We set off to discover an original path, traced by the photographer Viviane Lièvre and the French nomadic writer Jean-Yves Loude. Together, the two ethnologists set off from Puy-en-Velay to Galicia via Portugal, in search of pregnant virgins, making the journey a quest for truth, justice and equality.
After taking us on the trail of the silent memories of Africa, in the Portuguese-speaking world, from the Azores to Lisbon, or on the African continent, the French nomadic writer Jean-Yves Loude publishes his latest story with Éditions Chandeigne “ The path of the pregnant virgins “. For this book, Jean-Yves Loude immersed himself at length with the photographer and ethnologist Viviane Lièvre in the holy texts, in the New Testament, its canonical but also apocryphal gospels, before physically embarking on a journey, in search of well-known representations. particular features of the Virgin Mary, the round belly, pregnant, lactating or parturient. Statuettes sometimes disappeared or hidden because they were deemed “unwatchable” by the Council of Trent in 1563.
For him as for his companion Viviane, this journey will then take on the appearance of a treasure hunt between France, Portugal and Spain, in search of these statuettes that must be sought in the corners of history, in churches, museums or isolated chapels. Along the way, on this road to Compostela of their own, our two travel inspectors go back to the sources of the misogynistic discourse of the Church and question the weakness of the role assigned to women, starting with Marie, a nevertheless popular figure who knew how to cross ages and prohibitions.
A meeting initially broadcast in October 2022
Learn more :
– On the story of Jean-Yves Loude, published in EChandeigne editions.
– On the path of pregnant virginsa website with nearly 450 photos by Viviane Lièvre completes the book.