Revitalizing Native Practices in the Face of Colonialism: Taki Onqoy and Entanglement in the 16th Century (Ayacucho, Peru)

Summary

In the 16th century Andes (1532-1570s), conquest was not a rapid event, but rather an asymmetrical process in which Spanish authorities negotiated governance and conversion with indigenous and Inka established orders. New Spanish dictates were initially met with a variety of responses from local groups: alliance, manipulation of Spanish policies, and even violent rebellion by Inka holdouts. In the central highlands of Peru, local groups developed and participated in a revitalization movement which preached the rejection of Spanish goods, culture, and religion, in favor of a return to huaca (local deity) worship. Known as Taki Onqoy (quechua: dancing sickness), individual practitioners transformed their local beliefs, renouncing new Spanish rites and instead adopting the behaviors of a perceived idyllic (nativist) past. Excavations at the site of Iglesiachayoq (Ayacucho, Peru), a known Taki Onqoy center, demonstrate a varied response to Spanish conversion—while some appear to have fully committed to the movement, others were caught between Spanish authorities and local takiongos, and strove to placate both sides. Although ostensibly a purely "native" movement, aspects of Taki Onqoy were hybridized with Spanish Christian religion, leading to a form of religious resistance which was entangled with the very religion it was designed to oppose.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18836