Prayers in Purgatory
Despite the fact that the little village of Ticuch is one of the poorest communities in Yucatan, its parish church houses an important collection of sculptural art, the most outstanding item of which is the only altarpiece in the state to depict souls in Purgatory, painted on a wooden board.
The church in Ticuch, which is part of the municipality of Valladolid, dates from the 16th century. It is remarkable for its size, and the quality of its architecture, is out of proportion with the modest scale of the village. The “Adopt an Artwork” foundation, which restored both the church and the altarpiece a few years ago, believes this contrast is significant, because it shows that in poorer communities, just as much as in the Province’s big cities, it was possible to create architectural spaces and elements appropriate to the times, and also that the desire to evangelize could overcome a scarcity of economic resources.
The building features an elegant bell-cote that rises from the west façade, tastefully detailed with ogival spaces for the bells, unusual fluted volutes, heart-shaped openings and pinnacles in the form of mushrooms. This is the only church in the region dedicated to St. Elizabeth of Portugal, known as the “Holy Queen”.
The side altarpiece of the Virgin of the Rosary and the Souls in Purgatory in the south side of the church is 16th-century Baroque, made of cedar wood. It measures 2.5 x 2.6 m (8 ft 2 in x 8 ft 6 in).
The scene was painted on wooden boards which were then joined together, and enclosed in a carved frame with gold-leaf detailling.
The scene shows Mary in her guise of Virgin of the Rosario. She is wearing a red tunic and blue robe, and in her right hand she holds a rosary which she offers to the souls as a balm to ease the torment of the flames they endure for the sins they did not pay for in life, but of which they now repent.
In her left arm she holds the Baby Jesus, who is wearing a purple tunic and has his right arm raised in an act of blessing and invocation of God’s protection, while with his right he holds on to his Mother.
Below are eight souls in Purgatory: five have their gaze fixed on the Mother and Child, while three look away, including one who has her back turned. The Virgin and Child are not looking at the suffering souls, but directly at the viewer, as if the painting were inviting the spectator to say the rosary for the souls of their loved ones.
The piece is designed to move the viewer, to reassure the believer of the possibility of repentance, and to show that divine justice applies to everyone. The theme of Purgatory and Hell was a constant in the art of 16th-, 17th– and 18th-century New Spain.
The name of Ticuch, “place of spinning” comes from Ti’, an adverb of place, and the verb k’uuch, to spin or to twist wicks for candles, according to Dr. Miguel Güémez Pineda, author of the Dictionary of Yucatecan Spanish. The village is only eight km (5 miles) from Valladolid and around 160 km (100 miles) from Merida.
The church of St. Elizabeth can be visited any day of the week, although it is important to take into account that, being such a small community, Ticuch does not have its own parish priest, and therefore nor does it have a fixed timetable for religious services.
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