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Introduction
3
ismorethanjustamatteroftheologicalorphilosophicaldispute.Asrecordedin
myfieldresearch,theimage-figurerelationisthecentralissueofreligiousexperi-
enceconnectedwithOurLadyofCzęstochowa.Formyinterviewees,theimage
enablescontactwiththerealholygurei.e.Mary.Thisconceptofthepersonal
dimensionofveneratedimagesandaspecificrelationbetweenaviewerandan
imagehasbeenpresentinthebroaderdiscourseofculturalanthropologyandart
historyforseveraldecades.4
Asfortheusageoftheterm"OurLadyofCzęstochowa,”Ishouldexplainthat
theimageisalsoknowninPolandastheimageofOurLadyofJasnaGóra.Both
namesareusedinterchangeably.Therstnamereferstothecity(Częstochowa)
wherethePaulineMonks’monasteryislocated.JasnaGóra(Polishfor:the
BrightMountain)isthenameofthemonasterywheretheimageiskept.Inpopu-
larlanguage,theimageisalsooftencalledtheBlackMadonnaofJasnaGóra/
CzęstochowaduetothedarkfacesofMaryandJesusdepictedonthepicture.5
TheoriginalPolishversionofthisbookwaspublishedin2005.6Inprepar-
ingtheEnglishversion,Ihadtomakemanychangesandabbreviations;several
accommodationsandexplanationswereaddedandsubtractedforthebenefitof
non-Polishreaders.
Forme,asaculturalanthropologistandasaPole,workingonandwriting
aboutcontemporaryPolishreligiositysurroundingOurLadyofCzęstochowawas
afascinatingexperience.Imyselfcametoanunderstandingofremotesourcesof
symbolismandmythicalstructurespresentinpopularcontemporarydiscourse
andperceptionoftheimage-figureofOurLadyofCzęstochowa.Itismyhope
thatthisbookcontainsimportantandilluminatinginsightsandcontextforPoles
andnon-Polesalikeandwillallowadeeperunderstandingoftheissuessurround-
ingthisimportantreligiousandnationalsymbol.
4
Seee.g.J.Tokarska-Bakir,Obrazosobliwy.Hermeneutycznalekturaźródełetnograficz-
nych(Kraków,2000).AlsovariousworksbyDavidMorganaredefinitelyworthrecallingin
thatcontext.SeeespeciallyD.Morgan,VisualPiety.AHistoryandTheoryofPopularReligious
Images(Berkeley,LosAngeles,London,1998).SeealsoD.Freedberg,PowerofImages.Stud-
iesintheHistoryandTheoryofResponse(ChicagoandLondon,1989).
5
Idecidednottousetheterm"BlackMadonna”inmywritingabouttheimageofOur
LadyofCzęstochowa.InPolishtheterm"BlackMadonna”appearsmostlyindevotionalcon-
textsandpossessesastrongreligiousweight.Forfurtherexplanationandanalysisofsymbolic
meaningsoftheterm"BlackMadonna”seeChapterII,Section9ofthisbook.
6
A.Niedźwiedź,Obrazipostać.ZnaczeniawizerunkuMatkiBoskiejCzęstochowskiej
(Kraków,2005).