MSFS Day 13: Presentazioni e Pupi (Presentations and Puppets)

Notes from the Field School: August 4th, 2016

The class gathered early this morning for students to give their presentations. Each student described what they learned about the mummy that they chose to examine visually in Palermo and how they perceived their time in the catacombs. They used the knowledge and skilled learned over the past two weeks to help them understand what they were seeing when they assessed their mummies and what their observations could tell them about the life of that individual. They also reflected on the personal and professional impacts of their time here in Sicily. After all of the presentations, we had a nice discussion regarding the cultural perceptions related to mummy studies between Italy and our own countries. Each student presentation is summarized briefly below.

Erin gave a lovely powerpoint presentation describing her Palermo mummy. Her individual had some eye tissue still present on the body, well-preserved tissue on his hands, and holes on his face that likely resulted from insect activity. She then talked about how the MSFS has changed her perspective about mummy studies by showing her how intertwined science and culture can be. She found that many of the things that she learned were relevant to her major as a person wanting to go into the field of medicine. Learning about the different ways that disease and lifestyles can be reflected in bone was particularly fascinating for her. She also fell in love with Sicily because of the beautiful landscape and culture while she was here. She felt welcomed by almost everyone that she met while on the island and was happy to have had such a wonderful professional and personal opportunity to study mummies.

Erin talks about the mummy she examined in Palermo.

Ruth shows the class her mummy sketch.

Ruth spoke to the class about her interests in mummies prior to registering to take the MSFS and expressed her surprise regarding how much one could learn without ever physically touching the mummies themselves. She loved the course and the culture, stating that her time here had affected her both professionally and personally. On a professional level, she found our conversations about ethics in mummy studies particularly relevant. As a Catholic, she felt she had learned a lot about her own religion and experienced things that many American Catholics never have the opportunity to experience. She chose her Palermo mummy because he had facial hair and reported excellent preservation and a lack of noticeable insect damage. She did not see any evidence of dental issues or other pathologies, but she did make an excellent sketch of the mummy himself.

Mallory reflects on all she learned at the MSFS.

Mallory used powerpoint to feature her favorite photos from our trip as she described her MSFS experiences. First, she talked about the child mummy she examined in Palermo. This mummy had no teeth in her open mouth, some well-preserved tissues, and brown hair. She also reported potential insect damage and discoloration that may be of curatorial concern. After talking about her mummy, she expressed her elation regarding her time here in Sicily. This was her first time studying abroad and she had been anxious about coming because she did not have much background courses to prepare her for the field school. She came, "as a sponge ready to soak in information" and learned more than she ever thought she would. She was pleased with all of the hands-on learning, cultural immersion, professorial experience, and opportunities to see lots of different mummies that she got out of this trip. "This really blew my mind," she stated near the end of her presentation.

Erik thinks about his adventures in Sicily.

Erik began his presentation by saying that words could not accurately describe the things he had seen and felt over the last week and a half. He had a rough start because of travel issues getting to Sicily, but once he arrived he fell in love with the culture and the people here. Like Mallory, he didn't feel like he had much background with mummies before the field school. As an aspiring cultural anthropologist, he was delighted to learn so much about mummies from both physical and cultural perspectives. The mummy he chose to examine in Palermo was a child about 2 years of age at death that was wearing a fur-lined bonnet and dress. She had evidence of careful preparation and was well-preserved...she even still had fingernails, which typically fall off over time as they separate from the nail beds of the fingers. He did not see any evidence of insect damage to the body or clothing.

Sam recalls her excitement about the eggplant festival.

Sam utilized powerpoint for her presentation and also passed around professional photos of her mummy that she purchased at the gift shop just outside of the catacombs. She had chosen a unique mummy that had been a peasant named Antonino Prestigiacomo in life. Antonino had saved money through much of his life so that he could afford to be interred within the catacombs alongside members of higher social standing after death. He is particularly special because he was preserved using mercury, which turned his face a red color and prevented insect colonization of the tissues surrounding his skull. She did, however, see holes in his hands and on his clothing that may have been the result of insect damage. After talking about her mummy, she talked about what she had learned regarding conservation and cultural perceptions of these individuals. She talked of how she couldn't really put into words how much her experiences during the MSFS had changed her perspectives saying, "We just don't see these kinds of things back home". (This says a lot coming from someone who works at the state museum back in Nebraska!) With regards to her overall experience, she was overwhelmed by the hospitality of the Sicilians that we met during our stay here and was delighted by how welcoming they have been and by how active they are as a community. "They had a party for a vegetable!" she exclaimed while discussing the community events that are held here in Santa Lucia del Mela during the summer.

Breane discusses the importance of mummy conservation.

Breane also gave a powerpoint presentation beginning with a description of her mummy from Palermo. She had examined an anthropogenic child mummy wearing a dress and tucked into a yellow blanket within a wooden coffin. She reported that the mummy was well-preserved with no visible signs of insect activity. She brought up questions regarding the differential preservation of hair in mummies that gave us all something to contemplate before she moved forward with her talk. She also discussed the connection that the catacombs have with the past and with our humanity. She spoke of the importance of conserving the cultural heritage that mummies provide stating that we as a society, "shouldn't let important pieces of history go to waste". She then segued into her reflections of the course drawing from her background as person from a small town. "I never would have had these experiences in Nebraska," she said as she talked about this once in a lifetime experience. She expressed how thankful she was to have been surrounded by such a vibrant culture and history and to have acquired new skills and knowledge regarding mummy studies.

Emily thinks of all that she has experienced at the MSFS.

Emily began her presentation by telling her story about meeting me (Johnica) in a class while I was doing my mentorship for the Preparing Future Faculty program under Dr. Dale Benham at Nebraska Wesleyan University. She connected with me over an interest in honey analysis and I invited her to join Karl and I at Friday coffee, where she would eventually learn about the upcoming MSFS. She then, "came on a whim", as she is studying forensic science and thought it would be both relevant and fun to study abroad in Sicily. (She wasn't wrong...what a whim!) She talked about how much she also loved the culture...both in terms of the people and in terms of the breathtaking architecture and artwork, which she pointed out was important from a religious viewpoint for the widely illiterate societies of the Middle Ages. She also commented that she loved being surrounded by others who enjoyed studying mummies and that she had developed a renewed interest, perhaps even a passion, for "studying the past through the dead". Her Palermo mummy was dressed as a professional. She speculated that he may have been a professor or an author. She reported that he was well-preserved, but seemed to have been spontaneously mummified. He had all of his teeth, but did display some enamel hypoplasias, indicating nutritional stress early in life. She did note some insect activity on his hands and clothing.

Caleb showing his mummy sketch while talking
about insect activity on his Palermo mummy.

Caleb grabbed a seat in the comfy chair and began describing his Palermo mummy to the class. The mummy was dressed and seemingly well-preserved, though he did have some insect activity on his visible hand. He did not see any dental pathology, but could not be sure of the absence thereof due to an abundance of facial soft tissue. The mummy featured soft tissue preservation over much of the skull and even featured a visible ear. Some of the mummy's fingers retained fingernails as well. He was sad that so much of his mummy was clothed as he could not apply the knowledge he had acquired over the past week and a half to report more about the life of his mummy. He then spoke of the differing emotional experience of being with the mummies in Palermo as compared to the mummies of Piraino and Santa Lucia del Mela. He felt less connected to the mummies in Palermo despite being able to see them up close as they were able to do in Piraino. He described the sense of connection that he had unexpectedly experienced in Piraino and how that sort of feeling must be a part of the culture. As a political scientist, he began thinking about how legal policies would affect cultural heritage for Sicily and beyond. He was also struck by the cultural acceptance of the local people and about how they treated us while we were here. "They made us feel like we were really important," he said referring to both Sicilian hospitality and the community's interest in preserving the cultural heritage that the mummies provide for society. He said that his experiences here have changed both his personal and professional perspectives stating, "it's a whole new lens on culture and policy".

Jordan tells the class about his Palermo mummy.

Jordan gave the final student presentation, opening with descriptions of his Palermo mummy. His mummy was clothed, leaving only the face and hands exposed for examination. The mummy had hair on his head and face, but the teeth were concealed by soft tissues. He noted that this anthropogenic mummy was propped up above the pillow within his coffin, which may have been a result of the corpse drying. The mummy retained all of its fingernails and had a reddish tint to the face. He reported no insect damage on the mummy's clothing, but thought he may have seen some holes in the neck. He was happy to have had the chance to experience the thriving culture of Sicily and was struck by the strong sense of community that could be felt in each place that we visited. Being from a small town himself, he felt very at home in the tight-knit communities and was interested in the cultural views that each of these communities had of the dead.

Emily and Mallory talk to the class about the hallway paintings.

Just before lunch, Emily and Mallory shared with us what they had learned about the hallway paintings featuring saints from the region. These two students had a particular interest in these paintings because they are practicing Catholics. They were interested in the stories of the scenes depicted and in the saints themselves. As a class, we discussed our interpretations of the messages being conveyed by the paintings before heading downstairs for lunch.

For lunch today, we had a class favorite, penne in a red pepper cream sauce, along with bread, fire-roasted tomatoes with olive oil and herbs, and a sausage and french fry bowl. After lunch, we returned to the classroom for more Italian lessons with Katia. Simultaneously, each of us was interviewed for Santa Lucia del Mela's YouTube channel about our time here in the city.

Sausage and french fries

Fire-roasted tomatoes and bread (left) and roasted red-pepper pasta (right).

Katia gives an Italian lesson while students wait to be interviewed for Santa Lucia's YouTube channel.

Later that afternoon, we made a trek up to the castle on top of the hill. Some of the students went to the Catholic mass that was taking place in the church within the castle. Others spent some time at the bar next to the castle enjoying roasted beans, refreshingly cold water, and ice cream candy bars along with the spectacular view of the city.

Side view of the castle from the bar's seating area.

Sunset selfie from the castle bar's seating area.

Another beautiful Sicilian sunset over Santa Lucia del Mela.

The beginning of
beautiful street art.

We came back down just before dinner and took a quick detour to see some of the beautiful street art that was being prepared for tomorrow's procession. These were made into abstract designs and flowers using colored salt, coffee, sand, and wood shavings. The art was framed with local branches and stretched a long way through the streets. Some of us only saw a few of the panels  before heading back, but others followed the trail until they caught up to a woman who was making them. Those students were welcomed by the woman and were allowed to place sand on one of the panels themselves!

Meat and cheese rolls.

Dinner was comprised of leftover french fry/sausage and freshly made fried bread rolls, eggplant fritters, cheese-stuffed meat rolls, herbed potatoes, and more of the fire-roasted tomatoes in oil with herbs. It was, of course, amazingly delicious and we all were stuffed by the time we left to go see the Opera dei Pupi, a local event featuring traditional foods, like cannoli, music, and dance performances. The main attraction was a puppet show performed by a family that has been doing these shows for five generations (since 1800). The puppet show featured the story of Perseus and Medusa.

We arrived to the upbeat sound of live music to see women in beautiful costumes twirling around the arms of dapper men. Later, children in traditional costumes joined the dancing and performed perfectly despite their young age and the difficulty of the steps. We pushed through the crowd to find a food table selling cannoli, that delicious hard-shelled sweet with a creamy center that is a cultural masterpiece of an Italian dessert. For only 1.50 euro, you could have your cannolo stuffed in front of you with either vanilla or chocolate cream, or you could get the full experience with the traditional ricotta filling. It was then finished with nuts and cannied fruits before being dusted with powdered sugar. Al bacio!

Traditional dancing to upbeat music at the Opera dei Pupi in Santa Lucia del Mela.

Traditional ricotta-filled cannoli.

Cannoli in hand, we climbed onto the stone steps leading to the cathedral to watch the dancing for a bit longer. After the dancers bowed and exited the staging area, a woman read a story about a local legend. The story was that a man from Messina known as Colapesce, who was swimming in the sea and saw that one of the three pillars holding Sicily up out of the water was cracking. Seeing this, he dove down to the pillar and stood within it to brace the structure with his own body and strength. The legend goes that he is still there today, making sure that the island he loves doesn't fall into the sea. Afterward, a few men recited poetry in the Sicilian language of old. Then the live band from before returned to treat the crowd with several more traditional songs before the puppet show was to begin. The puppet show was performed on a stage elevated above where the other events had taken place. The miniature wooden theater featured bright colors and royal blue curtains that were swept back to reveal a bronze sun with flashing red eyes. The sun began to speak in Sicilian on a set designed to look like a ship in a prologue to the events that would shortly unfold on stage.

Moments before the show began.

The story of Perseus begins with the king of Argos, Acrisius, being told by the oracle at Delphi that his grandson would one day kill him. When his daughter, Danaë, gave birth to Perseus, who was Zeus's son, Acrisius locked his daughter and grandson in a wooded box and tossed them into the sea. The box washed up on the island of Serifos and they were taken to the king, Polydectes. Perseus grew up on the island and eventually Polydectes fell in love with his mother. Perseus was very protective of his mother and Polydectes wanted him out of the way, so he demanded the head of Medusa from Perseus. To protect his mother and his own honor, Perseus set out to complete the quest. Athena, at the behest of Zeus according to the puppet show, went to give Perseus advice and a shield to help him defeat Medusa. He also got a sword and special pieces of armor from the gods before he went to find Medusa. After a few epic battle scenes, he defeated Medusa and the men who had followed him to kill him as Polydectes had wished.

Perseus puts on his armor from the gods during the show.

We returned to the convent discussing what we had just seen (recall that the entire play was in Sicilian, not in English) and reflecting on the other experiences of the evening. Though it was late and we were all a bit tired, we were all happy to have had just a rare opportunity to see a traditional puppet show, dancing, and a musical performance while in Santa Lucia del Mela. It was a wonderful cultural event that was previously not a scheduled part of the course, but what a fortuitous addition it was for both the students and the instructors of this year's class!

Written by  Dr. Johnica J. Morrow (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)