Festival de Pozo de las Brujas

 

April 1 marks the annual Festival de Pozo de las Brujas, or the Festival of the Well of the Witches, commemorating the escape and disappearance in 1675 of six brujas, or witches, accused of causing an extended drought in Northern New Mexico during that decade. Many lives were lost due to famine, unrest, and religious conflict between the Natives and their Spanish overlords, particularly the Franciscans who reacted violently as the people turned to their old gods.

The Franciscans insisted to the Pueblo people that the drought was caused by their resistance to God, evidenced by their continued practice of old rites and traditions. The Franciscans invited the Holy Office of the Inquisition to send emissaries from Mexico City to help them resolve their problems. The emissaries didn't take long to discover the "cause" of all these troubles. They accused the governor and his wife of being "crypto-Jews," and claimed that the difficulties in the North were not caused by Indian rebellion, but secret Jews and their "Divinations and Judaizing influence." They demanded that six of the neighboring Pueblos each give up a representative crypto-Jew to be subjected to the auto da fe. Naturally, troublesome women were chosen, and delivered to the officers of the Inquisition with the added charge that they were witches. A pyre was constructed in the plaza, and the "witches" were tied together in a circle. Each of them refused to make a declaration of faith, knowing, I suspect, that it wouldn't save them anyway. The pyre was lit, and the flames began to spread.

Legend has it that, in a flash, the already burning brujas ascended above the blazing holocaust and flew to what is now Water Street. They were chased by the spectators who saw them disappear down a deep well, never to be seen again. To keep the witches' influence at bay, an annual exorcism of the well was initiated, which continues to this day, though in a different form.

The ceremony begins on March 31 with a candlelight gathering in the Santa Fe Plaza. There is food, music, and traditional dancing. This evening ends when the "witches," wildly and colorfully dressed in Native clothing, run down Palace Avenue, through the Plaza, and to the Water Street well. They disappear into the Loretto Chapel, before their pursuers arrive. When the crowd reaches the well, there are fireworks and dancing before everyone heads home, or into the downtown bars and restaurants.

The following day is the more ancient part of the celebration, as local priests surround and exorcise the well, then bless it. One priest, selected by lot, is required to jump into it. If he survives the fall, it is an indication that Northern New Mexico will be drought free for the coming year. If he does not survive, they keep throwing in priests until one does, as drought is unacceptable.

This is one of many festivals around which you might want to plan your Santa Fe visit. It is the earliest of the various festivals that populate the spring and summer, setting the spirit and the tone for the many that follow.