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I do not intend to diminish the cultural impact of Guaman Poma’s New Chronicle and Good Government, but I must say that the notion that an minority would suscribe and advocate to the colonial ideologies does nothing but prove the existence of internalized racism. To me, this text does little to challenge my notions of indigenity, perhaps because who am I to have a notion of indigentiy? Whomever is indigenous is who the indigenous peoples accept, and without any knowledge of how the Yarowilcas actually viewed Guaman Poma, we will never know where he falls into the spectrum of Indigenous-Colonizer, nor how to view his actions. read full post >>

Earlier today, in an effort to better understand Guaman Poma and his The First New Chronicle and Good Government, I decided to read a little bit of the text’s introduction. Upon getting further acquainted with Poma’s status as a noble, as well as his ability to speak multiple languages, I was reminded of something we […] read full post >>

Earlier today, in an effort to better understand Guaman Poma and his The First New Chronicle and Good Government, I decided to read a little bit of the text’s introduction. Upon getting further acquainted with Poma’s status as a noble, as well as his ability to speak multiple languages, I was reminded of something we […] read full post >>

When reading Guaman Poma, I was struck – which I have been often, it seems – by his theory and justification for a new, or different, form of Spanish colonialism. His ‘Catholicization’ of the Andean Indigenous cosmic vision was a very (morbidly) interesting method of colonial imposition. I was expecting a more ‘direct’ form of […] read full post >>

When reading Guaman Poma, I was struck – which I have been often, it seems – by his theory and justification for a new, or different, form of Spanish colonialism. His ‘Catholicization’ of the Andean Indigenous cosmic vision was a very (morbidly) interesting method of colonial imposition. I was expecting a more ‘direct’ form of […] read full post >>

week3—Cain the City-Founder; Adaptation for the Andes— reading blog #4 – Guaman Poma’s “The First New Chronicle and Good Government” Saints and sainthood really confuses me. I think these past few texts have really been challenging me on what I thought I knew about Christianity and religion. I previously thought I knew a lot, given […] read full post >>

I was very surprised by the first 50 pages of Guaman Poma’s First New Chronicle and Good Government. As a person of Andean descent who was taught the language (and possibly the traditional beliefs) of his people, I was shocked to read about his support of the Catholic faith, and colonial practices more broadly. Why […] read full post >>

The conversation we had on Monday about how to define indigeneity brought up many interesting points of view and ways to approach the definition itself or reasons we should back away from applying it at all. One theme that stuck out to me in the discussion and in the reading of “Primer nueva crónica y […] read full post >>

In The New Age Chronicle and Good Government, the chapter regarding the miracle of God struck me as there was a surprising reliance on God. I did not grow up with Christianity or Catholicism so using the will of God as an explanation for every disaster or miracle was a concerning one. In this section of the book, Gaumon Poma recounts numerous instances in which tragedies such as natural disasters and miracles such as victory in battle are reasoned to be caused by God's divine will. While Guamon Poma’s argument may have been more convincing to readers of their time, there are inherent dangers to relying on the divine will of God as an explanation for every occurrence. read full post >>

The following analysis of Guaman Poma’s art in the introduction of ‘’The First New Chronicle’’ has fascinating implications for other art we have seen in Cusco’s cathedral:  ‘‘This picture is a virtual diagram of Andean ideas of gender and hierarchy: the female, the left hand, and the moon are associated with each other; the male, […] read full post >>