El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-10-02
PenitenteS Of
NezC Mexico In
BadRebNte NOzg

Albuquerque, n. n, Oct. There
IS a picturesque phase OF New Next
can life about which her citizens are
reticent- The Navajos and the Pus-
bios. the horned uoads and the noun
tains, the sunshine and the scenery
are al brought 20 the attention OF
the visitor with craft and JUNCTION.
But little or nothing IS said about
the Rermanos Penitentes-
Picturesque they undoubtedly are.
and thrilling 20 look upon. but no
sightseeing parties are organized 20
witness their rites. For some reason,
slightly obscure, the New MeLlcaus
persist In regarding the penltentes as
disgrace. Last year a certain maya
zine published a letter saying, among
other things that were untrue, that
the penitenres were a dominant In
fluence in politics. and an inordlnate
amount OF eLciteme nt, eliminating in
a threat Of prosecution from the gov
ernor. rTas the immediate result IN
New Mexico.
a Medieval Remnant.
what then, are these Penitent
brolners whose plely rs Ee8aFaea 1s
a scandal The penltent brothers, or
Hermanos Peuitentes, are religious
fraternity. long since outlawed by the
church. the members Of which prac-
rice SELF whipping, crucifiEiou, and
other physical fortunes as a penEnce
for their sins.
The pracuce originated In the mid
die ages In SPAIN when Z wac In
good standing with the church. 1t was
brought TO this country by the span
ish conQusrors. 1t appears, although
little can be learned or the matter
that some sort Of LlRgellant society
existed among the Indians here. From
the minEliuE OF these two sects, one
Christian, and one pagan among the
poems OF mixed Indian and Spanish
D y aH
ton Of the Hermanos PenitenteG.
At one time nearly all the natives
OF neon blood were members OF Its
chapters Gradually Its membership
has declined, giving way before the
enliEhtenmeut that has come with
railways and public schools The
Mexican Of the younger generation,
educated In public school iE often
an I'D and coming young yellow. be
IS very likely an automobile mechanic
be VIII have his back slashed with
Clipped flint and belabored with
discipline FOR the glory Of God Hence
the tendency IS for the chapters
steadily TO decline ia membership.
dwindllnE 70 a lew old timers who
lash their backs but feebly and de-
plore the changing times.
Only a Few Left.
Thus we are told By one man who
is wen postd that there are Erlll -FOUR
or 1--WE chapters IN me Ello b1Taule
valley near Albuquerque but one OF
them has more than y OF Is mem
bers. on the other hand IN q certain
mountain town far from q railroad.
where the life o. the natives goes on
much as il did 100 years ago, we are
told that 500 peniteutes were seen
not l0ng ago IN single procession.
Il is probably a fair statement Of the
case that the Penitente sect is declin-
ing and doomed everywhere except
ia the remote mountain sections
where modern Influences have been
little felt
Under these circumstance g IS
hard 10 see why NeW MeLicans should
be so sensitive about it The peni-
teutes are no more primitive than the
Indians. ana their ways have as little
60 do with the commercial and social
life OF the state as have the ways Of
The Indians furthermore, they are
no more primitive than people who
can be found in mountain sections Of
many southern states. IN the pine
larrans Of New Jersey. and for that
matter in the slums Of New York and
Chicago And they are vastly more
picturesque and significant They are