A recent discovery of mine for Voodoo Bordello via Al Jazeera, my favorite and most trusted news site (Please don't sue me. I'm giving you respectable and free PR.......to about 10 people).
Photo Credit: Girish Gupta
The Venezuelan Cult of Maria Lionza seductively appeals to the vulnerable psychosis of those who seek a cure for heartache, illness, and general misfortune -far too many options to mention.
"There are reasons why people in the United States might go to a psychologist but many people in Venezuela prefer to seek a practitioner of Maria Lionza," according to Wade Glenn, an adjunct assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Tulane University in New Orleans who has spent about four years researching the cult as part of his PhD. People also come for help with physical ailments, sometimes believed to be caused by witchcraft.
Photo Credit: Girish Gupta
"According to legend, Maria Lionza lived on Sorte Mountain in Venezuela in the 15th-century, after her Indian chief father sent her there for safety.
One day, when staring into the river a giant anaconda ate her."
......Buzz-Kill......
"But from within the anaconda Maria Lionza promised the mountain to disintegrate herself there if she were saved. When the mountain agreed, Maria Lionza and Sorte Mountain became one."
Photo Credit: Girish Gupta
"Where established institutions - whether government, the Catholic Church, health services or the security apparatus - in Venezuela are lacking, Maria Lionza is filling a gap." For the full piece written by Rhodri Davies on the Cult of Maria Lionza, visit Al Jazeera.
Most importantly, take in the spectacular photography of Girish Gupta. His large body of freelance work is not to be missed. -Lisah Horner
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