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Article: Courthouse Powder Fits Voodoo Ritual: Piles of gypsum resemble symbolic practice of purification -- or cursing -- ceremonies.
- Article from:
- The Monterey County Herald (Monterey, CA)
- Article date:
- August 7, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Monterey County Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Virginia Hennessey
Aug. 7--Gypsum found in piles and strewn about the perimeters of a courtroom in the Salinas courthouse recently may have been part of a ceremonial practice meant to purify -- or perhaps curse -- the premises, an authority on the subject said. Ruben Mendoza, director of the Institute of Archaeology at CSU-Monterey Bay, said the mystical practice goes back to ancient times among indigenous groups in Mexico and Central America and is still used today. Mendoza said Aztecs, Mayans and other Mesoamerican communities purified each corner of a structure by tossing corn pollen or ground corn or limestone into the wind to the north, ...