Con Nosotros

“ ‘Whoever is not against us is for us’ ” (Mark 9:40).

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s the day for our weekly conference on cultural topics at the Maryknoll Mission Center. On this day I skip lunch, the main meal at the convent, to arrive early, at 11 a.m., at the language school for the conference. (I envy the students in morning classes and can’t wait until my classes are moved from the afternoon to the morning.)

Anyway, the topic today was Carnaval, as we continue to study and participate in this festive season in Bolivia. The guest lecturer gave a presentation about the origins of Carnaval as practiced in another Bolivian city, Oruro, located to the southwest of Cochabamba. It predates the arrival of the Spanish and lies with the native peoples known as Urus. The Urus developed their own creation myth to explain the origin of their environment. According to the legend, Wari, a powerful but malign spirit, resented the Urus for worshipping the sun as a god, and venerating Aurora, the daughter of the sun. Unable to conquer Aurora, Wari sent one gigantic monster after another to afflict the Urus and destroy them. These monsters included a viper, a toad, a lizard, countless ants, and finally a condor. But every time, there appeared a woman robed in white, an Inca princess known as ñusta, to defeat the monster and save the people. Variously, she cut off their heads or choked them and converted them into the rocks and sands that constitute the landscape of Oruro. In the end, Wari was banished to the depths of the mountains, never again to threaten the peaceful, sun-worshipping Urus.

Later, after the arrival of the Spanish and the spread of Christianity, the Inca princess ñusta was identified with Mary, the Mother of God, as the Virgin of the Socavón in Oruro.

There arose a dance called the Diablada to recount the legend of Wari and the Urus. The people wear masks to depict Wari and the monsters from which the Urus were saved. The dance, too, was converted to a dance in honor of the Virgin of the Socavón; Wari was identified with the devil; and the afflicting monsters with the seven deadly sins, all so as to educate the people in the triumph of good over evil. Many other dances in honor of La Virgen, as well as the customs of the native peoples, have developed in the two centuries since Bolivia’s independence. And the processions and parades have multiplied and lengthened. In the 21st century, UNESCO has recognized Carnaval in Oruro as “a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity.”

As we learned about the history of Carnaval in Oruro and the evolution of its originating myth, I thought about Jesus’ words to the disciples in today’s Gospel reading from Mark. The disciples were resentful because another person who did not belong to their group was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, too. Jesus refused to forbid the other person from casting out the demons, “for no one who works a miracle in my name can soon after speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:39-40). As the priest who celebrated Mass this afternoon at Maryknoll said, light is light, no matter what the source. Whether one honors ñusta or the Virgin of the Socavón, it is the creating, saving, healing power of a living God that is being venerated. And it is in this respectful spirit that I acknowledge the tradition of Carnaval in Oruro.