WEBVTT - The Artifact: The Piñata

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. Hi,

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<v Speaker 1>my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Artifact,

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<v Speaker 1>a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind,

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<v Speaker 1>focusing in on particular objects, ideas, and moments in time.

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<v Speaker 1>Chances are you've probably swung a broom handle at a

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<v Speaker 1>pinata before you know how this works. A brightly colored

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<v Speaker 1>paper mache, pottery, paper, cardboard, or cloth container is stuffed

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<v Speaker 1>full of candy or other treats and raised and lowered

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<v Speaker 1>by a rope as a blindfolded contestant takes wax at it.

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<v Speaker 1>After a few hysterical misses and punishing hits, the container

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<v Speaker 1>bursts and spills these treats on the ground to be

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<v Speaker 1>snatched up by eager hands. It's an activity and craft

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<v Speaker 1>strongly linked with Mexican customs, and is all so so

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<v Speaker 1>widely spread that it's easy to just take for granted.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, I did till I visited the Pinatas exhibit

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<v Speaker 1>at the Mengae International Museum in San Diego, California, running

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<v Speaker 1>through April thirty, twenty twenty three. The exhibit celebrates pinatas

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<v Speaker 1>as both a traditional craft and a form of contemporary art.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes aimed at social and political commentary. It was really

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<v Speaker 1>an eye opening exhibit from me into both the material

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<v Speaker 1>culture and the cutting humor of pinadas, and artists are

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<v Speaker 1>continuing to do a lot with this medium today. Another

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<v Speaker 1>area I'd never personally explored is the origin of the pinata,

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<v Speaker 1>a topic that the exhibit acknowledges is somewhat understudied. It

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<v Speaker 1>cites a twenty eighteen paper by Young Chin published in

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<v Speaker 1>the Fudan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences titled From

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<v Speaker 1>the Dachinu to the Pinata, Tracing the alleged Chinese origin

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<v Speaker 1>of a Mexican tradition. In the paper, Chin explores the

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<v Speaker 1>possible connection between the Chinese traditions surrounding the docunu, or

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<v Speaker 1>beating or lashing of the spring cattle, and the Mexican

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<v Speaker 1>pinata tradition. The Dacinu is an old springtime ritual in

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<v Speaker 1>which a large clay statue of an ox is filled

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<v Speaker 1>with seeds and then shattered by the emperor or an

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<v Speaker 1>imperial representative, scattering its contents on the ground. The ritual

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<v Speaker 1>performance is still practiced in China today. The hypothesis then,

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<v Speaker 1>is that this practice may have spread from China to

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<v Speaker 1>Italy via the Silk Road and or the travels of

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<v Speaker 1>Marco Polo during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The name

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<v Speaker 1>pinata may be derived from pigna, a clay pot in

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<v Speaker 1>the shape of a pine cone in Italian traditions. Around

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<v Speaker 1>this time, Italian Linton customs sometimes entailed the shattering of small,

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<v Speaker 1>simple clay vessels filled with fruits or sweets. So it

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<v Speaker 1>is then proposed that this practice spread to the Americas

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<v Speaker 1>in the sixteenth century via Catholic Spanish missionaries who use

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<v Speaker 1>the practice as both a Catholic religious celebration and an

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<v Speaker 1>indoctrination tool for indigenous peoples. Now, obviously this is the

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<v Speaker 1>sort of practice that would just be inherently fun, as

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<v Speaker 1>this sort of ritual transcends language and beliefs, at least

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<v Speaker 1>in just the basic practice of shattering something, breaking something,

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<v Speaker 1>and finding a reward within. But it may also have

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<v Speaker 1>found a foothold in indigenous practices due to precontact rituals

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<v Speaker 1>of shattering clay pots in devotion to the Aztec solar

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<v Speaker 1>deity Withsulopotli. Now that's a long journey across multiple continents

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<v Speaker 1>and cultures, so the question remains, Is it possibly true?

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<v Speaker 1>Well Chin contends that we might tentatively attribute the origins

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<v Speaker 1>of the pinyada to Chinese customs, but that there's insignificant

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<v Speaker 1>evidence to make any definitive conclusions. So whatever the pinyada's

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<v Speaker 1>origins Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Aztec, or some mixture of them,

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<v Speaker 1>the pinata has become cemented as a distinctly Mexican and

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<v Speaker 1>Latin American tradition with broad international appeal. Tune in for

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<v Speaker 1>additional episodes of The Artifact or The Monster Fact each week.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, you can email us at contact at stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your

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<v Speaker 1>Mind is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from

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