Symbolic Memory, Mixed-Gender Membership, and Ritual Resignification: The Experience of Logia USIR No. 63 in Manizales, Caldas (Colombia)
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https://doi.org/10.15517/b8w9ag36Keywords:
Contemporary Freemasonry; symbolic memory; hybridity; ritual reinterpretation; ManizalesAbstract
This article examines USIR Lodge No. 63, founded in 2015 in Manizales, Colombia, as a case of contemporary transformation within local Freemasonry. Using a qualitative and interpretive methodology based on semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, and contextual observation, it explores how the lodge constructs a distinct collective identity through symbolic memory, hybridity, and ritual reinterpretation. Rather than representing a complete rupture with previous Masonic traditions, USIR reconfigures inherited repertoires through new narratives of belonging, inclusion, and initiatory practice. The case contributes to understanding contemporary Colombian Freemasonry by showing how local lodges negotiate continuity, adaptation, and identity formation.
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