Reading Blog 7

“Her case is fascinating on two counts: we find out that over the course of those twenty years, she, like other “witches,” was incorporating more and more indigenous lore into her repertoire; also, we get to meet her renowned clients, the tapadas, Lima’s infamous veiled ladies, whose reputation must have contributed to the tribunal’s distrust of witches.” (pg 168)

The woman referred to in the sentence is named Ana de Castaneda, and she appeared before the inquisitors twice accused of being a witch. She appeared before the inquisition twice, twenty years apart. The first time she was dismissed in Cartagena and she was mobile enough to make her way to Lima. Throughout that time she gathered more knowledge that was potentially threatening, but her social relations proved to be most menacing. Her trial testimonies serve as two points in time with information on her, and although they might not be the most informative on her actual actions, they can highlight the fears of the inquisitors. Knowledge on the “witches” stems from case studies that is then generalized due to trial testimonies being the primary documentation on them.

“Witches” is in quotation marks because Silverblatt doesn’t actually believe these women possess supernatural powers. They were women who were involved with indigenous knowledge that the tribunal council didn’t quite understand and had social roles separate from the Spanish gender and racial norms. The “witches” were not of Jewish descent like a lot of those who were inquisitioned. They had varied backgrounds that were not fully Indigenous, so their subscription to Indigeneity transcended the racial hierarchies of viceregal Peru. Like the New Christians, they posed a threat by questioning the legitimacy of Spanish rule in the colony by having the potential to morally corrupt the women of the colony. 

The indigenous lore refers to knowledge about herbs, healing practices, nature, rituals and storytelling. The indigenous lore was frequently mixed with elements of Christianity in witchcraft practices. Besides the issue of subscription to Indigeneity, I wonder however if the issue was her incorporating more Indigenous lore into her sorcery, or if it just deviated more from Christianity/were seen as offensive to Christianity. 

The tapadas as clients of Castaneda indicate that she was exchanging some service for these women. In her case, she was famous for her love cures she learned from Indigenous women that women of all social classes needed for their woes. If she and other witches were selling their services, then they had the potential to be financially independent and not rely on a husband. Thereby allowing them an independence that went against the gendered dynamics of viceregal Peru.

Castaneda’s association with the tapadas ladies of Lima was viewed as dangerous by the inquisitors. Lima was the colonial capital, so corruption at its centre was a threat to the colony as a whole. Tapadas literally means ‘covered’ in Spanish, but refers to veils Limeñas would wear. The veils would cover their faces and allow them to be indistinguishable, especially of social class, when they walked down the street. The veil also made their whereabouts secretive, giving these women great freedom of mobility, with which they chose to visit Castaneda. The cult of women that Castaneda gathered had women of all backgrounds, which went against the social stratification the Spaniards imposed. Through colonialism, the Spanish had attempted to assert dominance over Indigenous people, but Indigenous knowledge being valued by those in the heart of the colony went against such notions of Spanish domination. Moreover, rigid norms surrounded race and gender governed social order in colonial Peru. The tapadas blurred these lines, and their common affinity for witchcraft placed a direct target on Castaneda as a vehicle for social disorder.