extracultural pressures against the movement, physi- 

 cal evidence of penitente activity, although scattered 

 and diminished, still survives. As intact, functioning 

 artifacts, the penitente moradas at Abiquiu are valu- 

 able records of an autonomous, socio-religious brother- 

 hood and of its place in the troubled history- of 

 Spanish-American culture in the Southwest. 



This paper maintains that penitentes are not cul- 

 turally deviant or aberrant but comprise a movement 

 based firmly in Hispanic traditions as shown by their 

 architecture and equipment found at Abiquiu and by 

 previously established religious and social practices. 

 Also, this paper presents in print for the first time a 

 complete, integrated, and functioning group of 

 penitente artifacts documented, in situ, by photographs. 



My indebtedness in this study to local residents is 

 immense: first, for inspiration, from Rosenaldo Salazar 

 of Hernandez and his son Regino, who introduced me 

 to penitente members at Abiquiu and four times ac- 

 companied me to the moradas. The singular oppor- 

 tunity to measure and to photograph interiors and 

 individual artifacts is due wholly to the understand- 

 ably wary but proud, penitentes themselves. The task 

 of identifying religious images in the moradas was 

 expertly done by E. Boyd, Curator of the Spanish- 

 Colonial Department in the Museum of New Mexico 

 at Santa Fe. The final responsibility for accuracy and 

 interpretation of data, of course, is mine alone. 



Penitente Organization 



Penitente brotherhoods usually are made up of Span- 

 ish-speaking Catholic laymen in rural communities. 

 Although the activities and artifacts vary in specific de- 

 tails, the basic structure, ceremonies, and aims of 

 penitentes as a cultural institution may be generalized. 

 Full membership is open only to adult males. Female 

 relatives may serve penitente chapters as auxiliaries 

 who clean, cook, and join in prayer, as do children 

 on occasion, but men hold all offices and make up 

 the membership-at-large. 



Penitente membership comprises two strata distin- 

 guishable by title and activity. In his study of Hispano 

 institutional values, Monro Edmonson notes that 

 penitente chapters are divided into these two groups: 

 (i) common members or brothers in discipline, her- 

 manos disciplantes; and (2) officers, called brothers of 

 light, hermanos de luz. 



Edmonson names each officer and lists his duties : 



The head of the chapter is the hermano mayor. He is 

 assisted in administrative duties by the warden [celador] 

 and the collector (mandatario) , and in ceremonial du- 

 ties by an assistant (coadjutor) , reader (secretario) , 

 blood-letter (sangredor) and flutist (pitero). An official 

 called the nurse (enfermero) attends the flagellants, 

 and a master of novices (maestro de novios) super- 

 vises the training of new members." 



In an early and apparently biased account of the 

 penitentes. Reverend AlexandarDarley,^ a Presbyterian 

 missionary in southern Colorado, provides additional 

 terms for three officers: picador (the blood-letter), 

 regador or rezador (a tenth officer, who led prayers) 

 and mayordomo de la muerte (literally "steward of 

 death") . As host for meetings between penitente chap- 

 ters, the mayordomo may be a late 19th-century inno- 

 vation that bears the political overtones of a local 

 leader.'' 



Having less influence than individual officers are the 

 penitente members-at-large, numbering between thirty 

 and fifty in each chapter. Through the Hispano family 

 system of extended bilateral kinship, however, much 

 of the village population is represented in each local 

 penitente group. 



Edmonson's study in the Rimrock district demon- 

 strates the deep sense of social responsibility felt by 

 penitentes for members and their extended family cir- 

 cles. "Special assistants were appointed from time to 

 time to visit the sick or perform other community 

 services which the brotherhood may undertake." ^ At 

 other times of need, especially in sickness and death, 

 the general penitente membership renders invaluable 

 service to the afflicted family. In addition, penitente 

 welfare efforts include spiritual as well as physical 

 comfort such as wakes, prayers and rosaries, and the 

 singing of funereal chants (alabados) . At Espanola in 

 November of 1965, I witnessed penitentes contribut- 

 ing such help to respected nonmembers: grave digging, 

 financial aid, and a rosary service with alabados. 



1. Monro S. Edmonsox, Los Manilas: A Study of In- 

 stitutional Values (Publ. 25, Middle American Research In- 

 stitute; New Orleans: Tulane University, 1950), p. 43. 



3. Alexander M. Darlev. The Passionists of the South- 

 west (Pueblo, i8g3). 



4. E. Boyd, Curator of the Spanish-Colonial Department. 

 Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe. states that Jesus Trujjillo 

 in 1947 furnished information on other penitente officers, 

 including one man who uses the matraca and one who acts 

 as a sergeant at arms. 



5. Edmonson, loc. cit. 



124 



BULLETIN 250: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



