Upon witnessing some of the many activities that occurred for Corpus Christi today, I chose to dedicate my blog post to Carolyn Dean’s Inka Bodies. I found it fascinating to read how Corpus Christi emerged throughout Hispanic America, and particularly in Cusco. I think that to read on this gave me a better insight on what is really being celebrated, and why. Dean says that Corpus Christi “has specifically incorporated references to non- Roman Catholic beliefs and, frequently, peoples. It does so in the form of a triumph, a celebration heralding a victor” (7). In saying this, Dean suggests that the addition of Indigenous Peruvian culture to the Corpus Christi celebration was done in order to demonstrate power over the beliefs Indigenous culture originally belonged to. To them, Catholicism overrode those beliefs. In this case, I question whether Christ being heralded a “victor” is also considered a kind of victory of Christianity over other beliefs in Cusco. This was my impression from the way that Dean worded herself. However, as someone who did not grow up very religious, I hesitate to make assumptions about a festival and celebration that means so much to so many people. I am comically ignorant of things Dean explains – I do not totally understand what transubstantiation is, and I’m at a point where I am too afraid to ask. The truth is that I know very little about what this festival means or represents at all, that’s why I’m thankful to be reading Dean’s text as I immerse myself in it.
Regardless of any power dynamics, I see Dean’s text as practically explaining a metaphor for Peru as a whole. The Corpus Christi festival in Cusco requires the demonstration of different cultural traditions, regardless of what the reasons for that may be. Similarly, the cathedral mentioned in José María Arguedas’ Deep Rivers was built by “[t]he Spaniards, with the Inca stones and the hands of the Indians” (10). It was not only the Spanish that built Corpus Christi, just as it was not only them that built the cathedral or anything else in the region. Both Dean and Arguedas demonstrate that Peru would have been a drastically different place today had one of those groups never existed. The Spaniards buildings on top of Inca foundations may make it seem as if they are the ones with power- the ones who are visible. However, as is seen also see through what Dean explains about Corpus Christi, the Indigenous foundation is required for anything made by the Spanish to be visible at all.
3 replies on “Corpus Christi, Peru, and Power”
Don’t worry if you don’t fully understand transubstantiation! It’s actually very complicated and it took centuries for the Catholic Church to make sense of it. The important thing perhaps is this: that it is a central dogma of Catholicism, and that, as you say, there is a warlike meaning behind all the paraphernalia we have seen today.
Hi Yasmine! I also thought Dean’s text was informative and am grateful to be reading the book during the festival. Although the origins of the festival were partly intended to demonstrate the power of the Spanish colonialists over the indigenous peoples, it seems to have evolved into something much more beautiful as people dance and sing in the streets.
Hi Yasmin!! I think it’s interesting how you reference the festival as a metaphor for Peru itself. The physical location speaks to the colonial history of Peru as you mentioned. The festival has bloomed into both a secular and non-secular practice that draws upon tradition and modernity, just like Peru is composed of a diversity if practices.