The Dormition of the Virgin Mary on the Island of Tinos: A ...

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110 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY Figure 10 Saluting sailors in uniform, holding <strong>the</strong> icon depicting <strong>the</strong> Annunciation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Virgin</strong> during <strong>the</strong> ceremony at <strong>the</strong> harbour. (Author’s photograph.) <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> important mediating position <strong>of</strong> a mo<strong>the</strong>r. <strong>The</strong> Panagia is also called Mesitria, <strong>the</strong> mediator. She is essentially a human intercessor and a mo<strong>the</strong>r, and her maternal role is emphasized within <strong>the</strong> Orthodox tradition, as well as her power within <strong>the</strong> heavenly and earthly world. <strong>The</strong>re are several rituals that women only can carry out. By focusing on <strong>the</strong>se we move from a man’s world to a woman’s world and consider values and cults that are important to women. In a broader perspective we realize that <strong>the</strong>se cults also have importance for <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial ideology. According to Dubisch: “we must move away from such terms as ‘mo<strong>the</strong>r worship,’ to which Marian devotion is sometimes reduced, and toward a more general exploration <strong>of</strong> issues both <strong>of</strong> political ritual and symbol and <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> symbolism <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> feminine.” 44 Generally, <strong>Mary</strong> presents a dilemma for American and Western-European feminists, a fact Dubisch recognizes. Although one may claim that Dubisch argues for a contextualization <strong>of</strong> Marian devotion, <strong>the</strong>reby moving beyond describing this devotion in terms <strong>of</strong> mere “mo<strong>the</strong>r worship,” which results in an enrichment instead <strong>of</strong> a reduction <strong>of</strong> terms like <strong>the</strong>se, I do not agree with her critique, since “mo<strong>the</strong>r worship” generally and 44. Dubisch, In a Different Place, 246. © 2012 <strong>The</strong> Author Journal <strong>of</strong> Religious History © 2012 Religious History Association
THE DORMITION OF THE VIRGIN MARY ON TINOS <strong>the</strong> cult <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Panagia particularly does not seem to be a reduction. By this claim Dubisch contradicts herself and her magnificent analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “poetics <strong>of</strong> womanhood” following up her analysis <strong>of</strong> time among Greek women, to which I am very indebted, since her analysis is an excellent way to demonstrate <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r worship, <strong>the</strong> female and <strong>the</strong> female sphere within political rituals and symbolism. Unfortunately, her claim <strong>the</strong>refore demonstrates an androcentric position that considers “mo<strong>the</strong>r worship” as subordinate to politics. Conversely, <strong>the</strong> point is that <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial male political ideological ritual is dependent on <strong>the</strong> “mo<strong>the</strong>r worship” to manifest itself. 45 Traditionally, <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial political sphere has been <strong>the</strong> arena for male activity. Yet, by changing one’s approach from a male to a female sphere, one realizes that <strong>the</strong>re have always been o<strong>the</strong>r arenas for power as well, and that <strong>the</strong> social and political underpinnings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> society have traditionally been in <strong>the</strong> hands <strong>of</strong> women who are strong and active persons in <strong>the</strong>ir own right, thus paralleling <strong>the</strong> Holy Panagia. Greek women are strong personalities and are active participants in social life; indeed <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>of</strong>ten stronger and more assured than <strong>the</strong> women Dubisch and I know from our own societies. 46 <strong>The</strong>y run <strong>the</strong>ir households with a firm hand and exhibit self-confidence. Several o<strong>the</strong>r female researchers have documented similar fieldwork experiences among Greek and o<strong>the</strong>r Mediterranean women. 47 I have discussed <strong>the</strong> historical dimension <strong>of</strong> this pattern in <strong>the</strong> Greek cultural area in o<strong>the</strong>r connections, drawing on ancient and modern material, demonstrating that <strong>the</strong> boundaries between a male and female sphere have never been static as women traditionally have intruded in <strong>the</strong> male sphere, on behalf <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir own interests, if needed. 48 As Dubisch also makes clear, <strong>the</strong> story <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> icon at Tinos illustrates that <strong>the</strong> Panagia is capable <strong>of</strong> making her own will known to humans. 49 This is also illustrated by her ordering pilgrims to go to Tinos. She is, <strong>the</strong>refore, a strong and active figure in her own right and not only an intercessor with a higher power. O<strong>the</strong>r similar representations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Panagia have already been mentioned, 50 and ano<strong>the</strong>r parallel is <strong>the</strong> heroine during <strong>the</strong> Greek War <strong>of</strong> Independence, Bouboulina. 45. Håland, Greek Festivals, Modern and Ancient, chs 1 and 6 (cf. Håland, “Greek Women and Death, Ancient and Modern,”), presents an alternative view concerning <strong>the</strong> traditional assertions that <strong>the</strong> male ideology makes use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r worship for its own purposes. I will, ra<strong>the</strong>r, argue that <strong>the</strong> male ideology depends on <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r worship, cf. also n. 42 supra. As already mentioned, this article is not a <strong>the</strong>ological study, I <strong>the</strong>refore stress that Christian devotees might choose to relate to <strong>the</strong> Panagia through <strong>the</strong> social, cultural, and psychological avenues ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ological ones, cf. Dubisch, In a Different Place, 246. With this in mind it is also important to note that people in general, even many priests, have not been well informed about <strong>the</strong>ology until quite recently, see for example Håland, Greek Festivals, Modern and Ancient, ch. 2; Håland, “Competing Ideologies in Greek Religion, Ancient and Modern” (Bodø: Licentia Press, forthcoming), ch. 2; M. G. Meraklēs, Ellēnikē Laographia: Ēthē kai Ethima (A<strong>the</strong>ns: Odysseas, 1986), ch. 5. 46. Cf. Dubisch, In a Different Place. 47. For example, L. Abu-Lughod, Veiled Sentiments: Honour and Poetry in a Bedouin Society (Los Angeles: University <strong>of</strong> California Press, 1988); C. N. Seremetakis, <strong>The</strong> Last Word: Women, Death, and Divination in Inner Mani (Chicago: <strong>The</strong> University <strong>of</strong> Chicago Press, 1991); Dubisch, In a Different Place; Alexiou, After Antiquity. 48. Håland, “Greek Women and Religion, Modern and Ancient”; Håland, Greek Festivals, Modern and Ancient, see particularly chapter 6 for <strong>the</strong> “female intruder” pattern. 49. Dubisch, In a Different Place, 240. 50. Cf. supra. See also Mazarakēs-Ainian, To Epos tou ’40. Laikē eikonographia, pl. 16, where women and children are also assisting her, throwing stones. 111 © 2012 <strong>The</strong> Author Journal <strong>of</strong> Religious History © 2012 Religious History Association
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