El Dios de la Peña

Tlacolula, Oaxaca, Mexico
Wood, gesso, paint; glass eyes, wig; approx. 3 feet, 9 inches tall.
Christ at the buffeting (seated with head on right palm, right elbow on knee, mock scepter, crown of thorns, white bloomers with red loincloth and cape).


The crown is woven of hair and silver into the basketweave pattern. Feet are burnished by the repeated rubbing of the faithful. Sr. Jescas, our informant at Tlacolula, says it is solid wood. The figure wears white cotton bloomers, a red velvet loin-cloth, and a red velvet cape. On the bloomers and the lower part of the loincloth the faithful have pinned scores of votive photographs, amulets, and other objects. The treatment of the blood is perfunctory.


More of the Passion

Photo: Claire and Richard Stracke. This photo is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.