a scam to allow the natives to continue to worship pagan gods. However, the Virgen de Guadalupe became enormously popular and her veneration spread like wildfire. The Franciscans remained bitterly opposed to recognizing her as legitimate, but the Dominicans and Augustinians supported her, because of the great increase in converts. The controversy raged for a hundred years before she was fully accepted by the Church. The issue had obviously been settled by the time Junipero Serra built this church.

Nuestra Señora del Pilar stands in a niche on the facade's upper right side. There are a great many stories about miraculous appearances by the Virgin Mary. Nuestra Señora del Pilar is unique because she was the first of these apparitions that occurred over the next couple of millennia. In addition, it supposedly happened in Spain while Mary was still alive and thousands of miles away in Jerusalem. The statue above shows the Virgin wearing a crown while standing on a pillar and holding the infant Jesus. This is an excellent example of how Baroque architecture was used for story-telling. 

This incident is said to have occurred at Zaragoza, Spain, in 40 AD. Santiago was evangelizing there at the time, but was having little success and was very discouraged. While he was praying on the bank of the Ebro river, Mary suddenly appeared, standing on a pillar and accompanied by thousands of angels. She came to console and encourage him and, thus inspired, Santiago continued his work until he was later called back to Jerusalem and martyred. 

Detail of one of the pilasters on the facade. Baroque designs typically are heavily populated not only with plants and animals, but also with human faces and the figures of cherubs. On the pilaster, the oval space in the center contains a semi-nude figure holding a staff and draped with a cloth. Above this figure is the head and upper torso of another human figure. Plants appear to grow out of his shoulders and head. Leafy plants seem to writhe all about, covering every inch of space. With Baroque designs, the more closely you look, the more intricate the design become. 

Pilasters are decorative architectural features that imitate load-bearing columns, although they sometimes bear part of the load. They date back to Classical Greek and Roman architecture, but fell out of fashion for about a thousand years until the style was revived during the Renaissance. Highly decorated pilasters are a feature of Baroque architecture.

This completes Part 2 of my Sierra Gorda series. In Part 3, we will view the interior of Sanctuario del Santo Niño de Mezclita.  I hope you have enjoyed this posting. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim