Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
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TheAmericas
64:1July2007,11-33
ofAmerican
bytheAcademy
Copyright
Franciscan
History
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS:
KHIPUSIN THECOLONIALPARISH*
TANGLEDCONFESSIONS
INTRODUCTION:
*Portions
of thisinvestigation
weresupported
fromtheBeinecke
RareBookandManubyawards
of YaleUniversity,
theJ.William
anda fellowship
Board,
scriptLibrary
Fulbright
Foreign
Scholarship
fromtheNational
fortheHumanities
Endowment
attheJohnCarter
Brown
I wouldliketothank
Library.
theanonymous
reviewers
atTheAmericas
fortheirhelpful
comments
andsuggestions.
1 JackGoody,TheDomestication
Press,
of theSavageMind(Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
1977); WalterD. Mignolo, The Darker Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality,and Coloniza-
TheUniversity
of Michigan
tion(AnnArbor:
of thelinkbetween
the
Press,1995).Anoft-cited
example
of booksandtheadvance
of Spanish
colonialism
canbefoundintheactions
of NewSpain's
imposition
firstbishop,
JuandeZumarraga,
whoinhiszealto spread
oversaw
theestablishment
of the
Christianity
ofpainted
intheMesoamerican
archive
ofTexprinting
pressinMexicoandthedestruction
manuscripts
coco.SeeHortensia
of theBookin EarlySpanish
inBookHisCalvo,"TheHistoriography
America,"
andJonathan
StateUniverRose,eds.,(University
Park,PA:Pennsylvania
tory,vol.6, EzraGreenspan
sityPress,2003),p. 280.
2 AngelRama,
Laciudadletrada
NH:Ediciones
delNorte,1984).
(Hanover,
11
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12
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
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JOHN CHARLES
13
sourcesof thecolonialperiodrevealabout
Andesandwhatthedocumentary
forrecording
socialactionin ruralparishsettings.'
thekhipus'capacity
in
onkhipupractices
testimony
Myinquiry
beginswitha vividhistorical
in the southern
Peruvian
dioceseof Cuzco,
the parishof Andahuaylillas,
manual
foradministering
thesacratakenfroma bilingual
Spanish-Quechua
de curas,pubmentsto nativeAndeans,the Ritualformularioe instituciOn
in communication
Whatconcerned
that
him,asidefromthe breakdown
andpenitents,
wasthefactthatcordkeepkhipuscausedbetweenconfessors
outsidetheclergy'ssurveillance,
ingwaspracticed
allowingthespecialists
who prepared
the registrieswithwhichAndeanneophytesconfessedto
advanceteachings
withCatholic
incompatible
orthodoxy.
7 FrankSalomon, The Cord
Keepers:Khipusand CulturalLife in a Peruvian Village(Durham:Duke
Estenssoro
Delpaganismo
a la santidad:
LaincorporaciOn
Press,2004);JuanCarlos
Fuchs,
University
de los indios del Peru al catolicismo, 1532-1750, trans. GabrielaRamos (Lima: Instituto Frances de
Estudios
Pontificia
Universidad
CatOlica
delPeril,2003),especially
andKathryn
Andinos,
pp.223-228;
Archives:
TheQuilcay
of Colonial
a talkpresented
atthe
Burns,
Cuzco,"
"Making
Indigenous
Camayoc
LatinAmerican
ofTulane
NewOrleans,
theethnographic
LA,April6, 2005,examine
Library
University,
in whichknotted
contexts
cordssurvived
andoperated
written
documents
andtheimport
of
alongside
ontheworkings
communities
of the"lettered
is owedto Kathryn
khipu-sharing
city."Myappreciation
Burnsforgenerously
withmeherunpublished
research.
sharing
8 JuanPerezBocanegra,
e instituciOn
Ritual
de curas(Lima:Geronymo
de Contreras,
formulario
1631).
9 "Demanera,
ni dizen,y ponenal Confessor
enconfusion,
assi
quenosabenlo quese confiessan,
comoabsoluiendo:
iiudos,paraotraconfession,
juzgando,
y e hallado,
queguardan
semejantes
aunque
la hagande breuetiempo,o paraotroalio.Y quelos prestan,
de
y dana los quese ande confessar
enmillares
deerrores,
conestosquipos,
PerezBocanegra,
Ritual
nueuo,...[e]nredandose
y memorias."
AllEnglish
ofSpanish
translations
textsaremyownunlessotherwise
indicated.
formulario,
pp.112-113.
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14
UNRELIABLE
CONFESSIONS
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JOHNCHARLES
15
on mattersranging
for posterityvitalinformation
"archive,"
maintaining
livestock
records
to
local
lawsandthe
and
sacred
frompopulation
figures
of warandpeace.12
royalchronicles
in the
tookfarmorethananantiquarian
interest
Butcolonialevangelizers
andthestoriestheirhandlers
told.Becausethe
Andeans'
knotted
cordrecords
lacked
sufficient
numbers
of
ordained
above
Church
personnel,
missionary
of
the
of
allduringtheearlydecades evangelization, lion'sshare day-to-day
andcommunity
parishadministration
policingfell to localAndeanauthoriin
those
educated
methods.
Consider
Friar
ties,including
khipuaccounting
forparishgovernance,
whichpositedcord
1560instruction
DiegodePorres's
as a vitalresource
of nativechurchofficialswhendirected
to the
registries
this
of
ecclesiastical
With
the
future
directive,
govemance.13
goals
provincial
of theMercedarian
orderin Peruintended
to offermissionaries
a guidefor
the decreesof the FirstProvincial
Councilof Lima(1551implementing
with
to
native
instruction
and
1552)
religious
regard
parishadministration.
Firstpriorityof newlyappointed
the
priests,he argued,was to announce
the
laws
before
and
to
have
the
local
ethnic
lord
synod's
congregated
village
recordthemin writingandkhipu"sothattheIndians
notfeignignorance
of
their[spiritual]
Theseregistries
werealsoto maintain
crucial
obligations."14
the
or
statistics
ecclesiastical
such
asthe
visitas,
teams,
soughtby
inspection
and
assets
absences
for
Mass
or
catecontributions,
community's
tributary
andothersacramental
andcelebration
of liturgical
chism,baptismal
records,
feasts.15
Porres
saw
the
value
of
cords
for
thecateLastly,
potential
teaching
chism.Heinstructed
to
their
to
make
priests require parishioners
khipusfor
thebasicprayers
HailMary,
Creed,andSalve
(OurFather,
learning
Apostles'
and
Ten
the
that
Commandments,
Regina)
presumption
being khipuscould
storemeaningsof religiousconceptsandassistin the oralrecitation
of
12FelipeGuaman
PomadeAyala,
Elprimer
nuevacorOnica
eds.John
[1615/1616],
y buengobierno
V.Murra
andRolena
trans.
Adorno,
Quechua
(Mexico:
1980),p. 361;
JorgeL.Urioste
SigloVeintiuno,
Martin de Muria, COdiceMuraa: Historia y genealogia, de los reyes Incas del Peru del padre mer-
cedario
deMurda
Testimonio
[1590],ed.JuanOssio(Madrid:
Editorial,
FrayMartin
2004),
Compaiiia
f. 77v.
13Archivo
deIndias
General
231.Estenssoro
Delpaganismo
a lasantidad,
Fuchs,
(AGI),Patronato,
andSempat
alerted
metotheexistence
ofPorres's
217;
Assadourian,
p.
"String
Registries,"
pp.136-137,
theholdings
of Spain's
Archivo
General
deIndias.
manuscript
among
14"...darselo
nopretendan
deloqueallilesobligay manda."
porquipoalcacique
porque
ygnorancia
231ff., lr,3r.
AGI,Patronato,
15AGI,Patronato,
231ff.,5r-7v.FriarMartin
deMurda's
of theIncasconfirms
1590history
that
were
in
used
this
a curaca(Andean
ethniclord)intheparish
of
khipus
way.Muniarecallsencountering
whoatthebehestofaMercedarian
haddutifully
onhiscordstherulesoftheChurch
retained
Capachica,
andthesaints'daysof theholycalendar,
themsoeffectively
"asif bypaperandink."Murda,
recalling
(Mice Muraa, f. 77v.
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16
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
delPeril,1999),p.273.Similar
CatMica
Pontificia
Universidad
deJesus(1581-1752)
(Lima:
Compalifa
de Egalia,ed.,Monumenta
arelocatedin Antonio
of confessional
Jesuittestimonies
khipupractices
Historica
Societatis
vol. 2 (Rome:Monumenta
Iesu,1958),pp.252,262;andFrancisco
Peruana,
Mateos, ed., Historia general de la Companiade Jesus en la provincia del Perti [1600], vol. 2 (Madrid:
deInvestigaciones
Cientificas,
1944),pp.101,128.
Consejo
Superior
18Estenssoro
a la santidad,
Fuchs,Delpaganismo
pp.206-208.
19"Yel yndiohagaquipodesuspecados.
Y alyndioy a layndiale ensefie
comolo a deconfesarse
nuevacorOnica,
Guaman
decadapecado."
Poma,Elprimer
p.630.
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JOHN CHARLES
17
of authority
wasthusopentonativekhipuspecialists
whopresided
pathway
overlocalreligiousinstruction
andelucidated
forneophytes
thesubtledistinctions
betweenmortalandvenialsins.
But how,precisely,was confessionwithkhipusto havetakenplace?
andHarrison
Estenssoro
havelocatedpartialanswersin the Tercero
catede la doctrinachristianapor sermones(1585),thetrilincismoy exposiciOn
thatwaspublished
of theThirdCoungualsermoncollection
byinstruction
cil foruseinAndeanparishes.20
Thevolume's12thsermon,devotedto the
reconciliation
thelanguage
withwhichpriestsshould
sacrament,
proposed
instruct
theAndeanpenitent
onhowto prepare
forconfession:
First, my son, you must reflect earnestlyupon your sins, and make a khipu of
them,just as when you are a storekeeper(tambocamayo)you make a khipu of
what you give and what you are owed. Make thus a khipu of what you have
done against God and your neighbor, and how many times, if many or few.
. After having examined yourself and made a khipu of your sins by way of
the Ten Commandments,or as best you know, you must ask God's pardon
with great sorrow for having offended Him.21
Inwaysthatparalleled
traditional
Andeanmethods
of storehouse
inventory,
confessional
thequantity
andvalueof thesinner'scredits
khipusrecorded
anddebts.Thisarithmetic
functionof knottedstringsprovedespecially
valuablefor a sacramental
ritewhoseintegrityresteduponthe accurate
recallof transgressions
andtheirfrequency.
Furthermore,
penitentswere
instructed
to examinetheirconsciencefollowingthe sequenceof theTen
theprocedure
forconfessingneophytes
outCommandments,
maintaining
linedinprinted
confession
of theperiod,including
manuals
theConfessionarioparalos curasde indios(1585),whichwasalsocommissioned
by the
ThirdCouncil.22
A decimal-based
as
accounting
system, complexkhipu
hasbeendescribed
wouldthusappear
numerology
by modernspecialists,23
to havebeenideallysuitedfortheeffectiverecollection
of God'sbasicpre20Esten
a la santidad,
"Perez
Ritual
Fuchs,Delpaganismo
p. 221;Harrison,
Bocanegra's
for-
mulario," p. 268.
21"Loprimero,
bientuspeccados,
hijomio,hasdepensar
y hazerquipodellos:comohazesquipo,
erestambo
deloquedas,y deloquetodeuen:
assihazquipodeloquehashecho,contra
quando
camayo,
Diosy contra
toproximo,
vezes:si muchas,
o si pocas....Despues
deauerte
y quantas
pesado,
y hecho
detuspeccados
o comomejorsupieres,
hasdepedira Diosperdon
quippo
porlosdiezmandamientos,
con mucho dolor de auelle offendido."Tercerocatecismo y exposiciOnde la doctrina christianapor sermones [1585], in Doctrina christianay catecismopara instrucciOnde indios [1584], ed. Luciano Perelia
de Investigaciones
is
(Madrid:
Cientificas,
1985),pp.482-483.Englishtranslation
ConsejoSuperior
mineinconsultation
withHarrison,
"Perez
Ritual
Bocanegra's
formulario,"
p. 268.
22
Confessionariopara los curas de indios [1585], in Doctrina christiana, pp. 189-332.
23 Locke, TheAncient
Quipu;Ascher and Ascher, Code of the Quipu.
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18
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
ontheonehand,andcallfortheiruniof khipus,
Thesimultaneous
advocacy
of
a fissureamongparticipants
on
the
underscores
versaldestruction, other,
cultobjects
Andean
to theplaceof traditional
theThirdCouncilwithregard
Christian
devofor
Viable
channels
intheevangelization
inculcating
program.
24 EstenssoroFuchs, Del
paganismo a la santidad, p. 221; Osvaldo F. Pardo, The Origins of Mexican Catholicism:Nahua Ritualsand ChristianSacramentsin Sixteenth-CenturyMexico (AnnArbor:The
of Michigan
Press,2004),p. 106.
University
25Harrison,
Ritual
"Perez
formulario,"
Bocanegra's
pp.268-269.
26"porque
hechosdediferenlugardeloslibroslosyndioshanusadoy usanunoscomoregistros
su
la
memoria
de
con
estos
conservan
enteshilos,queellosllaman
y ritos
antigua
supersticiOn
y
quipos,
o
condiligencia
losobisposquetodoslosmemoriales
y ceremonias
y costumbres
perversas;
procuren
a losyndios."
LimaIII,actio3, cap.37,
totalmente
se lesquiten
quesirvenparasusuperstici6n,
quipos,
vol. 1 (Lima:
Limenses
in RubenVargas
Concilios
Peruana,
1951),p.
(1551-1772),
Tipograffa
Ugarte,
Ritual
"Perez
358.Mytranslation
formulario,"
p.269.
Bocanegra's
closelyfollowsthatof Harrison,
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JOHNCHARLES
19
butforsomeof theprelacy
thiscameattheriskof perpettionsweredesired,
antithetical
to church
ideas
and
practices
teachings.
uatingpre-Christian
considerable
Cordrecordshadattained
powerin theceremonial
producandfroman ecclesiastical
tion of religiousauthority,
pointof view this
writers
wasincreasingly
non-Catholic.
European
allegedthatsome
authority
in
to
the
hard-line
position
khipuspecialistsoperatedcovertly response
customsof atonement
cults,manyof whichpracticed
againstpre-Hispanic
orthodox
ritualforms.27
suchofficialdirecthatcloselypatterned
However,
tivesthatsoughtto marginalize
offenders
fromthesupposedly
indigenous
morecompliant
nativepopulace
obscurewhatKenneth
Millshasidentified
andcontinually
as thewidespread
and
reformuevolvingreligious cultural
Andeanparishlife.28Generally
lationsthatcharacterized
native
speaking,
exercisedconsiderableindependence
from ecclesiastical
parishioners
andoftencultivated
ritualpracticesandrelationships
withholy
authority
thatweredeemedsuspectbythechurchhierarchy.
objectsandpersonalities
forbaptized
Itwasnotuncommon
to "self-Christianize"-to
Andeans
recast
the codesof conductimposeduponthemandredefinethe standards
of
to theirowntermsandexpecproper
religiousbeliefandcustomaccording
tations.Withregardto theritualof confession,
thedistancethatemerged
betweenauthorized
Catholicteachingsand local practicessuggestsa
environment
of culturalselectionsandsubstitutions,
and
dynamicpastoral
formsof worshipthatcouldbe attimesbothanalogous
andconflicting.
Thebishopsof theThirdCouncilcondemned
openlytheritualkhipupracticesthatwereconducted
outsideclericalsupervision.
Buttheautonomy
of
whomediated
theconfessional
riteswithintheChurch
specialists
mayalso
havemotivated
thepushforsacramental
reform.Giventhewidespread
linthe
native
church
assistants
had
considerguisticdeficiencyamong clergy,
ableauthority
in localparishes
as language
andteachers
of docinterpreters
trine.Though
theSecondCouncilof Lima(1567)andArequipa
synod(1638)
banned
thirdparties
fromtheconfessional,29
thisrulewaswidelydisregarded
in thepracticeof ruralparishlife, as PerezBocanegra's
makes
testimony
27Estenssoro
a la santidad,
"InstrucciOn
Fuchs,Delpaganismo
p. 210;JuanPolode Ondegardo,
contra
lasceremonial
altiempodesuinfidelidad"
[1559],Revista
y ritosqueusanlosindiosconforme
1:1(1906),p. 202.
HistOrica
28Kenneth
in Colonial
Colonial
LatinAmerican
Review
5:2(1996),
Mills,"BadChristians
Peru,"
Kenneth
of Andean
in TheCambridge
Mills,"TheNaturalisation
Christianities,"
pp.185-186;
History
of Christianity,Vol. 6, Reformationand Expansion, c. 1500-c. 1660, ed. R. Po-Chia Hsia (Cambridge:
Press,2007),pp.508-539.
Cambridge
University
29LimaII,espalioles
Concilios
13,inVargas
Limenses,
Ugarte,
p. 108;LimaII,indios49,inVargas
Concilios
Nacional
del
Limenses,
1638,Lib.II,tit.4, cap.6, inBiblioteca
Ugarte,
pp.182-183;
Arequipa
Peril(BNP),B 1742,f. 128v.
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20
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
to thebanfrequentlymentioned,albeit
plain.Churchlegislationsubsequent
with reservations,
the importantserviceof nativeassistantsin the confessional, particularlyin the diocese of Cuzco under whose jurisdiction
fe11.3o
In the dioceseof Quito,the clergywas encouraged
to
Andahuaylillas
seek the help of indigenousbilingualswhennecessaryfor hearingconfessions.31
Whilethe Tercerocatecismoadvocatedkhipu-based
confessions,the
work'sauthorsmade no explicitprovisionfor the involvementof native
in the sacramental
intermediaries
rite.The legislationof the ThirdCouncil
stressed,however,thatnot all priestsweresuitablefor confessingnew converts,whichsuggeststhereexistedanaversebutongoingdemandforAndean
In his De procurandaindorumsalute (1577), the definitive
interpreters.32
treatiseon pastoralgovernancein earlycolonialPeru,FatherAcosta,a printhatinterpreters
cipaladvisorto theThirdCouncil,reluctantly
acknowledged
couldbe recruitedfortheconfessional,buthe insistedthistakeplaceonlyin
extremecasesin whichthe priestlackedsufficientlanguageskillsto understandthegravestof sins.33
Whatpreoccupiedthe clergy,beyondthe obstaclesthataccompanied
the
linguistictranslationof a penitent'sauricularconfession,was the alleged
andtheclaimstheymadeaboutkhipus.For
treacheryof Andeaninterpreters
Perez
manual
includedquestionsthatpriestsshould
instance,
Bocanegra's
model when interrogating
Andeanswho assistedthe sacrament.Did the
the
violate
interpreters
confidentialityand sanctityof the confessionalby
what
was
said
to thirdparties?Wasthis done to harmthe penidivulging
tent'sreputation
or his or herestate?How manypeopleweretold andhow
A
finalquerypointsto the author'ssuspicionsthattheywilltimes?34
many
falsified
the
knottedcordaccountsof theneophytesundertheircharge:
fully
"Whenfindingkhipus,on whichan Indianmanor womanof youracquaintancehadknottedtheirsins in orderto recalltheirconfession,didyou look
at themor makeup the sins they committedby manipulating
the colorsof
theknots?Did you thendivulgeor tell themto someone,causingtheIndian
manor womannotabledishonorfor havingtold?"35
Suchqueriessuggest
3oCuzco1591,cap.4, inBNP,A 568,ff.4r-4v.
31 Alonso de la Perla
Montenegro,Itinerariopara pcirrocosde indios, en que se tratan las materias
mas particulares tocantes a ellos para su buena administraciOn[1668] (Guayaquil:Ediciones Corpo-
raciOn
deEstudios
1985),pp.319-320.
y Publicaciones,
32LimaIII,actio2, cap.14,inVargas
Concilios
Limenses,
Ugarte,
pp.270-271.
33JosedeAcosta,
deInvesDeprocuranda
indorum
salute[1577],vol.2 (Madrid:
Consejo
Superior
Cientificas,
1987),pp.52-59,430-433.
tigaciones
34PerezBocanegra,
Ritual
formulario,
pp.340-341.
35"Hallando
suspecados,
quipos,dondealgunindio,o indiaquetu conoces,auiaariudado
para
de suconfession,
aslosmirado,
lospecados
memoria
que
y porlascoloresdelosfludos,asfabricado
alindio,6
u dixistelos
a alguna
tudichosiguiosele
hizieron,
y diuulgastelos,
persona?
y dimeporauerlo
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JOHNCHARLES
21
and
thepowertheseindividualshadto manipulate
assets,defamecharacters,
on
generallydisruptthe alreadytenuousgripthatpriestsmaintained local
affairs.To understandbetterhow they might have accomplishedthis, I
wouldnow like to turnto the topicof indigenouslegal activism.
INANDEAN
PARISHES
LEGAL
USESOFKHIPUS
the colonialperiod,AndeansfamiliarizedwithHispaniclanThroughout
guageandjuridicalprocedurefiled legal complaintsagainstpriestsbefore
in diocesantribunalsor in makeshiftcourtsestabecclesiasticalmagistrates,
lishedin the conductof parishinspections.As in Spain,the Catholiccourts
mattersof canonlaw pertainingto benefices,
of Peruruledon wide-ranging
maritaldisputes,andcriminalchargesof pastoralneglitithes,sacraments,
Theaccusationsof indigenousplaintiffswithina singlelegalaction,
gence.36
or causa de capitulos,focused principallyon three types of ministerial
abuse-economic exploitation,immoralbehavior,and spiritualneglectandon occasionkhipusformedpartof the evidentiaryrecord.Echoingthe
concernsexpressedby Acostaabouttheabusesof clericalauthoritythathinnativeactivistsappealedto thechurchmagisderedpastoralachievement,37
trates'senseof justiceto redressthewrongstheysawandexperiencedatthe
handsof theirparishpriests.Indicationsalso exist thatthe Limasee's campaignsto eradicatesuspectAndeanreligiosity,whichbegansystematically
in the first decadeof the seventeenthcentury,provideda fertilebreeding
groundfor the exchangeof reciprocalaccusationsbetweenpriests and
who competedforpoliticalandspiritualauthorityin local
nativeauthorities
communities.Indigenouslawsuitsemergedfrom the same idolatrytrial
complexthat persecutedtraditionalAndeanbeliefs and rituals;in many
were
parishes,chargesagainstpriestsfor moralandmaterialtransgressions
or
followed
the
Church's
of
the
native
preceded
by
prosecution
worshippers'
of mutual
allegedreligiouscrimes.WhatMills has termedthe "atmosphere
thatcharacterized
relations
thus proscrutinyand sense-making"38
parish
notable?"
PerezBocanegra,
Ritual
made
india,infamia
formulario,
p. 341.Thechargeof indiscretion
of thesacrament
wasattimesturned
theclergyitself.Inthecentral
against
against
interpreters
highland
of Ambar,
atthetimewhenPerezBocanegra
wrotehismanual,
theAndean
ethniclordslegally
parish
accused
theirparish
theprivate
matters
of penitents
inhisweeklysermon
address:
priestof publicizing
noa empesado
a confesar
lagenteaunque
noabramuchos
conel porrrebelar
la
"[elpadre]
queconfiese
ensuconbersasion
cosasgrabes."
Archivo
Arzobisconficion
y Platica
y estoy otrasmuchas
y sermon
paldeLima(AAL),Capftulos,
Leg.6, Exp.4, f. 3r.
36Richard
L.Kagan,
Lawsuits
andLitigation
inCastile,
1500-1700
Hill:TheUniversity
of
(Chapel
NorthCarolina
Press,1981),pp.33-34.
37JosedeAcosta,
Deprocuranda
indorum
salute[1577],vol.1(Madrid:
deInvesConsejo
Superior
Cientificas,
1984),pp.204-207.
tigaciones
38Mills,"BadChristians,"
p. 185.
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22
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
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JOHN CHARLES
23
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24
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
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JOHN CHARLES
25
andtheirlieutenants,
sameappliesto thecorregidores
andotherparticular
thattheytendto recordonthesaidkhipus.49
matters
this ordinance,Toledoastutelyturnedthe cord
As KathrynBurnsinterprets
a
"kind
moral
muchas we saw in Diego de
into
of
keeper
policeman,"50
Porres'searlyprojectionof nativeparishgovernance.But hereit was not
only the Andeansbut also the Spanishpriestsand corregidoreswho fell
underthe watchfuleye of the khipukamayuq,
a sanctionedally of royal
in theirown ranks.51
authorities
for weedingout corruption
Scholarshavegenerallyassertedthatby the last decadeof the sixteenth
centurywrittendocumentsin Spanishhad effectivelyreplacedPeruvian
cordregistriesas the only legally recognizedmeansof recordkeeping.52
Accordingto Salomonand Spalding,the khipuregistrycontinuedinformally subsequentto the ascendancyof paper accounts, but surfaced
mostly in "folk-legalproceedings,"like the trial of Franciscode Avila,
andreflectedmorethe indigenouspeoples'supportfor theirvaliditythan
However,parishinspectionreportsof
anyofficialSpanishendorsement.53
the Lima archbishopricproducedsome fifty years after Toledo's ordinancesconfirmthatsome ecclesiasticalauthoritiessolicitedlegally binding cordaccountsfromAndeanparishionerswell into firsthalf of the seventeenthcentury.When,in 1619,the ethniclordsof the parishof Andajes
in the centralhighlandprovinceof Cajatambofiled capitulosagainstthe
MercedarianfriarMiguel Marquez,the high clergy of Lima dispatched
the visitadorCristobalLoarteDavila to investigate.The inspectorposed
a set of 26 questions to the native witnesses concerningMarquez's
allegedmistreatmentof laborers,illicit moneymaking,and total inatten49"...todo
lo demasquese pudiere,
se ordena
quelosindiossuelenponerenQuipos,
y manda
que
a escritura
sereduzca
enespecial
enlas
pormanodedichoescribano,
paraqueseamasciertoy durable,
faltasquetuvieren
dedoctrina
y entradas
y salidasdesacerdotes
y ausencias
quehicieren,
y lo mismo
enlo quetocarea loscorrejidores
en
y sustenientes
y otrascosasparticulares,
queellossuelenasentar
losdichosQuipos."
inRoberto
Transcribed
delPeru:Cartas
Levillier,
ed.,Gobernantes
ypapeles,
siglo
deRivadeneyra,
Sucesores
thispassage
is citedandtranslated
XVI,vol.8 (Madrid:
1925),pp.337-338;
fromtheSpanish
inKathryn
Burns,
Archives,"
"Making
Indigenous
p. 10.
50Burns,
Archives,"
"Making
Indigenous
p. 11.
51Theongoing
research
of Burnsonthepowerof indigenous
scribes
tobringnativepeoplesunder
of lawandliteracy
hasilluminated
theimpact
of thisintermediary
and
Spanish
patterns
figureonurban
ruralAndean society. James Lockhart,TheNahuas after the Conquest:A Social and CulturalHistory of
the Indians of Central Mexico, Sixteenth throughEighteenth Centuries (Stanford:StanfordUniversity
of nativescribal
in colonialMexico,for
culture
Press,1992)offersthemostsystematic
investigation
whichthereexistsa considerable
unlikethePeruvian
archives
in
bodyof Nahuatl-language
writings,
whichextantnotarial
records
inQuechua
arefew.
52GaryUrton,
"From
KnotstoNarratives,"
p.410.
53Salomon,
TheCordKeepers,
andSpalding,
"Cartas
atadas
conquipus,"
p. 118;Salomon
p. 861.
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26
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
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JOHN CHARLES
27
An improbable
work,surfacingoutsidethelegal docket,bringsto lighta
relatedbut clandestineuse for khipusin thatperiod.In 1602, the Lima
printerAntonioRicardopublishedDiego Davalosy Figueroa'sMiscelemea
treatisein proseandverseon suchdiversesubjects
austral,a wide-ranging
as love and dreams,the music of Tuscany,and indigenousAmerica's
Drawingon severaldecadesas a soldierand
propensityfor Christianity.
authorincluded
minerin the southernPeruvianhighlands,the Spanish-born
thefollowingaccount,as toldfromone limenoto another,whichwas meant
to illustratethe nativeAndeans'beliefin the afterlife:
in company
of thecorPassingdownthestreetsof a towncalledAtunjauja
we
saw
an
old
Indian
with
a
bunch
of
in
cords
his
hand
thatwere
regidor,
large
madeof firmlytwistedwoolanddiversecolors,whichtheycallkhipus.
When
thisIndianrealizedthatthecorregidor
andI hadseenhim,he triedto hide
whathe wascarrying,
butbeforehe coulddothatthecorregidor
summoned
himandaskedwhatthelongaccounts
contained.
theIndianbegan
Flustered,
tovacillate,
whichmadethecorregidor
wanttoknowevenmore,sohethreatenedto thrashhimandcuthishair(thegreatest
injuryonecandoto them).
the Indianconfessed,explaining
thatthe khipu,togetherwith
Eventually
otherverylargeoneshe owned,weretheaccount
he hadto giveto theInca
his
return
from
the
other
world
of
all
that
had
in thatvalley
upon
happened
his
absence.
The
account
included
all
the
who
during
Spaniards hadpassed
downtheroyalroad,whattheyhadaskedforandbought,andwhattheyhad
donebothfor good andfor bad.The corregidor
seizedandburnedhis
accounts
andpunished
theIndian.58
Thestoryof theInca'sreturnwas compatiblewithCatholicteachingson the
of thedeadandtheimmortality
resurrection
of thesoul,andonethatAndeans
andmissionaryclergyof theperiodcommonlyembraced,thoughsometimes
58"...andando
encomparlia
delcorregidor
vimosvn
Atunxauxa,
porlascallesdevnpueblollamado
Indioviejo,convngrande
delanabientorcida
coloresenla mano,que
mac()decuerdas
y dediuersas,
ellosllaman
esconvisto,procur6
Quipos,
puescomoesteIndioviessequeel corregidor
y yole auiamos
derseconsucarga,
masnolopudohazercomopensaua,
el corregidor
lollarn6
deque
porque
y pregunt6
erantanlargasquentas,
el Indioturbado
a variar,
conlo qualacrescent6
en el corregidor
el
comenco
desseodesaberlo quele preguntaua,
deNotesy decortarle
el cabello(quees
y assilo pusoentermino
la mayorafrenta
diziendo,
quese lespuedehazer)el Indiovinoa confessar
queaquelquipoconotros
boluiesse
delotromundo
de
muygrandes
quetenia,eralarazony cuenta
queauiadedaralIngaquando
todolo queauiasuccedido
enaquelvalleensuausencia:
dondeseyncluyan
todoslosEspatioles
quepor
auianpassado,
lo queauianpedidoy comprado,
todolo queauianhechoassienbien
aquelrealcamino
comoenmal.Elcorregidor
tom6y quern()
susquentas,
y castig6al Indio."
DiegoDavalos
y Figueroa,
Primera
austral(Lima:
Antonio
hasalso
Ricardo,
1602),p. 151r.Thisaccount
partedela Miscelcinea
beencitedinEnglish
translation
inSabine
"'TheHeart
HasItsReasons':
Predicaments
of
MacCormack,
in EarlyColonial
American
Historical
Review
65:3(1985),p.
Peru,"
Missionary
Christianity
Hispanic
458.I wouldliketo thankMichael
T.Hamerly
forproviding
mewithinformation
onthebiography
of
Davalos
y Figueroa.
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28
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
withcompetinginterpretations.59
WhatmakesDavalosy Figueroa'snarration
valuablefor the presentdiscussion,however,is thatit allowsus to glimpse
the existenceof informalcord-basedsurveillancepracticessimilarto the
"moralpolicing"techniquethat Toledo had demandedof the cabildo's
TheSpanishcorregidores,
it is clear,didnotwelcome
notary-khipukamayuq.
theviceroy'spositionon thesetypesof accountsandhadgoodreasonto suppress them, given the cords' well-knowncapacityto recordcolonialist
abuses.Herethe elderlyman'sstringsnot only registeredthe commercial
of theEuropeans
butalsothegoodandevil deedstheyhaddone.
transactions
The originof suchpracticesof denunciation
may also be linkedto the
ThirdCouncil'sconfessionarymodel.If we recallthe Tercerocatecismo's
instructionto penitents,we comprehendthe unclearboundariesthatseparatedthe privatecustomof the sacramentfromthe publicact of denunciation.Forexample,to establishforAndeanconvertsthe meaningof confession, the sermonmanual'sauthorsemployedthe metaphorof storehouse
exchangeas a way to capturethe economyof sin andits countableaspect:
"youmakea khipuof whatyou give and whatyou are owed"(emphasis
the socialobligations
mine).60Thepriests'officialhomilythusaccentuated
of Christianpracticeandthevitalplaceof accountingone'sdebtsandthose
of othersin upholdingthecivil order.OnecanimaginehowforAndeanneophytes the conceptualdomainof individualwrongdoingand absolution
As thesermon'slanwouldoverlapwiththatof publiccrimeandreparation.
guagesuggests,thesamecordsthatpenitentsusedto catalogsinscouldalso
committedagainstthemby fellowAndeans,Spanrecordthetransgressions
ish corregidores,
orevenparishpriests.Wastheindigenousactivismof cord
holderspartlyinspiredby the ambiguitiesinherentto the Church'ssacramentalpedagogy?Did Andeancordspecialistsperceivea linkbetweenthe
confessionalandtheecclesiasticalcourt?Did theysee themas complementaryforadesignedfor the accountingof transgressions?
The utilizationof khipusfor recordinganddenouncingthe misdeedsof
otherswas validatedmoreexplicitlyby Andeantradition.HistorianEl Inca
Garcilasode la Vegaexpressedfroman indigenousperspectivethe similarity betweenpre-Hispanickhipuconventionsand post-conquestChristian
customs.In ancienttimes,he recounted,theInca'sstringsarchivedthelaws
andthe
of the statereligion,therecordof violatorsandtheirtransgressions,
59Estenssoro
a la santidad,
Fuchs,Delpaganismo
pp.353-354.
Ritual
"Perez
a la santidad,
Estenssoro
Fuchs,Delpaganismo
Bocanegra's
p. 217;andHarrison,
termforsin,andhow
of "hucha,"
themissionary
Quechua
formulario,"
p. 270,discussthesignificance
onthetopicof confession.
thecountable
it underscores
teachings
aspectof church
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JOHN CHARLES
29
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UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
30
63Harrison,
TheLanguage
"Perez
Ritual
ofthe
Bocanegra's
formulario,"
p.270;BruceMannheim,
ofTexasPress,1991),pp.47-48,146.
InkasincetheEuropean
Invasion
(Austin:
University
64 Alan Durston,Pastoral Quechua: The
career
asamissionary
lin1650(University
ofNotreDamePress,inpress),
elucidates
PerezBocanegra's
and
ofamissionary
thatestablishes
identifications
between
Christian
Quechua
guistandhisdevelopment
Andean
entities
anddrawsfromIncareligious
termsandmotifs.
65Regarding
fortheiradvocacy
of "general
thePeruvian
werewellknown
thelatter
Jesuits
practice,
instead
of
of thepenitent's
entirebiography
whichencompassed
therecurring
enactment
confessions,"
of onlythosesinscommitted
sincetheprevious
sacrament.
SeeJohn
themoreconventional
recounting
W.O'Malley,
TheFirstJesuits(Cambridge:
Press,1993),p. 39;Estenssoro
University
Cambridge
Fuchs, Del paganismo a la santidad,pp. 206-207 n. 160.
66"...hazen
conquiense ancriadose lasan
muymalascosas,diziendo,
queel Padreo losPadres
enseriado."
PerezBocanegra,
Ritual
formulario,
p. 115.
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CHARLES
JOHN
31
70PerezBocanegra,
Ritual
formulario,
p. 134.
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32
UNRELIABLECONFESSIONS
PerezBocanegraadvisedpriests
refusalsto meetthepressuresof orthodoxy,
to seize anddestroytheAndeans'knottedstringsandto use in theirplacethe
directivesof his publishedmanual:"teachthemto confessby the rulesof
this confesionarioandtakefromthemthose accountsandknotsandburn
themin theirpresence,anddenythemthe sacramentof the Eucharistuntil
The book
all have been broughtto the propermethodof confession."71
misdiwhich
had
been
form
of
to
stabilize
the
missionaryritual,
promised
of the cordmasters'improvisedspiritual
rectedby the khipu"palimpsests"
for
was not merelythe dangerof heterodox
At
issue
the
author
repertoire.
the
but
more
confession,
important questionof who controlledthe mechanismsof religiousexchangeandthereforepoweroverthe community.
to withholdcommunionfromthe
Still, thatPerezBocanegrathreatened
parishionersrepresentsan implicit acknowledgementof their fervent
approachto the Catholicdevotions.Tohighlighttheirallegedignorance,he
explainedthatAndeanpenitentsmistakenlybelievedthey were sanctified
afterconfessingwith strings.Here we apprehendthe Catholicintentions
with whichthey madethe sacrament,andthe convictionthatthey did so
withinwhattheyconsideredtheboundsof Christianorthodoxy.72
Similarly,
in the publicrealmof the ecclesiasticalcourts,nativeplaintiffsrepeatedly
avowed the soundnessof their religiouspracticesand principles.They
expressedthe needto protectthe welfareof Andeancommunitiesfromthe
prohibitedactionsof priestsby demandingthatthe valuesof the Church
withregardto justicebe upheld.
PerezBocanegra'sdepictionof the challengeshe facedas priestleadsus
to a fundamental
questionthatthePeruvianclergystruggledto answer:how
to categorizeas "Catholic"Andeanswho employedtraditionalmediain
theirwillful quest to fulfill the sacramentsand to redressthe wrongsof
Cordkeepersseemto haveoccupiedpositionsthatoverSpanishauthority.
in
lapped unexpectedwaysthe varioussocialgroupsthatmadeup colonial
parishsociety.The fact thattheybeliedthe conventionalpatternsof acculturationor resistancethatcontemporary
Europeansourcesoftenascribedto
the
that
to
idea
themforcesus reassess
priestsandAndeansalwaystookup
one side or anotherof a strictculturaldivide,or thatbookswerethe only
meansof communicating
Spanishrule to local nativevillages.Both colo71"...enseilarles
esteConfessionario
a confessar
conforme
cuentas,
y nudos;
quitandoles
aquellas
hastatenerlos
dela Eucaristia,
Y nodarlesel Sacramento
ensupresencia.
reduzidos,
y quemandolos
Ritual
PerezBocanegra,
sinsemejantes
al buenordende se confessar
enredos,
formulay defetos."
rio,p. 114.
72Estenssoro
a la santidad,
Fuchs,Delpaganismo
p.225.SeeMills,"TheNaturalisation."
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JOHN CHARLES
33
nizersandcolonizedengagedin a continual
their
processof reformulating
and
their
media
in
of
fluid
colonialrealities.
Whilescholars
messages
light
arestillfarfromknowinghownativeintermediaries
communicated
with
the
recent
effort
to
cord
records
and
their
accordstrings,
interpret
guardians
as opposedto treating
ing to specifichistoricalcontextsandoperations,
themasmerevictimsof writing's
offersoneof themostpromising
advance,
for
Andeanist
researches
onthehistoryof contested
paths extending
today's
in
colonialisms earlySpanish
America.73
Thecordkeepers,takenas a categoryof analysis,mayyet disclosefurthercracksin the imperialcenter's
holdonits colonialterritories.
TulaneUniversity
New Orleans,Louisiana
JOHN
CHARLES
73Thisobservation
is madeinGaryUrton,
"From
KnotstoNarratives,"
pp.431-432.
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