WITCHQRAET {N COLONIAL LATIN AM§RICA

Thesis €09 3m Dagree a? M. A.
Mle‘fiG‘Mé STATE UNEWRSETY
Rabin Jeanne Ufimer
196:5

 

mun mmnnumwmnmmmmu ‘ L Egg; j
3 1293 00692 1021 Uni-vets“)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROOM use om

 

WITCECRAJ'! IR COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA

By

Robin Jeanne Ulmer

A 2110.1.
Submitted to
Michigan State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for a degree of

Master of Arte

Department of History
1965

~ I
p.» .2 I
J/")
ft”

[1"IL‘J- ‘fill

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter.

INTBDIUCTION...........
SHRIE RELIGION AND WITCHORAPI' .
INDIAN RELIGION AND WITCHGRAIT . .
UBIOAN RELIGION AND WITGHCRAH .

CHRISTIANIZATION AIMS m m m WORLD

GERISTIANIZATION ANDWITCHCRAM . . . . .

WIEOHGBAMSYNCRETISM..........

BELIM’M O O O O O 0 O 0 o e e e

17

2%

57
64

INTBDNCTION

No detail of wizardry seems to have been un-
known to these ancient magicians. There is the black
witch ointment of noxious ingredients. the nabed ride
on brooms . . . . There is no gaiety in this side of
the business: it ends in the suicide'e rope and the
war symbols. It proves that fill as well as Good
used much the same manifestations in ancient Ameri‘a
as in EurOpe. It is in fact a subject which is better
left alone by the wise student.1 ‘

Notwithstanding the warning from Mr. Burland, this paper will
trace the patterns and deveIOpnent of witchcraft in colonial Latin
America. 'Iitchcraft' is used in a very limited sense. meaning
only the idea of some supernatural power used exclusively for
inflicting misfortune upon others of which man can become possessed.2

It is hoped that by comparing the colonial religious experience

_ ___ —_

1ccttic Arthur Burland. 2133c Books £32m Megcg (Harmondsworth
England: Penguin Books, 1953). p. 9.
zm-Pritchard, in an Africa Journal article (October. 1985),
distinguishes between African bad magic (or cursory) and witchcraft.
He defines witchcraft as a 'psychic act'. or an impossible and
imaginary offence: sorcery, on the other hand. is a conscious and
deliberate attempt to make magical potions with the intent of harming
others. Several authors have suggested that this distinction should
be carried throgh in investigations of witchcraft in other areas of
the world. Indeed. some authors have suggested that the Spanish colo-
nial influence confused and destroyed the belief in the sepuation of
sorcerer and witch held by Africans and pro-Cortesian Indians. The
evidence for this. however. is scanty.

of Indians and Negroes in Latin America new insights may be gained
as to the source. adoption, and syncretism of witchcraft beliefs and
practices. The primary focus of this study will be centered upon
llexico and Central America. but other areas and peoples are mentioned
when pertinent. A general threw-century span (1500-1300) will be
used in order to facilitate comprehension of influences which New
Iorld witchcraft received, and trends which it later followed.
Illustrations of the confusion and amalgamation of witchcraft
traditions in colonial Latin America are given by an emphasis upon.

what has been assumed to be. three differing cultural beliefs. l'hese

are: Indian tonalig 94 Melissa; the European devil's pg :
and .the African. ir t sess on. All three beliefs became

”or elements in colonial wizardry.

A very strong and permeating tradition among Indians in the
New sci-ii was (and is) a belief in the mystical relationship of a
pereon with an animal. Ionalism means that an animal and a human
exist separately. but are united by a common destiny. livery Indian
had a 395, or an animal associated with his human self. If the
animal were hurt, killed or of good health. than the Indian would be
correspondingly hurt. killed or of good health: and 1&2! m
lagualism is a different human-animal relationship. For it is the
belief that an individual is able to transform or metamorphoee him-
self into an animal. lot all Indians had a 2%. Generally. only
a priest could lose his human form and acquire that of an animal.

The metamorphosis was a manner by which the priest could request

some benevolent action from a god.3

The devil's pact is strictly of luropean origin. It was a
means by which an individual could voluntarily make an agreement
or contract with the devil in order to obtain supernatural powers.‘‘

Spiritual possession is a part of African religious ceruonies.
A priest. in asking for a furor from a god or in order to obtain
powers of divination. would interpret the words and actions of an
'initicte' who had fallen into a trance and state of ”possession“.
The possession would be indieed with the help of singing. dancing.
and particular beatings of sacred drums.5

These three beliefs are thought of as more or less unique to
the cultures mentioned. Yet. not only were all three to become
confused in the low World and compounded with each other. but all
were to obtain associations with witchcraft belief. thus creating
a pattern of wizardry peculiar to Latin America. A suggested
intermingling of these beliefs can be witnessed in the following
accusations of witchcraft brought before the Inquisition in few
Spain.

__ - _‘ __ L-—_.

adongale Aguirre Beltran. n a:
i n l e t colon Mexico: Institute Hacienal
13418931 I t‘ 9 1963 . Fe 99 e

4'Villiam Madeen. "Christo-Paganism: A Study of Mexican

Religious Syncretin.‘ mane huddle American ysggch Inga};
(lew Orleans: Tulane University. Publication lo. 19. 1960 . p. 163.

60. Aguirre Beltrfin. op. cit.. pp. 61-65. See also. Janheins

Jenn, urn : r r can 6 t . trans. Marjorie orene (low
York: Grove Trees. Inc. . 19615. pp. 36-51.

4

An Indian. Martin Ucelc. was brought before the bishop and
inquisitor Don l'rsy Juan de Zumarraga in 1536 because:

He has dealt much in wizardry and prophecy. and has
turned himself into a tiger. lion. and dog and has
shown and is showing to the natives of New Spain things
against our faith and has said that he is immortal.

and. that he has spoken many times at night with the
devil. and has done and said many other things

against our Catholic faith. with great and im-
pediment to the conversion of the natives.

learly a century later a legro slave was brought before the
Inquisition for an incident in times province. Huastecan Indians
had gathered for a ceremonial dance. complete with the traditional
flowers. music and instruments used in honoring the god Len. Several
legreee. mulattoes and mestisoe were present and participating in

the Indian dance. Among them was a legro called Lucas Olola who:

Examining himself in the clothes of said Indians. used
for said dance. feigned a swoon. and as such 1st himself
fall. and was senseless for a long time. frothing at the
mouth. and later got up with noticeable madness and said
that hi. Ipirit had. already 3”,. e e e $0111“ 8811
Indians into belief in his divinity. he cured them of
their illnesses through sucking and burning okote pine.
doing such that they do when they believe themselves to
have. or truly have in their cures. a pact with the devil.
and he made them believe that he saw and knew the person
who was inflicting evil. causing them such illness. be-
cmse this is certain and unfortunate. and one is able to
affirm without doubt. that no Huastecan Indian. adult or
child. dies without his death attributed to some Indian
witch: and this said Segre said that he knew and saw who
it was: . . . and all including the legro threw out the

“Publicacionos del Archive General de la sacién. tome m.
guess“ 9 i541" idolatroe z hgghicgrog (Mexico: 1912) as quoted

by Julio Jimenez Rueda. Her i on s i i n s In
m (Hexico: Imprenta universitaria. 1946;. p. 200.

miserable Indians (the witches causing illness;: and their
women. fearful they would be killed. were taken and en-
Joyed'; and the sick were made to die by hatred of others.

The first case of the Indian. Martin Ucelo. indicates an amalgmn
of Indian nagualiam with the lurcpean belief in direct comnication
with the devil. In the second. Lucas Olola. an African. becuse
possessed by a spirit during an Indian religious ceremony. He believed
that this made him divine and gave him the power of detecting witches
who were causing harm and illness. The Indians. although there is
no indication that an Indian curer or 'witch-dootor' ever went into
a state of possessions. believed themselves cured by machinations
of the legro slave.

Whether all purported practices of witchcraft which were described
by the Inquisition actually did occur. does not concern us greatly.
Ihere exists some evidence to substantiate the reality of particular
practices. But. the fact that there were people who confessed to acts
of wizardry without force or torture. or leading questions by inquisi-
tors. is that which is important. For this seems to suggest that the
colonial Latin Americans believed in witchcraft. and that often their
belief was strong enougi to create and sustain an individual‘s parti-
cipation (real or imaginary) in wizardry.

4—- _ __—

Ww— ____

7Publicaciones del Archiwo General de la lacién as quoted
by G. Aguirre Beltran. n. cit.. pp. 65-66.

as. Aguirre Beltran. 93. git" p. 67.

i‘o determine the sources and forces operative in making the
Latin American climate conducive to such ideas of witchcraft. several
belief systems will have to be examined and understood. These include
the background of witchcraft and religion in 15th and 16th century
spain. pre-Oortesian America. and Africa before the slave trade.9
Historical factors concerning the methods of attempted conquest and
conversion by the Spaniard must also be examined. And. finally. we
must attempt to identify and follow particular patterns of witchcraft
belief during the colonial period. and determine why they existed.

As it is not within the scope of this paper to examine all
particular or individual features of the elements listed above. a
necessarily brief over-view (obtained from contemporary sources when
possible) must suffice. And major concern will be placed upon the
expression of witchcrafto-in particular. the confusion and. amalgama-
tion of beliefs such as tonalism and nagualism. the devil's pact.
and spiritual possession--and its function among colonial Latin

American peoples.

__——— _ _
—_—— ———

’Literature by contemporaries concerning 15th century Africa
is extremely limited. Out of necessity this paper will have to assume
certain pro-slave trade belief systems according to early descriptions
of Negroes in the Iew world by Spanish writers (taking pains to watch
for probable cultural bias). and by the ethnographic investigations of
current anthropologists. llany authors have struggled against this
lack of historical data. yet emminent scholars of the negro in the
lew world (including Aguirre Beltran. Arthur Ramos and brine Bodrfgues)
continue to investigate and formulate hypotheses of an historical nature
to be used in their acculturation studies. Given little alternative.
and the fact that there is no proof to the contrary. we shall in this
study utilise certain present assumptions of the Negro past. elaborated
by various scholars.

SPANISH RELIGION AID WITCHCRAJT

On his second day in Tenochtitlan. Cortés visited the emperor
liontesuma and. after formal greetings. tactlessly addressed his host

en the evil of Aztec religion. Your gods are but devils and evil

spirits. he said. and obviously powerless. I am grieved that so many
souls shall be lost and sent to hell by your false idols.

We are Christians. believing in the one true
God and Jesus Christ who suffered for our salvation.
We pray to the cross as an emblem of that cross on
which our Lord and Savior was crucified. By his
death the whole human race was saved. He rose on
the third day and was received in heaven. By him
heaven. earth. sea. and every living creature was
formed. and nothing existed but by his divine will.1

And Spanish missionaries came to the Few World. preaching the
Christian belief in a single. omnipotent and invisible God. Their
God tolerated no other gods and did not depend upon mortals for his
existence. his God was perfect and a God of love. but was wrathful
towards those who disobeyed his commandments or worshipped another.

he friars taught the children that the image of the
woman was a figure of the Mother of God called Mary
. . . Ind how He wished His mother to be honored and

reverenced and that we should accept her as gar
advocate and mediator in order to reach God.

J ‘_— #— _ ———-____‘ 4— —_
—— i .— t— ’7

lcortés to Montezuma as quoted tron Bernal nine del Castille.
Yggdadera Higtoria g la Cogguisg d3 MexicoI 1568. trans. John

Ingrnn Iecndnrt. {the n rs r t Co uistador Bernal Dias l
Castillo (2 vols.: London. 1844,. I. 225.

2hadron. pp. 94;” p. 127. quoting Motolonia.

Mary was not the only mediator. however. The Spaniards also
placed images of saints throughout the churches in Latin America
and preached about the miracles they performed. {these saints were
perfect. benevolent and loved beings. and interceded with God to
ebtain favors for men.

But if Spanish soldiers and friars brought Catholic dogna and
doctrine to the New World. they as well transported their belief in
witches-~a familiar phenomenon to all Europeans. The Christian devil.
the embodiment of all evil. had reached astonishing proportions by
the time of the conquest. Throughout lurope a torrent of witchcraft
practices was purportedly unleashed in the devil's me. and due to
his power and influence.

Belief in. and legislation against. witchcraft (leaving out the
Druidic religion or other ancient cults) appeared in Europe from at
least the fourth century on. A decree attributed to an obscure Council
ofAncyraintheysarmd says:

Some wicked women, reverting to Satan. and seduced

by the illusions and phantasms of demons. believe

and profess that they ride at night with Diana on

certain beasts. with an innumerable company of

women. passingaover immense distances. obeying her

commands . . .
Ihis illustrates the Church's early scepticism regarding the reality
of witchcraft. Later beliefs tended to outweigh such caution. and
instead of referring to wizardry as the product of mere “illusions“ .
nearly everyone began to believe in the existence of witches. They

‘
____-—_-‘
‘__‘__ __- ‘_ __

3Julio Caro Baroda. W (Hedi-id: Revista de
Occidente. 1961). p. 98.

flew at night to their Sabbaths which were often located at cross-
roads; they sometimes covered their bodies with ointments to help
the flying procedure. or often used beasts for transportation: and
witches made pacts with the devil. indulged in feasts. orgies and
occasionally cannibalism. An open declaration of war against witches
was called by the Church in 1484. At this date. ”Pope Innocent VIII.
'a man of scandalous life' . as a Catholic historian calls him. promul-
gated his bull gm; new . . ."

In 15th and 16th century Spain. one supposes that belief in
witchcraft was quite wide-spread due to the constancy of this the
(with both historical and imaginary roots) in novels and dramas of
the period. A well-known figure of necromancy at the beginning of the
XVI century was Doctor Eugenie Iorralba who. immortalised by the words
of Don Quidote. was lifted into the air by the devil. flew in twelve
hours to Rome. came so close to the moon that he could have taken hold
of it with his hand. and dared not look down to earth for fear of
dizziness. Althougl brought before the Inquisition in 1528 after
years of purported fantastic flights and mystical experiences. Corralba

was only incarcerated for a few years.5 30min Ramirez. who became

A _— _ __— *‘ __—

4Geoffrey Parrinder. Witghcraft: flow and ggicg (London:

”bar and. hbel‘. 1963), Pa 23o

sforralba is also an important personage in Carto Mogo. a
poem by Luis Zapata. written in 1566.

_ References and further information for the literary works
and authors mentioned can be found in Menindes y Pelayo.. ..pp. 328-
361: in Jimenes Rueda. g. 931.. pp. : Julio Caro Barons. Las 3!“ as
Y Su Mundo (Madrid: nevieta de Occidente. 1961) pp. 217-220.

10

the hero of a comedy by Juan Ruiz de Alarcon. supposedly made a pact
with the devil and exercised his power in doing evil as well as curing
until caught and punished by the Inquisition of Toledo it 1600. 2!;
Orotalog. Cristdbal de Villalon's masterpiece. serves as a commentary
of the witches of Navarra. even thong: classical reminiscences are
mixed with the historical occurrences. And. Lope de fined. wrote a
Spanish drama. mg, in which the hero is a lioorish wizard.
rheological books and treatises on this subject were also plentiful
at the time of the New World discovery. Irancisco de Yitoria. called
the Socrates of Spanish theology. discredited most necromancy. but
admitted a magic. mtg-m. l'his magic proceeded not from
natural cases or means. but from an inmterial power of the devil.
and was founded on the devil's pact. l'r. Martin de Gastaliega wrote at
length upon the witches of lavarra. And Benite Perer and Martin Rio
wrote on wizardry and its theological interpretation and meaning.
But perhaps the most important work concerning Spanish witchcraft
is thelavishly recorded opinions of Pedro Oiruelo. a Spanish clergyb
man of the 16th century. Mene'nde: y Peleyo says of him:
Instead of remonstrating with affected erudition the
origins of superstitions arts or of losing himself
in the intricacies and subtleties of scholastic ques-
tions. he does not remove for a moment his eyes from
the practical question. and faithfully describes the
state of witchcraft and of the occult sciences in his
country at his time. . . .
Giruelo describes the Spanish belief in the devil's pact and the

initiation processes into demonic cults:

.__— #—
_‘- __ .__— -
— — *—

6lienendes y Pelm. H or 6. hot 6.
(Argentina: lspansa-Galpe. 1951 . p. 329.

11

for the invoking of the devil they use certain words

and ceremonies. sacrifice bread and foods. incense with
diverse herbs and perfume. Some call the devil tracing
a circle on the ground: others in a flask full of water.
or in a mirror. or in precious stones. or in the glimpses
from fingernails. it tines the devil appears in the
figure of man. and the necromante sees him and speaks
with him. . . . On other occasions he is present in the
form ef a dog. a cat. a wolf. lion. rooster: and for
certain magic he signals inside the body of some man or
animal. and lives and speaks in him. or moves the
tongues of cadavers. or appears in dreams . . .

Many times the witches fall into stupors. from
which they tell many secrets of science and art. some
are taken as prophets.

In order to locate riches or to be fortunate in
love they use written slips of paper . . . suspending
them in their orchards. vinards or forests . . .

witches are mounted on he-goats. on brooms. or on
a reed.

Yet. the worst. says Oiruelo. are the witches who inflict
infirmity upon others. It is certain. for Giruelo. that some
individuals have the “sad privilege of infecting others with their
look'. . a phenmnenon called g], 9; 3L.8

' lot only was witchcraft the product of “delusions fostered by
the Church'. but it hen been suggested that the Bible itself is full
of witchcraft beliefs. 'i'hou shalt not suffer a witch to live'
(hodns nii. 18) was an oft-quoted verse used in Justification of

9
witches in lurope. Others telling of the condemnation of witchcraft

_..- ‘—

7m.. pp. 330-331. 333. 339.

3m. p. 334. St. fhomas Aquainas had a firmly rooted convic-
tion that the hman eye is endowed. at times. with such power that-by
the strong imagination of the soul it can corrupt and poison the
atmosphere. and weak bodies which fall within its range can raain
dangerously affected.

9
Parrinder. 'itchcrgt: may; 53d African. p. 117.

12

include 2

Dent. xviii. 1012. 'A witch . . . a consulter with
familiar spirits. a wizard. are . . . an abomination
“to m Lord e e e.

Lev. n. 27. '1 man also or woman that hath a
familiar spirit or that is a wizard. shall surely
be put to death.”

l'rederick nigh writes a bit further. and asks how one who
believes in the Bible could not help but believe in witchcraft.

Denial of witchcraft also entails a denial of religion.
especially the Jewish and Christian faiths. which
positively teen with warnings and instances. Vitches.
manifestations of the dead. transvection of corporal
bodies. levitation. demonic possession. migration of
familiars. emorcism. re-animation ('can these deed
bones live'). lying and misleading by evil spirits.
the battle of the eludes. sorcery. blighting of crops.
and all the familiar and unfamiliar processes of witch-
craft. are scattered through almost every book of the
Bible and the falmud.

there is no doubt that Hoses. who was no mytho-
logical being. . . . was steepted in witchcraft. and
knew intimately all the tricks and sorceries of the
wiaards of his day and generation. . . . fhe whole
story of the tricks he performed before Pharaoh. is--
whatever may be said--a story of witchcraft . . . .

Moreover. the religious aspect makes or breaks
on one thing. Did the devil actually take Jesus up
the mountain and offer worldly power if He would
become a witch ('fall down and worship ne' being the
sole edit to the witch fraternity). or is the whole
thing ‘ 11.? e e e

If you decide that this passage is true. then.
once and for all. compacts with the devil are true.
the devil can manifest himself. and g fgrgigri the
actuality of witchcraft is true.”-

Sene evidence suggests that such things as witch-cults did

4— ! ‘_- L __.__
——

is
Greta Bloomhill. 11W (Capetown: Howard
Til-11.. 1962). pe 77o

uJ'rederich Kaigh. w t r M of Africa (London:
Richard Lesley and Co. Ltd” 1947 . pp. 150-151.

13

physically appear in various places in Spain and Europe. The Inqui-
sition of Calahorra punished twenty-nine women for crimes of witch-
craft in 1507. Twenty years later in Navarre. fifty persons confessed
to have dealt with the devil. represented to them as a strong youth.
and also as a black he-goat. And they celebrated their pacts with
him by dancing around his horns. The witches were whipped and Jailed.”
Dike occurrences. and probably more of them, were found else-
where in Europe at this time. 'It seems likely that Dwen's conclusion
is correct. ‘Delusions fostered by the Church. became the beliefs
of the people. If the Devil existed. it was a small step to the
supposition that personal acquaintance was possible and that agreements
and liaisons could be made."1'3 Aldous Huxley. in the study of the
'black male. in lurope states that the Cmch taught that witchcraft
was a terrible and ubiquitous reality. Witchcraft died out by the
beginning of the 18th century because. among other reasons. "almost
nobody now bothered to repress it!

During 15th and 16th century Europe. the devil was often depicted
as a 'strong youth“ or a virile and handsome male. from many accounts
of witches' Sabbaths. and the role played therein by the devil. it
appears a wide-spread belief that common sexual orgies took place at
these meetings. Incubus and Succubus. European mythological figures

who preyed upon sleeping women and men respectively. were the chief

‘ ————- __ _

‘_——_._

”Ind" pp. 345-346. See also Julio Caro_,ZBaroJa. g2. cit..
PPe 213-216.

13Farrinder. gp. gi .. pp. 111.

“Aidan. Huxley. The 3111; of new (New York: Harper and
Brothers. 1952). p. 128.

14

0

figures in these accounts. ”Almost all the Theologians and learned
philosophers are agreed. and it has been the experience of all times
and all nations. that witches practice coition with demons. the men
with Succubus devils and the women with Incubus devils.'15

Host of the witches. however. were believed to have been women.
Perhaps this was due to the position of women in European society.
Some “confessed' witches might have sought some escape from male
domination by their witch associations and nocturnal neanderings.
Child mortality was high at this time. Mothers might have been
accused. and have actually believed. that they were responsible for
their children's deaths. Old women. who were often midwives. could
easily fall under suspicion. Women who had outlived their husbands.
were alone and childless-and therefore very possibly Jealous of
others more fortunateureceived the brunt of hostilities and fears
quite often.

l'r. James Sprenger. of the Order of Preachers. Inquisitors.
co-authored with another German clergyman the text W
m in 1484. this book. 'one of the wickedest and most obscene
books ever written“ says Parrinder. claims to have solely eye-witness
accounts of witchcraft. and explains why witches were generally female:

they are more oredulous . . . more impressionable . . .
they have slippery tongues . . . more carnal than nan
. . . they are prone to abJure their faith. . . . There

was a defect in the formation of the first woman. since
she was formed from a bent rib. that is. a rib of the

A 4! — __ — _ __ —
— —— — ——

159mm as quoted by Parrinder. Op, cit.. p. 67.

15

breast. which is bent contrary to man. And since
through this defectdle is an imperfect animal. she
always deceives.16

Upon initiation into the witches‘ cult. a member was supposed
to have been given a mark by the devil. “All witches have a mark.
some on the shoulder, some on the eyelid. some on the tongue or the
lip. and others on the shameful parts: in short it is said that
there is no witch who is not marked in some part of her body.'17
Initiation into the cult also involved taking vows. renouncing Christ:-

8
ianity and all of its saints and sacraments.1

witches who were able to transform themselves into werewolves
was an ancient DurOpean belief. Ivan as late as 1521. two men were
tried in Iranoe. one of whom was said to have taught the other how to
become a werewolf by rubbing his body with ointment. Both were burnt
alive at Besangon.19

Whether nocturnal flights. Sabbaths. orgies and other witch-
craft practices actually took place was a puzzling question for the
European Church.

there appear to be authenticated instances of witches
who fully believed themselves to have tisited the
sabbat. although there was ample evidence that they
had not left their beds. One was so far gone in a
trance . . . that she remained in it even when a light-
ed candle was applied to her feet by the officials who
were watching her. When she came round. she insisted

that she had been to t sabbat. and described what
had taken place there.

— L ‘— - __‘ .— A *-
— —— wv —___'

1§Sprenger as quoted by Parrinder. g. m. . p. 62.

' 173mg Boguet as quoted in Parrinder. Wit raft: 0
African. p. 69.

"Rid” p. 20
3°?me Hughes. Witchcraft. p. 119.

16

This raised a theological problem for the Inquisitors. Could there
be a wandering soul? Could the soul attend the witches' Sabbaths
though the body be physically absent? At various times and places
in Europe the answer varied from a forceful and affirmative 'yes'
to one of great hesitancy.

Ironically. Spain. which was the home of the Inquisition. appeared
to take the mildest stand. A scepticism toward witchcraft still main-
tained a firm hold over several Spanish theologians. In 1610. the
inquisitor Salazar Irias examined some 1,700 cases of alleged witch-
claft practice. He subtitted masses of evidence to the Suprema in
1613 in which he attempted to prove that witches were the subjects
of delusions and that many confessions were extracted under torture.
though not all agreed with him, the Supreme followed his advice. and
great care was taken in the examination of the accused.21 8136111.
then. never saw hysterical witch-erases and mass burnings. as did
other luropean countries.

But if Inquis‘itors were tolerant and generally enlightened.
the naJority of people in Spain still adhered strongly to a belief
in witches. this appears evident in the literature of the times.

and by the number of alleged cases investigated by Salazar l‘rias.

A L— —— ##L —-—-
— — ——f

21mus Oaro BaroJa. n. 34., pp. 263-268.

INDIAR RELIGION AND WITCHCRAI‘!

Could I have conJectured. halinche. that you would
use such reviling language as you have Just done. I
would certainly not have shown you my gods. In our
eyes they are good divinities: they preserve our
lives: give us nourishment. water and good harvests.
healthy and growing weather. and victory whenever

we pray for it. Therefore. we offer up prayers to
them and make them sacrifices. I earnestly bag of
you not to say another word to insult this profound
veneration in which we hold these gods.

Latin American indigenous religions revolved around a calendar
system in which a god or goddess presided over days of the week.
weeks. and months. Most historians agree that it is unlikely that
Indians believed in monotheism before the coming of the Spaniard.
Although most Indians held a belief in a divine creator. he was by
no means omnipotent. as the Christian God was believed to be.2
'If . . . some of the greater minds had arrived at the thought of a
suprue God. the masses were immersed in a religious system which
had morons gods. some greater. some lesser. whom they worshipped.“3
fhe creator. his children. and other sundry gods constituted a divine
pantheon which showed characteristics of malevolence. as well as

benevolence. and depended upon men for survival. Ken and gods lived

—! - _‘ __
‘— ——

I‘llontezuma to Cort‘s as quoted from Bernal Dias del Castillo.
pp. 313.. vol. I. p. 240.

2'illiam Hadsen. g. 333.. p. 1.26.
30mm 3. Braden. Bali-aim Angetg of the Carynggest of usicg
(Durham. lorth Caroline: Duke University I’ress. 1930 . p. 27.

17

18

in a relationship of mutual dependency. Men depended upon the gods
for prochictive weather. food. health. and victory in battle-as is

indicated by the quote from Montezuma previously quoted. i'he gods.
in turn. depended upon men for sacrifices-~agricultural or human-

in order to sustain than.

!he Indian pantheon of gods can. in some instances. be
compared to the Catholic saints. Both were honored by worship and
devotion. they were given offerings and processions. and served as
village patrons. However. ...

the Catholic love of God and the saints had no
parallel in the Aztec relationship between men
and gods. Aztecs feared their gods but did not
love them. Neither did they believe that their
gods loved men in the fashion that the Christian
God and saints were said to love mom . . . Catho-
licism stressed the individual's need to save his
own soul by honoring God and the saints. in con-
trast to Aztec emphasis on the community's need
to obtain piospority and victory by honoring

pagan gods.
Various parallels can be drawn between Catholic sacraments

and Indian practices ofbaptism. confession. penance and comunion.
The Indian midwife generally baptised the new-born child: invoked
a god with prayer saying: '. . . purify him from the filth he has
taken from his parents. and let the water carry away the stains and
dirt, and repair them. and clean my all impurity that is in him“:
and gave the child the name of one of his ancestors.5 It was hoped

that confession would cure illness sent by the gods. and free a man

__L* -— _ __ ,__ __‘
—— _

‘Kadsem. 2p. _c_i__t_.. p. 128.
6Laurette sojourne. Bu Vat 2 1' Bali n

W. trans. by Irene Iicholson llew York: themes and Hudson.
1956 g P‘ 9e

19

from punishment for a crime. If the offense was grave. often the
priest demanded a penanceua sacrifice. fasting. or a pricking of

the body by sharp thorns or reeds. And comunion consisted of eating
dong: images of gods. or the flesh of sacrificial victims. Other
similarities between Catholic and indigenous beliefs included holy
days and ceremonies. the symbol of the cross. revelation and creation
stories. and sacrifice and crucifixtion. Indeed. the comparisons are

many. and it is not surprising that a Spanish clergyman would find
such similarities to “heathen“ beliefs revolting:

When the Indians read of the sacrifices under the old
law of Abraham. and that God permitted such". they will
take it as a defense of like sacrifices today. Read--
isg of the wives of David and other practices . . .
they will turn and apply the scripture to their own
evil purpose . . . Only eight days ago. a priest who
had recently visited the college told me that while
there he was surrounded by some two hundred students
who in talking with him asked such questions regarding
the scriptures and the faith that he was massed and
stepped his ears. lhe school he said wag a veritable
hell. and the pupils disciples of Satan.

A heritage of witchcraft beliefs was preduinant among pre-
Cortesian Indians. this is readily testified to by sequences in
the surviving religious manuscripts of the Aztecs and by smgfin's
remarkable investigations!

-A“. 4‘—

6O’erdnimo de Lopes. writing to the king October 20. 1541. As
Quoted by Cuevas in Braden. n. 33.3.. p. 150.

78» especially Codex Borgia. Cospiano and Code: Lead. as described
by Cottie Arthur Burland. M c 18001;! _l'_rom Mexico (Hamondsworth. Eng
land: Penguin Books. 19m): by s—Spence. T53 Magic and Hnterieg
gf ligg:__icoz O: the Agog Secrets g1 Occult Lore of the Ancigt Mexican
m Philadelphia: David McKay Co. . £19263 : or Alfonso Case. I;
Pueblo 4g Sol (lexico: Fonds de Cultura Economica. 1962).

Unfortunately. Bishop Zumarraga was so horrified at the contents
of Astec religious manuscripts that he had most of them burned.

Bernardino do Sahagun utilised his own investigations and those

of his Indian informants. carefully exacting material with nest rigor-
ous scientific approach. in order to compile his monumental Histogg

Cenegg de las Cosas do 1a mm. 1566.

_—

20

Tezcatlipoca was the Aztec god of night and witches. Ihe fact
that he produced anguish. discord and evil as well as riches and honor
is perhaps telling of Aztec society.8 l'or Aguirre Beltran writes
that the Aztec sorcerers' and doctors' practices differed not at all.
It was only the goal to which the medicine or treatment was directed
which varied. The intention was that. to Aztecs. made the difference
between good medicine and bad medicine--or doctor or necromancer.
Usually. however. illness or bad-luck was considered to be a punishsent
from the gods. or by lesser divinities or spirits.’ rain is the
case of the Ciuateted (Haunting Mothers). fhese were dead women or
“witches“ who mourned for their children and were therefore vindictively
disposed toward the offspring of others. According to Alfonso Caso.

these dead mothers haunted the earth. especially cross-roads. at night

and inflicted illness upon children.1°

llisfortune and illness was attributed to another cause. however.
by the mority of the New Vorld Indians.

Punishment from the gods . . . also dominates among

the Kayan and Zapotec peoples. only the names of the gods
vary. but their ire and vengence are the same. lever-
theless. among other ethnic groups whose culture has

not reached the grade of complexity which characterizes the
former oneshthe causes. of illness are attributed to

‘ .— ‘ --_4
fi— —-—

aIladseii‘s (9:9. 33;.) account taken from the E to
. secondary source based on a series of

hieroglyphic paintings that have disappeared.
9Aguirre Delhin. pp. cit.. p. 41.

“Alfonso Caso. 93. ci .. p. 79; and. Lewis Spence. mg

PPe 123'130e
nAguirre Beltrin. g9. git. . p. 45.

21

lo the maJority of pre-Cortesian peoples in America. witchcraft was
as real a phenomenon as it was to their luropean contemporaries. And
the similarities between European and American witchcraft beliefs are
rather astounding. Both cults are permeated with the witches' ability
to fly at night. to ham peeple via magical incantations and to suck
blood. Iitches in America smeared themselves with an ointment resemb.
ling the 'witch-butter' of European hags. Both engaged in wild dances
and orgies. and haunted cross-roads. Like their luropen sisters.
American witches were in the habit of intoxicating themselves with
potent drugs in order to traverse great distances and to prophesy
future event-.13 Hemican witches. so it appears from the representation
of their patron diety i'lazolteotl. even carried the witch's broom of
my grass. and naked with peaked hat roaupon it through the
air.”

i'here were. however. marked and important differences between
the witchclaft cults. Spanish witches often connived. with the devil
in order to gain wealth and power. Indian witches were born to be
poor all their lives. i‘he III A. 2.19 was believed by the Spaniards
to be a witch's way of inflicting harm upon another by a mere glance:

__- # _ __ _ -— ___‘_
—— ——r —— W ..—

1“attic similarities of witchcraft practices were so great that
some authors have gone so far as to hypothesize upon a common origin.
Pennethorne Hughes' thesis is that “witchcraft was a widespread sur-
vival of palaeolithic emotive religion" . Witchcraft (New York: Ienaans.
Green and Co.. 1952). p. 24. Lewis Spence's in more elaborate: "Ihe
witchcraft of Mexico drew its origin from two different areas: the
Asilian area of Spain . . . and Shamanism of Siberia. Iran the former
area it may have penetrated. by way of one of the land bridges . . .
whilst it would dry elements from the latter by way of Iamschath. and

theAleutian Islands“. W . . .. p. 142.
I’Lewis Spence. 21. £15.. pp. 130-131.

22

there is no indication of such a concept among pro-Cartesian Indians.14
The Indian belief in magualism is probably due to several in-
stances of historical syncretism between various Indian beliefs. Aguirre
seitre’n believes it to have first been e concept of the hastecans.“
they. because of their geographical setting. depended greatly upon
rain for a successful harvest. One of their gods. the one holding
the power and magic over rainfall. was named tumm. hen the
Eustacens were overcome by the Aztecs. the latter incorporated the
gap 3% into their pantheon of gods. and also named the priest
living in the temple of this divinity w or m. fhe god
gm 1% took on many more names. and many forms under Aztec worship.
One of his names became l'lacatecolotl. or the god of witches. i'laca-
teoolotl was known to transform himself into fierce animals in order
to harm people. as were other lesser gods and mythological figures.16
fhe negual came to have the . atributes of natural divinity and
acquired cleverness. this became itcorpomted into the Aztec calender.
i’hese who were born under the sign :4 m1. rain. were to become
necromantes. swindlers or witches.“ This becoming of a witch was
quite different from the luropean belief. In Spain. one became a witch
through a pact with the devil. Indians believed that those born under
a certain calendar sign were destined at birth to possess the power of
witchcraft.

-_ ___ ___ __
—— _—

“simian lladsen. n. m. . p. 161.
1'sAgoirre Beltran. 3p. cit.. p.98.
16:“!

“we p. 100. Also see Madsen'. p. 162.

23

Indian divinities were characterized by their power of metamor-
phosis. yet there appears to be no instances of human Indian witches
who had this power of transfiguration.18 The mesoamerican mytholog
is full of episodes regarding gods transforming themselves into
animals (Quetsalcoatl and the gods of 2m]. 1u_l_i_ being the most
significant). but it was not until the time of the conquest of Mexico

that even nagual priests were believed to be able to metamorphose into
a but or bird.”

‘— Jn‘ _____

”Aguirre Bani-in. 29. £11.. p. 100.

I’Ibi!

AJ'RIGAJ RELIGION AND WINEDBAI'!

'riters and historians quarrel as to whether Africans conceived
of a 'Supreae Being' . and if so. whether they worshipped such a God.
two hundred and ‘sixty years ago. Iillien Bosman observed that test
Africans 'have a faint idea of the true God. and ascribe to him the
attributes of Almighty . . . they believe he created the Universe. and
therefore vastly prefer him before their idol-gods: but they do not
pray to hin or offer any sacrifices to him.“

Ihether Africans believed in a 'Supruse Being‘ or not. a variety
of gods abounded in their religions. These African divinities were.
as the Indian gods. personfications of natural forces. Some ancestors
were. as well. worshipped or thought of as gods. fhe ancestral cult
is an important and peculiar aspect of African religions. Belief in
the continued influence of departed fathers of the family and tribe
was exceedingly strong. let all ancestors were worshipped, but they
were still felt to be present: they watched over the family and were
directly concerned with harvests and fertility.2

Human sacrifices were performed. but nearly always in connection

with funeral and nenorial ceremonies. or for harvests and fertility.

—_A _.__A‘ ___ A —

lQnoted in Geoffrey Parrindor. West 1:1:ng Religion: Illustrated
fm the Bong: and motion of the Yoruba, lwe, AllanI g; nun-95
22223-31 London: the lpworth Press. 1949 . p. 19.

21b;d.. pp. 125-139.

24

25

If this were not done it was believed that the rain would not fall.
nor the fields grow ripe. A strong mutual dependency between gods.
ancestors and Africans was. therefore. the predominant meaning and
cohesive force in African religions.3
i'here is eternal warfare between gal and bad

spirits. and the good spirits prevail only as he

propitiates and pleases then. . . . Ivory illness

or death or misfortune is therefore his own fault

for neglecting the good spirits. or it is the

action of an enemy or evil-minded person who is a

witch . . .

Investigations today concerning African religion suggest that
certain forms. of totemisn appeared earlier in African religious history.
However. unlike the Indian tog. this totenisn was generally a clan
totes (like the nyth of the hoped that was the eat).- of the royal
fin clan). and the totem animal was said to protect members of its
clan. warn than. and fortell the future.5

litehcraft beliefs are thought to have been amazingly similar
to both those of the luropeons and pro-Cartesian Indians. African
witches held their meetings at niyxt, and are generally believed to
have flown to these locations (often cross-roads). Ehey flew as
nightjars. bats. owls. and fireflies. or sometimes flew along the fine

cobwebs tint are spun from bush to bush or house to house. Others

3949... r. 127-

‘l'roderick Iaidi. witcheggt mg Ego a; “pic, (London: Richard
Icesley and Go. Ltd” 1947 . p. 35.

6Parrinder. Witflraft: mman pad African. pp. 187-194.

26

traveled on the backs of animals. especially owls. but also snakes.

6

antelopes. and leopards. fhe Bamto believed that witches had powerful

medicines to make them fly. or they bad magic wands on which they rode

after the manner of luropean witches on their broomsticks.’ fhe

Yoruba believed that the wisard (lie) metamorphosed himself into an owl

and then carried on his “mission of death".8

fhe "mission of death“ was often that of vampirisn. Witches were
supposed to catch the life-soul. and at times act as vampires and suck
the block of their victims. Host of the victims supposed to have been
killed or 'eaten' by the witches were children. and people within their own
clan. An African proverb is: “However sharp the mouth of a witch.

she must eat on her side of the water and cannot cross it'. ihis means

she is restricted to her own blood-clan.9

Besides harming the life-soul by sucking blood. the witch could

also:

Poison the earth beneath one's feet or to wither a
child at her glance (m £339; or white eyes).
or the touch of her hand: she can induce such a
deep sleep in her victim that without his knowing.
she is ehle. like the luropean succuba. to have
sex intercouiae with him or rob him of all his
possessio .

__.__—
vi

__ ____ —— —_—

6M9 PP. 42’ 43. 135, 137. 138a
7.1319. p. 146.

8A. 3. run. r r ruba- r o the Slave oeeet of
Vest Africa (London: Ohapan and Hall. 1d.. 1894; . pp. 116-117.

9Rev. E. Debrunner. Yitchcraft in Ghana: a gm 2n the bpligg
g destructive witches and its effect on the Alcan tribeg. Accra:
Presbyterian Book Depot Ltd... 1959 . pp. 35-38. See also Barrie
Reynolds. M Div tion and Wit hcr t Ana the Barot of Her
anode-g (Berkeley: University of Califorlh Press. 1963 , p. .

10

Ibid.

27

In many parts of Africa only women were thought to be witches.
and everywhere women were believed to be in the majority in witchcraft.
The fact that women are accused of witchcraft
mainly or exclusively. shows a very deep-rotted
sexual antagonism. This is not only true of modern
Africa. The sons applied to Europe in the late

Middle Ages and in the 'enlightaned' days of the
Renaissance. In Europe, as we have seen. the

great majority of the accused were women. Ihe

witch-finders were men. most of then celibates.

i'heir morbid preoccupation with the subject of

sexual orgies. of which they accused the women and

themselves wrote in detail. is an interesting point

in their psychology.n
The witch-finders. or witch-doctors were in Africa. as in Europe.
generally males. The sexual antagonism of which Hr. Parrinder speaks
souls to have grat relevance. Death of children could have been
blamed upon wives or childless women by African men--as in Europe.
Also. in African society marriage was usually exogenous-«that is. the
man married someone outside his own clan. Wives were strangers. then.
to the household and looked upon with suspicion. Another possibility
for antagonisn and accusation of witchcraft was the factor of polygamy.
lives striving for their husband's favor could easily have accused
each other of eating their life-souls and harming their children.1'2

African witchesnunlike Indian witches desigiated so by birth.

and unlike the luropean witches who made pacts with the devil-obtained
their power through hereditary means or acquired it from someone who

already had the power. Along the Gold Coast. witchcraft was only

##‘LL __ ._._ .—
_

n'Parrinder. 113mg“ M2222 and Ari-1.33, p. 192.
131mg. . pp. 192-196.

28

hereditary on the mother's side. If a man wished to transmit his
witchcraft to his child. he had to take a yet unborn child to a witch
meeting.

He takes the child from the womb of the mother and

puts it into his own belly and. takes it with himself.

Thus the child will later be born as a witch. The

story is told of a woman who awoke at night and dis-

covered that her fetus was away. Quickly she went

to the anti-witchcraft doctor. On the net morning

the man was found with the child in his belly. 13

All Africans who arrived in the New World. however. were not

solely the product of I'traditional" African beliefs. The witchcraft
and religious beliefs already mentioned could very well have been
influenced by Mohammedan or Christian beliefs. Though relatively few
Mohamedans came to Middle America. we cannot discount any Islamic
influence. for there had been a long history of Muslim contact with
Africans south of the Sahara. 1 gold trade had flourished since the
days of the Roman and Byzantine Empires between the Hediterranean and
Ghana. The Libyans (or Tuaregs) and Arabs. generally Muslimr—although
there is some evidence to suggest that the Tuaregs might once have
been Christian--. developed this traffic across the desert.14' Mohammedan
ascetics and rebels migrated into the Senegal coastal regions and into
the western Sudan in the eleventh century.15 Ghana's foreign trade

was enlarged by this time to include Senegalese salt. Sudanese cloth.

13Debrunner. pp. 315.. p. 54.

14!. I. Bovell. The Go rade f t Mo r (New York: Oxford
University Press. 1958 , pp. 50. 51. 52. 68.

“rugs. . pp. 71-76.

29

16

and slaves. as well as gold. Manse Muss came to the throne of Mali

in 1307. and created a commerical and intellectual climate for an
African empire. As a Muslim. he Journeyed to Mecca by way of such a

glittering caravan and entourage that he nearly ruined the Cairo gold

market by putting so much gold into circulation. 17 And. Timbuktu. on

the Niger River. developed by the 13th and 14th centuries a flourishing

trade. which drew Mohmmedan traders and scholars.18

Such an impact could not have helped but to spread Islamic

religious beliefs and practices. The author of In the Wake of Da Gg
tells of Spanish and Portuguese missionaries of the 15th and 16th
centuries who had much to contend with.

Not only were most of the Moslsms devout. and
fiercely faithful to their creed. but there was
among the natives a strong belief in witchcraft.
fostered by witch-doctors from the “University.
at Bombs, and the ”college“ in Zanzibar. . . .
Besides the learned Arab physicians. the
mtive witch-doctors. able to heal or kill. and
the shame and spells which everyone new were
infallible. there were dreadful supernatural
periols. Ghosts called Jinis lurked in the trees.
in the sea. in the lakes. and in the bushes by the
roadside.”

Islam was not the only possible influence upon African religions.
As has already been mentioned. it is very likely that Tanregs. still
prophesing particular christian beliefs. penetrated into the Sudan and

coastal regions. Jews. since the beginning of the Christian era. had

“an. , pp. 80-84.

17Daniel Ohu and Illiott Skinner. g Glorioug ge in Africa: mpg
Sto f T ee Great Afric r (Haw York: Doubleday and Co. Inc..
1965 9 me 62‘66e

“rem. . pp. 87-88.

19seneete Mary Hamilton. In the wag, of Da Gama (new York:
Skeffington. 1955). pp. 110-11.

30

spread far into the interior of Africa: and in the oases of the Sahara.
Jewish communities preserved their identity for a long time.20 And.
in the 15th and 16th centuries. religious missionaries from Spain and
Portugal were sent to Africa. A papal Letter of Indulgence was granted.
covering all engaged. and commending them “for the destruction and
confusion of the Moors and the enemies of Christ. and for the exaltation
of the Catholic faith. '21

Host of these early Christian mission attempts were not sustained
for long. however. and seemed to have Just faded out.22 It has been
suggested that Africans were not very redeptive to a Christianity which
was used for imperial and commercial ends.23 There is even one story
of an African chief who was stabbed by a “fiery-tempered Portuguese
missionary. .24 This would be enough to doom any missionizing effort.
Another problem presented itself also. Louis Bonilla speaks of the
problems missionaries face in Africa today as being essentially those
of the 16th and 17th century friars-the reluctance of the Africans

to abandon their “magical conceptions'ufor:

...— _-— A...— _
— .—

20!. 'e 30"].19 no 21—" We .3-54e

216. r. Groves. 'of 11 (London:
httemrth ”9", 1948 g 701. I. P. 1210

”his” a 130
23.1. C. deGraft-Iohnson. African Glory: Ihe Story of Vanishing

logo Civilizations (London: Watts and Co.. 19535. p. l§. See also
Bess Desai. Christianity in Africa as Seen by Africans (Denver: Alan

Swallow. 1962) . pp. 11-15.
2401.0703, as m.’ Po 126s

31

An Agustinian friar arrived on the Slave Coast in 1699.

full of missionary seal. and attempted to persuade the

indigenes to change their morals and. religion. He began

to rmnstrate before a chief warning him of hell and

the devil. but to this the chief tranquilly replied that

he did not consider himself better than his ancestors.

and had therefore kept their same life and religion. If

he was to be condemned to hell. he would at st be

consoled by being burned with his ancestors.
Although the Christianisation effort in Africa was of little con-
sequence. it is feasible that some of the slaves brougit to the New
Iorld had already been introduced to a few concepts involving the
Christian God and. more important. the Christian devil. fhis would
certainly be true of those first Christian Negroes who were brought to
the Jew World from Spain.

the phenomenon which any authors have proclaimed to be of

African origin. and which is a religious belief we will later discuss.
is the act of spiritual possession. According to African dogma. the
firmnenon has an easy explamtion: the divinity descends to earth
in order to Communicate with the living. He. in the canon expression.
“nounts over one's head'. and in the moment of possession the initiate
to the religious ceremony eats. drinks. speak! and dances. prophesises
and denounces the sins of peeple. emits orders ad answers questions.
During this tine the initiate is the only mouth—piece of the divinity.
and his personality is substituted by the divine one. Ihe priest at
the cereaony has the duty of interpreting what is said by the initiate

while under the trance. the druns. singing. dancing. rhythn. and

_ — .— A—— ‘— ——

aBinnie Bonilla. E t d l l B
(ladrid: )iblioteca lueva. 1962 , p. 235.

32

synchronisation all play an important part.26

A _- _

__

3‘1 fine description of this can be found in Jahnisns Jahn.
m. op. cit.. and in Kaye Deren.

D vine Ihe I. v o
of Haiti (low York: fhanes and Hudson. 1953;.

CHRISTIANIZAHOI AIMS IN TH] m WORLD

We have already seen. in luropean society. how attention focused
upon wizardry by the Church actually furthered such beliefs and
practices. Is must now turn our attention to colonial Latin America
in order to deter-ins what role the Church might have played in the
fostering and furthering of witchcraft beliefs in the Iew World.
litchcraft. however. is not Just a product of theological dogmas and
inquisitorial trials. It has been suggested by nany authors that
witchcraft beliefs are causally related to the frustrations and anxieties
of particular societies.

Iitchcreft beliefs emble a society to go on function-
ing in a given manner. fraught with conflicts and con-
tradictions which the society is helpless to resolve:
the witchcraft beliefs thus absolve the society from a
task apparently too difficult for it. namely. some
readjustment}

So. as we are examining the role of the Church in Latin America. let
us also investigate the position of the Indian and Segre within the
frneworh of colonial society.

Iitchcraft was often a subject for Spanish writers early in the
colonial period. and what was written is a tell-tale indication of the

colonisers' frame of nind. fhe curate of fequinquiac explained that

A_— ‘ - ___ I *— _ -—
——..

18. l‘. Iadel. Witchcraft in Pour African Societies: An Issay

in Comparison.' W. LIV (Januerrliarch. 1952).
p. 29.

33

34

he had not dared to speak out against native witchcraft and sorcery
because his survival depended upon his acceptance by the Indianszz
homes Gage writes of the witch Marta de Carillo and of the many who
'wsre much given to witchcraft. and by the pover of the Devil did act
strange things'zx Berna accused Indian witches. carers. and diviners
of being the chief prepagators of paganism in the 17th centnry4: and
his de Alaran and a host of others considered idolatry. not only as
heresy but. as direct comunication with the devils.

In these documents of the early conquistadors and catechists.
the early contact between the Europe» devil and the indigenous
religions becomes emplicit.’ Not comprehending the new culture. the
Spaniards identified the gods of the aboriginal religions with the
Christian devil. All worship which was non- Christian was evil. an
indication of the earthly workings of the devil. fhese pagans were

“children of the darkness' . and under the rule of Satan' s alpire.

2Charles Gibson. Ty Aztec? Under Swish Es: A Eiston of
Q v.11“ of Hgico. lgIS-lalg Stanford: Stanford University Press.
1964 . PO 11-6.

3Thomas G 's Trave New World. ed. by .7. Eric S.
fhompson (Herman: University of Oklahoma Press. 1958) . PP- 269-270.

4.Tacinto do lae Serna. 'llanual de Hinistros do Indies para sl
conscimiento de sus Idolatrias. y htirapaoion de ellas'. i‘ratado de
[es idoktrigg, mrgticiongs. dioseg. :itol, achiceggg z otras

c tumbr s entilica 1 race ori s e M ico. ed. by Iran-
ciscc del Paso y Troncosc 52d ed.: notice: Idiciones l'uente Cultural.
1893), p. 224s

5 o
Hernando mils de Alarcon. “Tratado de las supersticiones de

los naturales de lueve lspefla'. rretedo de los idolatry: . . .:
ppe 27'28e

'This land was a copy of hell. its inhabitants shouting at night. some
calling upon the devil. some drunk . . .‘6 A witch to the Spaniards.
therefore. could be any Indian not baptised into the faith. Such an
Indian would therefore be available for the imprint of Satan's thumb.
and apact made with him in the dead of night.

Ihis attitude was completely in accordance with contemporary
actions of the Spanish Church. fhe conquest of America occurred at the
height of zealous Christian wars. and at the time of a changing Spanish
attitude toward the Moore and Jews still residing in the Spanish
peninsula. After much fighting and making-up. the centuries' long
W took a final turn. Perdinaud and Isabella announced that
expulsion was the answer to all those refusing to embrace the Christian
faith in Spain. The formula was simple: convert or get out.‘

In the new Iorld. Christendom was to be protected. amaltsd. and
the faith around which everyone must gather. Moors and Jews were kept
out. Only those Spaniards of 'limpissa do sangre' were allowed to
emigrate to America. Among the Indians. obscene idolatries and paganism
had to be stamped out and replaced by the sign of the cross. his was
not simply the peocoupation of the crown. but was also to be that of
the ccnquistadors. Ihe Requiriniento. a theological treatise explain-
ing Catholicism and Alexander VI's donation. was read to the Indians
by the conquistadors. Ehis treatise ends with a war whoop:

___ _

______ ___‘ - ._ A A

6l'oribio de Benevonte (hotelinia). Hi to of the Indi s of I
m. Elisabeth Andros Poster. trans. and ed. . (fhe Cortes Society.
Documents and Harratives Concerning the Discovery and Conquest of
Latin America: Berkeley: University of California Press. 1960)

De 45c

36

But. if you do not do this and put impediments in the
way. I swear to you that by God's help. I will come
among you powerfully and make war upon you everywhere

and in everyway that I can. and I will subject you to

the yoke of obedience to the Church and their monies."

Hissionary writings were full of the seal for mission. God's favoritism
seemed obviously directed toward the Spaniard. and toward his work in
converting fian'e children. Thus we find in Mendieta's work:

It is not without metery that in the same year

Duther was born in lisleben. a village in Saxony.

Hernando Cortes was born in Iledellin. a town in

Spain: the former to upset the world and bring

beneath the banner of Satan any of the faithful

. . . : and the latter to bring into the fold

of the Church an infinite mltitude of people who

for years without and had been under the power of

Satan. immersed in use. and unused with idolatry.8

Although there may have been controversy over the method of

conversion. personified best perhaps by Sepulveda and Ira: Bartolome
de Las Casae. there was little doubt as to the necessity of Indian
conversion to the true faith. At the outset. some Spaniards (including
the churchmen. J. de Quevedo. Bishop of Darlen) believed the Indians
incapable of receiving Christianity. However. Alexander VI. the Pope
who spanned the first years of discoveries. declared the Indians
capable of ubracing the Catholic faith. And. Pope Paul III decreed
in 1537 that the Indians were descended from Adam and Eve: they
were. therefore. human and their souls were entitled to the protection

of the Ch:¢11'¢l:l..9

__—._-n _- #n.‘ A—u—s “4— ——"—‘
__‘ 4—._—- _—

7;. quoted by Charles s. Braden. 33;. 91.3. . p. 127.
8Geronimo do Hendieta. H tor es 5. tica (Mexico:
lditorial Salvador Chavez Hayhoe. 1945 . II. 12.

9
Latourette. 3p. 91... p. 90.

3'7

Christianization of the indigenous peeple was not Just a bestowed
blessing: it became a must under decrees by the Spanish monarchs. In
the attempts for Indian conversion. soldiers and missionaries demolished
temples. smashed idols. displaced priests. and closed religious schools:
it became the duty of the encgendgro to provide for the indoctrination
of his Indians: and. in short. practices varying from gentleness.
advocated by de Las Casae. to force and cruelty were used to expound
the Christian faith.

Negroes early entered into the colonial Latin American scene. In
1601 Iicholas Ovando. the Governor of hpafiola. was advised to import
Negroes born in Christian lands. and the first boatload arrived in 1511.10

These first Hegi-oes came from Spam. Evidently. more solicitous
for the salvation of the heathens than for the cry of economic necessity
set up by the coloniale. the Spanish sovereign decreed in 1501 that
only Christian Hegroes. born in Spain. could land in the Izzidiee.11
Negroes had resided in the Iberian peninsula for some time. As the
result of stray upon the coasts of Africa by Portuguese sailors. some
Barbers were presented to Dom Henry the Navigator as spoils of war.
l‘or ransom. these captives offered the service of finding more serviceable
slaves. and a bargain was struck.13 In 1443 ten Negroes were delivered

to replace the ransoned Moore. and by the end of the fifteenth century

.—— _- -_.. __ ____;___

1"’fannenlztamn. n. _c_i_§.. p. 14.

unmund B. D'Auvergne. Hm Livestock (London: Graysoa and
Grayson. 1933) . p. 26.

12Ibid. . p. 18.

13Ibid.

38

there were large numbers of Negro slaves in both Portugal and Spain.
In 1552 Negroes outnumbered whites in Lisbon. and Algarves was almost
entirely pepulated by Negroes.14 Seville became a noted center for
slave trade. and. according to Arthur Ramos. morons Negro customs
and institutions were to be found in Seville long before the slave
trade in America developed.”

Barnes de Asurara described and defended. in his Chronicle of
m. Dom Henry's hdnapping as a means of saving heathen souls from
perdition. “And truly. his hope was not vain. since as soon as they
learned the language. with very little trouble. these people becae
Christians . . . as good and genuine Christians as if they had been
descended from the generation first baptised under the dispensation of
Christ.'15

The first Spaniards in Latin America were overjoyed at the pro-
spect of Indian slaves. Antonio Torres was sent back to Spain by
Columbus with the report that I'soxse of the cannibals. men and women.
boys and girls. would be better than an other slaves once they abandoned
their inhumanity.I But Il'erdimd and Isabella. not altogether pleased.
charged Columbus firstly to convert the cannibals. that. with the dis-
covery of wealth. Indian deaths. and a belief in Indian feebleness. a

demand for legro labor went up. Hegro slaves from the home country

____ __ __._ ‘ __; ‘—

1M'rannenbeuum. Slav Cit : The He o in th Ameri
(How York: Vintage Books. 19635 . p. 48.

1'5Arthur Ramos. C H el o (liaise:
Iondo de Cultura leonomica. 1943 . p. 15.

1‘1. 3. D'Auvergne. go. gi_.. p. 20.

39

seemed not enough. and Spanish adventurers pleaded for direct transport
from Africa. These colonials were aided by demnds from the clergy
as well. Dominican and Hieronymite clerg claimed the work: of one
Negro was worth that of four Indians and advocated direct shipnent from
Guinea. Bartolom‘ de las Casas. the great protector of American Indians.
suggested the use of more Negroes in order to ease the oppression of
the indigenes. And in 1531 King Charles granted to a l'lemish courtier
the monopoly of importing four thousand slaves into the West Indies from
Guinea. Ihus began a trade. which. on his death-bed. Charles repented-
toe late.r7

Indians and Negroes held equally deplorable. yet slightly dissimilar.
economic and social positions in Latin America. 'I'he Indians. where they
had been most numerous prior to the European conquest. generally con-
stituted the working class. Bailey I. Diffie elaborates three different
stages of forced labor throng which the Indians passed by the end of
the colonial period: the flog hgrradog. W. and the
313 or W.“ The first stage was that of slavery. and
India“ were branded and treated much as the in-coming Negroes were to
be. Under the M system. Indians were forced to pay tribute
(which of necessity became labor) to Spaniards. and this became nearly
all but in name the same as chattel slavery. The git; or W
was a system whereby Indians were distributed to private indivithlals to

"man pp. 25-26.

18Bailey I. Diffie. t Amer an vili ation: olonial Perio

(Pennsylvania: Stackrlle Sons. 1945 . pp. 460-462.

work on specific tasks wiring a particular time allotment. Supposedly.
by law. the Indians were to work solely on projects for the public
good. However. theory and practice varied greatly and more often than
not Indiana worked for Spaniards desiring private profit. If conditions
of Indians. during the three century colonial period. were bettered
due to increasing legislation and ordinances for their protection. by
1800 the lot of the Indian was still a picture of 'utrase misery'.

Negroes generally remained in slavery throughout the colonial
period. and their social position was considered to be lower than that
of the Indian. Although manumission was legally possible. and did
occur under a number of varying circumstances. a relatively small
percentage of legroes became free. It is estimated that perhaps ten
per cent of the Negro papulation was 'free' at the end of the colonial
period. And even if free. numerous institutions in the colonies re-
stricted his economic freedom--semi-serfdom and debt slavery being two
such methods often entrapping both Indian and legro.

the religious attitudes of the colonials towards Indians and
legroes varied only in degree. Again great gulfs separated theory and
practice of religious institutions. and separated the few hmnanitarian
and reforming clergyman from the anority of the Church and populace.
If Indians and legores were considered human. their souls penitted to
enter the christian world. and supposedly equal to that of the white
in the sight of God. they were nevertheless not recognised as £933.!

de rgén (rational folk). as were Spaniards. creoles and mestisos.19

— _ _
__ Li _ #__
—_ w v—— ‘——— ———

19

c. s. Baring. r s an ire Americ (New York: Oxford
University Press. 1947,. p. 217.

41

The Church early insisted that masters bring their slaves to
church to learn the doctrine and participate in the communion. In
1655. the assembled bishops in Mexico urged Spaniards to send Indians.
and especially Negroes to churchzo my tug of the India. promulgated
in 1680. devoted nearly the entire Book I to the necessary conversion
of Indians. Negroes and mulatoes. But. for the Negroes there was no
set pegram of conversion like there was instituted for the Indians.
Little space in The La. o; the Iggigg was alloted to Negro religious
instruction. lot until 1789 was a formal code dealing with the legro
slave promulgated by the Spanish 1:11:921 Under this the owner was to
instruct his slaves in the Christian faith. but this code. as recognised
by the preamble itself. was merely a summary of traditional law. No
new nor elaborate codes or m were written affecting the religious
position of the Begro in the low Vorld. He was supposed to be baptized
before leaving Africa. but this was not often carried out. And
apparently there were few missionaries who gave themselves chiefly to
the winning of Negro converts into the faith.22 in mp1s of the
Spanish neglect of Negro religious conversion might be the case cited
by Latourette:

Presumably the negro slaves who succeeded the Indians
as labourers in the West Indies were slowly assimilated

to a more or less nominal acquiescence in the faith of
their masters. low and then we catch glimpses of the

.# __.__

201W. 3p. 93.1.. p. 63.

ahtougttC, ne £0. Pe 98s 8” L100 Tmuhm. ne ate.
p. 52.

22(3. P. Groves. n. 9.3." p. 126. Pedro Olaver and Alfonso de
Sandoval are two exceptions. I-atourette. 3‘9. 913.. p. 144.

42

process. In 1538 the hperor Charles V ordered all

who owned Negro slaves in the city of Santo Domingo to
send them to church. As late as 1680 a diocesan synod
in Cuba took coaizance of the fact that many Negro
slaves were not baptized and decreed on pain of fine
and excomunication that all who owned such slaves
should see that they received the rite within two months
and should have them instructed and baptized within six
months after their purchase. Iran the Cuban action we
may gather that the conversion of the Negroes was more
slowly accomplished than that of the Indians . . .' 2

It was much questioned as to whether non-Spaniards should be
allowed to enter the clerg. In 1555 the Mexican church council denied
the Holy orders to mestisos. Indians and legroes. A similar denial
was issued later by church councils in Peron“. Indians and Degrees were
generally thougit of as not having the necessary aptitudes in order
to Join the ranks of the Church. and the Pranciscans and Dominicans
closed their doors to them. There were exceptions. but they were
sparse indeed.

Not only did the Church not allow Indiana or Negroes to take
positions within the Church. but often the Church condoned and practiced
slavery and slave trade on the assumption that it was better to enslave
a man's body and save his soul from heathendom. In South America.
monks raided Indian villages for Indians to add to the missions' labor
force.” When the Jesuits were expelled from America in 1767. a large
part of their property consisted of slaves: in Chile. alone. they

owned at least one-fifth of the total Chilean slave population. A

A ‘_. ___————

23I.atourette. _o_p. u. . p. 108.
zfium, no Me, Po 216e

25mins. 3;. 9L” p. 464.

48

missionary in Venezuela hotly informed Baron Yon Humboldt that the slave
trade was necessary because of 'the innate wickedness of the blacks.

and the benefit they derived from their state of slavery among the
Christians." Often. too. the priests acted as Oppressors by exacting
numerous fees from the Indians for Saints' days. for high mass. for
burials and births. And Juan and Ulloa found that as oppressive as
priests sometimes were. monks. and especially the mistresses of monks.
proved yet worse.26

By the end of the colonial period. social and economic divisions
were as sharp as in the earlier days of conquest. Certain economic
institutions had changed. but in practice the Indian was still subjected
to the Spaniard. the Negro still in slavery. and both remaining in
adJect poverty.

The Indian theocratic state was toppled. the temples were destroyed.
idols were soudxt out and demolished when found. and the priests could
no longer perform their ancient function. The concept that man and gods
lived in a relationship of mtual dependency was no longer a belief
which Indians could adhere to through worship and sacrifices. Indeed.
the Indiana felt that their indigenous gods had betrayed than.”

"lo other people have ever felt so completely helpless as the Aztec
nation felt at the appearance of the omens prophecies and warning that
announced its and”

‘

25min. . pp. 470-474.

2“’One should specifically take notice of the theme of betrayal of
Montezuma and Cuauhtuoc as described by Charles Braden. pp. git. . pp.
76-124 gt Essie: and that so bemtifully portrayed by Octavio Pas.

m. b inth of Solitude: I-ife t in M co (New York:
Grove Press. 1961 . p. 93.
28

Octavio Pal. ibid.

Yet. at the some time the Indians could not completely ubrace
the new Christian faith. Not only was it an imposed religionuoften
coming on the end of a sword or under the imposing hand of the enconen-
dero-. but it is doubtful whether any religious concept can ever be
communicated in its entirety to a differing culture.29 Nor could the
Indians ever hope for a Catholicism which would understand their ways
and provide them with protection. for Indians were restricted from
becoming priests or holding church offices.

The power of the white man's god was recognised througi the very
strength and success of the conquerors. Indians sent delegations to
request missionary teaching. and thousands upon thousands were baptised
according to missionary documents. “Some of them. perhaps even thou-
sands. were baptised over and over again because they believed this
pleased the Spuiiardsto And it appears as though some Imus converted
to Christianity with the hope that the Spaniards would protect tha
then from their enemies. “We hear of one tribe which accepted Christi-
unity. but who renounced it when they found by lad experience that
the Spaniards would not protect them against the attacks of pagan
neighbors.'31

Ihe Church had generally neglected the Negro. Some had been

Christianised in Spain. others were baptized in Africa or upon arrival

29Ralph Linton. cul ion I 8 in c I an Trib
(New York: D. Appleton - Century Company. Inc.. 1940 . pp. 463-530.

”Diane. y. 249.

3J'Bu'ber‘t House Bancroft. Eiston 2f Centrg grin (San francisoor.
Ihe History Company, 1886). II. 672-679.

45

in the New World by priests accompanying slave traders. but little
effort was expended upon their religious instruction. ramilies. ex-
tended families and tribes were broken up by the slave trade. The
mutual dependency between gods. ancestors. and Africans was a belief.
therefore. difficult to maintain in the New World. Rene Ribeiro writes
on the American experience which upset harmonious African religious

and agricultural patterns:

The land was no longer closely connected with his
ancestors: the germination of the seed was losing
its significance it had with a previously coherent
system in which it was equivalent to the man and
united him intimately with the earth. as with a
vibrant universe: the harvest was destined either
for the mill or for replanting without discrimina-
tion of particular qnalitgs or individualization
asagift ofnature. . .

L. - —-_- —-—-—-

mnené Bibeiro. 'Belations of the Negro with Christianity in
Portuguese America“. W. Vol. XIV. No. 4. April. 1958. p.
455-456.

CERISTIANIZATIOH AND WITCHCRAH

The Spanish attempts at Christianisation of the New World were
received by the Indians and Negroes in generally two manners: one of
hostility and the continued practice of indigenous worship. and one
of acceptance to particular Christian beliefs and practices which were
then adapted to the Indian or Negro culture. Hostility was perhaps
most higily felt by the Indian priests whose power. influence and
function were usurped by Spanish missionaries. However. both priests
and worshippers were often incited to hatred and. at times. active
militancy. Indian wars and revolts have been recorded by Munro 8.
ldmonsonl. and though seemingly few in mmber. many small-scale revolts
and skirmishes occurred which were not emeratcd by him. I'he numerous
complaints and reports by Spaniards of continued Indian idolatry are
too merous to mention: and it is quite apparent that 'underground'
worship of the indigenous religions continued throughout the colonial
period. Often times Indian militancy against the Spaniard illustrated
a peculiar conglomeration of Indian and catholic religious beliefs.

In the 1500s at Botuta and ‘l'ecoh. children were tied to crosses. their

hearts were torn out with obsidian blades. and all in the name of Jesus

“.- _‘—‘- A..— ##4—

1mam-o S. ldmcnson. 'Iativisn. Syncretism and Anthropological
Science.‘ Nativig and Sznczetism (Middle American Research Institute.
Publication 19; how Orleans: Tulane University. 1960). 184-189.

46

47

Christ. An Indian named Sebastian Gomez believed himself to have been
given the power by St. Peter to ordain priests and bishops. This.
ad the worship of a young Indian girl who claimed that the Virgin had
appeared to her and told her to aid the Indians against approaching
Spaniards (who were considered to be Jews coming to kill Christ). led to
the rreitei revolt in Guatemala during the early 1700s.2
segre uprisings have been noted by Melville Herskovitsz: and it
is also obvious by colonial reports that slaves continued to practice
particular African rites. A Negro uprising tool: place in low Spain
in 1537. sensing such alarm that the viceroy Mendoza requested the
suspension of slave importation from Africa.‘ from the beginnings of
slavery escapes were frequent. and these escapees sometimes formed
organised groups--known in Brazil as quilombor-continuing to practice
their African religions.5
Acceptance and 'eouversion' to Christianity was facilitated by
a heritage of Indian religious eclecticism. Indigenous gods were not
considered to be omnipotent. and the blame for defeats and misfortune
was often put upon them. The courting of the conquerors' gods was a
usual reaction in the attempt to gain greater favor and power. Christ-
ianity was also facilitated by the similarities between Catholic and

2Donald 1. Thompson. 'Maya Paganism and Christianity.‘ Nativig

ad SEcrgtimn. pp. 1.2-22; and Bancroft. op. cit.. pp. 672-679.

aka-vine J. Herskovits. The gag of the am gut. (law York:
Harper and Brothers. 1941). pp. 86-95.

4Ce He Haring. me my. Fe 1210

5Arthur names. 91. £13,. pp. 38-39.

4-8

indigenous beliefs. The symbol of the cross. fasting. holy days. and
the miraculous appearance and communication of saints with commoners--
all were immediately absorbed. yet confused with indigenous beliefs.
Sahagfin labels this Indian acceptance of Christianity as a 'palliation
of idolatry'.6

Many Africans were "converted" by their early baptism by slave
traders or soon after arriving in the New World. The usual pattern.
however. was their neglected Christianization by priests and friars.
Similar beliefs existed between Catholic and African religions. too.
and those Negroes who received instruction and became Catholics were
facilitated in their conversion by such similarities. Usually. however.
the power of the white man's god was recognized through the very
strength and success of the Spanish colonials. Recognition. yet not
conversion in the strict sense of the word. What Jacinta de la Serna
bemoans in 1696-99.¢1os indies y be negroes, vssaban. y vssan oy.
estos conjures. mezclando lae cosae diuinas. y ceremonies de la Iglesia
con sus supersticiones'7--1s representative of what nearly every Spanish
missionary thought and wrote during the entire colonial period.

Witchcraft was early recorded in the conquest. But the writings
concerning witchcraft practices were not those of eye-witness accounts.
of which there seems to be a remarnble lack compared to the detailed

descriptions of Indian practices by today's anthropologists.8 fhe

4_‘._ L. #4—

 

63. licolau d'Olwer. 'Comments on the lvangelization of the New
Usrld.‘ my America: (Vol. 117. no. 4, April. 1953), p. 407.

7

   

Jacinta de la Serna. pp. 315.. p. 224.
8Of special significance regarding witchcraft practices today are:
Maud Cakes.!l B. 1

 

2; tan; (Bollingen Series mu; New York: Pantheon Books. 1951: Willis
Madsen. Eh Yir 's Chil en: Lifein Aztec Yill (Austin:

49

lack of colonial recordings of wizardry practice may be due to several
causes. Uith the force and violence often shown towards Indians
worshipping idols and indulging in other indigenous practices. it would
be possible that Indiana felt their religions activity should be
practiced secretly and kept from suspicious Spanish eyes. Then. too.
witchcraft was illegal in the religious and ethical codes of the
indigenous societies. making observations of such practices even more
difficult. But perhaps the most obvious reason is simply that of
familiarity. Indian witchcraft was not a cultural curiosity to be
learned of and studied by the Mopmlv-lt having so many similarities
with its Spanish counterpart. Besides. the culture-bound Spaniard.
senseless to the concepts of Indian nsgnalism and totemism. and to their
entire ethical and moral code. could only see witches and Satans peering
through non-Catholic practices.

Being schooled and tutored by such Catholics. the Indians grew
confused. Practices hitherto of cultural and moral significance. be.
came entangled with the Spanish concept of evil. This confusion and
amalgamation of Indian and Spanish beliefs was advanced by the Spanish
catechists themselves. l'ray Pedro de Canto led a whole movement in
initiating religious coalescence. He taught the Indians to honor
Christian snpernaturals with Aztec songs. dances and folk dramas. l'o
describe and define the idea of hell and the devil to the Indians.

_‘ ——
_ __ A ..—

8 (con' t.)
University of lexas Press. 1960): L. C. Iaron.
1 th Sun: enter it a It Ritual Att ibut (Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburg Press. 1964 ; Oliver La large. Santa i

The Religion of a Cuclnnatan Indian film (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press. 1947): and Charles M. Leslie. Now We Ar: Civiligg:
AS f Wo ewft z tecI ansofntla Oaxaca

Detroit: Wayne State University Press. 1960 .

50

missionaries often used indigenous words and mythology. Iibalbay,
the underworld of the m-m. was attributed to being the same as
hell. Iutock. the principal divinity of the Cakehiqueles. was labeled
as the devil. 'Nagual.“ originally an Aztec word designating the
transformation of man into animal. became a part of Catholic terminology
also. Through the processes of catechisation the word 'nagual' designs:-
ted the devil. or an evil witch in intimate relation with the devil.9

With the conquest of the New Vorld by the Spaniards. 'nagnal'
took on a new meaning. It lost its socially productive attributes of
a god of rain. and changed into primarily a force for evil.10 Although
Indian gods and mythological figures representing the 2.11% M were
believed to have the power of metamorphosis. as mentioned earlier.
only at the time of the conquest were Indiansnspecifically 'nagual'
priests--thought to be able to change themselves into annals. Even
then. Montezuma. the principal chief and great Aztec priest. denied
this power to Cortes. as did other priests. Nevertheless. over and over.
(hiring the colonial period. the Spanish chronicles referred to the
“lingual“ priests' power of transfiguratiomn

Ihe existence of such 'naguales'--pertaining to priests and
secularr-. them rarely confessed to. was an undeniable belief all

during the colonial period and from Independence to today.“ Ill Berna.

A‘— - !_—.__

9Gustavo Correa. '31 Espiritu del Hal en Guatemala)l Uativig m
mantle. pp- 55-58-

mG-onsalo Aguirre Bani-5n, 29. 91.3.. p. 99.

“his" p. 100.
mIbid.

51

in the 17th century. speaks of a carer who transformed himself into a
dog. And. according to the Inquisition of Quer‘taro. in 1621 as Indian
daughter of the governor of flatelolco transformed herself into a dog.”

This change in the meaning of 'nagual' was obviously a result of
Spanish entrance into the New Iorld. for the early Spaniards never
understood the Indian belief. Sahegt'in. in describing the 'nagual'.
called it a witch and gave it certain characteristics-dike that of
sucking on children-which did not appear in the report supplied to
him by his Indian interment-.1“ Ruiz de Alarcén. using informants who
were not Indians. confused his cited cases of 'tonalisn’ with that were
really 'naguales'. Besides. he also attributed to the 'tona' the making
of a pact with the devil.”5

‘ The most dranatic element borrowed from Spanish witchcraft. and

apparently new to the indigenous religions. was that of the 'pactoe'.
Spaniards thought that witches acquired their magical powers by willingly
making pacts with the devil. Prior to the conquest. the Indians
believed that children born under certain calendar signs were fated to
become witches. Yet. at an early date the Indians seem to have adopted
the devil's pact. for it is evidenced by Inquisitorial confessions.
particularly of such Indians as martin Ucelo.16 And. in a book by
rrneeto Chinchilla Aguilar:

1311514.. Fe 105.
“Ibis” p. 110.
15m. p. 106. 107. 111.

16see the Inquisitorial report of Martin Ucelo mentioned in the
introductory chapter. p. 4.

52

The Santa Oficio recognized in the Capitania of
Guatemala an exhcrbant number of denunciations. in-
formation and procedures against witches. In
Guatemala City alone they were presented with more
than 85 cases of ngic and witchcraft.“
Of all these cases. according to the author. at least 13 were persons
who lad a pact with the devil. One of the 13 to confess. Juan Ryder.

described his initiation into the demonic cult:
We came together on a day which was Sunday

and I and the masters entered the church before

they had blessed the holy water. and there I

renounced in front of Christ and the others my

faith. of baptism and of the universal Church.

Afterwards I presentgd homage to the Maestgillg

that is.. the devil.1
And there are at least some authors—Hulls: de la Vega. Brinton, Charles
Wisdom, Brasseur de Bourbourg and foster. among others--who write of
the possibility of a near-formal Indian association of witches who
believed they were making 'pacts' with the devil in order to bring
about the destruction of the Spaniards}-9 Elven an indigenous Indian
uthological figure. Juan He or Juan B‘cq. became a figure through which
Indian witches were to make devils' pacts. Juan qu also changed his
appearance. to become represented as a lady. in dress. speech and
white sumac

rho case of negro witchcraft in the Bee world dees not appear

to be much different from that of the Indian. At every turn. the

__‘ ‘#____ —

“Gustavo Correa. pp. 311.. p. 82.

18
M” P0 83-
19M: also see Aguirre Beltran. 93. cit.. pp. 103-104.

_ __ ‘-

2°Gustavo Correa. 234.. pp. 43. 75.

53

Spanish seemed to either entrench African witchcraft beliefs. or to
look upon purely religious ceremonial actions as something arising out
of pacts with the devil.

It is quite possible that Africans differentiated carefully
between peeple they believed to be witches. and those they considered
witch-doctors or curers. Certainly. today in Africa the two are quite
distinct. or if a witch-doctor possesses some witchcraft power. it is
only in order to be able to recognize witches.

The witch-doctor has a power like that of witches.

By this power he recognises those who are using witch-
craft. and heals those who are bewitched. . . .
Iitches are supposed to be able to recognise one another.
since they meet for their nocturnal meals. If a witch-
doctcr possess some of the witchcraft he too must be
able to recognise witches. But Just as a witch's
power may be latent and not always active. so it may
be with the doctor. In his normal frame of mind he
may have difficulty in picking out the witches. But
when he dances to the sound of the drains. and is
dressed in all his magical array. then his dormant
powers come to life. He may go into a trance and

be able to name or point out those who are harming
their neighbours.31

But in the New World the witch-doctor or curer was looloed upon by the
Spaniard as a witch. Case after case of hechigerig. witchcraft. is
cited in Inquisitcrial reports. accusing African carers of having
wicked intentions.22
A strange thing occurs in the documents of the Santa Oficio.

Devil's marks are cited as indication of a witch. but only among Negroes

_‘_— A ___‘_-__ — !__‘
v._—_ -——

ZlParrinder. Religion of West Africa. gp. cit.. pp. 83-84.

225” the descriptions of Inquisitorial proceedings beginning on
p. 280 in Aguirre Beltran's Me cina H

and mlatoes.23 Evidently a number of Negroes and mulatoes had tattoos
of the devil painted on their foot or shoulder. Although apparently
not mentioned by other authors. this seems to be a case of acculturation.
Africans sometimes bore marks indicating a tribal totem. or were sub-
mitted to smification rites for clan and family identification. but
there is no indication that this was used for purely personal identifi-
cation. nor that it appeared as a sign for a witch. Some Africans
believed that witches bore an internal mark on the life-soul which could
be discovered by autopsy after death. but there is no case of external
witch markings?4

legualism. as the Spanish used it-the transformation of a witch
into an animal—. is illustrated as a Negro belief by an Inquisitorial
report directed against a witch-doctor from Yeracrus. The Negro witch-
doctor. Pedro Joseph. had treated someone suffering from an illness.
and because he mixed certain ingredients (including blood and a cow's
bone) as a cure. was called before the Inquisition for witchcraft. In
the proceedings one discovers that Pedro Joseph believed the illness
to have been caused by an angry Indian. lot receiving meat from a cow
that had been recently purchased. the Indism turned himself into a fly.
bit the purchaser of the cow. and caused him great sicll:ness.25 whether

Pedro Josefli's belief in the transfiguration of the witch was an African

___ ‘ __

23mg” no... “...: 233.15; 356.11.334: 368.366: 636.4:

729.21: and1116.6.
“Pas-finder. litehgraft: European and African. 1). 142.

25 ,
Aguirre Beltran. 39. gig” pp. 33-90.

55

belief. or one which he incorporated once in the New World, is difficult
to determine. But it is likely that this belief. of whatever origin.
was substantiated and strengthened through Indian and Spanish influence.

Throughout the 17th century a number of accusations were made in
the Santa Oficio against Negroes and mulatoes who made pacts with the
devil. These accused witches. according to the colonial Inquisition.
signed demonic contracts and were initiated into the witch cult in much
the same manner as was attributed to European witches. The initiation
was fulfilled in gloomy caves. where the witches entered nude. Inside
this infernal temple they celebrated their rites and despoiled rosaries
and religious relics. By signing the devil's pact. the witch acquired
the gift of being able to separate his soul and body at will and
received the subtle mark of this strange servitude.26

to have already seen. in the case of Lucas Olola. that the African
religious belief in spiritual possession was changed somewhat in the
contact with the New Norld. Possession of one's spirit by a god occurred
in Africa as a ritual during a religious ceremony. An “initiate." in
response to drum beats. singing and dancing. would fall into a trance
during which he was supposed to receive the divinity's personality.
His actions and words. while entranced. were interpreted by a priest.
Incas Olola. a Negro slave in the New World. fell into a state of
possession during an Indian religious ceremony. His possession was that
of the Indian god. not an African orisha. and he. himself. interpreted
his trance and claimed clairvoyence in detecting Indian witches.

__ ! ‘ ”A A ——~

25:93; , p. 112.

56

This kind of spiritual possession. though without the drums and
ceremony. appears to be quite like that claimed by exegetic Catholics
in their state of 'mystical ecstasy '.27 Or. perhaps more important.
it resembled the “devil's trenoeo' of Europe. described by 'eye witnesses.
to particular witches' Sabbaths.” And Mohamed was known to have fallen
into a trance during his first revelation. As Mohamed was believed
to be the epitome of the devil by many Spaniards. clergyman often
emphasized his trances as an indication of his comunication with the
devil. or of his phoniness.

San Pedro Pascual referred to Muhammad as one
possessed. and he let no opportunity go of drawing
attention to a demonic element. or suggestion. in
any Arabic account . . . and drew out still more
fully the significance t he saw in what he thought
of as self-induced fits.

Again. whatever the origin of Lucas Olola's actions while among
the Buastecan Indians-nbe it African. Islamic. or Catholic-he could
have obtained his ideas from the Spaniards. and they. in turn. looked
upon his state of possession and witchrdoctoring as essentially witch-

craft.

__* ‘___ _ — - ——_L

27'Aguirre Beltran. _9_p. _c_i_t_.. p. 72.

“an.

”Norman Daniel. Isl and I st° The M o 3
(Edinburgh: The University Press. 19585. p. 30.

WITCHCRAFI‘ SYNCRETISM

If therefore the reader discovers in the course
of the exposition that the mystery of African culture.
the magical practices of medicine men. the demoniac
possession of the Haitian Voodoo cult are not so mys-
terious after all. and can be interpreted according
to a conception of the world intelligible to all
nen-if. in other words. the reader is led to human
understanding instead of to enjoyable but meaningless
thrills and shudders. he should not be disappointed:
rather let him rejoice in recognizing ritional be-
havior in the action of his fellow men.

Though our intention was not to ennnmerate all available evidence
of confusion and malgam in Negro. Indian. and Spanish witchcraft
beliefs. what has been discussed up to this point suggests an approach
to viewing all witchcraft beliefs and practices in colonial Latin
America. We have focused our attention upon witchcraft beliefs of
the Indians. Negro and Spaniard prior to their colonial American ex-
perience. and have witnessed a remarkable similarity. Three culture
traits. one each from America. Africa and Spain. were then singled out
for investigation. These beliefs-nagualism. spiritual passession.
and the devil's pact-have previously been noted as essentially unique
elements from each of the three cultures. and as becoming dominant

factors in the witchcraft which developed in the New World. But let

— _ __. _ _

1Jenheinz Jahn. m:- ;i_. , p. 19.

5'7

58

us reiterate briefly what has hitherto been suggested in this paper.

W. as a pre-Cortesian religious belief. was the ability
of gods and mythological figures to metamorphose into animal forms.
not until the conquest does ungualism appear to be a transfiguration
characteristic of particular priests. And. it seems that Indian witches.
though obtaining their power by being born on a 'nagual' calendar
date. were not believed to have such metamorphical attributes.

In Africa. however. witches were believed to turn themselves
into niatjars. owls, bats and other birds and animals. as a means
of attending their nocturnal meetings undetected. In Europe. trans-
formation of a witch to an animal was an ancient belief. is late as
1521. two men were tried in France. one of whom was said to have taught
the other how to become a werewolf by rubbing his body with ointment.

Only by the conquest. then. and by Spanish (and possibly African)
influence. did the Indian begin to believe in the transfiguration of
witches. Even the term 'nagual' changed meaning in several Indian
languages through catechisation, and came to the same thing as a
devil or an evil witch.

Spiritual pgsgggsion. as a traditional African concept. was the
state of trance into which an initiate fell during a religious ceremony.
During the trance the initiate became. in effect. the divine personality.
and his words and actions were interpreted by the priest.

luropean witches were thought to have gone into trances during
their celebrations and dances. Spiritual possession was also the way
by which Catholics obtained their mystical ecstasies. Islamic religion

spoke of Hohamad's revelation coming while in a state of trance.

59

Spanish clergymen generally interpreted this as indication of his
demonic powers.

During the colonial epoch. then. spiritual possession by a Negro
was considered in the eyes of the Spaniard as witchcraft. This was
indicated earlier in the Inquisitorial case of Lucas Olola.

The W was a Nurepean belief. Witches obtained their
supernatural powers through a contractual arrangement with the
Ghristian devil. Initiation rites. elaborate secretive ceremonies.
and a witchs' cult were all a part of the devil's pact.

Both Indians and Negroes were brocat before the New World
Inquisition. being accused (or occasionally through self-accusation)
of making pacts with the devil. The initiation ceremow described in
the New World was very similar to that in Europe. And some authors
suggest the possibility of witch cults in the New World.

What appears. therefore. in our investigation of supposedly
unique culture traits introduced to the New World. is that no new or
original witchcraft beliefs were introduced by Indians or Negroes.
Religious beliefs held previously by these groups had. for the Spaniard.
a resemblance to witchcraft as practiced and believed in Europe.
Nagualism and spiritual possession. then. changed in their original
meaning during the colonial period because of the Spaniard's conviction .
that these were devil-produced actions. Through their frensy over
Ghristianisation. fighting the battle against heresy and the devil.
loud preaching and lend teaching. the Spuiards actually furthered and
increased the witchcraft beliefs and practices of Indians and Negroes.

Ewen's conclusion does appear correct: 'Delusions fostered by the

60

Church. became the beliefs of the people.” Therefore. considerations
of witchcraft in the New World should give little importance to the
origin of the various beliefs. that needs to be stressed is that any
belief-"whether of witchcraft or of a purely religious naturewbearing
the slightest resemblance to a European witchcraft practice. warranted
suspicion in the eyes of the Spaniard and became confused withhs
concept of the Christian devil.

If Spaniards. over their frenzied battle against the devil.
sponsored yet further beliefs in witchcraft. what prompted Indians :
and Negroes to accept these changes and innovations? Let us look
again at the religious. social. and economic position of the Indian
and Negro in colonial Latin America.

Confusion and contradiction permeated the religious scene. in
Indian heritage of religious eclecticism permitted them to accept
certain Christian elements which. more often than not. then became
confused with indigenous worship. Pedro de la Gante's school of
thoughtureligious coalescence-wet furthered this process. The fun-
ctions of the indigenous priests were no longer tolerated h the
Spaniards. and idols and temples were smashed. The mutual relationships
between the gods and Indians could no longer be adhered to. Negroes
were separated from tribal and family members. who were traditionally
an integral part of his religious system. His association with. and
dependence upon. ancestors and gods was a belief which was not permitted
practice in the New World. Generally speaking. the Negro and Indian

acceptance of the white man's god was sheerly one brought through the

61

recognition of his apparent power.1

Indians and. to a lesser extent. Negroes. were the object of
Spanish Christianisation. They were said to be human. yet were denied
the category of £9.83! 33 m. They were taught. schooled and con-
verted. but were not allowed to enter into the ranks of the Church.
Therefore. there was little hope of a Catholicism which would under-
stand the Indian or Negro culture and. way of life. And clergyman in-
structed them in Christian morals yet lived. in many instances. imoral
lives themselves.2

Spiritual possession was regarded as heresy and witchcraft. yet
the priests spoke of Catholic mystical experiences. Idols were damned
yet the Christians worshipped statues of “little: Polygamy was preached

against. while Spmish clergyman were sometimes living with several women.

__—! _ -—.—_

——

lThere were. of course. Africans and Indians who were converted
to Christianity. and they became perhaps convinced that the Christian
God was more powerful than all sorcerers or witdhes. “But as every
missionary hows. African converts who stop believing in sorcerers and
witches are few and far between. 'Habit is a full-grown mountain; hard
te get over or pull down.‘ says 8 Congo proverb.“ There may have been
exceptions. however. similar to our contemporary Ghanian who says:
Witches? Man. that's for graybeards and the squares. In my crowd we
dig Tom Paine. Einstein and Mam-mass action. technology and social sig-
nificance.' Jack Mendelsohn. o d J u: in i
Togg (New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons. 1962 . pp. 65. 67.

zSpanish seculars were by no means better. Braden comments on the
contradiction between religious beliefs and actual practice: "After the
first baptism of Indians in the New World. the women were at once dis-
tributed among the chief officers. Doha Marina was given to Puertocarreo.
a cavalier. but when subsequently he returned to Spain. Cortes himself
took her and had a son by her called Don Martin Cortes. Still later.
Cortes perhaps having tired of her. she was given in turn to Juan Jera-
nillo . . .' The utter naivete with which the writers mention these. to
us strange associations between religion and la: ideas regarding the re-
lations of the sense. is perhaps the best indication of the standards of
th. the.“ 3m». no we. Po 85o

anthough Tedro Joseph was brought before the Inquisition for. among
other things. mixing a cow's bone in his 'medicine'. don Jose Carrillo was
brought before the Inquisition for 'not wishing to give ddoration to the
bones of a saint." Inquisition report 927.10. Aquirre Beltran.o 3p. 55,.
Fe 315s

62

The social and economic position of Indians and Negroes showed
no less confusion. and was riddled with insufferable institutions.
Indians. by law. were 'free' individuals. nevertheless their position
in colonial Latin America was essentially that of slavery. Negroes
were slaves though. according to old Roman and Spanish law. they were
human and their souls were free—small compensation. Their women were
taken as wives or concubines by Spaniards. even though their numbers
were pitifully small to begin with.‘ Socially. economically and reli-
giously. the Indian and Negro were pitted against a powerful. non-under-
standing and. at times. ruthless Spaniard.

In a static society.--so long as it stays truly static--
the individual is safely dependent on a complicated
social system which . . . usually includes not only
living members of the group but dead ancestors and
unborn posterity. The arrival of even one represen-
tative of a competitive societr-imune from local
forms of magic. blessed with a new magic of his own-
threatens the peace of this . . . structure.5

Though Manneni is speaking of an ideal static society. its implications

are useful for our discussion. The arrival of the Spaniard was a

-_‘ ‘— —-
*— ——

4"The Negro migration continued for so long a time because of the
heavy mortality: 'almost half of the new imported Negroes die in the
seasoning. nor does the polygamy which they use add much to the stocking
of a plantation': because in parts of the New World the Negro did not
reproduce. and because men were more readily welcomed than women for
the heavy labor. On the average. only one woman was imported for every
three men. There were plantations in Cuba. for instance. that had as
many as seventeen males to one female. and the females became common
wives. prostitutes. incapable of bearing children or unwilling to do
Hoe. 133mm. as 2.12" Fe 35s

0. Manneni. ro C en: T e P h o o o iza-
tion (New York: J'rederick A. Praeger. 1956 . p. 10.

63

destructive threat to the social and economic structure of pro-Cortesian
Indians. Likewise is the case of the Negro. Possible extinction of
Indian and Negro culture appeared imminent. and a way of resisting such
a process appeared to be the use of witchcraft. The “new mgic" of
the conquerors was adopted in the hope of gaining greater power. It
was also a means. S. l'. Nadel suggested. of enabling 'a society to
go on functioning in a given manner. fraught with conflicts and con-
tradictions which the society is helpless to resolve.'

Society suffers from neuroses as do individuals. To clear

itself from guilt societg looks about for scape-goats on

which to lay its faults.
Explanations for evil. illness. social and economic position. existence
of the devil. and possibly the guilt feelings on the part of the
Spaniards. were all heaped upon the colonial Latin American scapegoat--
the witch. Thus. Spanish witchcraft beliefs were nurtured. and

Indian and Negro beliefs adapted more powerful witch traits.

,_‘-_‘ A #L‘; ___!
-—-— wt

6I’arrinder. Belgian of West Africa. p. 202.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primagy Source;

Benevente. Toribio de (Motoiinin). Nisto of the In of N
m. Elizabeth Andros roster. trans. and ed. . The Cortes
Society. Documents N rativ s Co e the iscove

Cgagusst of Lg America: Berkeley: University of California
P130“. 1950 e

his: del Castillo. norm. Vgrdadega Higtogin g; 1a Coggista g;
Mgico. 1568. trans. John Ingram Locthart. The Manoirs of tin
Conquistador, Bernal Dig de1_l= Qagtillg (2 vols.; London. 1844).

Gage. Thomas. Tho G e' Tra el 1 t N V d. ed. by J. Eric
3. Thompson $Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 1953).

Mendieta. Geronimo de. Histoflg gglegigg' tica indim (Monica:
Editorial Salvador Chnves Hayhoe. 1945 .

Troncoso. Iranoisco del Faso y. (ed.) Tratado d lo idolatri .
migticiones. dioggg, ritosI hecfiicarlg é Etrga cogtfibrea
gent liege 9‘9 15 gazes surge?! g. M5199. 2d ed.: Mexico:

Ediciones Fuente Cultural. 1892 .

Serna. Jacinto de la. “Manual de Ministros de Indies para el conocimisnto
de sus Idelztrias. y Extirpacion de ellas'. in Troncoso. Tgtggg g3
10. ightr as e e e

uni-con. Hernando Ruiz de. 'Tratado de las supersticiones de los
naturales de Nueve hpafia' . Trgtado de lo; idolatgig . . ..

Sahagun. Bernardino de. N storia on r 3 cos
gm. Notes and illustrations by Arthur J. 0. Anderson and
Charles I. Dibble. (Santa I'e. New Mexico. School of American
Research. 1950).

B IBL IOGEAPEY

SeconM SouEes

Aguirre Beltran. Gonzalo. Medicine I Mggia: e1 Eogego fig mturacig'

en la ectructur coloni (Mexico. Institute Nacional Indigenista.
1963 .

Bancroft. Hubert House. Histo of Cent al Am rica (San Francisco:
The History Company. 1886 .

Bloomhill.)Greta. Witchcrgt in Aging. (Capetown: Howard. Timins.
1962 o

Bonilla. Louis. E to in la ec cer do las B a (Madrid:
Biblioteca Nueva. 1962 .

Bovell. E. 1!. The Golden T f the Mo (New York: Oxford. Uni-
versity Press. 19585.

Braden, Charles S. Re 1 ions As ct of 1: Co e t M (Dur-
ham. North Caroline: Duke University Press. 1930 .

Burland. Cottie Arthur. M c Boo]: rr 1c (Harmondsvorth, Eng-
land: Penguin Books. 1953 .

Caro Baroda. Julio. Las B M do (Madrid: Revista do
Occidente. 1961 .

Caso, Alfonso. El Tueblo 9:1 Sol (Mexico: rondo de Cultura Economical.
1962 o

Chu, Daniel and Elliott Skinner. A 610 e in Africa: T Sto
of Three Great African my“ (New York: Doubleday and Co. Inc. .
1965 .

Correa. Gustavo. 'Dl Espiritu del Mel on Guatemala.‘ Natiflsm and
W.

Daniel. Norman. Isles and the We t: The M of an I e (Edinburgh:
The University Press. 1958 .

D'Auvergnes Edmund D. Em Livestock (London: Grayson and Grayson,
1933 o

Debrunner, Rev. E. Witchcraft in Ghana: :1 st on the be is! in
destruct v witches and its e f ct on th tr bes. (Accra:
Presbyterian Book Depot Ltd.. 1959 .

de Graft-Johnson. J. 0. African Glo : The Stor of Vanish N
Civilizations (London: Watts and Co.. 1954).

Deren, Maya. Divine o emen: The L v Gods of Hait (New York:
Thames and Hudson, 1953 .

Desai. Ram. Christianit in ric as S enb Afr c (Denver:
Alan Svallov. 1962 .

Diffie. Bailey 1!. Latin-American Civilization: Colonial Period
(Pennsylvania: Stack‘pols Sons. 1945) .

d'Olwer, 1.. Nicolas. 'Comments on the Evangelisation of the New World,"
The Americas (Vol. 117. no. 4, April. 1958).

Edmonson. Munro S. 'Nativism, Syncretism and Anthropological Science.“

sermon and Smretig (Middle American Research Institute.
Publication 19; New Orleans: Tulane University. 1960).

Ellis. A. B. The Yoggba-gmflg Peoples of the Slave Coast of West
Africa London: Chaplan and Hall, 1d. . 1894 .

l'aron, 1.. C. H of Sun: Ma he Moralit Its H t
Attributes Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburg Press. 1964).

Gibson, Charles. The Azte s Und r S sh Hula: A H to of the Yall
of Mexico, 15lklelg (Stanford: Stanford University Press. 1964).

Groves, C. P. The Plant of C i ani Afr (London:
Luttervorth Press. 1948 .

Hamilton. Genesta Mary. In Sh! V3153 of Da Gama. (New York: Skeffington,
1955).

Haring C. H. The 6 kn ire in eric (New York: Oxford Univer-
sity Press. 1947 .

Hershovits, Melville J. g, Myth of the Negro Pagt (New York: Harper
and Brothers. 1941).

Hughes. Pennethorne. Witchcraft (New York, London: Longmans. Green.

1952).
Huxley, Aldous. W (New York: Harper and Brothers.
1952).

Jahn, Janheins. Mun : T New A c C ture. trans. Marjorie
Gm (New York: Grove Press. Inc.. 1961 .

Jinéniz Rueda, Julio. Herejias z mpgretieionoo an 13 rm 3%
(Mexico: Imprenta universitaria. 1946 .

Kaigh. Frederick. Witchcr t d M c 0 Africa (London: Richard
LOSlay and.00. Ltde. 194? 0

La Fargo. Oliver. Santa alia: The Reli on of a Cuchmatan Indian
Town (Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1947).

Leslie. Charles M. Na [s Ar; Civilized: A Stm of the World. Vigg
of th Z t I ans of Mitla Oaxac Detroit: Wayne State
University Press, 19605.

Linton. Ralph. Acggturation In Sevg America Indian Tribes (New
York: D. Appleton - Century Company, Inc.. 1940 .

Madsen. Millim. 'Christo-Paganism: A Study of Mexican Religious

Syncretism,‘ Tulane Mildl Ame ic Re e ch In t t (New
Orleans: Tulane University, Publication No. 19, 1960 .

Madsen, William. Th Yir ' C : Lif an Azt Vil To
(Austin: University of Texas Press. 1960;.

Mannoni, 0. Pro re d C iban: Th P hole of Co oniz t
(New York: Trederick A. Praeger. 1956).

Mendelsohn. Jack. G lah J : Re n Afr ca T
(New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons. 1962).

Menendes, y Pelayo. H s r do 1 h te (Argentina:
Espansa—Calpe. 1951 .

Nadel, 8. 1'. 'Vitchcraft in Four African Societies: An Essay in
Comparison.‘ ic Anthr lo t, LIV (January-March. 1952).

Cakes, Maud. The M Crosses of Tom; Santos; Survivgls of Maya;
Religious Rim Bollingen Series um; New York: Pantheon
BOOkI. 1951 e

Parrinder, Geoffrey. Witc r : Euro an rieon (London: Inner
and Faber, 1963).

Parrindsr, Geoffrey. West 1 an Reli on: 11 u trat d from the Bel f

and Pr cos of e Yo ba Ewe Kin r 6. Po les
London: The Dpvorth Press. 1949 .

Paz. Octavio. The Lab nth o Solitude: I. fe and Th in M
(New York: Grove Press. 19615.

Ramos, Arthur. L Cultura n s an new Mun (Marion: rendo
de Cultura Economics, 1943 .

Reynolds, Barrie. Magic, Divination and litchcraft Among the Bgotsg

of Northern Rhoda (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1963 e

Ribeiro, Rena. "Relations of the Negro with Christianity in Portuguese
America".(Thg America;, Vol. am. No. 4, April, 1958).

Séjourné. Laurette. Burning Water: Thought and Religion in Agiong
Mexico. trans. by Irene Nicholson (New York: Thames and Hudson,
19565.

Spence, Lewis. The Mgic and Mzgteries of MexicoI Or the Arcane Secret;
and Occult Lore of the giant Mexican; and M Philadelphia:
Tannenbaum, Frank. Slav an Citi en: TheN o the Ame ic
(New York: Vintage Books. 19635.

HICHIGQN STQTE UNIV. LIBRARIES

lllllllil 1||H| "II I! llllll HI
1 9

3 2 3006921021