The first time that Pizarro and the conquistadors came in contact with the Inca Empire, the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, welcomed the Spanish into the city. Atahualpa did not know the intentions of the Spanish at this time, and ultimately the Inca’s trust and customs were taken advantage of, leading to the execution of Atahualpa and the invasion of the Inca empire.
The initial pages of Guaman Poma’s The First New Chronicle and Good Government made me feel a little confused at first. I had wondered why an Indigenous nobleman was so persistent in his description of Catholic biblical tales; Especially when his book was addressed to the King of Spain. I found the message Poma was trying to convey in correlation to what I learned about him in the introduction of the reading to be unclear.
My perspective of Poma’s writing changed after learning in class that his work was not actually anti-colonial, but rather a critique on the colonial implementation. It began to click into place perhaps why Poma would draw so many comparisons between the Catholic faith and the Incas belief systems. Upon reading further on in the chapter, I found that Poma was really trying to appeal to the King of Spain on more of a moral ground for the injustices the Indigenous peoples in the Andes were facing.
To be honest, Poma’s work made me a little sad to read. Although the ways in which he describes Indigenous Peoples was problematic and still ultimately pro-colonization (perhaps related to his own personal conflict with his identity) , I think that Poma’s work had the intention of trying to reach some sort of middle ground. That despite the unjust things being done to the Inca’s, if his writing could teach more about Indigenous cultures to a Europeans audience, a commonality could be found. I felt this attempt was especially prevalent in the multiple translations Poma did of his text to make it accessible to a wide array of audiences.
I felt perhaps the heavy emphasis on Catholicism when addressing these injustices to the King was done to show an understanding of the European beliefs in hopes that an understanding would be reciprocated back to the Andes. It made me sad knowing the King of Spain most likely never even read it. The concept of colonization was not a misunderstanding, but an exploitation of people. Watching Poma try to rationalize this was difficult knowing the injustices that would continue to ensue.
5 replies on “Blog Post #4: Guaman Poma Made Me Sad”
If this call to the Monarch shows us anything, it is the reality of having open channels of communication between the Old and the New World. If Guamán Poma had thought that the effort was useless, we would not even have the text itself, the product of hours of writing, research and editing. Also with an intellectual and material cost (in support and inks), and that without taking into account shipping. For Guamán Poma, dialogue was a real possibility.
“The first time that Pizarro and the conquistadors came in contact with the Inca Empire, the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, welcomed the Spanish into the city.”
Not actually the first time as Hemming (in the Peru Reader) makes clear. But the first time that the two representatives of sovereignty meet face to face.
“I felt perhaps the heavy emphasis on Catholicism when addressing these injustices to the King was done to show an understanding of the European beliefs in hopes that an understanding would be reciprocated back to the Andes.”
Yes, there’s a complex series of rhetorical maneuvers underway here. Not that Guaman Poma himself would necessarily see them in these terms. But he is trying to talk (write) back to the Imperial center on its own terms, while also (gently?) subverting some of its assumptions.
I agree with you, thinking about Poma’s intentions for his work and thinking about how it somehow ‘ended up’ in Denmark randomly makes me feel a bit sad. It’s interesting the ways in which Poma attempts to communicate to different audiences… i.e., the christian reader, the king, etc… and through many different mediums. I think Poma’s work is one of the most fascinating because it really cements itself into history rather than simply being a commentary on it. Poma is actively trying to enact something… I’m not sure what that something is, but I’m sure he had grand plans.
Hey Grace. Poma’s book made me sad in a similar way, as I also got the sense that he was trying to create common ground with Europe, and I felt sad that his efforts to be a change-maker of history were likely never even seen by King Phillip III, and were not published like he wished. It made me reflect about other texts/oral histories that have been lost to history and colonization, which deepened my sadness. I also found that my perspective on his work was changed by our close reading in class; I have read/studied Las Casas and Sepulveda in the past, and Jon’s mention of them helped ground my understanding.
I connect with your idea of reciprocity as it applies to Guaman Poma’s outlook on his text. I found this reading harder to connect with due to my own understanding of anti-colonialism, but I agree when framed with his hope of a “middle-ground” the text becomes much clearer and sad. The accessibility part is also interesting because Guaman Poma was searching to reach an audience with power but also wanted his work to be read by the masses. I wonder if there was some implication of a class consciousness on that level? Or maybe a recognition that his work might not make it to the King and therefore hierarchically people below that would still be acceptable. Thanks for sharing your perspective Grace <3