Month: May 2024

While watching the festivities today from the bar balcony, I observed the celebration of many catholic saints and figures such as San Cristobal and The Virgen, but one stuck out to me in particular. Upon a raised platform, carried by probably 20 or 30 young men, the large rearing up figure of a horse and rider meandered around the chaotic square. Jon told me this figure represented Santiago Mataindios. Santiago Mataindios is a patron saint that represents the murder of indigenous people in the pursuit of evangelization of the Pre-Hispanic populus. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Were hundreds, thousands, of people here to venerate an idol of murder against the indigenous people, in the name of Catholicism? It made me wonder, just how much of a strong hold does Catholicism have on modern-day Cusco and in the context of Corpus Christi, how is indigeneity treated.

Stockholm syndrome is defined as a “coping mechanism to a captive or abusive situation where people develop positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time (Cleveland Clinic). The parallels seemed undeniable as I watched the mass of bodies engulfed in ritual, one that celebrated the motivational force behind the death, ruin, and destruction for many of their ancestors.

Inka Bodies reinforces that Corpus Christi is a celebration of triumph, triumph of Christianity and of Conquest. The symbols and rituals nested within the festival celebrate the “victory of the Roman Catholic Church over heretics”. Elements such as the litter, the cart, the arch, and the visual and performative aspects of the festival are meant to symbolize the triumph of the Christian God over the Inkaic Sun. The text proposes that the inclusion of indigenous dance, dress, and custom was of no concern to the Spanish as to them it was either “entertaining” or an expression of joy which was read as compliance. Fast forwarding to the modern day festival, the expressions of indigeneity remain woven into the festival for the purpose of spectacle. But behind the spectacle, is syncretism evidence of indigenous permanence or is the willingness to participate in the Corpus evidence of indelible mark Catholicism has left on Peru? Furthermore, Dean refers to Cuzco as “A museum of the Inka, a place where the past was warehoused and brought out for occasional display” (25). The tension between the celebration of the indigenous in an authentic way with the celebration of the modern day Peru was squarely on display today.

Do the celebrations of Corpus Christi and the culture of Catholicism in modern-day Latin America constitute a form of Stockholm syndrome?

Does the spectatorship we are participating in contribute to the celebration of indigeneity or the celebration of the subjugation of the indigenous to evangelization?

Creation myth is a recurring element of indigenous cultures around the world. While we of course can’t possibly have a record of all the versions created by different populations in history, the stories we manage to preserve into today have striking similarities in their motivations, contents, and style.

A through line in creation myths is of course, Creation. Indigenous cultures structured the reasoning for the existence of landforms, animals, and humans around divine interventions. Long before science (in the way we know it now) indigenous cultures celebrated nature and creation in district ways which hopefully we will get to appreciate the remnants of in our course.

The Huarochiri Manuscript is described as “a unique seventeenth-century collection of indigenous and colonial mythology”. In it, a woman “Huaca” is impregnated via a fruit and the existence of animals as well as their public perceptions are explained. This manuscript was sponsored by priest Francisco de Avila to prove the “Indians” were idolators, whose religion he eventually made all efforts possible to erase.

The parallels to both the Bible and the Popol Vuh were interesting to me. As mentioned above, there is of course the virgin birth story and the portrayal of the “mother” as a pristine madonna figure. Virginity is celebrated which is surely indicative of the priests influence on the text. Similar influence can be noted in the Maya K’iche’ creation text Popol Vuh. Although the stories existed orally for many years before being recorded by Francisco Ximenez, it’s not possible to know what was Cristian influence and what was representative of indigenous theology. Yet again, an issue of representation. In “making” indigeneity as these 2 friars claimed to be doing, there is an effective unmaking through the intentional or unintentional translation bias.

The Popol Vuh doesn’t focus on virgin birth, instead telling of how the gods made man first from mud, then from wood, and finally (and successfully) from corn so that he could work and importantly, worship (read: idolatry). The environment, the plants and animals are all explained by divine creation. women do come up though as the gods give the first humans wives to make them content. For me this screams Cristian influence. In the Bible, Eve was made from the rib of Adam to populate the earth and please him. Lastly, a great flood is used by the gods to wipe out their imperfect creations in the Popol, a scene which is ever so familiar to Bible caracters.

The intertwining of these 3 stories as well as the obvious influence of translator bias made me think more about how any text can be considered as a “true” or “primary” source for the study of indigenous cultures. Is it even possible to get to the unbiased and non-christianized version? Who can we really trust and which representations are “good enough”?

The last 4 days in Lima have been an introduction to the modern city of “Lima” and exposure to the evidence of cultures of previous versions of “Lima”. Today I visited Huaca Pucllana which was a temple pyramid dedicated to Lima goddess of the ocean. The Lima occupied this area and constructed this temple complex some 1500 years ago. They would then be conquered by the Wari, the Inca, and of course the Inca would fall to the Spanish in the 1500s. The guide took us around to the different archaeological sites under investigation and gave the group some basic background on the materials, processes, and cultural significance of the site. A good half of our tour group seemed to be only really concerned with getting a great picture of themselves at various different points, and were paying very little attention to the explanation of what they wanted their selfie with. The guide explained to us who were listening that the Lima believed that the ocean was controlled by a goddess and that each night the sea gobbles up the sun. For this reason, the temple venerated a female figure. The contrast of the divine feminine stood out to me as a large man, once again, pushed directly in front of me to take a photo of himself with the adobe bricks. The view from the top was well grey. I imagine on a clear day, the vista out to the ocean and the Andean foothills at your back would’ve felt quite magical and given inspiration to keep building a temple complex year and year again.

Duality is a theme that keeps coming up in Peru. We observed it at Museo Larco in the art and stories of the Moche and Chimu. Highlighted there was the dark/light, dry/wet, day/night, male/female to name a few. Each civilization represented and perhaps perceived these dualities in their own way but the motif repeated over and over, through time and even with social upheaval. Duality is undeniable.

Directly after visiting Huaca Pucllana, I walked into Miraflores and along the malecón. The sea stretched out to my right and on my left raced by cars, buses, combis and the like. Peruvians and their families played in the park while tourists took photos of the same view we all have a photo of. People were there living their normal life, doing the things they feel make the day worth living and although I wasn’t strolling through a modern cathedral, I think people were there participating in the rituals they believe make the next day worth seeing. I wondered to myself, isn’t coming from half a world away to sit and watch the sunset at the Mirador with your lover kinda a pilgrimage in its own right. When the modern day “gods” are the perfect instagram moment, is taking a photo of your partner at every corner an offering in and of itself?

It’s easy for us now to look back on the ancient civilizations and scoff at the lack of understanding or their “pagan” beliefs. But I can’t think of anything more in tune with the real human experience than believing that the ocean is a women and she does indeed swallow up the sun whole every night. And isn’t it more fun to believe that anyway?

Well here we are, in Peru!

Melville had his finger on something, Lima is gray. Flying-in over the northern part of the city, you can understand where the inspiration of “frantic seas” and “tossed pack of cards” come from. One being such a natural, un-changeable description while the other being the result of the imposed colonization of the area. An imposed ‘ordering’. Although no one would say 52 pick-up constituted an orderly game. So what then was the point of all the Spanish hub-bub around the creation of an impossible dream.

Galvez provides an insight to the colonial ideology within the city-centered context. The success of the economy and the value of hard work and dedication (Protestant ideology surely) is emphasized primarily as Limas reason for success as a “city”. Further examples are given such as the increase of cricket games and “noble emulations”. Additionally, the subscription to the European model of work increased and the social currency of employee-ship gained momentum. Lima approached European society administratively, and thus culturally as well. Its noted that “Limas village spirit disappeared” which I think provides an interesting contrast to what we learned at LUM today.

There was a repeated discourse about the need for residents of the highlands to move to Lima as refugees during the time of conflict in Peru. This immigration into “barrios nuevos” is neither ordered nor at the wishes of the “letrado” population, from what we have learned so far. I think it shows the fragility of the idea of planning an ordered city. How can one account for sociopolitical upheavals much less natural disasters such as earthquakes etc. Furthermore, the límenos were able to ignore the majority of the violence during these years by being in a “safe” city but in reality, the leader of the movement was living among them the whole time. What a privilege to not have to fight the battle on your home field. What a privilege to feel entitled to your space in a city in which you were a refugee (in some way or another) while being able to turn a blind eye to the “non-civilized” part of the country.

I look forward to learning more about the complex factors at play and getting multiple viewpoints in the coming weeks. Feel free to answer one of the proposed questions above or add on your thoughts about the duality of city and country life, in their context of Peru during a time of conflict.

Hi all!

I am looking forward to meeting up with you all in just a few days now as we begin our journey in Peru. I am a (now graduated) Spanish student with specific interest in Latin American art and culture. I grew up in the US originally, but now live full time in Vancouver and enjoy the fruits of the Canadian life. In my spare time I enjoy outdoor activities, cooking, and listening to music. Although I don’t play an instrument currently, I would love to learn one day. The last month or so I have been traveling around Mexico through Monterrey, Quintana Roo, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Mexico City. Each place has been so different!

In terms of the course, I am looking forward to getting a more in depth experience with the culture alongside the readings of the texts. I think immersion in the country and exposure to its cultural landmarks will give the readings and assignments more tangibility. I also hope to practice my Spanish both out in the world and maybe in the readings.

I hope we can make a good little group and have lots of fun along the way as we learn about this intriguing country and culture with Jon.

See you soon!