La Bruja Enamorada
La Bruja Enamorada
A glimpse into the colonial Latin American world
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"Bending the will of another to yourself is sinful. A violation of another's free will. Thus, the defiant nature of love magic is made apparent."
"Bending the will of another to yourself is sinful. A violation of another's free will. Thus, the defiant nature of love magic is made apparent."
La Bruja Enamorada, on love magic and superstition
The Church in Colonial Mexico
The Church in Colonial Mexico
Through demonological treaties and early modern philosophy, we see a formation of 'sin' and 'the evil.' However, my work La Bruja Enamorada, recounts how these interpretative models of behavior came to characterize relations between colonized peoples and colonial power structures. The Church was not simply leading an evangelization mission, but served as a guide of how behavior was labeled and accounted for.
"As disappointment turned into repression, 'extirpators of idolatries' resorted to European demonology to explain and uproot Satan's work in the New World."
"As disappointment turned into repression, 'extirpators of idolatries' resorted to European demonology to explain and uproot Satan's work in the New World."
La Bruja Enamorada, From Europe to the New World
Colonial Women and Moral Scrutiny
Colonial Women and Moral Scrutiny
"Spanish women were taught to be examples for the “new” Christians and thus, were heavily monitored and indoctrinated to choose “God” over their own comforts."
Prosecution and Race
Prosecution and Race
"Not only were Native women seen as “new” to the faith, but their lower status corresponded with the idea of their savage or immoral character; a Native woman practicing witchcraft was less reprehensible than a Christian Spanish woman in the eyes of the church."
"This fact made many Spanish women seek out Native women for their knowledge on love magic and other forms of witchcraft, as they were unlikely to be subjected to extreme punishment should they be discovered."
Gender and Love Magic
Gender and Love Magic
"Whether it is through bodily means or magic, women sought dominance over men by violating the European norms of gender. This defiance would be considered evil and wicked—resisting the “natural order” God has created is to purposefully shun him and embrace the devil."
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