Photo courtesy of Tom Sheridan

Arizona State Museum ethnohistory curator Tom Sheridan participates in a reenactment of the stations of the cross ceremony in Mexico.

Thursday October 4, 2001

Tom Sheridan hung on a cross, but he wasn't dying for anyone's sins.

But those interested in finding out what he was doing can attend the Arizona State Museum's new lecture series "Person-to-Person: Making Cultural Connections."

The series, which begins tonight and runs every Thursday in October, focuses on the personal experiences of some of the museum's scholars - experiences they picked up while living, studying and working among people of different cultures.

"These are the kind of personal experiences that anthropologists have when they're doing their field work," Sheridan said.

Sheridan, the final speaker in the series, was also a part of the museum's "Rare Glimpses" series in September. However, the two series display some distinct differences.

While "Rare Glimpses" focused on more academic subjects, "[Person-to-Person] is less scholarly. It gives research a human face," Sheridan said.

Sheridan, the curator of ethnohistory for the Arizona State Museum, will give a lecture titled, "A View from the Cross: Holy Week in Cucurpe, Sonora." In this lecture, he will talk about his participation in a live reenactment of the Stations of the Cross, a Catholic ritual performed during Lent.

"The year I was there (1981), the president of the Municipio, principal of the school and a young doctor there decided they wanted to jazz it up and do the Stations of the Cross with real people," Sheridan said. "They asked me, I think, because I had a beard and because I was an outsider."

While the live reenactment served to "jazz up" the Stations of the Cross, it stopped short of being too real.

"I was on the cross, but I wasn't nailed. They lashed us to the cross," Sheridan said. "I was definitely up there."

Sheridan's article about this experience, which occurred during fieldwork for his dissertation, appeared in City magazine. Sheridan won an Arizona Press Club award for the piece.

He also wrote about how the locals reacted to the different version of the Stations of the Cross.

"Everybody had a great time. I think people appreciated the effort. Holy Week is the biggest vacation time in Mexico," Sheridan said. "It's not only a religious celebration, it's a big party. They take their religious obligations seriously, but there's no false piety."

Hartman Lomawaima, Associate director of Arizona State Museum, presents tonight's lecture, titled "Red Indians in India: Building Understanding and Making Friends."

"Lomawaima recalls some of his personal and professional experiences in recalling the story of this cultural exchange program, the first of its kind ever presented in India," ASM development associate Darlene Lizarraga stated in a press release.

The lecture starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for English as a Second Language building. All lectures are at 7:30 Thursday evenings through the month of October, and all lectures are free. Call 626-8381 for more information.