"Pardo's study provides a persuasive criticism of the widespread
assumption that the process of Christianization in Mexico can be
conceived as the imposition of a complete and fool-proof system
that did not accept doubts or compromises. "The Origins of Mexican
Catholicism" will become an invaluable tool for future researchers
and enrich future debates on the subject."
---Fernando Cervantes, Bristol University, UK
"Pardo does an excellent job of balancing and contrasting
sixteenth-century Catholic theology with Nahua thought and belief."
---John F. Schwaller, University of Minnesota
At first glance, religious conversion may appear to be only a
one-way street. When studying sixteenth-century Mexico, one might
assume that colonial coercion was the driving force behind the
religious conversion of the native population. But "The Origins of
Mexican Catholicism" shows how Spanish missionaries instead drew on
existing native ceremonies in order to make Christianity more
accessible to the Nahua population whom they were trying to
convert.
Osvaldo F. Pardo explains that religious figures not only shaped
native thought, but that indigenous rituals had an impact on the
religion itself. This work illustrates the complex negotiations
that took place in the process of making the Christian sacraments
available to the native peoples, and at the same time, forced the
missionaries to reexamine the meaning of their sacraments through
the eyes of an alien culture.
For Spanish missionaries, ritual not only became a focus of
evangelical concern but also opened a window to the social world of
the Nahuas. Missionaries were able to delve into the Nahua's
notions of self, emotions, andsocial and cosmic order. By better
understanding the sociological aspects of Nahua culture, Christians
learned ways to adequately convey their religion through mutual
understanding instead of merely colonial oppression.
Given its interdisciplinary approach, this book will be of interest
to specialists in Latin American intellectual and literary history,
the history of religion, and anthropology, and to anyone interested
in cross-cultural processes.
General
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