Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca
This article discusses recent changes in Catholic festivities, especially the system of fiestas in rural Mexico. The ethnographic focus of the discussion is on indigenous Zapotec communities of the State of Oaxaca. Collective religious practices in Mexican villages contribute to social cohesion. Fie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2011-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/18 |
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| _version_ | 1832570753641349120 |
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| author | Toomas Gross |
| author_facet | Toomas Gross |
| author_sort | Toomas Gross |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article discusses recent changes in Catholic festivities, especially the system of fiestas in rural Mexico. The ethnographic focus of the discussion is on indigenous Zapotec communities of the State of Oaxaca. Collective religious practices in Mexican villages contribute to social cohesion. Fiestas commemorating patron saints of the villages play a particularly important role in (re)constructing communal identity and the feeling of collective belongingness. Various global processes like secularisation, integration of local economies into the capitalist market system, increasing out-migration from villages, and the rise of Protestantism have undermined the position of the Catholic Church in the region. The article scrutinises the changing organisation and role of fiestas in the communities, concluding that the impact of secularisation, migration and Protestantism in particular is not simple and always negative – these changes can actually invigorate certain dimensions of the fiestas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-18d273fb7e364a4e92891a212526d081 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1736-6518 2228-0987 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2011-03-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics |
| spelling | doaj-art-18d273fb7e364a4e92891a212526d0812025-02-02T14:00:04ZengSciendoJournal of Ethnology and Folkloristics1736-65182228-09872011-03-013131918Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural OaxacaToomas Gross0University of HelsinkiThis article discusses recent changes in Catholic festivities, especially the system of fiestas in rural Mexico. The ethnographic focus of the discussion is on indigenous Zapotec communities of the State of Oaxaca. Collective religious practices in Mexican villages contribute to social cohesion. Fiestas commemorating patron saints of the villages play a particularly important role in (re)constructing communal identity and the feeling of collective belongingness. Various global processes like secularisation, integration of local economies into the capitalist market system, increasing out-migration from villages, and the rise of Protestantism have undermined the position of the Catholic Church in the region. The article scrutinises the changing organisation and role of fiestas in the communities, concluding that the impact of secularisation, migration and Protestantism in particular is not simple and always negative – these changes can actually invigorate certain dimensions of the fiestas.https://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/18fiestapatron saintfolk CatholicismMexicoOaxaca |
| spellingShingle | Toomas Gross Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics fiesta patron saint folk Catholicism Mexico Oaxaca |
| title | Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca |
| title_full | Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca |
| title_fullStr | Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca |
| title_short | Farewell to Fiestas and Saints? Changing Catholic Practices in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca |
| title_sort | farewell to fiestas and saints changing catholic practices in contemporary rural oaxaca |
| topic | fiesta patron saint folk Catholicism Mexico Oaxaca |
| url | https://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/18 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT toomasgross farewelltofiestasandsaintschangingcatholicpracticesincontemporaryruraloaxaca |