Whispers on the Wind: italian

Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2013

The Feast of the Seven Fishes - an Italian-American Tradition, but is it Italian?

The Feast of the Seven Fishes - an Italian-American Tradition, but is it Italian?

Well, it depends on how you define Tradition and how you define Italian. The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a Christmas Tradition for many Italian-American households. The idea is that on Christmas eve (Christmas day for some), the feasting table is laid with seven dishes that represent the bounty of the sea. The exact number seems to be contested and that, like the specific dishes that are served, seems to be family-specific. Some families have seven and some families have 12 while other families use a different number of dishes. Many Italian-Americans have very specific and heart held beliefs about this event known as The Feast of the Seven Fishes.

A great article on the history of The Feast of Seven Fishes is by Amy Zavatto and can be located at http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/z/topics/history/the-feast-of-the-seven-fishes/.

One of my favorite quotes from that article is:
“I think something is not authentic or real when people want to do it all perfect. If there’s anything food culture is not, it’s perfect. And Italians don’t give a shit about these rules—they’re the most anti-rule culture there is! Rules are for the French. The number seven doesn't matter. The meal is a heartfelt, imbedded thing. You eat fish on Christmas Eve, and that’s it.”

From my research, it seems like The Feast of Seven Fishes is an American-Italian Tradition but not an Italian Tradition. In Italy, you often find fish and no meat on the Christmas evening feasting table. It's often refered to as the feast of the magro - no meat. This custom is directly from Christianity. The "event" of the Christmas evening meal is called Vigilia (a vigilia).

Vigilia - (http://es.thefreedictionary.com/vigilia)
1 Retain a person awake or asleep.
2 Lack of sleep or difficulty sleeping. insomnia.
3 Day immediately preceding the one that is festive for the Church. before.
4 Work or activity that takes place at night

In more agricultural times, a "vigilia" was the time that the family gathered together after work in the fields. They would often finish chores, feast, and tell stories as a way of teaching and passing on traditions.

In relation to Christmas and the Christmas evening meal, the Vigilia is the family feasting event where the family gathers, shares joy, stories, and traditions. The mean itself can be quite varied but due to the heavy church influence, meat abstained from and fish figured prominently.

Although the Italian-American Tradition of Christmas dinner known as The Feast of Seven Fishes" isn't "native Italian", you can see how it is strongly based on the traditions of the native Italian culture and practices.

Rather than arguing whether it is "authentically Italian", Italian-Americans should be proud that we've held onto the heart of the traditions from our ancestral land and adapted them to our unique culture of being both Italian and American. Traditions that connect us to the continuity of the past are extremely important - as is making sure that the traditions are more than just handwaving. We should be proud that we've connected these traditions in a way that honors our ancestry and speaks to us as modern day Italian-Americans.

Whether you celebrate The Feast of the Seven Fishes, Vigilia, Christmas, Solstice, Sol Invictus, Yule, Festa della Befana (American Style) or some other holiday at this season, I say to you, "i migliori auguri"!

I'll close with the last paragraph from the first article I references:
"“The important thing is to maintain the tradition,” says DiPalo. “That’s what Christmas is—a way to celebrate family and invoke the memories of all the people that have passed on. It brings them back, and we’ll see them alongside us, those who used to make this dish the best, and who wouldn't eat that one. To an Italian family—and an Italian-American family—what’s special takes place around the dinner table.”"

Benedizioni,

Enzo

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Monday, January 14, 2013

Stregoneria and Hoodoo

Ciao a tutti,

I think that it's important to never stop learning. That's one of the reasons that I've (lately) been looking into Hoodoo practices.

Wikipedia says:
"Hoodoo, also known as conjure, is a form of predominantly African-American traditional folk magic that developed from the syncretism of a number of separate cultures and magical traditions. It incorporates practices from African and Native American traditions, as well as some European magical practices and grimoires. While folk practices like hoodoo are trans-cultural phenomena, what is particularly innovative in this tradition is the "remarkably efficacious use of biblical figures" in its practices and in the lives of its practitioners."

When I started to look closely at the *structure* of the magical practices and operations of Hoodoo, I noticed a startling similarity to the structure and practices of Stregoneria (witchcraft as a system(s) of magical practice(s) derived from Italic cultures). I suppose that it should have come as a surprise that there appear to be so many similarities. Many of the American-Italic immigrant practices of folk-magic also use the saints and other cultural icons to add flavor and oomph to their magic.

Another quote regarding Hoodoo from Wikipedia is:
"The goal of hoodoo is to allow people access to supernatural forces to improve their daily lives by gaining power in many areas of life, including luck, money, love, divination, revenge, health, employment, and necromancy. As in many other religious, magical, and medical folk practices, extensive use is made of herbs, minerals, parts of animals' bodies, an individual's possessions, and bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, urine and semen. Contact with ancestors or other spirits of the dead is an important practice within the conjure tradition, and the recitation of Psalms from the Bible is also considered magically effective in hoodoo. Due to hoodoo's great emphasis on an individual's magical power, its basic principles of working are generally felt to be easily adapted for use, based on one's desires, inclinations and habits."

I normally refer to Stregheria being the *Pagan, religious* practice of Witchcraft and magic derived from the Italic cultures while Stregoneria as witchcraft as a system(s) of magical practice(s) derived from Italic cultures. In a way, Stregoneria can almost be seen as the "Hoodoo of the Mediterranean".

I'm no expert on Hoodoo but it seems that it is predominantly structured with a very heavy gloss of Christianity. Stregoneria also shares this trait. The closer I look at these practices, the easier it is to see the "Pagan view" just below the surface. Many of these practices would seem effective no matter what gloss is overlaid on the magical procedure(s). Culturally, that has been Christianity - partially just because that's the way it is. Partially because the predominent cultural view in this country is some version of Christianity so "clients" are more at ease with magic and the supernatural when coated with glamour with which they are familiar.

I've met a number of Hoodoo practitioners for whom the "gloss" of Christianity is intregal to their worldview. I've also met some who feel that the gloss is just that and is primarily for the clients peace of mind while the practitioners themselves may have very different religious or spiritual outlooks that has nothing to do with Christianity. It's something that I hope to look closer into.

Do you have any personal experience or training in Hoodoo? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I think that paths of Hoodoo and Stregoneria have some amazing similarities.

Ciao,

---Vincenzo

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Southern Italian and Sicilian drumming, chanting, and dancing.

I just returned from a weekend workshop with Alessandra Belloni. The workshop was a variation of her “Rhythm is the Cure - Healing Dance & Drum Workshop”. Alessandra describes the workshop as, “In this workshop featuring Southern Italian folk dances and rituals we will learn chants used to invoke the healing power of the sun and moon, as well as a repertoire of therapeutic dances, accompanied by the beat of Frame drums and tambourines. Alessandra presents these unique dance movements which trace their roots from Southern Italy back to ancient Greece, with connections to Iran, Egypt and Andalusia, as well as to the traditions of the Gypsies who traveled from Rajasthan through North Africa, Morocco and Spain to Sicily and Calabria.”

My reason for talking this workshop was to be exposed to (and hopefully learn a bit of) the traditional drumming and chanting that is native to Southern Italy and Sicily. For me, the dancing was an added bonus. I wanted to learn about the Italian/Sicilian traditions of using rhythm, chant, and dance so I could incorporate some of the techniques into my own practice of Sicilian-American Stregheria.

From the outside, as an observer, one can see that this artistry has its roots in what is commonly referred to as the “folk customs and celebration of the ancient Italic peoples and their descendants. However, from the perspective of the full participant who can approach this system with mindfulness and respect, a system of spiritual expression and healing is revealed. This goes well beyond folk customs. It becomes no less than a powerful spiritual devotion, a system of inducing trance states, and a door to the realms of ecstatic (Dionysian) dance, chant, and rhythm that can lead to healing and triggering cathartic events.

The weekend workshop was held in an ideal setting. We stayed in a private mansion on 44 acres of gorgeous land. We had a wonderful and gracious host (Arden) and an amazing cook (Heidi). Other than them, we had the entire grounds to ourselves.

Over the course of the weekend, Alessandra shared with us several basic drumming techniques using a type of Italian tambourine/drum (tamburello/tammora/tambourine). The techniques were strung together into specific patterns designed to enliven the spirit and body and to align the participants with our goals.

Coupled with that, we also learned some traditional rhythmic chants and combined them with the drumming to add to our devotional practice. Rhythm is the Cure – rhythm is the key.

Throughout the weekend we were also learn the basics of four traditional dances. They were the Tammorriata, the Pizzica Tarantata, the Tarantella de’ 600, and the Ritmo e Danza e di San Rocco or Spinning Dance. A person watching would immediately see the relation to the “Italian Wedding Dance” that is often seen at Italian-American festivals. These dances, however, are far more than simple folk dances or elaborate step dances that are performed at Italian-American community celebrations. Watching Alessandra perform these steps shows a clear spiritual essence to them and you KNOW that the dance is something that can bring one closer to the Divine.

The combination of rhythmic drumming, chanting, and drumming in this ancient style is powerful for all participants regardless of which role is performed. A person usually takes one of the roles: drummer, singer/chanter, or dancer. With practice, some folks may combine the drumming and chanting but the dancers do not normally also drum or chant at the same time. Although, Alessandra is so accomplished that she can seemingly effortlessly do all three at once!

Frankly, I never knew what hard work drumming (and chanting and dancing!) were until I took this workshop. It’s hard. Also, it’s so very worth it.

I am immensely grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in the workshop. It has given me some new tools to add to my own practice and Path. I had a wonderful time meeting new friends, being in a totally supportive environment, and expanding my understanding of the practices of my ancestors.

If you ever get the chance to see Alessandra Belloni, do so. If you ever get the chance to study with her, do whatever it takes. You won’t regret it. I don’t.

Benedizioni,

---Vincenzo

Who is Alessandra Belloni? An excerpt from her website (http://www.alessandrabelloni.com/) says: “Alessandra Belloni is the Artistic Director, Founder and Lead Performer of "I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA", an Italian Music, Theatre and Dance Ensemble who is Artists-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St.John the Divine in New York City. She is also the designer of a line of signature series Italian tambourines made by Remo, and of special brushes for tambourine with Pro- Mark. She is the only woman in the U.S. and in Italy who specializes in traditional Southern Italian folk dances and percussion that she learned from the old people in the fields.”

Dances: (http://www.alessandrabelloni.com/workshops)

TAMMORRIATA - This elegant and sensual dance from Naples is performed by couples playing castanets to the rhythm of the large drum, called the Tammorra. The dance movements have a strong Spanish and Middle Eastern flourish, with many recognizable movements of the Flamenco and Belly Dance traditions. These movements are set to the beat of African 4/4 rhythms. The Tammorriata is based upon an improvisational style of drumming and singing usually enacted during the summer rituals in honor of the ancient Earth Goddess Cybele, and later, the Black Madonna.

THE PIZZICA TARANTATA – This erotic and dynamic ritual dance originated as a cure for the mythical bite of the Tarantula, a condition causing a mental disease called tarantismo, which afflicted mainly women (tarantate) in Southern Italy. The wild rhythm of the Pizzica, played on medium size tambourines and accompanied by dance was performed as an exorcism ritual which produced a trance-like state beneficial for the healing of many disorders and imbalances. As part of a re-enactment of this healing ritual, Alessandra will lead the participants in a circle dance accompanied by her magic tambourine 6/8 rhythm and singing. During the ritual each student will learn the steps of the Pizzica, which means “ bite,” building up to a culmination where each student will enter the circle and lay down upon a white sheet, surrounded by red ribbons, and emulate "Spider" like movements on the ground, releasing stress and blockages of sexual energy, as well as opening the heart and throat chakras. The dance comes to completion as each participant dances their way out of an imaginary “Spider Web.”

TARANTELLA DE’ 600 – This is a Renaissance folk dance which is done in pairs which is very popular in Italy and throughout the Mediterranean. It contains both fast, energetic steps and combined arm and leg movements which improve coordination. This invigorating dance had been called by Alessandra’s students ‘Italian Aerobics”.

RITMO E DANZA DI SAN ROCCO or SPINNING DANCE – This dance originating in Calabria during the Middle Ages evokes the elegant and meditative movements of the Whirling Dervish ceremonies of the Sufis. This dance was used during the time of the plague to heal people and as a release from overpowering fears of death. Due to the trance-inducing movements and incessant spinning many people enter ecstatic states during this dance. The session ends with a meditation utilizing a chant to the Sun, Jesce Sole, in the Lydian scale. The calming and lilting harmonies of this chant combined with the ocean drum guides students into complete relaxation. Participants emerge feeling light and joyful after this healing journey through sound and dance.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Nature of the Gods

Happy Solstice everyone!

Below is a repose of a response that I sent to one of the mailing lists that I am on. It is a list about traditional Stregheria. One of the members raised two questions and this was my (long winded) response. I hope you enjoy!

Benedizioni,

Vincenzo

Repost:

The question asked in the forums:
1) Do you percieve our Deities as monogomous? I mean I have a feeling the Greeks weren't much in monogamy... the Romans then absorbed much of their mythology....

And 2) “what would you call the major God and Goddess in Stregheria”

Vinnie's response:

Mind you, I can only offer my own perspective – and that hinges on your description of hard polytheism versus soft polytheism. I believe that you and I may view hard and soft polytheism very differently and that colors how each of us perceives and interacts with the gods.

I believe that it was Dion Fortune in her novel Sea Priestess who said, “all goddesses are one goddess, and all gods are one god and there is one initiator”. I don’t believe that she meant that to be taken literally, especially after reading her novel dozens of times. I take that phrase to be true “metaphorically” but not literally. The best way to explain that might be to describe how I see the gods.

Hard Polytheism – Hard Polytheists believe that gods are distinct, separate real divine beings not psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces. Hard polytheists reject the idea that "all gods are one God". (From Wikipedia)

Soft Polytheism – Soft Polytheism is prevalent in New Age and syncretic currents of Neopaganism, as are psychological interpretations of deities as archetypes of the human psyche. English occultist Dion Fortune was a major populizer of soft polytheism. In her novel, The Sea Priestess, she wrote, "All gods are one god, and all goddesses are one goddess, and there is one initiator. This phrase is very popular among some Neopagans (notably, Wiccans) and incorrectly often believed to be just a recent work of fiction. However, Fortune indeed quoted from an ancient source, the Latin novel The Golden Ass of Apuleius. Fortune's soft polytheist compromise between monotheism and polytheism has been described as "pantheism" (Greek: πάν pan 'all' and θεός theos 'god'). However, "Pantheism" has a longer history of usage to refer to a view of an all-encompassing immanent divine. (From Wikipedia)

On the whole, I find myself somewhere in the middle of the two. I believe that the gods are individual entities or consciousnesses albeit far removed from how we normally think of human consciousness – they are individual consciousnesses of a different order than human consciousnesses. Many gods or goddesses may share traits and be similar but they are NOT the same. For instance, Mary (mother of Jesus) is NOT Hera (mother of the Greek Gods) even though they are both “divine mothers”. They are distinct and separate entities even though they may share certain qualities and characteristics.

However, I think that the “gods of myths” aren’t the actual gods. The “gods of myths” are characters in the teaching stories of particular cultures, the purpose of which was/is to help the average person make sense of the universe and their place in it. The myths (ancient and modern!) are teaching stories at best and soap operas of the ancient world at worst. They were the stories of the gods for the common people, not the Initiates or the people in direct communion with the divine forces as Priests and Priestesses. For the average person, the myths were there to help the common person understand the world and their place in it and they were by necessity tied to the culture in which they were told. For the Initiates (the Priests and Priestesses of the goddesses), the myths were/are signposts (not to be taken literally) to the Mysteries and helped people connect to the divine.

Gods and Goddesses such as Aphrodite or Venus may both be Goddesses of Love but I see them as separate individual entities each with their own rites, rituals, personalities, etc. Although separate and distinct, they “share a job description” if you will. They are individuals but are both individual divine emanations of “LOVE,” yet as individuals they are not indiscriminately interchangeable.

This might help – think of all women as emanations of the divine concept of “WOMAN” and of all men as emanations of the divine concept of “MAN”. Yet each woman and each man are distinct individuals and are not interchangeable. Refer that back to the Dion Fortune phrase and you get the concept that all Goddesses are manifestation of the divine “GODDESS” and all Gods and manifestations of the divine “GOD”. The phrase “one initiator” then means that GODDESS and GOD are the first individual manifest separations of the ineffable – that level of the divine which, as manifest beings, humans can’t comprehend without putting a face, name, attribute, or ritual to.

So, this is my personal cosmology. The totality of ALL THINGS (knowable and unknown) is the ineffable divine and by its nature (and the limitation of ours), can’t be easily grasped in words, deeds, and concepts by the human, manifest mind. GOD and GODDESS are the first conscious manifestations of the inedible that we can easily grasp and interact with. Individual Gods and Goddesses are the specific *individual* divine entities that are often culturally specific – each with their own rites and rituals associated with them. Witches deal with paradoxes all the time and the nature of the Gods is a paradox but it works. So, for me, the gods are BOTH individual entities as well as manifestations of the unknowable.

Now, on to your questions –

1) the monogamy of the gods, specifically as expressed in Greco-Roman mythology. Remember that these are myths – teaching stories that are culturally driven – not recorded factual activities of the entities known as Zeus, Hera, Apollo, etc. They are the signposts to help someone find Zeus, Hera, Apollo, etc. The specifics matter less than the underlying message (or mystery) of the myths.

And 2) “what would you call the major God and Goddess in Stregheria”. That will vary depending on the specific tradition. Once again, this is just my opinion and what I teach and isn’t what either Leo Martello or Lori Bruno taught me. We (the Sheaves of Demeter) call on Great Apollo and Great Diana as the “celestial divinities” – Sun & Moon, Mother & Father, Light & Illumination. The individual God named Apollo and the individual Goddess named Diana and their respective myths point us toward knowledge and communion with Great Apollo and Great Diana (Father & Mother, Lord & Lady). We also have Demeter as our patron and through the individual Goddess Demeter, we seek contact with the living growing life of the world. Hades and Persephone are the individual Gods that are the guardians of our beloved dead and through them and their interactions (Demeter, Persephone, and Hades), we seek the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth. Additionally, we have specific secret names for “the Lord” and “the Lady” as well as an oathbound name for “the mother of the Craft” which we do not use outside of the Family.

In a way, for us, the individual divine entities of the Greco-Roman pantheon becomes a touchstone to interact with the ineffable via familiar names, faces, and rites so that we can understand and connect with them in order to explore the Mysteries.

I hope that answered your questions and I didn’t stray too far off topic. Perhaps I should repost this response as a blog entry!