Spanish Nativity

More Niños

On impulse – something that happens all too frequently – I bought a great little book from Amazon, Holy Infant Jesus, by Ann Ball and Damian Hinojosa. It was published by Crossroad Press in 2006. The authors don't reveal much about themselves, but they have obviously done lots of research.

 

The book has all sorts of wonderful Niños, from the little known Niño Alcalde (Boy Mayor) of La Rioja, Argentina, to the very well known Infant of Prague. Some of them are the subjects of very local devotions, while others, such as the Infant of Prague, have moved way beyond their places of origin and become worldwide devotions. Many of them are Spanish in origin, at least distantly, since the Spanish more than anyone else seem to have spread the devotion to the Niño Jesús wherever they went, from Latin America to the Philippines and even to other parts of Europe.

People find the Christ Child very accessible, and this is why he appears not only as a child, but as a child who is part of their world, often even dressed in clothing of a particular region or a particular trade.

One of my favorites is this Niño Cocinero, from a cloistered convent in Madrid. The original figure is a rather non-descript 18^th century polychromed wooden statue of a naked Child. The figure was probably kept in the monastery kitchen, since Spanish monasteries had an abundance of Niños. Unknown kitchen nuns of some 200 years ago dressed the figure in the clothing of their oficio, that is, their trade, and even gave him a platter of roasted chicken to carry! But this reflected what St Teresa of Avila said, "también entre los pucheros anda el Señor," that is, the Lord is also to be found among the pots and pans, in the midst of our daily duties and not only in church.

Santo Niño de Atocha

When Americans think of the Christ Child, the Baby Jesus, the Niño, they usually think of – well, a baby. However, European artistic tradition frequently depicted the Child as a sort of small, regal adult, and many images related to European and Spanish New World devotions reflect this.

Last month, I posted a photo I had taken at a mission in California of a figure of the Christ Child dressed as a pilgrim. A reader, Janet C, pointed out that this was the Santo Niño de Atocha, a popular 16^th century devotion that was brought to the New World by the Spanish.

But who was he? The Santo Niño de Atocha was originally a figure held by another figure, the Virgin of Atocha. The devotion appears to have begun in the town of Atocha, near Madrid, during its subjugation to the Muslims, and is mentioned in the Cantigas of Alfonso el Sabio in the 13^th century. Legend has it that Christians were held captives by the Muslims in a prison in the town, and were forbidden to receive any help or visitors, except for children. The women of the town prayed before an image of Our Lady, Nra Sra de Atocha, and the prisoners were then visited by a young child, dressed as a pilgrim to Santiago, who brought them food and water. He came every day until they were released, and the women in the town saw that the shoes of the little child held in the arms of the statue of the Virgin of Atocha were dusty and dirty from all the walking the Child did as he aided the Christian prisoners. When the prisoners gained their freedom, they went to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to the Child and his Mother. The Santo Niño de Atocha is the patron of persons unjustly imprisoned.

When the Muslims were finally driven out, the devotion remained, and when the Spanish sailed to the New World, they brought it with them. It took root throughout Latin America, particularly in the silver mining areas of Mexico, where the Santo Niño was believed to come to the aid of miners who were trapped underground.

This is still a popular devotion, and holy cards and statues of the Santo Niño de Atocha are sold throughout Latin America. The most important shrines are in Fresnillos and Plateros, Mexico, and there is another major shrine in Chimayo, New Mexico. Pilgrims frequently leave baby shoes at the shrine, so that the shoes on the figure at the shrine in Chimayo can be regularly changed because tradition holds the Child endlessly walks the roads, looking for people in distress.

The Niño is based on a traditional figure meant for dressing, such as the other famous Spanish figure, the Infant of Prague. However, the Santo Niño de Atocha is usually shown seated on a throne and holding the symbols of the pilgrim: the staff with the gourd, the scallop shell, and the wide-brimmed hat. He also carries wheat sheaves and a set of shackles on his staff, as well as a basket of bread or flowers in his other hand, representing his help to the prisoners. Variants will show the Niño standing, and there is another image, showing the Niño dressed in blue with shackles at his feet, that is known as the Niño Cautivo (Child Prisoner), reflecting the story of a 17^th century Spanish priest who was taken captive and killed by Muslim pirates of the coast of Spain while trying to bring an image of the Santo Niño de Atocha to Mexico City.

An interesting story about the Santo Niño is that during WWII, National Guard soldiers from New Mexico who had been captured by the Japanese and held as prisoners on Corregidor, Bataan, and other Japanese prison camps made a vow that if they survived they would make a pilgrimage to the shrine of the help of prisoners, the Santo Niño de Atocha in Chimayo, New Mexico. At the end of the war, some 2000 survivors made the pilgrimage, some of them walking barefoot to the shrine.

The photo below is a 19^th century Latin American figure. It is from a truly excellent website on iconography maintained by a J.R. Stracke, Emeritus Professor of English, at Augusta State University in Georgia.

 

Thanksgiving Nativity Scenes

Suddenly, it's Mepkin Abbey time again! Every year over the Thanksgiving weekend, Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery located near Charleston, SC, hosts an exhibit of a large collection of Nativity scenes entrusted to it by a local collector. Usually the exhibition includes a "special guest" as well, a figure or scene contributed by some other collector.

The monks have been hosting the event for 6 years, and each year it has attracted more and more viewers. From their vast collection, they display 50 scenes. Visitors, who must sign up in advance, can vote of the scenes after viewing them, and the top favorite gets to return by popular demand for the next year's showing.

Mepkin Abbey is about 45 minutes from Charleston and is located on the wide and beautiful Cooper River. The monks used to run an egg ranch to support themselves, but a concerted assault from PETA finally made them give up on their chickens this year and they are now considering going into the mushroom raising business. They have beautiful grounds, the former Luce estate, where Clare Booth Luce and Henry Luce are buried on a rise overlooking the river. The monks and volunteers have put a lot of work into the grounds and are also trying to create a first-class arboretum and botanical garden which also features sculptures, somewhat like Brookgreen Gardens.

If you're in the Charleston area at Thanksgiving, the exhibition and the monastery itself are definitely worth a visit. You can register by mail or on their website (www.mepkinabbey.org). The monastery has a nice little shop at the visitors' center and box lunches are usually available for exhibition visitors who want to make an afternoon of their trip.

Our next post will focus on a particular Niño, the Santo Niño de Atocha. Blog reader JaneC pointed out that the Niño I photographed at Mission San Juan Bautista was a Santo Niño de Atocha, missing some of his attributes (the symbolic items that are shown with an image of a religious figure which help you identify that figure). Many thanks to her! And we'll have more details next week or whenever I manage to create my next post. In the meantime, here's a photo of the Cooper River at Mepkin Abbey.