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The Story of La Purisima and La Griteria: A Unique Nicaraguan Sacred Tradition Adapted to Louisiana By Denese Neu
The Tradition in Nicaragua Southeast Louisiana is known for its colorful and boisterous celebrations. It is a place where many different native and immigrant populations have converged and blended to make a unique culture. It is a place that continues to welcome new populations; a place where their colorful celebrations are encouraged and many view them as a welcome addition to the area's creolization. Among the diverse and creolized population of Southeast Louisiana is a group of Nicaraguan immigrants. Adopting the lifestyle and culture of New Orleans, they also hang onto the traditions of their home country. Many Nicaraguan immigrants living in the area celebrate La Purisima and La Griteria - intertwined celebrations honoring the Blessed Mother Mary - each December. Like Mardi Gras, it is also rooted in Catholicism with the hosts rewarding the celebrants with gifts. Catholic celebrations are observed throughout the world, but the celebration is unique to the Nicaraguan people. The custom is to build private altars at individual homes, which will be visited by family, friends, and neighbors. The hosts offer gifts to the visitors who sing before them. In Southeast Louisiana, the tradition has been adapted to bring the Nicaraguan community together each year, to celebrate and to share other Nicaraguan cultural traditions that might otherwise be lost to assimilation. To fully appreciate the celebration among Nicaraguans living in Southeast Louisiana, one must first know a bit about how the image of Mary became so important to the people of Nicaragua and how the celebration is observed in their native land. The Tradition in Nicaragua Today, the population of Nicaragua is predominantly Catholic and devotion to the Virgin Mary is central to the Nicaraguan heritage. The Spanish colonizers brought Catholicism and traditional religious celebrations to Central America. With fervor and piety, the native populations embraced Mary as their Patron Saint and church ceremonies were adopted and modified to mix with the native culture. There does not appear to be any one definitive history of how the veneration of Mary became a cultural custom in Nicaragua. The story is pieced together from a variety of explanations but tells us that the veneration of Mary began in 1562. Her image came to the village of El Viejo, carried by Pedro Alonso Sanchez de Zepeda y Ahumada, the brother of Saint Teresa of Avila, while traveling to Peru. Forced to remain while a tropical storm passed, he placed the statue of Mary in the local basilica. News of the image traveled through the region and many natives came see, pray, and worship the image. When Don Pedro departed, people traveled to the port to say goodbye to the beautiful image. A new storm forced his return, and the reappearance of the image of Mary was celebrated. Believing it was divine intervention that caused the return, the owner gifted the image to El Viejo. La Purisima means "the purest one" and celebrates the conception of the Blessed Mother. There are different versions of its origins. One is a story of a miraculous journey of an image traveling upriver and across a lake to women who pulled her from the water on December 7. Another version is associated with the city of León at the beginnings of the 18th century. The story is that monks of the San Francisco convent used candy and fruit to attract children and believers to come and sing to the image of the Virgin. They were quickly overwhelmed and expanded the celebrating, singing, and praying to people's houses where they were encouraged to set up private altars. The tradition spread to other towns and soon to the rest of Nicaragua. La Gritería (the Shouting) began in 1857. Again, there are different versions of the beginnings. One version is that Monsignor Giordano Carranza recommended believers to shout the phrase "the purest conception of Maria!" from house to house throughout León. Another version is that on December 7, 1857, Monsignor Giordano Carranza asked La Purisima celebrants, "Quién causa tanta alegría?" (What causes this happiness?). The crowd of devotees simultaneously responded, "La Concepcion de Maria!" (The conception of Mary). As the tradition spread, composers wrote the songs of praise still popular today. Regardless of its origins, the celebration grew into a national festival where the cities and towns of Nicaragua complete to create the best and most altars. In one section of the country, the people travel by boat to visit altars built upon the lake's islands. Unlike Mardi Gras which has largely lost its original Catholic meanings to the masses, these celebrations remain the veneration of the Virgin Mary. Purisima is a novena, or nine days of prayer and devotion. La Griteria is the boisterous and celebratory festival held on December 7th, the final day of La Purisima. During the novena, altars are built, visits to sing and pray occur, and singers receive gifts from the alters hosts. La Purisima culminates with La Griteria when fireworks, firecrackers, and shouting erupt throughout the country. The common shout is: "Quién causa tanta alegría?" (Who causes this happiness?). People answer with the massive response, "La Concepción de María". As the fireworks explode around them, Nicaraguans go to the streets to "shout" to the virgin. They walk the streets to visit and sing to each altar. House owners give a small gift such as fruit, candy, toys, noisemakers, or drink, and then the group travels to the next altar. This will go on until the gifts run out or there are no more singers. As explained by La Purisima organizers in Southeast Louisiana, these gifts have begun to include food staples, such as rice, beans, and oil, to help those who are impoverished. Juan Gutierrez, one of the organizers, describes the scene in Nicaragua.
Next - Celebrating A Unique Nicaraguan Sacred Tradition In Southeast Louisiana
Denese Neu has a doctorate in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans. She runs a consulting practice specializing in heritage, health, and sustainability issues; conducts independent research; and is an adjunct professor now residing in Chicago. Documenting La Purisima and the Nicaraguan population brought her home and expanded her appreciation of the people who make Southeast Louisiana such a unique place. She did this research as part of the New Populations Project. |
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