Mother Worship

Theme and Variations

James J. Preston

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780807841143, 9780807814710
• eBook ISBN: 9781469610207
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The authors identify the general symbol of the "Mother Goddess" as a common sanctified image, and they demonstrate some of the cultural variations in form or function of the symbol in specific sociocultural settings. Although the subject is approached from a wide variety of perspectives, the authors concur that female deities are not mere projections of sociocultural conditions on an ideological screen; divine mother images represent something of the nurturant and sometimes destructive dimension of the cosmic order.

Originally published in 1983.

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TWO The European Madonna Complex

3 In Quest of the Black Virgin: She Is Black Because She Is Black

by Leonard W. Moss and Stephen C. Cappannari

In 1944 the senior author (Leonard Moss) wandered into a church in the south Italian town of Lucera. In a niche adjacent to the altar his gaze fell upon a representation of the Virgin Mary. He stood transfixed as he realized the face and hands of the statue were black. He asked the priest, “Father, why is the Madonna black?” The good father’s response was, “My son, she is black because she is black.” Though this answer might have satisfied the priest’s parishioners, it served to tantalize the young soldier. He went off in quest of black madonnas and still searches for the answer some thirty years later.¹

Is it possible that the Virgin Mary was indeed black? If by “black” one means negroid, it is doubtful at best. According to New Testament sources, Mary was of the line of Aaron, thus a Semite.² Perhaps, like contemporary eastern Mediterranean types, she was dark of visage. Early Christian sources noted the passage in the Song of Songs: “I am black but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me that I am swarthy, That the sun hath tanned me.”³ Mrs. Jameson remarks: “Because some of the Greek pictures and carved images have become black through extreme age, it was argued by certain devout writers that the Virgin herself must have been of very dark complexion; and in favor of this idea, they quoted from the canticles, Ί am Black, but comely . . .’ But others say her complexion became black only through her sojourn in Egypt. At all events, though the blackness of these antique images was supposed to enhance their sanctity, it has never been imitated in the fine arts. . . . “⁴

An examination of the literature will reveal a plethora of interpretations regarding the Song of Songs. There have been many theological controversies waged on the passages of this book. Both Jewish rabbinical synods and Christian scholars have attached a mystical interpretation, treating the Song as an allegory of God and his people (Christ and his church).

Song of Songs

Male voice:	Your lips are like a scarlet thread and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of pomegranate. [4:3]
Male voice:	You are stately like a palm tree and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine and the scent of your mouth like apples. [7:7]
Female voice:	I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. Come my beloved, let us go forth into the fields. ... let us go early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded . . . the grape blossoms have opened . . . the pomegranates in bloom. . . . There I shall give you my love. [7:10]

What a relationship! It is on the basis of this mystical view that the Song has been included in the Jewish Passover liturgy and in the various versions of the Holy Scriptures.

In the third century, one of the church fathers, Origen, described the Song as a nuptial poem sung at the marriage of Solomon and the daughter of an Egyptian pharoah. Ample evidence has been amassed to discard this hypothesis. More recent interpretations hold that the story is a collection of rustic folksongs used in wedding festivities in the northern Holy Land. Certainly, the erotic passages seem to bear evidence for this argument.

The authorship of the Song is commonly credited to Solomon. However, serious objection to this claim has been raised by many students of the Bible. The style and language of the passages are those of an age much more recent than the time of Solomon, who died circa 931 B.C. Evidence of Greek cultural diffusion is present in the Hebrew text. It is likely that the Song, incorporating older elements, was compiled in written form some six hundred years after the time of Solomon.

Hebrew scholars describe the story as one concerning the trials of a Shulamite maiden who was in love with a shepherd. Her brothers, disapproving of the union, put her to work tending the vineyards, where she was blackened by the sun. Courtiers of Solomon chanced to pass the vineyards and were impressed by the rare beauty of the Shulamite. They attempted to persuade her to accompany them to Solomon’s court. After her refusal, they led her away as a captive. Solomon tried to win her love and sang of her beauty. But the maiden remained true to her shepherd lover.⁵

Nigra sum sed formosa, which means “I am black but beautiful,” may go a long way in fighting racism, but it tells us little about the color of the Virgin Mary.

By 1952 I (Leonard Moss) had collected nearly one hundred samples of black madonnas in various parts of the world. Many swarthy Byzantine madonnas are to be found in Eastern Orthodox churches. I drew this collection to the attention of a colleague, Stephen C. Cap-pannari, and together we began to ponder the mysteries of the blackness. After some months of cogitation we assembled what seemed to be a reasonable hypothesis and wrote a paper for oral presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (December 28, 1952, St. Louis). Apparently our discussion touched the raw nerves of some rather religious members of the audience, for every priest and nun walked out. Other reactions were less hostile, and we were urged to submit a somewhat lengthier version of our thesis for publication.⁶ Upon its publication, a picture of a black madonna graced the cover of the Scientific Monthly.

We were confused by the hostile reaction of the religious members of our original audience. The confusion was clarified immediately after publication: the chaplain of the Newman Club at Wayne State University gave a sermon in which he fulminated against the campus atheists who would defile the name of the Blessed Virgin. Let us examine the central argument of our original thesis.

Our analysis of the black representations of the Virgin Mary led us to create a three-fold classification of types. First, there are the dark brown or black madonnas with physiognomy and skin pigmentation matching that of the indigenous population. In this class we include such madonnas as Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Mexico City,⁷ the Virgin of Costa Rica, and the various negroid madonnas found in Africa. Though it is unlikely that the Roman Catholic church has ever given official approbation to these madonnas, they are tolerated probably as one way of bringing the religion closer to the local populations. The anthropological concept of anthropomorphism contains the truism that man creates representations of gods in his own image.

Second, there are various art forms that have turned black as a result of certain physical factors. The change in color may have been brought about by (1) deterioration of lead-based pigments (some of these madonnas have been repainted in lighter flesh tones only to turn dark again); (2) accumulated smoke from the use of votive candles in areas adjacent to the statues or paintings; (3) smoke damage from a fire in the church; (4) oxidation of the silver used in the construction of the image; or (5) other physical factors such as the accumulation of grime over the ages.

Third comes our residual category for which there is no ready explanation. These madonnas are black and are renowned as miracle workers.⁸ It is this class of European madonnas that is investigated here. The hypothesis that there has been an attempt to anthropomorphize the Virgin is not tenable, because the natives of these regions are Caucasoid. The various physical explanations cited in our second group do not seem applicable to this category; with the various madonnas under question we find (1) that there is no evidence for physical deterioration of the pigment (no smoke damage, no oxidization, and so on), or (2) that where there is evidence of such physical change, the madonna has been repainted black. Such madonnas are to be found in diverse locations within Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland. Most of them appear to have been made black originally.

It is difficult to rule out artistic license. Perhaps, in a burst of creativity, the artist simply chose to represent the Virgin in a black medium. It is impossible to reason from the artifact to the thoughts that lingered in the mind of the creator. It is, however, highly unlikely that the church would grant the artist the right to depict the madonna in any way that whim and caprice might ordain. Unless we have other evidence to suggest liberties taken by the artist, we must rule against this explanation for our third category.

Within this category, we felt it necessary to eliminate two representations of the Virgin from further consideration in the development of a hypothesis. One case is that of Our Lady of Altötting (Schwarzen Mutter-Gottes), the most effective miracle-working image in Bavaria. Local legend holds that the Black Mother of God was preserved from smoke damage despite the ravaging of the church by flame in the year A.D. 907. The face, hands, and feet of this statue allegedly turned black “with age” at a later date. This explanation is deficient in that it fails to explain why the rest of the statue did not undergo similar deterioration. Moreover, according to the art historian George Lechler, who was familiar with the icon, the art form is that of the seventeenth century. He believed it to be a copy of an earlier form.⁹ The statue is highly revered and is surrounded with many ex voti (gifts) attesting to the graces given.

Case two is the madonna at Czestochowa, Poland. The Virgin of Jasna Gora (Matka Boska) was declared “Queen of Poland” by King John Casimir in A.D. 1656. According to legend this most famous of Polish madonnas is attributed to Saint Luke, who painted a portrait of the Virgin on the cedar wood table at which she had taken her meals. However, the figure is distinctly thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Byzantine in form, and the skin pigmentation is characteristic of this stylized portraiture. According to the art historian Ernst Scheyer, who studied this madonna at the behest of the Polish government, the present image was restored in the nineteenth century and painted somewhat darker than previously.¹⁰

How the image came to Czestochowa is debatable. One legend maintains that Saint Helen, mother of Constantine, brought the painting from Jerusalem to Constantinople. Local legend describes the miraculous appearance of the portrait borne on the wings of angels. For those who would rather explore the alternative possibility of human agents of diffusion, it may be noted parenthetically that a non-divine queen of Poland circa A.D. 1515 was Bona Sforza of Bari, Italy. Bari was and remains the major seaport linking Italy with the Levant. This area abounds with black madonnas, some of which are Byzantine in origin.

Also debatable is the origin of the scars on the face of this portrait. One legend holds that they were inflicted by a Swedish saber when the Queen of Peace was carried in battle by Polish troops. Another explanation maintains that the picture was slashed in a moment of rage by a Hussite invader.

Strange to relate, a much darker portrait of the Virgin of Jasna Gora is to be found in the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard Pass in Switzerland. When this product of the Polish artist Kosmoski was installed in 1956 an estimated 1,500,000 pilgrims came to the shrine in Poland and 960 masses were celebrated. Even in Doyles town, Pennsylvania, a shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa is maintained by the Pauline Fathers. There she is depicted in lighter flesh tones.

Having discarded the Altötting and Czestochowa madonnas from our residual category, we were faced with some thirty images which were black miracle workers and for which we had no explanation. Having plotted these on a map of Europe, we noted that all of our madonnas are to be found in regions once occupied by the legions of imperial Rome. Let us note some of the history and legends associated with these images.

The statue of Our Lady of Montserrat, Spain, was supposedly carved by Saint Luke in Jerusalem; hence the name la Jerosolimitana. Legend holds that it was brought to Barcelona by none other than Saint Peter. The holy image was removed from Barcelona during the Moorish invasion of Catalonia in A.D. 718. It was rediscovered in A.D. 880 hidden in a cave near Montserrat. Earliest archival notations indicate that the image has been black at least since A.D. 718.

Our Lady of the Hermits at Einsiedeln, Switzerland, exhibits a history that may be traced as far back as A.D. 835. Saint Meinrad built a chapel to the Virgin that year. Local tradition, however, alleges that the statue was brought there by Crusaders returning from the Middle East. The statue does not appear to be Byzantine in origin, nor does it give evidence of being a ninth-century German or Helvetian art form.

The Black Virgin at Chartres, France, dates back to the fourth century. Early Christian travelers to that area found an altar presumably made by the Druids upon which was seated a woman holding the figure of a child within her arms. This pagan image was black in color. The cathedral, founded in the fourth century, was dedicated to the Virgin and Child. Although the present statue of the Notre Dame du Pilier at Chartres is depicted as black, it is of more recent origin (sixteenth century). Equally famous is the Black Virgin of Le Puy. According to one author...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Preface
• Introduction: The Crosscultural Study of Mother Worship
• I. Mother Worship in the New World
• II. The European Madonna Complex
• III. The Great Goddess in South Asia
• IV. The Divine Feminine in Southeast Asia and Africa
• Conclusion: New Perspectives on Mother Worship
• Contributors
• Index