The Huarochiri Manuscript: A Testament of Ancient and Colonial Andean Religion

The book is fascinating because not only does it show some revealing aspects of Andean culture at the time, but it also shows the begining of the end of the people of that area. One story in particular narrates the conversion to Christianity by a leader in the community, which, according to the text, facilitates the conversion of the rest of the town. Sadly, the text is tinted by Christian bigotry, but inspite of this the insight to the culture is precious. I did find the amount of notations a little distracting. On the other hand, these same notations provided a glimpse of the editorial process the document underwent at the hands of the colonizers.

This book takes the reader back to the beginning of the 17th century and tells the customs and believes of the Yunca people. The unknown editor of the Huarochirí Quechua manuscript was an Andean person, well-versed in scribal writing, and recruited by Father Francisco de Avila to document non-Christian practices. Avila's biographer Antonio Acosta thinks Avila wanted this data in order to blackmail discontented parishioners, who had mounted a lawsuit against him in 1607. The Quechua writer was apparently a convinced Catholic in the mold of the Third Council of Lima, and an enemy of the ancient gods. But he also seems interested in demonstrating that the ancient cults had a coherence comparable, albeit adversely and dangerously, with that of Christianity.

This book cannot be recommended highly enough. The Huarochiri manuscript is a 17th century account, in Quechua, of the mythology and rituals of native peoples in the Andean region of Huarochiri. It provides a unique narrative view of the culture of the ancient peoples of the Andes. The translation of the text into english is excellent, and Salomon's introduction and notes go far in making this complex work accessible to the average reader.