Master Raul in a cleansing ceremony
The other day we went to do a cleansing ceremony (Pichay) and a call for encouragement (Waqhay). Maestro Raul drove with caution in the busy Cusco morning traffic.
After our conventional conversations, I became very interested in his thoughts on the Catholic religion.
I mentioned how the white and red wine used in his ceremonies reminded me of church masses, which sparked our discussion on the topic.
He told me that as a child in the community of Kiko, he knew a Danish father who respected local traditions. This father wore an unku (bag), celebrated masses in Quechua, donned the community’s poncho, and chewed coca.
Paqos believe in Jesus and God
This is how the maestro Raul decided to become a catechist and says “I also like Jesus”.
Likewise, the teacher recalled his grandfather, who would exclaim prayers to the angels and the Our Father. He asked for blessings from above and the stars, emphasizing that we are united as Catholics and Paqos.
The transcultural clash between the Andean and Christian world was undoubtedly a struggle of dialogues and also of linguistic misunderstandings. Anyway states Brosseder, (2018) that the Andean and Catholic concepts were not very different from each other.
For Catholics, the entities centered on God, while for the Andeans, trust resided in nature (the sun, moon, huacas, and more).
I believe, like Raul, that there are no contradictions between the Christian and Andean traditions, especially in their ethical bases. The Andean man had to adapt and integrate elements to his already known rituals without losing that Andean logic.
Although colonial authorities viewed indigenous people as irrational and linked them to the devil, Favaron (2023) notes that they understood the fundamental tenets of the new faith:
to love your neighbor as yourself and God above all things (p. 77).
Author: Joan de la colina Román
References:
- Brosseder, C. (2018). El poder de las huacas: Cambios y resistencia en los Andes del Perú colonial (R. Zeballos Rebaza, Trad.; Primera edición). Ediciones El Lector.
- Favaron Peyón, P. M. (2023). La cristiandad de pariacaca: Pedagogía y sincretismo en el Manuscrito de Huarochirí. Kipus: Revista Andina de Letras y Estudios Culturales, 54, 57-78. https://doi.org/10.32719/13900102.2023.54.4
