They come from across the globe to seek a spiritual connection with the world beyond this one. Each year, people from all walks of life who are devoted to the goddess María Lionza travel to the remote Venezuelan mountain they believe her spirit inhabits.
They are known as Marialionceros, and their beliefs blend indigenous Venezuelan, African, and Catholic traditions. Legends around her vary, but many of the goddess' followers believe that María Lionza was the beautiful daughter of an indigenous leader who survived being sacrificed and became one with Sorte Mountain in the 16th century. She is believed to be the goddess of nature, love and harmony, as well as a miracle worker.
People arrive in caravans and section off areas of the jungle to perform elaborate rituals in her honour, entering into trances and communicating with spirits. Although followers make their pilgrimages year round, October 12, also known as Indigenous Resistance Day, is considered to be a special time to visit, according to the Venezuelan Ministry of Culture.
It was by connecting with these caravans of pilgrims that North American photographer Troi Anderson was able to observe these intimate ceremonies.
"They are people pursuing some notion of the sacred," Anderson told Refinery29 via email. "Their thoughts and their hearts must be made vulnerable. This is necessary so they can be open to the spirits that reside here. So, as an outsider, you will often be welcomed; in their minds, there is nothing that is not connected to the spirits."
Preserving their traditions in the face of changing times and political uncertainty is part of the practitioners' struggle, Anderson said.
"I think today, the loss of faith is universal. These ceremonies allow for something vital, a language that can be spoken without intermediation. The appeals and prayers they make for healing, wealth, knowledge are made directly as they must be. María Lionza is a poetry that can be made by all," he added.
Ahead, stunning photographs of the ceremonies surrounding María Lionza.
Editor's note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Captions were provided by Troi Anderson.
How did you first hear about María Lionza and the ceremonies dedicated to her?
"I don’t know exactly. I’d hear things in Haiti. My interest has been in outsider groups, especially those that practice their art without any hierarchy or formal constraints. There is a movement
of people across the Caribbean and down through the northern part of Latin America that is involved in María Lionza. They aspire to a greater intensity of emotion and of consciousness. These artists are regarded as a cult because they have an obsession with intuitive, visionary states that cannot be controlled."
Caption: A night ritual begins. The participant is placed inside the oracle to induce a trance state and covered in a red shroud, symbolising the nature of the spirit to be invoked. The arrows point outward to the many directions the spirit must take on its difficult journey towards resurrection.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
What was the journey to Sorte Mountain like?
"Difficult. Venezuela is on the verge of collapse. There is enormous tension and uncertainty throughout that land. I arrived alone in the capitol city of Caracas and left for the mountains of
Yaracuy State. The ceremonies take place at the base of these mountains near a collection of tin shacks known as Quiballo, [a] town that borders the jungle. You arrive with hundreds of pilgrims or Marialionceros. The tension I mentioned subsides here and is replaced with a collective desire for ecstasy."
Caption: A mother prepares her son in a purification ritual to gather strength at the altar of the Indian Chief Guaicaipuro, who led Venezuela's tribes against the conquest of the Spanish conquistadors, and is revered among the Marialionceros.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Caption: Pilgrims pay tribute at a makeshift altar to Venezuela's national heroes: Simón Bolívar, José Antonio Páez, and Francisco de Miranda. The pilgrims believe that the late President Hugo Chávez's spirit will now reside in these mountains.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Do people typically allow outsiders to photograph these ceremonies? How did you make your subjects feel comfortable?
"The ceremonies are private. Each group, or 'spiritual caravan,' as they call themselves, sections off an area in the jungle using coloured string. This becomes the place at which they perform their ritual work. It can be difficult to enter, but I am always alone and so do not present a threat. I was befriended by a number of these caravans."
Caption: Kevin receives the coronation. He has been coming to this pilgrimage since he was 8 years old, and the coronation is a kind of graduation into the esoteric knowledge practiced here. It is also a symbol honouring the abundant mother, who is Queen María Lionza.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Caption: Because there is no institutional hierarchy within the followers of María Lionza, people who are typically seen as outsiders within Latin American society, such as transgender people, can find acceptance here. A dancer performs for the spirit, the negress Francisca.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Set the scene for us as people start going into trances. What does it look and sound like?
"María Lionza is centred around trance possession. The mountain is considered a point of enormous spiritual energy. This realm of spirits is typically accessed through the creation of the oracle, an elaborate chalk drawing full of symbols and offerings made by the Banco, a shamanic figure whose job it is to direct the ritual.
"The oracle is the point between the cosmos and the earth. Participants are placed inside the oracle and the spiritual energies are directed through them. The trance they enter allows access to the spiritual wealth and powers of this mountain. A pantheon of spirits exist, beginning with the goddess María Lionza.
"The sound of this trance possession is a scream that is somewhere between ecstasy and horror. I am fond of wandering through the jungle on these nights and hearing these cries from every direction. It's like a madhouse, but María Lionza has a circus-like, Fellini-esque feel, so it is ultimately the sound of joy."
Caption: Through trance, the spirits are summoned for purposes of healing, prosperity, and spiritual growth.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Caption: The oracle consists of an elaborate chalk drawing that serves as a focal point between the cosmos and the earth, directing these powerful energies into the participant. Each oracle contains a symbology reflecting the needs and wishes of those who enter its space.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Often, rituals and ceremonies from non-major religions can be looked down upon as primitive or silly. Why was it important for you to photograph this in a respectful way?
"I see them as a rejection of the secular, globalist culture devouring the planet. They are primitive in that the knowledge they seek is radical — primary, not derivative. We live in a world where the direct sense of nature has been obfuscated, filtered through technological device, most recently the smartphone. I don’t know if I’m respecting them by intruding on these ceremonies, but I’m interested in their rebellion."
Caption: Marialionceros dress in accordance with the particular "court" of spirits and saints they collectively represent with their caravan. This is the court of the American Indian, as well as the court of the slave soldiers with the negress Francisca, wife to the slave soldier, negro Felipe, who fought and was murdered by the colonial powers.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Caption: Smoke indicating the presence of the spirit is exhaled by the Banco, a medium between the ethereal world and his caravan. He is responsible for the revelation of the Mysteries, as well as directing the ceremony. His authority is absolute over all matters earthly and spiritual.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Caption: An initiate receives the coronation from the Banco and an elder of the caravan.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Caption: The cult attracts people from all socioeconomic backgrounds across Latin America and the Caribbean. Its lack of any real hierarchy enables all who come to seek their own meanings and connection with the miraculous that they believe exists here.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Did you enter into a trance at any point, or have any spiritual experience?
"I would have had to put down the camera first. A group was kind enough to perform a ceremony for me. It was a ceremony of protection for the traveler, and I was given a necklace, which I treasure today."
Caption: A ceremony offering protection for this man is performed.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
Caption: In the Viking court, spirits enact their power through blood ceremony and violent trials.
Photo: Troi Anderson.
What is your advice for young people who want to use photography to explore other cultures as you have?
"Please do this. Go out and alone and make yourself vulnerable to this world."
Caption: Pilgrims receive baptism from the holy waters that flow from Sorte Mountain.
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