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Published: February 27th 2014
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San Ignacio
Church in San Ignacio Religion has played a powerful role in Paraguay. It is partly due to the church that the Guarani language has survived, although the same church also was the church of the oppressor and slave raiders. The church in Paraguay was like the two headed eagle of the Byzantine Empire, one head condoned the Spanish treatment of the natives in all its cruelty, while the other head spread its wings over the indigenous people and protected them.
The head that protected was the Jesuit order, with full support of the Vatican and the pope. The same Vatican and pope that endorsed the Spanish, who conquered and enslaved the local population. Obviously that protection came with the price of having to convert, but either way the locals were being converted, whether they were enslaved or not. At least with the Jesuits there were benefits attached.
For hundred fifty years the Jesuits set up villages in a vast region that was protected from the Spanish. In this area the Spanish were not allowed to come and Spanish was not taught or spoken. Instead the local language was cultivated, together with religious art and music. Churches were built with fine sculptures and paintings,
San Ignacio
Mural in San Ignacio fusing European and Guarani traditions into a blend of its very own. So much so, that the reductions, as the Jesuit missions were called, outdid the colonial towns nearby.
All good things must come to an end though, and a combination of jealousy at the ‘uncivilised’ natives achievements together with an ever growing appetite for more slaves, eventually forced an end to the protected status, and the Jesuits were kicked out. Within decades the reductions were abandoned, the locals enslaved, the churches emptied. Slowly time turned what was left into ruins.
But what couldn’t be undone was the fact that due to this long time of protection the Guarani language and culture managed to survive more or less intact to this day. Despite the eventual collapse of the system enough had been done to ensure its survival. And so Paraguay is the only South American country that is truly bilingual, with both Guarani and Spanish used in equal amount.
Neither could all the art be destroyed, nor did all the churches disappear entirely. Eventually what was lost, was found again, the ruins were rediscovered. Many sculptures survived, perhaps having moved from one church to another, but still
San Ignacio
My mother with her favourite mural intact.
It was with seeing what remained in our mind that we started on the Jesuit Route, set up by the Paraguayan government to promote tourism. It takes you along villages and towns which in one way or another are connected to the Jesuit past. In some there are museums with beautiful collections of religious sculptures saved from the crumbling churches, in others a small chapel may have survived with the old frescoes intact, and yet others are atmospheric ruins.
A religious route, trodden by unbelievers. The Jesuits probably would not have been impressed. But even an atheist can enjoy religious art, in fact I think some of the most stunning work of man has been done due to religious fervor. Religion inspires people to create beauty, just as it can inspire to immense cruelty. Just because I don’t believe doesn’t mean I can’t admire.
Our first stop was San Ignacio, which we used as a base to visit two nearby villages, Santa Maria de Fé and Santa Rosa. All three started out as Jesuit reductions, their churches were lost with time, but importantly most of the inventory survived and were displayed in museums. In Santa Rosa
San Ignacio
Original native houses around the square in San Ignacio a chapel still stood from that time with some interesting frescoes. San Ignacio and Santa Maria de Fé also had a few surviving long and low colonnaded buildings that surrounded the church square in the days of the reductions and housed the natives.
The next stop on our route was Trinidad, which is probably the most famous site on the route. We chose to stay right outside the ruins in a hotel opposite them. A good choice, because it enabled us to see the sound and light show in the evening, a very tasteful and subdued affair.
The ruins are slowly lit up, as the sound of birds, cattle, a child singing, church-bells and spiritual music are played over hidden speakers. Various religious scenes are projected onto the ruined walls, and a guide carefully takes you through the site telling about the history. All the while the soft music plays on in the background.
It was in fact so nice, we did it twice!! And we visited the ruins twice during the day as well, so you can say we saw them in all their different facets.
From Trinidad it is a short ride to Jesus,
San Ignacio
Statues in the museum in San Ignacio which is another ruined reduction, smaller, but nicely located on a hill with good views.
The ruins were also the end of the religious trail for us, though in Paraguay you are never far from it. Because our last port of call was Concepcion, named after the Immaculate Conception, and to prove it, it has a huge and rather ugly statue of Mary with baby Jesus.
Concepcion is, we have discovered, a rather quiet and relaxed place. In a way it epitomizes the whole of Paraguay, this languid country in the heart of South America. Concepcion is supposed to be a town, but it feels more like a village. It is low slung, you can walk to the outskirts in twenty minutes, and it has some nice old colonial style buildings, one of which we are staying in. Hotel Victoria, probably
the place to be once… Now what is left is that faded charm of lingering elegance, but at a very affordable price.
And all this time, with every step we take, with every bus we are on, my… our thoughts dwell ever on my dad. He comes up in our conversation daily.
‘Papa would have San Ignacio
Various religious figures loved this’ my mum whispered as we listened to and watched the sound and light show at the Trinidad ruins.
And,
‘This would have been a meal for papa’ I said as we ate a chicken meal, or a lovely fish dish. My dad loved his chickens, and his fish. He particularly loved to gnaw on things, claiming the best meat was at the bones. You wouldn’t do him a favour if you gave him a chicken breast or fish fillet. Taking out the bones was like sacrilege to him.
In the evenings we have a small cup of whisky. It was a tradition of my mother and father during their extended holidays. According to my mum it is to fortify the stomach against any nasty bacteria that might be present in our meals.
Every time we have one, I think of him. And so you could say he is here, with us, on his trip through Paraguay, just as he wanted. Memories linger on, sometimes in ruins, like the Jesuit reductions, and sometimes in our thoughts, as with my dad. The past is ever present...
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