El Cisne: Sacred and Profane

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The pilgrimage of La Virgen de El Cisne in southern Ecuador is a blend of the sacred and the profane. Some come for faith, some come for business and some come because the annual procession that dates back to before Simón Bolivar is an important part of modern, Ecuadorian culture. Although it was inspired by a supposedly divine past, the pilgrimage today–as well as the the town of El Cisne where the pilgrimage and the Virgen are based–are uniquely human phenomena. Religion is one of the most powerful forces to drive people to action throughout all of human history. This one place and the events that surround it in rural Ecuador are a small glimpse in to some of the complexities that make up this thing we call religion.

The pilgrimage of the Virgen of El Cisne is 43-mile, 3-day journey each August from the southern Ecuadorian hamlet of El Cisne (pop. ~ 1800) to Loja, the provincial capital. A procession follows a venerated, wooden idol of the Virgin Mary widely believed to have miraculous powers. The Virgen was carved in 1594 by Diego Robles and soon after was decided to possess divine powers. The pilgrimage was popularized and gained official state support after a decree from Simón Bolivar in 1822. It is still performed annually by thousands of pilgrims from Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and other countries.

In August, 2009, I spent a month in El Cisne, walked the pilgrimage and got to know some of the people for whom the Virgen is an important part of their life. This project was something I did to complete my master’s degree at the University of Missouri. While working on this project, I came to understand that to understand the Virgen, El Cisne and all of the other things that surround them, you have to understand that the elements of faith, business and culture are inseparably intertwined.