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TheImageandtheFigure
studentsfromtheInstituteofEthnologyandCulturalAnthropologyoftheJagiel-
lonianUniversityintheyear2000insouthernPoland.Aperegrinationofacopy
oftheimageofOurLadyofCzęstochowawashappeningconcurrentlywiththe
interviews.3Additionally,onehundredwrittenquestionnairesweredistributed,
completedandcollectedfromrandomlychosenpeoplelivingalloverPoland.In
additiontotheinterviewsandquestionnaires,Imadeuseofparticipantobserva-
tionsduringreligiouseventsinvolvingtheimageofOurLadyofCzęstochowa(at
theJasnaGóraMonastery,duringperegrinationofthecopyoftheimageinvari-
ouspartsofPoland,duringpilgrimages).Atthetimethefieldresearchwascon-
ducted,Igatheredavarietyofmaterials,suchaswrittenentriesinvotivebooks,
religioussongsandpoetry,popularreligiousmagazines,devotionalprintouts,and
iconographicaldocumentation;Itreattheseasimportantethnographicsources
revealingvariousaspectsofcontemporarypietyconnectedwiththeimageofOur
LadyofCzęstochowa.
Analyzingmaterialfromtheeldresearch,Ichosetofocusonfourtopics:
storiesoftheimage’sorigin,thesymbolismofthewoundsvisibleonMary’s
face,theconceptoftheQueenofthenation,andthepresenceofOurLadyof
Częstochowainlivedreligion.Usingcontemporaryethnographicresearch,Icon-
structedeachchapterrecallingolder,historicaltracesofcontemporarymythsand
symbolsattachedtoOurLadyofCzęstochowa.Ofcoursemychoiceoftopics
doesnotcoverthewholecomplicatedphenomenonofthecultofOurLadyof
Częstochowa.Thereisstillmoreworktobedoneparticularlywiththeissueof
pilgrimagesdoneon-footeachsummertoCzęstochowa.Thesenumerouspil-
grimswhocomefromvarious(sometimesremote)partsofPolandcreateaunique
religiousphenomenonincontemporaryEurope.
Inorganizingandinterpretingvariousfragmentsfrommyfieldmaterial,Ihave
introducedthetermsgreatandsmallstories.Thesetermsaremeanttodistinguish
betweendecidedlycollectiveaspectsofthecultofOurLadyofCzęstochowa
(great)andmoreindividualdimensionofthiscult(small).Whilethegreatsto-
ryemphasizesthenationaldimensionofOurLadyofCzęstochowaandisbuilt
aroundthetitleoftheQueenofthenation,thesmallstoriesarebasedonvery
intensive,individualreligiousexperiencesandmostlyemphasizematernaland
humanaspectsofMary.
Finally,Ishouldalsoexplaincertaintermsappearinginthetitleofthebook,
namely"theimageandthefigureofOurLadyofCzęstochowa.”Thebookandits
titlerevealacertaindualityencodedintheconceptoftheholyimageinChris-
tianity.Thepicture(material,panel,paintedboard,statueetc.)isseenandexpe-
riencedbyareligiouspersonastheimageoftheholyfigure,representing(i.e.
makingpresent)thisholygure.Thisparticularrelationshipofimageandfigure
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Namesofinterviewers:AnnaNiedźwiedź,StanisławChruściel,GrzegorzCichy,Szy-
monJadczak,PiotrKuśmierczyk,PatrycjaKutera,MagdalenaRawłów,AgnieszkaTomana,
ArlettaWawrzyniak,EwaWiejaczka.