| Marranos on the Moradas: Secret Jews and Penitentes in the Southwestern United States from 1590 to 1890 Contributor(s): SIMMs, Norman (Author) |
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ISBN: 1934843326 ISBN-13: 9781934843321 Publisher: Academic Studies Press OUR PRICE: $141.55 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 2009 Annotation: In his new book, Norman Simms re-defines the study of two often misunderstood religious groups. The first are Marranos who claim descent from the persecuted Spanish Jews forced to convert to Catholicism, yet who nevertheless continued to practice Jewish rituals secretly. The other group consists of the Penitentes, a Catholic group accused of violent acts of self-flagellation and other forms of masochism. Examining both groups through rabbinics, literature, psychology, and anthropology, Simms brings his readers to a new understanding of both these religious groups as well as religious mentalities. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - State & Local - Southwest (az, Nm, Ok, Tx) - Social Science | Jewish Studies - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social |
| Dewey: 979.004 |
| LCCN: 2008052933 |
| Series: Judaism and Jewish Life |
| Physical Information: 1.13" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (1.95 lbs) 520 pages |
| Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - Jewish |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Two groups were persecuted over the course of four hundred years in what is now the southwestern United States, each dissimulating and disguising who they truly were. Both now declare their true identities, yet raise hostility. The Penitentes are a lay Catholic brotherhood that practices bloody rites of self-flagellation and crucifixion, but claim this is a misrepresentation and that they are a community and a charitable organization. Marranos, an ambiguous and complicated population of Sephardic descendants, claim to be anousim. Both peoples have a complex, shared history. This book disentangles the web, redefines the terms, and creates new contexts in which these groups are viewed with respect and sympathy without idealizing or slandering them. Simms uses rabbinics, literary analyses, psychohistory, and cultural anthropology to consolidate a history of mentalities. |