Sabi Saturday, Week 11

Sabi Saturday Linkup Week 11

So the Sabi Saturday blog hop is open for the whole week where we share. Add your link up at the bottom of the post.

• the vintage/antique items handed down or we “rescue” from garage sales and thrift stores so they don’t end up in a trash bin
• items we’ve upcycled instead of throwing them away
• items we’ve repaired in a transformative way to make them more beautiful or cooler than before
• process or tutorials on how we upcycled or repaired something to make something new, more beautiful, or cooler
• the main idea is showing how we treasure or reuse or creatively transform things that have some history to them, may be a bit worn but nevertheless are still useful/beautiful and often have character.

Sabi Saturday Linkup Week 10 Roundup

First the roundup:

15 and Meowing photographed the cover of her great aunt’s WWII cookbook “Square Meals on Short Rations with 337 wartime recipes”. Last week she had shared the ration book.

Cactus Catz shared foundart Buffalo she spotted at a local shopping center

This week’s Sabi Saturday contribution

 

The Door at Mission San Xavier del Bac

The mission was built between 1783-1797 as first the Jesuits and the Franciscans sought to convert the local Native American population while Spanish aristocrats and military were colonizing the area. As early as 1539, Franciscan Marcos de Niza had wandered Arizona working to bring Native Americans into the Catholic fold, Mission San Xavier del Bac is the oldest building created by Europeans in Arizona. Arizona does have earlier surviving structures by various Native American tribes.

When Mexico became independent, they banned Spanish-born priests which resulted in the Mission’s last resident Franciscan leaving in 1837. Without the church’s financial backing, the church began to decay although the local Native Americans did what they could to stem the tide. In 1854, the Mission was in the area purchased by the United States from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase as the government sought to create a southern transnational railroad route. This allowed the Santa Fe Diocese to claim the Mission in 1859. It sent a priest and money for repairs.

Mission San Xavier del Back is and always has been a house of worship first as well as having a school to educate children.  It is only secondarily a tourist attraction. So while there are ongoing renovatons, the beatup exterior with a couple of saints missing their heads reflects the time close to 240 years that have passed. A surge of restoration money in the 1980s allowed them to renovate using modern methods like cement stucco which was a mistake.  The stucco captured water in the walls which in turn damaged the interior.  So now they are replacing the stucco with traditional mud plaster using pulp from the prickly pear like the Mission had originally. The mud plaster breathes which allows water to escape. Ironically the oldtimey mud technique results in higher maintenance costs and the need for more frequent inspections. You wouldn’t think mud would raise the costs, would you? It’s cool, though, that it’s a building supply that can be sourced and  created locally in the same way they had done 200 years ago.

I love the Mission’s door beckoning worshipers and tourists alike into the dark coolness of the interior. Weatherworn but strong, it has survived centuries. The door’s age, the history it represents and has seen, and it’s natural look is a perfect example of Sabi. The handle is an interesting choice though. They made it a serpent. I would definitely not want to grab a hold of a snake. Look close, they made it native by using a rattlesnake. The snake is a symbol of knowledge because it gave Eve, who passed it to Adam, the knowledge of good and evil.  Until then, the couple knew nothing except obedience and so were innocent. With knowledge came the choice between good and evil. Sin becomes a possible choice, even a probable choice. So does the snake here represent that you leave your sins behind at the door as you enter?  During a time when most people couldn’t read, visual and physical symbols become doubly important because they stand in lieu of words and texts to teach people, supplementing the words of the elders and priests who taught/led them.

There is something about a door that invites you to walk though it. So I did. (more Mission San Xavier del Bac posts)

Mission San Xavier Del Bac
1950 W San Xavier Rd.
Tucson, AZ

Linking up

You can choose to do a pingback or add your link in the Mr. Linkys. Also feel free to leave a link in comments. The advantage to Mr. Linkys is that it can feature an image from your post. Please tag your post Sabi Saturday.

You can use the Amazon search bar to do any search at Amazon. Today I searched for “Mission San Xavier Del Bac”.

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Please go to the most recent Saturday to view and participate in this week’s Sabi Saturday. Hope you join us!