Abstract

CARDENAS SANTANA, Luz Alejandra. The Fantastic and Everyday Life: Women of African Origin in 17th Century Acapulco. Desacatos [online]. 2002, n.9, pp.72-88. ISSN 2448-5144.

The study ofwitchcraft can be ofhelp in researching a fundamental part ofimagery in the production ofsocial and intercultural relations. In the 17th century the society of New Spain was multiracial and multicultural. Witchcraft was a means of transforming the imagery and perception of reality for the different groups that converged in the colonial culture ofNew Spain. Black slaves fought with all their might to survive in an unknown and hostile environment, seeking to take revenge or protect themselves from the oppression oftheir masters. The presence ofNegroes, contact with faith-healers, and the effect of Christianization transformed the Indian imagery; it incorporated elements of the Christian idea of miracles with African fantasy, as well as European pre-Christian idiosyncrasy into its practices. Erotic magic was an essential element ofamorous strategies, which enabled a web ofcomplicities between Indian faith-healers, Mulatto sorceresses and Spanish women.