Manuel M. Marzal introduction • Systematic study of the religion of the Andean Quechua in Southern Peru • From social sciences, with theological and pastoral concerns. • This an anthropological approach… • “I call Religion the symbolic system comprising, rites, beliefs, forms of organization and ethical norms that pertains to a certain society or culture and by which its members endeavor to communicate with God and meet with the transcendent in their life” (p. 68) • Peruvian Andean Trapezoid (limit of the study and research) • This region was the nucleus of the ancient Tawantinsuyo Inca Empire. Tawantinsuyo 2. Patterns of Quechua Religion • Two vectors or nuclei: • A) Catholic Origin: Patron Saint • B) Andean Origin: payment of Pachamama. The religious Rites • Mysterious vision of the sacred, discovering a “door” leading to the different world of sacred, through which they try to reach beyon themselves or avail themselves of the divine forces in order to satisfy their own needs. • Celebration of the Patron Saint: the day of the fiesta in honour of the patron saint, especially the “farewell”. • The saints in this context: visible representations of the intermediaries of the invisible God (Saints, the Virgen Mary and Jesus). • The patron saint heeds the petitions of the devouts and supplies their needs. • The saint cannot fulfil the function “model”, nevertheless the saint is transformed in a myth… • Many of the saints are connected with mysterious visions: real appearance of the Virgen Mary, of the Lord or some saints. • Other times the statue becomes heavely weighed down… B) The payment to Pachamama • Despite the “stamping out of the idolatries” or the the so called “extirpation” of the idols. • “Pago a la tierra” (sacrificial offering) • For them the Earth is a sacred reality known as Pachamama. • She is rearing us, nourishing and protecting us • There is another kind of knowledge: the mythical one. The mythical knowledge of the earth. The elements of Quechua Origin • How was the pre-Hispanic Quechua religion? • The access that we have is through the writings or accounts of chroniclers, who wrote from the perspective of their Spanish and theological categories. • We need hermeneutics, avoiding anachronism. • The cult of Pachamama and the Apus • These cults have survived… because thet respond to the sacral vision in the Andean culture and because the missionaries did not offer a real alternative to support the agricultural activity and husbandry of the Quechua in a ritual manner (p.100) • Aboriginal healing rituals still exist because Spanish medicine is not always considered a better alternative to the indigenous medicine (idem). Oral tradition: myths, accounts • Survives with transformations… • Read p.101 example. • Christian baptism accepted but reinterpreted • In its meaning and in its organization… • Catholic marriage Casarakuy, indigenous servinakuy and warmipalabrakuy • Catholic marrige is Indissoluble… 4. Transformation of Quechua Christianity in the City • How it changes in the City, urban environment? • Despite the secularization process, Quechuas find many religious opportunities: Shrines , abundant religious offerings...