Sincretismo

Spanish form of the word syncretism, which describes an attempt to reconcile or harmonize different beliefs and religious practices.

Writing in The New York Times, Damien Cave described a pageant in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, that forms part of the town’s National Indigenous Festival and is a melting pot of traditional Taíno culture and modern cultural influences.

This was no ordinary pageant.

The competitors, from about 6-years-old to 16, had just paraded through a downpour to a small stage surrounded by mountains, where they displayed elaborate outfits handmade from wood, plants or, in one case, jingling shells. …

Actual Taíno women wore only loincloths. But with the influence of local teenagers, the costumes have become exponentially more extravagant. A few years ago, organizers had to limit their size to 8 feet high by 6 feet wide.

Even with those boundaries, which, of course, the teenagers tried to push, the costumes amounted to a mix of homecoming queen, Halloween, ‘Last of the Mohicans’ and Las Vegas showgirl.

Miguel Rodríguez López, an archaeologist and former pageant judge, told Cave, “It’s a sincretismo … They mix different cultures, different beliefs.”