Micaela in Erzulie’s Skirt had a long, complex relationship with spirituality – much of it flourished alongside her connection with the goddess Anaísa and the progression of her desires. It started in her childhood, particularly with her father, who first showed her how to clean the altar room where they paid worship to saints. As a little girl, her curiosity and excitement for their spiritual practices were unaccountable, even to her parents. Her mother knew that to give birth to a daughter was to teach her the “misterios” of life, the spiritual magic that all the women in the family practiced. Mama Hounsin did not want a girl, because she did not want to continue the cycle, yet Micaela’s inner vocation was aligned with spirituality from the beginning. She would carry her innate passion with her into adulthood.
Spirituality and enlightenment go hand in hand for Micaela. When her father finally told her of her ancestry, Micaela alas could identify the spirits that surrounded her; she knew their story and could begin to comprehend their magic. That her mom came from a line of cimarrones who practiced healing magic deeply influenced Micaela. The notion of inheriting this magic, of a mother passing down to her daughter, certainly informed Micaela’s later relationship with Yealidad.
Beforehand, on the day of a festivity, Micaela’s intimate connection with the voodoo goddess Anaísa is mentioned, “If she was quiet enough, she could hear Anaísa arriving, her long skirts rising from the river and the swish-swish-swishing up the hill in golden incandescence” (Lara 65). In fact, at the height of Micaela’s passion, when she was dancing at the center of the enramada and embracing her freedom, she was “spinning her body into the services of Anaísa” (Lara 66). Anaísa, associated with rivers for Micaela, becomes not only a symbol of desire but also of loss with the death of her little brother, Fernandito. The village women believed that Fernandito was carrying Anaísa before he drowned. His death is ultimately uncannily similar to the death of Antonio, Micaela’s son, who died by being thrown overboard into the ocean. The fact that all life came from water and yet doubtlessly water can be a taker of life is a dynamic that constantly resurfaces.
Ultimately, Micaela’s loss of Fernanditio and Antonio strengthened her connection to Anaísa and the spirit realm in general. When as an older woman she returns to the river of her hometown to pay homage to her brother, she says, “Anaísa, mysterious power of the rivers. I have found you a new place to speak your wishes” (Lara 238). The scene of her finally reconnecting with Fernandito’s spirit, and ultimately passing away at peace with life, was incredibly moving. It was reminiscent of dreams that she had of Fernandito after his passing, wherein they would be playing in water; formerly his spirit had visited her when she was sleeping. The fluid boundaries between the realms of the living and the dead cement are like a river in and of itself, constantly redefining the constraints of its shores.
CITATIONS
Lara, Ana-Maurine. Erzulie’s Skirt. Redbone Press, 2006.
I liked your analysis of Micaela and his spiritual journey as she was introduced into the world of voodoo and connected to the spirits and her ancestors. She connects with Anaisa and we see how it shaped her emotions and understanding of the life that she is living. it’s a complex relationship as it opens her to realities that are hard to overcome, but it carries into her adulthood. She gains her strength by connecting to these goddesses and spirits as it was passed down from her mother.
Julia, I think your conclusion is beautifully written and sums up your point well. The river, physically, was a source of pain for her as a child. Even with the advanced warning she had of what might happen to Fernandito. Her spirituality allowed her to take back the water and turn it into a means of moving forward instead of as an anchor to a terrible past. Where water once meant death and endings to her, it was about life and a new beginning in the end. Without her spirituality, she likely wouldn’t have survived in general, and the ending really hammers home the importance of people turning to what they believe in the most to get them through trying times.