Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

LITERARY PRODUCTION AND SUPPRESSION: READING AND WRITING ABOUT AMERINDIANS

IN COLONIAL SPANISH AMERICA
Author(s): Rolena Adorno
Source: Dispositio, Vol. 11, No. 28/29, LITERATURE AND HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE NEW
WORLD (1986), pp. 1-25
Published by: Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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 pp.1-25
Vol.XI,Nos.28-29,
Dispositio
©DepartmentofRomance ofMichigan
University
Languages,

LITERARY PRODUCTION AND SUPPRESSION: READING AND

WRITING ABOUT AMERINDIANS IN COLONIAL SPANISH AMERICA

RolenaAdorno
ofMichigan
University

In 1641,an Agustinianwriterconfessedto thereadersof his Santuariode

NuestraSeñora de Copacabana en el Perú a dilemma:how to writeabout the
miraclesperformed byOur Lady ofCopacabana and, inthesamepoem,narrate
thedeedsofthehumbleColla Indianswhowerethewitnessesand beneficiaries of
those miraculousevents.Fray Fernando de Valverde's sublimesubject- the
foundingof the Christianfaithnearthesiteof a precolumbianshrineat Lake
Titicaca- had as itsprotagonists"not emperorsand princesin Rome, Madrid,
or evenLima," butrather,as he put itnonetoo kindly,a "forlornsettlement of
Collas whoareamong themost barbarous and dull-witted Indians in all Peru."1
Byalternating theepicmeterand modewiththepastoral,to narratethemiracles
oftheVirginand theactionsoftherusticColla shepards,respectively, Valverde
addresseda problemthatwas more cultural than literary.Yet hispreoccupation
about howto introducethefigureoftheAmerindianintohispoem was partofa
moregeneralproblematicin colonialdiscourseofthesixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.The justificationthat writers offered for their studyof Amerindian
that used to to theirreadersinterest, shed
subjects,and thestrategies they appeal
of the and offer indirect evidence about
lighton theliteraryproduction period
that elusive problem of colonial literary culture: censorship and
suppression.
WhentheAmerindianbecamethefocusof colonial writing, authorsboth
religiousand lay expressedan unusual self-consciousness in bringingforththis
newsubject.Accountsethnographic, philosophical, and fictional werecommonly
introducedwithjustifications or disclaimers indicating how it should be taken,

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2 ROLENAADORNO

bythereader,thattheauthorwas writing aboutIndians.Althoughwearefamiliar

withthe fact that European writersused European conceptsof cultureand
languagesof representation to describethenewfoundhumanity, we have yetto
uncoverthereasonswhywriting about Amerindians provokedtheself-conscious
thatwriterscommonlyused whentheyintroducedtheirnovel
self-justifications
subjectmatter.The writers'basic movewas a double and contradictory one: to
exploit the fabulous and sensational aspects of their representations and
simultaneously back offfrom any associationwith the kindsof writingwhich were
condemnedby moralistsand censors.By rehearsingthe effortsof authorsto
positionthemselvesand theirsubject matteron the discursivefield,we can
reconstructa criticalaspect of colonial literarypractice.In particular,we can
come to understandwhyethnographichistoryand epic poetryenjoyedsuch
editorialfatesduringthesecondhalfofthesixteenth
different centuryand howthe
portrayalof the figureand culture of the Amerindian was a keydeterminant in
A
periodpublicationand suppression. further problem to be examined is theway
in whichothertextualformations - novels of chivalry,books and codices in
"infidel"languages,and books on magicand superstition - relatedto the way
that Europeans wroteand read books about Indians. This literarycultural
contextualizationhelps explain why the representation of native American
experiencewas considereda discoursetoo dangerousto disseminate. Interestingly
enough, the novels of chivalryplay a significantrole; a discussion of the
relationshipbetweenchivalricromanceand writings about Amerindianculture
willreorient,I hope,our understanding of one ofthecommonplacesofcolonial
LatinAmericanliterary history.
I. TheHistoriographie ofIndianRiteand Custom
Presentation

SincetheAmerindian came,beforetheendofthesixteenth century,tobe the

topicofethnographic itwouldseemthathistoriography
histories,2 wouldhandle
quitedeftlytheintroduction of thenew subjectmatter.Yet theauthorswriting
these historiestook veryparticularmeasuresto justifytheirhistoriographie
practice.Atthesametimeas I outlinebriefly someofthesefirsthand observations
fromtheperiod,I would liketo suggesthow currentdiscussionsof thegenreof
sixteenth-century Spanish Americanhistoriography mightbe enrichedby the
consideration of subjectmatteras wellas form.
In Las Casas' Historiade las Indias, inwhichhe madehistopicprimarily the
chronologicalnarrationofthedeedsoftheSpanishintheIndies,hedeclaredthat
hewouldnotonlyaddressSpanishaffairs, bothsecularand ecclesiastical,
butthat
he would intermingle withthemthe discussionof Amerindians,theirritual
practicesand customs:

"...porque desdecercadel año 500 veo yando por aquestas Indias

y conozco lo que escribiere;a lo cual pertenecerá,no sólo contar
las obras profanas y seglares acaecidas en mis tiempos,pero
tambiénlo que tocare a las eclesiásticas,entreponiendoa veces

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 3

algunosmortalesapuntamientosy haciendoalguna mixturade la

cualidad,naturalezaypropiedadesdestasregiones,reinosytierras
y lo que en sí contienen,con las costumbres,religión,ritos,
ceremoniasy condiciónde las gentesnaturalesde ellas..."3

While" haciendoalgunamixtura " has been to meantheinterpolation

interpreted
ofa synchronic descriptionin a diachronic narration,4itseemsthatthechoiceof
subject matter (Spanish events, Indian practices)as well as that of discursive
techniquemeritedLas Casas' explanation.5 Las Casas, Gomara and the other
cronistasde Indias were not tryingto solve a historiographie problemper se.
Rather,theywereengagedinsolvingculturalproblems(as was Valverde,above)
and theymodifiedhistoriographie practicein theprocessof doingso.
A common strategyamong writersabout secular and religiousIndian
historyand prehistorywas to stake theirclaims on the need to know the
Amerindianpeoplesinorderto convertthemto Christianity. In thismanner,for
example, Fray Bernardino de Sahagún justifiedthe creation of his monumental
work on Mexican culture,the Historiageneralde las cosas de Nueva España
[ 1569],and so Joséde AcostadefendedhisdiscussionsofnativeMexicanbeliefin
theHistorianaturaly moralde las Indias[1590]. For theSpanishor creolereader
who had nothingto do withevangelizationefforts in America,Acosta declared
thathisaccountswould lead to the"edifyingand gratefulcontemplationofthe
true God who gave to the ChristiansHis holy law."6 In this way, Acosta
effectivelyadded thehistoryoftheAmerindiansto thelistofsanctionedtopicsof
history:Europeansshouldreadabout Indians- and hisworkwas written foran
audience farwider than thePeruvian missionaryestablishment, as his statement
above indicates- because of the same reasons theyshould read any history:
"para aprendera vivirbien," to turnfromevilwaysto good, by readingabout
appropriateexamples.
AlthoughAcostaputthematterofhistoryabout Amerindiansforthrightly,
hiswidelyreadand influential workdid notsettletheissueforonce or forall. At
themiddleof theseventeenth century,theclaim to writehistoryabout Indians
was stilla problematicalone. The JesuitAlonso de Ovalle providesa salient
example.He publishedin Rome in 1646hisHistóricarelacióndel reyno de Chile.
In thetermsthatOvalle understood,hisworkwas nota history, foritwas about
Indians. Apologizingto his readersfordiscussingmatters"no tan propriasde
historia,"such as native customsand religion("cosas extraordinariasy tan
propriasde aquella tierra"),he explainedthat he would accommodatethose
readersfondof historybyoffering a briefaccountof thediscoveryof theIndies
and the conquestsof its kingdoms,accordingto the orderof occurrenceand
personswho took part in them.7History,in Ovalle's terms,was to take as its
proper subject the great deeds of Europeans, carefullyarticulated in a
chronologicalnarrativeframework; thushedefinedhistorybothbyitsformaand
itsmateria, withnarrowlimitson thelatter.
His statementrevealshow culturalconsiderationsdefinedhistoriographie

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4 ROLENAADORNO

judgmentand why the assumptionthat historywas an exclusivelyEuropean

intellectual
and literaryproperty was difficult forEuropeansto overcome.As we
know,theidea ofthepreservation ofa history wascausallylinkedto thenotionthat
a human communityhad experienceda process of cultural and societal
development;manywritersexcludedAmerindianpeoples fromhistoriographie
consideration,assumingthat theylacked the developmentof a civilizationto
historicize.
Besidesthisblindness,overcomebythegreatethnographic historians,there
existedother,morespecificfactorswhichsuggestwhydiscourseaboutIndianswas
problematical.Overall,theaccommodation ofIndiansintothediscourseofhistorio-
graphy was not a historiographieproblemas suchbutrathera cultural,and even
moreimmediately, a politicalone. Whenin the 1570's,forexample,theViceroy
Toledo wantedtoconvincePhilipII ofthelegitimacy ofSpanishruleintheAndes,
heused thevehicleofhistoriography as a politicaltool to do so. Byexploitingthe
viewpoint ofethnicgroupsconqueredbytheIncas,Toledo and hisassociates, such
as Pedro Sarmientode Gamboa, wrotethehistoryof theIncas as usurpersand
tyrants,and thusassuredthekingof thelegitimacy of Spanishimperialruleas a
liberationfromnativetyranny.8 Thereexistseveraltypesofcasesthatsuggestthat
thehistoriography oftheIndieswas shapednotbyformalconsiderations ofgenre
but by factorssuch as the imperialdemand for information (the Relaciones
geográficasde Indias),9 political motivations(Toledo, Las Casas), and the
ethnographicand philosophicalexaminationof cultures(Sahagún, Acosta).

II. ThePoeticProduction
of theExotic

The wayhistorianstalkedabout talkingabout Indianscan be bestputinto

reliefby consideringthe strategiesthatpoets employedin orderto introduce
Indians into theirwritings.We have alreadyheard fromthe Agustinianfriar
Valverdewhomanagedto putColla Indianswherelordsand princesoughtto be.
Not surprisingly, the incorporationof the Amerindianinto the epic was
a
accompaniedby varietyof self-conscious gesturesby its authors.Alonso de
Ercilla'swell-known for
justification celebratingthe valor of the Araucanians
providesan outstandingexample:He would spare the Araucaniansno praise
becausetheydeservedevenmoreadmirationand acclaimthanhewas capable of
expressing.10
Otherpoetsresolvingthissameissueofthesubjectmatterdid so invarious
ways.In Argentina,Martindel Barco Centenera,inhisArgentina y conquistadel
ríode la Plata [1602],announcedthathis "historiade los españoles,segúnlos
cantos" wouldalso treatthesettinginwhichtheyfoundthemselves, "para que el
mundo tenga enteranoticia y verdaderarelación del río de la Plata."11He
projectedhis treatmentof the Amerindianas just one among many of the
delightfuland exoticaccountswhichwould move thereader.He would tellof
"provinciastangrandes,gentestanbelicosíssimas,animalesy fierastanbravas,
aves tandiferentes,víborasy serpientesque han tenidocon hombresconflictoy

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 5

pelea, peces de humana formay cosas tan exquisitasque dexan en éxtasi los
ánimasde los que con alguna atenciónlas consideran."12
In Mexico, the criollo poet Antonio Saavedra Guzmán, author of El
peregrinoindiano[1599],claimedas hisgoal thepreservationof thememoryof
thedeedsofHernánCortésand theotherconquistadores.13At thesametime,he
offeredsuch detaileddescriptionsof Mexican customsthathe felttheneed to
explainhis exuberanceon the subject:He was a nativeof New Spain and his
knowledgeof native Mexican societywas due to having been corregidorof
Zacatecas, "donde ningúnhistoriadorha auido." Thus, he foundit difficult to
so
omitthediscussionofmatterswithwhichhewas familiar. At thesame time,he
stoppedshortof relatingtheirritesand laws because, he said, beinginfinitein
number,theywould tire the reader.14His silence on native rituals will be
appreciatedlater.
to explainor explainawaywhattheepic authorshad done
All theseefforts
in talkingabout Amerindianactionsand customsrevealthattheprescriptions
about the choice of subject matter,and the tone adopted toward it, were
challengedbythepresenceofthenewtopic,eventhoughtheartisticresponsewas
to cast thenew actorsintofamiliarmoldsof representation.
López Pinciano remindsus that therewas an epic requirementabout
verisimilitude,whichmandatedthatthecustomsand usages of thelands being
portrayed preserved.However,inthecase ofportraying
be charactersthelikesof
whichEuropeanreadershad neverseen,artisticverisimilitude correspondednot
to the relationshipbetweensocial realityand the artisticrepresentationbut
ratherto thatbetweentheartisticrepresentation and theperceivedexpectations
ofthereader.Thus,whenthecriollowriterPedrode Oña attemptedto maintain
linguisticverisimilitudein hisAraucodomadothroughtheuse of certainnative
lexicalitems,hetookspecialprecautionsto clarify In hisprologue,
hisintentions.
he statedthat his readershould look upon the incorporationof Amerindian
termsintothepoeticnarrationnotas a "barbaricact," butas thedesireto be true
to hissubjectmatter:"Van mexcladosalgunostérminosIndios,no por cometer
barbarismo,sino porque, siendo tan propia dellos la materia,me pareció
congruenciaque en estetambiénle correspondiesse la forma."15As he pointedto
the congruenceof materia and forma in the linguisticportrayalof the
Araucanian warrior,he appealed to the epic requirementfor verisimilitude
whichin thiscase, he feared,could likelybe misunderstoodby the European
reader.
Althoughbothpoetsand historianstook considerablecare to explainand
justifytheirpresentationof theAmerindian,thehistoryof colonial publication
and suppressionshowsthattheirefforts metverydifferentresults.Poetrydid not
triumphover historyfromthe viewpointof intellectualproduction,for the
missionaryethnographers wereat workon descriptionsof variousAmerindian
culturalgroups,startingwith Fray Ramón Pané's treatiseon the Antillian
nativesfromthesecondvoyageof Columbus,and pickingup momentumwith
theestablishment oftheFranciscanmissionin New Spain earlyin thesixteenth

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6 ROLENAADORNO

century.Nevertheless,the most frequentlypublishedand widelycirculating

workson Americaovertheentirecenturyweretheepic poemsofconquest.The
impressivenumberof editionsof Ercilla's epic of the Araucanian wars, the
writingsof otherson the same subject,and the epic poems of the Mexican
conquestwhichwe seldom read today,attestto this importance.16 From the
standpointof literarypublicationand circulation,the abundance of poetic
idealizationsof Indians is sharplycontrastedby the dearthof ethnographic
descriptions. Whatcan we observeabout thiscontrastthatcan explainwhythe
fictionalizationoftheAmerindian produceda moreacceptable,lesscontroversial
figurethan did the documentary description?
First,becausetheformulaicprescriptions forepiccharacterization allowed
foronlya limitednumberofattributes, thereader'sinterpretation ofindigenous
charactersand eventswas easilycontrolledin advance. As López Pincianohad
observed,thepoetconstructed theepic imitationthroughthecreationofliterary
personae other thanand includinghimself.17 In theepic,thecharacterization was
controllednot only throughthe constructedcharactersthemselvesbut also
throughthe interpretation of charactersand eventsofferedby the author's
discursiveinterventions in his own poeticcomposition.
In relationto poetry,thediscourseof theethnographichistorianwas not
bound by narrowformulaeof characterization and thereaders'interpretation
was, as a result,virtuallyimpossibleto control. Acosta, for example, was
concernedthatreadingaccountsofAmerindiancustomswouldbe condemnedas
beinga wasteoftimeequivalentto thatspentreadingthelibrosde caballerías. 181
shallexaminemorefullythisprovocativecomparisonlater;hereI wouldsimply
suggestthat Acosta's claim that the reader mightbe bored or discard the
information as frivoloushid a contraryconcern:that,indeed,thereaderwould
findtheseexoticdescriptions all too fascinating.Barco Centenerahad remarked,
afterall, about the"éxtasi" thatthereaderwould experienceon learningabout
these"gentesbelicosíssimas."
Furthermore, poetic teleologyperfectly servedthe demands of ideology
and of sustainingtherelationsof domination.19 That is, theepic constructions
showed the Amerindianas victim,eithervanquished and destroyedon the
battlefield or Christianizedand executedin thepublicplaza. The celebrationof
theirheroicvalueswas neverthreatening becausetheyalwaysendedup docileor
dead, evenin thecase of thepoemson Araucaniawherethewarsragedon long
afterthepoems had endedthem.On theotherhand,theethnographichistories
wrote about Amerindiansurvival: the persistentpresence of Amerindian
societiesand, explicitly,theirtaboo customs.The documentary or ethnographic
accounts,fromVespucciand Oviedo onward,containedreportsofunsanctioned
sexualacitivity and ritesand customsthatgavethemselvesoverto excessesoften
describedas diabolical. Such reportswould have been highlyundesirablefrom
the viewpointof state and church, which considered that the veneer of
civilizationin Europe was a verythinone. Europeanreadershad to be protected
fromtheseaccounts which,unlikethe "fábulas y ficciones"of the novels of

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 7

chivalry,told of thingsthatwerefantasticand also true.

On thisissue,a further wordofexplanationis required.20 For theperiodin
question, that is, from the 1540's through the firstdecades of the seventeenth
century, the Inquisition's attention was turned away from its first-phase
preoccupation with formal heresy and the racial minorities;nearly two-thirds of
those detained by the Holy Office in this period were ordinaryCatholic
Spaniards. The largestand most importantcategoryof offensestriedby the
Inquisitioninthisperiodwas thatof"propositions,"verbalassaultswhichwere
ofconcernfortheintentions behindthemand theirimplicitdangerto faithand
morals.These includedblasphemousoaths,sexualadvancesmadeto younggirls
duringreligiousprocessions,obscene references to theVirginMary,and anti-
clericalsentiments or actions.
A majorsphereofInquisitorialactivityconcernedsexualbehavior.21 From
the punishmentof "simple fornication"(voluntaryintercourse between two
unmarriedadults)to theregulationofmatrimony and celibacy,fromthe control
over the lay population to that of the clergy,sexualitywas a matterof
considerableconcern.Sodomywas themostsignificant objectofprosecutionin
the area of sexual practices;fromthe beginningof the sixteenthcentury,the
tribunalofAragonpunishedit,irrespective of theabsenceofheresy,whereasin
Castile it was punishablein thecivilcourts.Sodomy of course was thesexual
practicemostconsistently attributed to theAmerindianand theexampleof the
firsteditionsof Cieza de Leon's Primeraparte de la crónicadel Perú (Seville,
1553),whichshows a divinepunishmentbeing metedout againstthe ancient
Andeans(supposedlygiants)caughtin theact of sodomy,vividlyillustrates the
controversial and dangerouscontentofthecrónicasdeIndias.12All inall,thefact
thatblasphemy,or disrespectforsacredthings,and "simplefornication"were
dominantpreoccupationsof the Inquisitionat thistime,suggeststhatbooks
publishedon Indiancustomswouldcome underfirefortheirthreatto faithand
morals.
Finally,theethnographichistorieswerethemostauthenticforumof the
debateon theconquestand Christianization, insofaras theytook seriouslythe
classificationoftheAmerindiansinthehierarchy ofculturaltypology.One need
onlythinkof Acosta's Historianaturaly moral las Indias forevidenceof the
de
attemptto "crushthecommonand ignorantcontemptin whichtheIndiansare
heldby Europeanswho thinkthatthepeople have not thequalitiesof rational
men."23In somerealsense,Las Casas' Apologéticahistoriasumaria[1559] was a
moreradicaldocument,and itwas suppressed,thanhisBrevíssimarelaciónde la
destrucción de las Indias, whichhad been publishedin 1552.24In theBrevissima ,
Las Casas simplycondemnedSpanishconqueringpractices; in the Apologética,
he exploredthe ways in whichWesternhumanity came to understand other
culturesand societiesin lightof itselfand itsown experiences.25 In contrast,the
epic poems,howevertheycelebratedand defended the honor of theconquered
and therefore a
glorifiedthem,did so within typology ofbehavior thatwas their
own. The epic writersdid not really entertain notions of cultural difference;

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8 ROLENAADORNO

differencewas fictionallydissolved in displays of chivalric exotica or in

representationsofa conventionalsavagery.In contrastand ironically, whileLas
Casas, Acosta, Sahagún, and otherssought to find in the Amerindianthe
evidenceof the essentialpsychologicaluniformity in whichtheyprofoundly
believed,theycouldnotdo so withoutbringing to mindthatconditionofcultural
strangeness,even as those differenceswere understoodto be, in termsof
Scholasticphilosophy,"accidental."
The self-consciouseffortsof historiansto justifythe inclusionof the
Amerindianas an historicaltopic and of epic poets to justifytheiraccountsof
Amerindiancustomspointto a numberofaccommodationsthathad to be made
betweengenre and subject matter.Historiographiepracticewas broadened,
whileepic poetryretaineditsnarrowlimits,moldingthenewsubjectmatterto
therequirements ofitsgenericconventions.In bothcases,literary practiceswere
supportedor suppressedinsofaras they served or subverted political and
ideologicalprograms.The dangersof theethnographichistory consisted in its
freedomfromproducingformulaicportrayalsof itsobjects.Periodsuppression
of some of the best workof thistypeunderscoresthe point. Meanwhile,the
overdetermination of the Amerindian'scharacterizationin poetry,and the
frequentpublicationof such works,assuredthatthe sanctioneddiscussionof
Americanhumanitywould be non-controversial, thatit would be fictionalized
beforeit was described.

III. Amerindian
Cultureand Censorshipin Sahagúnand Acosta

The contrastscitedbetweenthepoeticand historiographie formulations of

Amerindianculture suggesta literaryparadox: The representationof the
Amerindianas a newsubjectmatterreversedtheacceptedwisdomoftheperiod
thathistoricaltruthwas to be valued over fiction,when fiction,that is, was
definednot as thepurveyorof edifying, universaltruthsbut as thevehiclefor
inverisimilarand impossiblefantasies.Historicaltruthserved the faithand
protectedmorals,and fancyservedonlyvanityand offered uselesstalesthatwere
harmfulbecause, at worst,theyactivelycorruptedmorals,and, at best,they
turnedthe idle away fromgood reading.26But wheretheAmerindianwas the
historicalsubject,truthwas dangerous,as the reviewof workscensuredand
suppressed,and thoseapprovedand published,willmakeclear.
Censorshipand itsspecificrationalesare difficult to deal with,becausethe
documentationon worksdenied publicationis almost impossibleto uncover.
Sahagún'scase,inwhichthereasoningbehindtheCounciloftheIndies'confisca-
tionofhisworkis unknown,is typical.27 In addition,theroyaldecreeson books
suppressed or withdrawn from circulation are equallyunenlightening; theystate
theordinance,notthereasonsforitsenactment.28 Expurgatedworksofferbetter
clues,ifwe can locateand identifytheoriginalversions,as intherecentdiscovery
oftheoriginalmanuscript of Acosta's De procurando indorum salute[1588].
In the face of this general lack of information,I would suggestan

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 9

alternative method:thecomparisonofcontemporaneousworksdealingwiththe
same topic, for this proceduremay uncoyerinternal,textualreasons for the
suppressionof one and thepublicationof theother.Whilethisapproachtakes
intoaccount onlyone typeof factorinvolvedin censorship,it is likelyto be a
significant one.
Sahagún's Historiageneralde las cosas de Nueva España and Acosta's
Historianaturaly moralde las Indias providean illuminating contrastin this
respect.Althoughthey differin length and detailof their bothwrite
discussions,
aboutMexicanritualpracticesand religion,and bothoffernativeaccountsofthe
conquestofMexico. Each represents an extraordinary intellectualachievement:
and
linguistic ethnographic in the case ofSahagún,philosophical theoretical
and
in that of Acosta.29Both experiencedrigorouscensorshipof theirwritings,
thoughwithoppositeresults:Sahagún's majorworkwentunpublisheduntilthe
nineteenthcentury,while Acosta's enjoyed many printingsin Spanish and
translationsinto modern European languages in the decades followingits
completion.30
Obviously,theaccountsof Indian rituallifewerethe mostcontroversial,
and itis ofconsiderableinterest thatbothused thesame strategytojustifytheir
discussionsofthesetopics.BothSahagúnand Acosta engagedina doublemove;
theysuggestedtermsof comparison- librosde caballerías, fábulasy ficciones,
againstwhichthereadermightmeasuretheiraccounts- and thentoldthemnot
to do so. In otherwords,anticipating thattheirdescriptions mightseemfantastic
and interpreting fortheirreadersthecontentof nativeMexicanbeliefsas false,
bothauthorspresentedtermsofcomparisonwhichthereadershouldnotuse to
interpret theirwritings.
Sahagún referred to thebeliefsoftheMexicansas "fábulasy ficciones"as
he began his Book III, "Del principioque tuvieronlos dioses," by citingSt.
Agustineon thetruevalue of readingfalsetales:

"No tuvoporcosa supérflua, nivana el divinoAugustinotratarde

la Teologia fabulosa de los gentiles,en el sexto libro de LA
CIUDAD DE DIOS, porque,como él dice,conocidaslas fábulas
y ficcionesvanas que los gentilestenían acerca de sus dioses
fingidos,pudiesenfácilmentedarles a entenderque aquéllos no
erandioses,ni podían dar cosa ningunaque fueseprovechosaa la
criaturaracional.A estepropósitoen estetercerolibrose ponen
las fábulas y ficcionesque estos naturalestenían cerca de sus
dioses, porque entendidaslas vanidades que ellos teníanpor fe
cerca de sus mentirososdioses, vengan más fácilmentepor la
doctrinaevangélicaa conoceral verdaderodios;..."31

in a similarcontext,to thenovelsof chivalry:

Acosta made reference,

"Baste lo referidopara entenderel cuidado que los indiosponían

en serviry honrara sus ídolos y al demonio, que es lo mismo.

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 10 ROLENAADORNO

Porque contarpor enterolo que en esto hay,es cosa infinitayde

poco provecho,yaún de lo referidopodrá parecera algunos que
lo hay muypoco o ninguno,у que es como gastartiempoen leer
las patrañasque fingenlos librosde caballerías. Pero éstos si lo
consideranbien,hallaránsermuydiferente negocio,yque puede
serútilpara muchascosas tenernoticiade los ritosyceremohias
que usaron los indios."32

Exploitingtheeffective safetyzone drawnaround one of the morenotorious

of
types fiction, thechivalric- frivolous,useless,perhaps,butpassingcensors
and enjoyingwide circulation33 - Acosta heredownplayedthe "satanic" and
pagan aspects of the peoples he describedand renderedthem harmlessby
providing them the cloak of protectionthat fiction-as-chivalric-nonsense
enjoyed. As ifto defuse and avoid any conflictabout thevolatilepotentialof
the subjects about which both Acosta and Sahagún were writing,they
associated themwiththelack of value oftenattributedto fiction(as fantastic
tales or folklore),whichsuppressedtheirdangerand renderedtheminnocent.
Whatbothauthorsofferedis a justificationthatgoes somethinglikethis:First:
There is genuine,positivevalue in writingtrueaccounts about false beliefs
because it is a fundamentalstep in Christianizingthe native peoples of
America. Second: There is genuine,positivevalue in readingtrueaccounts
about falsebeliefsbecause thustheChristianreaderis remindedto be grateful
forhis own salvation.
The contrastbetweenSahagún and Acosta withregardto theirsuccessat
publicationis pertinentto understanding thedynamicsof colonial discursive
practice.Beforeexaminingtheirtexts,someexternalfactorsshouldbe noted.In
thededicationofhisworkto FrayRodrigode Sequera and, morecompletely, in
hisprologueto Book Two, Sahagúndescribedhisproblemswithcensorshipand
confiscationwithintheFranciscanorder.He told about theeliminationof his
nativescribesand collaborators,thesubsequentconfiscationand circulationof
his " escrituras "
among membersof the Franciscan order in Mexico, the
eventualreturnof his manuscriptsto him,and thepreparationof theSpanish
translationto accompanytheoriginaltextto be sentto theCouncil oftheIndies
at therequestof itspresident,Juande Ovando.34Subsequently,in 1577,all of
Sahagún's paperswereconfiscatedbyroyaldecree,but no documentationhas
to date been foundto indicatetheactual courseor cause of events.35
José de Acosta's encounterwithecclesiasticaland state censorship,not
withregardto hisHistorianaturaly moralde las Indias, but in referenceto his
controversialtreatiseon evangelizationin America,De procurandoindorum
salute, is also of interest.36Acosta's work, which was writtenin lightof a
collectiveeffortby a commissionof expertsto revisemissionarymethodsin
Peru, was intendedto presenta programof missionaryaction based on the
evaluationofspecifichistoricalexperienceinthePeruvianviceroyalty. Acosta's
descriptionand interpretation ofthatexperience - theviolentconquestofPeru

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 11

and thesubsequenttreatment ofthenativepopulationat thehandsofEuropean

-
colonialists provoked the Jesuit General, Claudio Aquaviva, to demand
carefuland repeatedreviewsof theoriginalmanuscript.The process,begunin
1577and concludedin 1588,reducedtheworkfroma treatiseon colonialethics,
rootedin a historicalperspective,into a mereguide to missionarypedagogy.
Removedwas everysinglereference or criticaljudgementthatcould harm,inthe
opinion of the censors,theprestige Spain inEurope.Aquaviva's submissionof
of
the work to Castilian state censorship,done out of prudenceand political
opportunity, meantthattheworkwas ultimatelymoldedto theexigenciesand
expediencies Spanishpoliticsin itsEuropean context.
of
Subsequently,Acosta's Historia, whichshared withSahagún a declared
- to present the viewpoint of Mexican informantson the Spanish
effort
conquest37 - survivedintacttheperilsof censorshipa yearafterthepublication
of the De procurandaand was reprintedseveral times during the decades
following.38
The questionarisesas to whethercensorship,stateand ecclesiastical,was
primarilyconcernedabout the portrayalof Spanish actions in relation to
Amerindiansocieties,or whetherit was also occupied withthepresentationof
Indiansocietyand cultureoutsideitsengagement withEuropean invaders.Both
Juan Friede (1959), in his studyof censorshipof books on America,and the
recent editors (1984) of the original version of Acosta's De procuranda ,
demonstratepersuasivelythat state and ecclesiasticalcensorship,despite its
avowed goals of the protectionof faith and morals, was concerned with
emphaticallypolitical issues in its practice.However,the comparisonof the
publishedAcosta text and the suppressedSahagún treatisereveals that the
discussionand analysisofAmerindianculturewas inand ofitselfproblematical.
Strikingat theoutsetis thefactthatSahagún lettheIndianvoicesspeakfor
themselveswhile Acosta presenteda highlycontrolledauthorialdiscoursein
whichIndian testimony was presentedonlyoccasionallyand alwaysindirectly.
Of course,Sahagún's invisiblepresencein the Nahuatl accounts he presented
cannot be overlooked; the subtletyof the interpénétration of the voices of
Sahagún and his Amerindian informants has been recentlydiscussed.39
Nevertheless, theillusionof thebald, unembellished Nahuatl accountprevails,
evenin itsSpanishtranslation where the controlling voice of Sahagún mustalso
in
be acknowledged.Anotherdifference approach between Acosta and Sahagún
concernstheirassumptionsabout their readers. Sahagún assumed that his
readerswould understandthatreading about Indian culture was a valid and
importantpursuit.Acosta assumed nothing and was not only explicitbut
emphaticand occasionallystrident on the reasons why the "Christian reader
would findhis workedifying.
Of course, Sahagún and Acosta were men of different generationsand
different experiences.Sahagún was active in the Franciscan missionin New
Spain duringthe firsthalf of the sixteenth century, when optimismabout
evangelization ran high and the pro-Indian position in state and church

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12 A ADORNO
ROLEN

establishments was common.40This was theperiodwhenLas Casas exercised

enormousinfluence, publishinghisownseriesoftreatisesin 1552-1553inSeville
and,as notedearlier,obstructing thepublicationofworksofthoseheconsidered
prejudicialto theIndians' cause.
The JesuitAcosta,however,came to thecolonialmissionexperiencewhen
Christianization ofthenativepopulationswas acknowledgedto be a muchmore
elusivegoal, whenEuropeanand colonialattitudesofnegativism or indifference
towardthe Indians had crystalized,and when the writingsof Las Casas and
others on America and its inhabitantswere ordered sequesteredby royal
decree.41 Withinthiscontext,thefirstchapterofAcosta's Book 7, entitled"Que
importa tenernoticiade los hechosde los indios,mayormente de los mexicanos"
begins withan elaborate defense about the and
utility merit of readingabout
thesepeoples,acknowledging thelow opinionofthemgenerallyheldabroad. As
a Jesuitand as a keyfigureinthePeruvianmissionary establishment, Acostawas
involvedin missionary,provincialand papal affairs.In the same decade, the
indefatigableFranciscanSahagún was devotedlycontinuinghis researchand
writingon nativeMexicanculture,evenas hispreviousworksweretakenfrom
him. Livingunderthe FranciscanRule, his officialobligationswereconfined
mostlyto managingaffairsinternalto the order.42The differencein their
perspectives,evidentin the examplesof theirworkthatfollow,should reveal
why,in the 1580's,theirworksrepresented exemplarycases of publicationand
prohibition.
The treatmentof the subjectof human sacrificeis illustrative.Sahagún
devotedsome twentychaptersand fourteenseparaterelacionesto thetopic,in
Book Two oftheHistoriade las cosasdeNuevaEspaña. The threedozenaccounts
thathe gave are all narrative- all, as it were,transcribedas givenby the oral
accountsofhisinformants. Such an unembellished presentation wouldperhaps
be acceptableifSahagúnframedtheaccountscarefully. The prologuesto each of
histwelvebooks was theopportunity he oftentook to do so, as in Book Three,
cited above, whenhe introducedthe "fábulas y ficciones"whichthe Indians
believedabout theirorigins.On themostodious topic of humansacrificeand
ritual cannibalism,however,Sahagún's fatal flaw was in making no such
disclaimers;he chose theprologueto Book Two as theveryplace to narratein
detailtheobstaclesthattheFranciscanorderhad presentedin thewritingand
confiscationofhiswork.The shorttext("Al sincerolector")thatfollowssimply
outlinessome technicaldetailsof theMexicancalendar.
Sahagún's assumptionwas thatthe accounts of the humansacrificeshe
gave wereso obviouslydiabolicalthattheyneededno editorialcomment:

"No haynecesidaden estesegundolibrode ponerconfutaciónde

las ceremoniasidolátricasque en ellos cuentan,porque ellas de
suyo son tan cruelesy tan inhumanas,que a cualquieraque las
oyerele pondránhorrory espanto;y así no harémás de ponerla
relaciónsimplemente a la letra."43

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AMERINDIANS 13

The problemhereis notonlythelack ofmoralcommentary, buttheassumption

thatthe "horrory espanto" producedin the readerwould be automaticallya
moral reaction,ratherthan an estheticresponse.We have alreadyseen how
severalauthors- not only poets but historianstoo- exploitedthat potential.
Gomara called the readers' attentionto the "extraníssimareligióny crueles
costumbresde Mexicanos;" Ovalle promisedto tellof "cosas extraordinarias y
tanpropiasde aquella tierra."In anycase,theaccountsthatimmediately follow
Sahagún'sstatement coolydescribethesacrificeofchildren,withtheirmutilated
bodies beingcooked and eaten,and thesacrificeof adult war captives,whose
bodiesaresubsequentlydismembered and eatencooked.44Onlyat thispointina
long series of such gruesomechaptersdid the author intervenewithanother
commentary, ("Exclamación del autor"), in whichhe cautionedthatthereader
shouldattributeto Satan, notto theparentswho sacrificedtheirown children,
thegreatestblame fortheseinhumanpractices.45
Acosta gave similaraccountsof Mexicanrituallife;chapter20 ofhis Book
Five detailsthesame practicesdescribedabove and thenarrationends withthe
bodies of warcaptives,heartsremoved,rollingdown thestepsofthetemple,to
be caught,carriedaway,and eatenby theiroriginalAztec captors.46
The significant differencebetweenSahagún and Acosta is not whatis said
but howit is presented.Firstof all, Acosta devotedthreeshortchaptersto the
descriptionofMexicansacrifice, whereSahagúnhad devotedabout threedozen.
Secondly, the accounts that Acosta presentedwerecarefullycouchedin a series
of Scripturaltextsand culturalcomparisons(chapter 19), argumentsthatthe
Indians were now repulsedby thesetraditionalpractices(chapter22), and a
lengthy sermonon thespiritualgood thereaderwould reap fromreadingabout
Indian superstitions and practices(chapter31).
On anotherparticularly sensitivetopic,theconquestofMexico,Acostaand
Sahagúnprepared for theirreaders'receptioninstrikinglydifferentways.Acosta
opened hisBook Seven, fifteenchapters ofwhich narrated native versions ofthe
of
conquest Mexico,withan emphatic defense ofthevalue of the
studying history
of theIndians and an attackon thefoolishscorn("necio desprecio") in which
-
Europeans held them.Acosta deliberatelyexploitedthe notion of pleasure
intellectual, -
esthetic,and probablymoraltoo that thereader could experience
on readingabout the origins,ways of being,prosperousand adversetimesof
non-Europeanpeoples.47
In spiteof theimmensebulkof Sahagún's nativeaccountsin contrastwith
therelativebrevityofthoseof Acosta,themostpronounceddifference between
them is the continual interweaving,by Acosta, of his own Providentialist
interpretation ofconquesthistorywiththeindirectly presentednativetestimony.
Besidessuch commentary, he also carefullypointedout thatwhiletheSpanish
could be faultedforcrueltyduringthe conquest,the Indians were also to be
criticizedforthecommissionofatrocities.In doingso, he deliberately distanced
himselffrompolemicistssuchas Las Casas, whom he does not explicitlyname.48
Sahagún's masterfuland monumentalorchestration of native accounts of the

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14 ROLENAADORNO

Mexican conquestprovidesthereaderno such filterthroughwhichto viewits

particularcontours.The readeris left,as it were,withouta Europeanguideto
interpret Providentially eachand everyaction.The resultis thepoignantaccount
of the death of a civilizationand a blindingsummaryof crueldestruction.If
Sahagún'sworkwerecensuredforpoliticalreasonsbytheCounciloftheIndies,
itwas surelyforhisMexicanversionofthehistoryoftheconquest,whichlacked
Acosta's elaborateand thoroughProvidentialist framing.
Sahagún'sapproachresultedin the"burial" ofhiswritinglabors,"debajo
de tierray aún debajo de la ceniza," as he had describedthesituationin 1575.49
The suppressionof his work is the clearestsortof evidenceof the crisisthat
bringingAmerindiancultureintotheforumofpubicdiscourseprovoked.Apart
frompresenting apparentlyunmediatedaccountsabout "barbaric"peoplesand
narrationsprejudicialto theself-interest of the Spanishstate,theportrayalof
native customs,not only in Spanish but in Nahuatl as well, constituteda
dangerousdiscourse.
Sahagún's,Acosta's,and byextension, all ethnographichistorians'writings
constituted a challengenotto thegenreofhistoriography itselfbutratherto the
use of historiography as a cultural and political discourse. This becomes
particularlyobvious in Sahagún's case because ofhisextensiveuse of thenative
Amerindianlanguage. Taking the testimonyof his native informantsand
collaborators,his Historiawas originallyset down in Nahuatl witha Spanish
translationadded later. Placing his use of Nahuatl in the context of the
controversy about the use of all "infidel"languagesrevealsthe culturaland
politicalstakesinvolvedin his efforts.
In Sahagún's time,the nativeMexican codices had been systematically
destroyedbythefirstarchbishopof Mexico, FrayJuande Zumárraga,and the
Mexican lordstoo took it upon themselvesto voluntarily destroycodices they
owned,out offearofbeingchargedwithidolatryfortheirpossession.50 It is the
sametimewhentheuse oftheArabiclanguagewas outlawedin Spain inorderto
control,politicallyand spiritually, theMoriscopopulation,and whenbooks in
the Arabic language were soughtand destroyedforthe same reasons.51It is
hardlysurprising thattherewas a growing,officialtendencyagainstthepractice
ofwriting about nativecultureintheindigenouslanguages.The fatalconnection
seen between native spiritualtraditionsand native languages would lead
ultimately, in 1596,to theformulation ofa legalprojectpresentedto theCouncil
of theIndies,whichwould abolish theuse of thenativelanguagesof America
altogether. SolorzanoPereira,inhisPolíticaindiana[1629]forcefully pressedthe
argument fora linguisticpoliticsthatwouldban thenativelanguagesand he took
exceptionto the"dangerous"plan adoptedbyAcosta and his colleaguesat the
Third Church Council of Lima who prepared and published religious
instructional materialsinQuechua and Aymara.52 No doubtbenefittingfroman
appreciationofthedifficulties and debatesentailedinproducingreligiousworks
in Amerindianlanguages, Acosta stayed safelyaway fromtheiruse in his

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 15

Historianaturaly moralde las Indias.

Acosta's editorialtriumphis registeredin the dedicationof his Historia
naturaly moralde las Indias to the Infantadoña Isabel Clara Eugenia. Witha
bold and revealingstatementabout the necessityand pleasure of studying
"gentesbárbaras,"he deftlylinkedthedesireforindulgententertainment with
theneedforresponsibleinstruction. His statementsuggeststhedelicatebalance
that (published) authors achieved between servingstate prerogativesand
in thecontextofthestringent
appealingto individualproclivities royalpolicyof
censorship of works on America.53 His use of the literarycommonplace
("utilidad y provecho") has the special resonance of an authorial coup in
combiningmoralfunctionwiththeestheticexcitement producedby theexotic:

"mas porque el conocimientoy especulaciónde cosas naturales,

mayormente si son notablesy raras,causa naturalgustoy deleite
en entendimientos delicados,y la noticiade costumbresy hechos
extrañostambiéncon su novedadaplace, tengopara mí,que para
V. A. podrá servirde un honestoy útil entretenimiento, darle
ocasión de consideraren obras que el Altísimoha fabricadoen la
máquina de este mundo,especialmenteen aquellas partes que
llamamos Indias, que por ser nuevas tierras,dan más que
considerar,y por serde nuevosvasallos que el sumo Dios dio a la
Corona de España, no es del todo ajeno ni extraño su
conocimiento."54

Againstthisbackgrounditmightbe usefulto interrogate term

thestillunsettling
ofcomparison Acosta used forreadingabout Indian customs:the reading the
of
novelsof chivalry.

IV. ChivalricRomanceand theNarrativesof theConquestofAmerica

SinceIrvingLeonardpublishedhisBooksoftheBravein 1949,thesubjectof
the relationshipbetweenthe Spanish conquistadorand his possible literary
inspiration in thenovelsofchivalryhas beena mostseductivetopic.Actually,a
workmuchless well knownon thesame subjectis Ida RodriguezPrampolini's
AmadisesdeAmérica,whichappearedinMexicoa yearbeforeLeonard'sBooksof
theBraveand madethesameargument aboutthechivalricspiritinspiring thefeats
ofconquest.55 Withthe Spanish translation ofBooks of theBrave in 1953 and the
reprinting in
oftheoriginal 1964, the circulationof thishighly attractiveidea has
beenuniversal.Unfortunately, thenotion thatpopular fictioninspired the deeds
of theconquistadoreshas been as indemonstrable as it has been appealing.So
Leonard himselfadmits and so otherreadershave observed.56The idea has
survivedall theseyearsas an intriguing pieceofintuition,althoughI suspectthata
greatmanyreadershave accepted it as an cultural
established historicalfact.
If we look again at thesingle statement by Bernal Díaz which inspiredthe
notion that popular literature influenced the attitudes and actions of

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16 ROLENAADORNO

sixteenth-centurySpaniards,itmightbe yetpossibleto reorientitssignificance.

We should begin by puttingBernal Díaz in the contextof the mediumthat
presentshimto us; recognizinghimin the Verdaderahistoriade la conquistade
NuevaEspaña in his roleas writerand reader,ratherthanas soldier,we maysee
that the novels of chivalryinspiredneitherhis actions of soldieringnor his
discursiveact of narrating.Instead,theybroughtto mindhis experienceas a
reader.
Bernal Díaz recalls his own reading as he searches for a way to
communicatethemagnificence and splendorof thefirstsightof Tenochtitlan:

" Y desde
que vimostantasciudadesyvillaspobladas en el agua, y
en tierrafirmeotras grandespoblazones, y aquella calzada tan
derechaypornivelcómo iba a México,nos quedamos admirados,
ydecíamosque parecíaa las cosas de encantamiento que cuentan
en el librode Amadis,por las grandestorresy cues y edificiosque
teníandentroen el agua, y todos de calicanto,y aún algunos de
nuestrossoldados decían que si aquello que veían, si era entre
sueños,y no es de maravillarque yo escribaaquí de esta manera,
porquehaymuchoque ponderaren ello que no sé cómo lo cuente:
vercosas nuncaoídas, nivistas,niaún soñadas,como veíamos."57

His statement,practicallythe sole evidencecited forthe connectionbetween

chivalryand conquest,does notsuggestthateitherthespectacleofAmericaor its
conquestmadetheconquistadorfeellikea knighterrant.Ratheritindicatesthat
thenovelsofchivalrystoodas an externalreferencepointbywhichthesixteenth-
centuryEuropean reader could compare the account of a place unseen
(America),as givento him by anotherreader(the reader-cum-writer Bernal
Díaz) who sharedsimilarliteraryculturalexperiences.58
Thisinterpretation
ofBernalDiaz's remarkis further borneoutbyanother
referencehe made to thechivalricromanceas a discursivereference point.On
morethanone occasion,he complainedabout theseemingly infinite
numberof
battleswhichhe had to describein orderto account fortheninety-three days
duringwhichthe Spanish held the cityof Tenochtitlanundersiege. Although
bothhe and his readersweresurelytiredof them,it was necessaryto rehearse
how and when and in what manner those battles had occurred. He had
consideredorganizinghis narrationso that each encounterwould occupy a
separatechapter,butthis,itseemedto him,wouldbe an endlesstaskand itwould
makehis workseemlikean Amadis:

"...y no los pongo por capítulos de lo que cada día hacíamos

porque me pareció que era granprolijidady era cosa para nunca
acabar y pareceríaa los librosde Amadiso Caballerías;y porque
de aquí adelanteno me quierodeteneren contartantasbatallasy
recuentrosque cada día pasábamos, lo diré lo más breve que
pueda."59

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 17

Here thereferenceto thechivalricromanceis clearlynegative.Is BernalDíaz

sayingthata narrationà la Amadiswouldproducean overlongaccount,putting
thereaderto sleep withthetiresomedescriptionof battleafterbattle?Or, even
worse,is he sayingthatthereadermightsuspendhisbeliefin thistrueaccount,
sentencingit to guilt-by-association,ifit werefollowingthenarrativemodelof
chivalricromance?The answeris "yes" in both instances.
WhatBernalDíaz facedis thesameproblemexpressedbyall thehistorians
and poetscitedin thispaper;thereference to thenovelsofchivalryallows us to
focusitmoresharply.Theywereall talkingabout topicsthatseemedfantastic -
infinite numbersofbattles,horrifying spectacles of human sacrifice,landscapes
thatseemedenchanted,and real-life"enchanters"(shamans)too. Theyneeded
to articulatethatapparentlyfantasticdimensionin orderto be truthful to their
understanding to
oftheirownexperience.At thesame time,theywanted exploit
thoseseemingly sensationalelementsinorderto engagetheirreaders'interest. As
a result,theywerecaughtinthedilemmaofproducinga discoursefor which they
and theirreadershad no common referents.Bernal Díaz summedit up for
Europeanwritersof theentiresixteenth-century SpanishAmericanexperience,
whenhe excusedhimselfforcommunicating theviewofTenochtitlanthrougha
comparisonwiththeenchantedplacesconjuredup intheAmadises:"...y no es de
maravillarque yo escribaaquí de esta manera,porquehaymuchoque ponderar
en ello que no sé cómo lo cuente:vercosas nuncaoídas, nivistas,niaún soñadas,
como veíamos." The historians,BernalDíaz included,broughtup and rejected
thechivalricmodelindiscourse.On theirbehalf,we mightcall in Oviedo,forno
one stateditmorebluntlythanhe: "...pues no cuentolos disparatesde los libros
de Amadis no los que dellos dependen."60
In contrast,theepic poetsacceptedthechivalricrepresentation usingitto
dramatizethe actionsof both conquistadoresand Indians. Alonso de Ercilla,
among many others,superimposedthe world of medieval chivalryon the
Araucanian warriorseven as he described them in terms of unheard of
barbarity.61 He resortedto the chivalricformulationnot because he saw the
Araucaniansas chivalricheroesbut because he neededa languageof common
referencewithhis readersto communicatehis admirationof the Araucanian
culturalvalues of liberty, courage,and therefusalto be conquered.
The question that remains is why chivalricromance was chosen by
chroniclers as thecommon(negative)reference inwritingabout theNew World,
and whychivalryingeneralwas emulatedby epic poetsinthecreationofthe
the
figureof the Amerindian.First,thanksto the enormouspopularityof the
romancesof chivalrythroughout thesixteenthcentury,62 and thefactthatthey
weredefendedas exemplaryworksby some and condemned as frivolousand
harmful byothers,63thechroniclers could "have itbothways" with regardto this
referencepoint. They had at theirdisposal a double code: Like advocates of
romance,theycouldcelebratethemilitary values ofmedievalcaballería and extol
overthingsunheardof and unseen; likethe moralists,theycould rejecttheidea
of the fictional romance, not because their own representationswere

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 18 A ADORNO
ROLEN

immoralbut because, unliketheromances,theyweretrue.This is thepointat

whichthelibrosde caballeríasservedmoreas a trapthanas a usefulculturaland
literaryreference.The subject of magic, sorcery,and superstition - a stock
ingredient of the chivalricromancewhichgave the moralistsreasonsto decry
theirperniciousinfluence - had theircounterpart,or so it could seem to the
reader,in theethnographic descriptionsof nativeAmericanritualpractice.
One of thereasonsforthepopularappear ofthechivalricromancewas its
fascination withmagic.Recentstudieshaveattributed theeditorialsuccessofthe
novelsofchivalryinthesixteenth century to theappeal thattheirchivalricideals
held foran increasingly urban,courtlyaristocraticmale readership.64 At the
same timeand apart fromthatfactor,the othermajor elementof appeal was
magic.It was theenchantedatmosphereofthelandsvisitedbytheAmadisesand
Palmerines,and theenchantersand magicianswho inhabitedthem,whichheld
readersundertheirspell.65Furthermore, theactsand featsofwizardry and magic
in the novelsof chivalrywereoftenregardedby readersas faithfulrecordsof
actual fact.66
Magic was a vast topic in literature,the arts,theology,the sciencesand
medicineoftheperiod,and itcouldbe heldto be "good orbad, or whiteorblack,
that is, beneficientor evil in its effects;"its positive manifestations could
be regardedas an aspect of the supernatural.67 At the same time,magic and
witchcraft wereconsideredextremely dangerouswhenpresentedin published
treatiseson thesubject.IndexedbytheInquisitionwereall eruditetreatisesand
popular works on magic and witchcraft;practice of the same was widely
punishedin sixteenth-century Spain.68
Withinthisculturalcontext,theethnographic workson theIndianswereno
doubtconsidereddangerouspreciselyforthedescriptionof nativecustomsand
theirpotentialassault,therefore,on faithand morals.Indiandivinations,cures,
beliefs,and ritualpracticesin generalwerecommonlyregardedas "inspiredby
the devil." Againstthe European backgroundof culturalreferents, it is not
surprisingthatworkssuch as Sahagún's werenot merelynevergrantedlicense
forprintingbut were in factconfiscatedfromtheirauthor'spossession.The
expressionoftheperiodattitudewhichbestsummarizestheimplicitconnection
betweentheethnographic accountand "lyingand immorálfictions"is foundin
FrayLuis de Leon's De losnombres de Cristo[1591].Withoutreferring explicitly
to thenovelsofchivalry,he complainedthatthecontemporary degenerationof
customsand morals,whoserootand entirecause was deceitfulfictions, smacked
of heathenismand disbeliefin Christianity.69
Atthesametime,theepicpoetstookadvantageoftheappeal thatchivalric
romanceheldforreadersas theydissolvedintofictionthedangerousspecterof
Amerindianhumanity.Epic dramatizationof the Indian servedthe dominant
ideologynotmerelybecause it keptfromsightthepoliticallysensitiveeffects of
military conquestbutbecause itofferedan alternateinterpretation. The escape
into fantasy and the reaffirmationof chivalric values represented-
simultaneously - thedesireto fleefromharsherrealitiesand theeffort to come

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 19

to gripswiththem.The use ofold fictionswas at once a discursive,interpretative

effortto bringundera singlepurviewofcontrolthehistoricalpast and historical
destiny.It was at once a political and linguisticphenomenon:to make the
European (Spanish Reconquest)past rule the European-in-America (Spanish
colonial) presentand to establisha languageof externalreference whichcould
communicatethewonder- humanand natural- oftheNew World.In thislight,
thecelebrationoftheheroicAge ofReconquestbecomesthestrategy bywhichto
"read" and interpretthepresent,ratherthanto reproducethepast as such.The
epic poetson America,and theethnographic writerstoo, deliberately exploited
thechivalricromanceincreatingand presenting theirownliterary efforts. As we
have seen,whilethe moralistscondemnedthe novel of chivalry,the writers of
-
Americatook advantageof theveryfeatures novelty,exoticism,adventure -
thatmadeitappealing.This,I wouldargue,is thesiteoftheinfluence ofthenovel
of chivalryon thewritingsabout theNew World.Not a filterthroughwhichto
perceiveor writeabout Americanadventures,itmadepossibleinsteada strategy
thatemployeda commonand attractiveculturalreferent; throughthismeans,
author and reader could take new sightingswhich made translatableor
negotiabletheliteraryexchangeson theNew World.

Ifwe returnto FrayFernandode Valverdeand hisliterary dilemmaofhow

to bringtheColla Indiansintothepoeticcompositionwhichwas to celebratethe
triumphs ofthefaith,wecan appreciateitsresonanceas theliterary expressionof
a culturalproblematic.Aftera century and a halfofEuropeancolonizationinthe
New World, Valverde acknowledgedthe fundamentaland insurmountable
problemthatstood at the heartof colonial discourse:The introductionof the
Amerindian,notonlyas a newliterary subjectmatterbutas a culturalentityfor
whichtheexistingliterary, cultural,and politicaltheorycould provideno ready
accommodations.Writingabout Indiansand theircultureswas,as thispaperhas
attempted to suggest,a problemthatbroughtup shortthepoetsand historiansof
the period. But colonial literaryproductionwas not simplyabout findingthe
appropriatelanguageto describetheNew World'speoples;itwas constituted by
thesubtle,complex,and contradictory maneuvers - both internaland external
to discourseitself- whosefullunderstanding lies yetbeforeus.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would
liketothankProfessors
StephanieMerrim,WalterMignolo, Newman
andKathleen fortheir
comments
helpful and I
suggestions.am also to
indebted TheNewberry and
Library the
National
Endowment fora Research
fortheHumanities Fellowship, fora
andtotheOhioStateUniversity
research
leave,which forthisarticle
madetheresearch possible.

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20 ROLENAADORNO

NOTES
1Valverde 1641:f8r.
2Ethnographic history usedbyEduard
isa designation Fueter,inGeschichte derneueren
[1911],todescribe
Historiographie oneofthefour majortypes oftheseventeenth
ofhistory century.
Thehistories
calledEthnographicwere thoseauthored orstudents
bymissionaries oftheterritories
discovered
newly inthefifteenth
andsixteenth Because
centuries. oftheirconfrontation withspatial
andracial suchhistories
separations, asbeing
aredescribed bya "sense
inspired offatalschisminthe
humancommunity:" "Herehistory iswrittenintheapprehension ofdivisionswhich giveevery
offatally
evidence hinderingthemarch itself(White
ofcivilization 1973:p. 59).
3LasCasas1951:v. 1,p.22.
4Mignolo 1982:p.84.
5Another glimpseattheproblem ofincorporating aboutIndianculture
discussions into
isprovided
history
Spanish byFranciscoLópezdeGómara. Inthefirst
threeeditions ofhisHistoria
delasIndias
general ylaconquistadeMéxico [Zaragosa1552, Medina
1553; delCampo1553], there
anintroductory
appears notedescribing oftheworks:
thecontents
"Lahistoria
delasIndiasvaenquantotocaa lasconquistas, sumariamente.
escritas
Peroenotrascosasesllenaycopiosa.
Laconquista deMéxico vamuia lolargo
por
irallílamanera
queseusa,yguarda,enconquistar,convertir, ygranjear
poblar, la
tierra.Aunqueporserellala mejorla escribo porsí. Es muynotable porla
estraníssima ycrueles
religión, costumbresdeMexicanos. Aunque sondoscuerpos
esunahistoria.
Y assiesnecessario
queanden juntos."
Thetwo-part composition of thework,whichGómaradefended, pertainsnotonlyto the
general/specific
(Indias/México) dualitybutalsotothefact that hissubjectwasalternatelythedeeds
oftheSpaniards andthecustoms oftheIndians: "Es muynotable porla estraníssimareligióny
cruelescostumbres deMexicanos."
6Acosta1962: p.279.
7Ovalle1969:pp. 4-5.
8SeeMeans1928:pp.462-497, 519.
9SeeMignolo 1982fora discussion ofthisimportant discursivetype.
10"Y si a alguno lepareciere quememuestro algoinclinado a la partedelosaraucanos,
tratando suscosasyvalentías másextendidamente deloqueparabárbaros veremos
serequiere... que
muchos noleshanhecho ventaja[encuanto a costumbres, modos yejerciciodeguerra] yqueson
pocoslosquecontangran constanciayfirmeza handefendido sutierracontratanfierosenemigos
comosonlosespañoles ....Todoestohequerido traerparaprueba yenabonodelvalor destasgentes,
digno demayor loordelqueyolopodré darconmisversos" ([156911977:pp.11-12).
11BarcoCentenera 1602:f2v.
12Ibid.
13Saavedra Guzmán 1599:f9r.
14"Noquiero, señor relataros/Los sin
sacro, ylasleyes
ritós, queobseruauan,/Por entender,
duda,he de cansaros/Porque eraninfinitas las que vsauan:/Otros estándispuestos a
informaros/Que soloesteprincipio desseauan,/Y queyola vergüenza /Yconloque
lesquitasse,
padezco mequedasse.//Pero darosseñor disculpa /Ydemilocoygrande
desto, atrevimiento/En
arrojarme a tantocontrapuesto/Conociendo tanclaroelpocoaliento:/Animame señor a echarel
/Noconpocotemor
resto, /Elverque soyen Mexiconacido,
y sentimiento, /Dondeningún
historiadorhaauido."(1880:p.298).
15De Oña1944: n.p.
16See Pierce1961 andChevalier 1976fordetailed information abouttheextent ofepic
production between 1550and1650.Ercilla's La araucana wasfabulously with
successful, twenty-
threeeditionsbetween 1569and1632; itservedastheinspiration formany popular romances anda
number ofcomedias ontheSpanish stage (Chevalier1976:pp.106-108). SeealsoMedina 1918fora
collectionofromances basedontheLa Araucana.
17Describing oneoftheessential differences
between theepicandtragedy, LópezPinciano
stated:
"Lo primero, enelmedio dela imitación,
porque la trágicaimita conpersonas agenas del
poeta,ylaépica,conpropias yagenas, porloqualéstesedizepoema común, yaquél,activo"([1596]
1953:v.3,p. 149).

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 AMERINDIANS
INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA 21

18Acosta1962:p.278.
19SeeThompson 1985: ofSpanish to
pp.4,11.Fora discussion oftherelationship epicpoetry
imperial ideology,seePierce 1961:pp.214-216, 321-324; Vidal1985:pp.35-43.
20Thisdiscussion ofInquisitorialcharges isbasedonKamen1985:pp.201-202.
21Kamen1985:pp.205-208.
22Thisdrawing, andothers from the1553Seville editionarereproduced inCiezadeLeón
1984.
23Acosta1962:p. 319.
24LasCasas'editorial fatereflectstheshiftintheofficial outlookonwritings onAmerica.
During thereign ofCarlosI,LasCasasexercised enormous influence,
publishing hisownseries of
treatises in 1552-1553 and,according to Lópezde Gomara,obstructing thepublication of
Fernández deOviedo's Historia generaldelasIndias. Duringthereign ofFelipeII,however, Las
Casas'works, andthoseofmany other writersonAmerica, wereordered sequestered byroyal
decree (Friede1959:p.58).Itwastheascent ofFelipeII tothethrone thatoccasioned thestricter
laws,withthefirst decrees explicitlyprohibiting thepublication ofbooksonAmerica without
specialpermission oftheConsejode Indiasbeingpromulgated in 1556.See Friede1959fora
discussion ofhowcensorship pertainingtotheIndies functioned anda casestudy ofhowitoperated
forpolitical motives.
25SeePagden 1982: pp.119-145 foranilluminating discussionofLasCasas'major historical
works as thebasisforthedevelopment ofcomparative ethnology.
26Thisstandard period formula onthevirtues ofhistoricaltruthandthevanities offiction
canbefound inliteraryprologues as wellas incountless aprobacionesbystateandecclesiastical
censors. Fora review ofsuchstatements, see,forexample, RodriguezPrampolini 1948;Leonard
1949;Pierce 1961.
27SeeBallesteros Gaibrois 1973.
28Antonio Márquez (1980:pp.230ff) hasrecently remarked ontheseproblems inhisstudy of
Inquisitorialexpurgation andcensorship ofliteratureinSpain.TorreRevello (1940)published a
series
oftheroyal decrees prohibiting works onAmerica, which because
areillustrative ofwhat they
failtostate.
29SeeBallesteros Gaibrois 1973onSahaeún; Pagden 1982onAcosta.
30O'Gorman (1962:pp. lxiii-lxiv) summarizes thebibliographic history oftheHistoria
natural ymoral delasIndias ; Pagden (1982:pp.197-198) discussestheintellectual impact ofthe
work. Theonlywork ofSahagún's tobepublished during thesixteenthcentury washisPsalmodia
cristianaysermonario delosSantos delaño,enlengua mexicana, ordenadaencantares opsalmos para
quecanten losindiosenlosarey tosquehacen enlasiglesias (Mexico:PedroOcharte, 1583).
31Sahagún 1938:v. l,p. 257.
32Acosta1962:p.278.
33SeeLeonard 1949;Chevalier 1976.
34Sahagún 1938:v. l,pp.82-83.
35Ballesteros Gaibrois 1973:p.76.
36Thisdescription summarizes theaccount given byPereña andhiscollaborators (1984:pp.
18-24) ofthecensorial procedures towhich theDeprocurando wassubmitted from thetime ofits
completion toitspublication.
37Ashebegan hisaccount oftheconquest ofMexico (BookVII,chapter 22),Acosta stated:
"Y enloquedeaquiadelante sóloterné
sedijiere, cuidado deescrebirloqueloslibros yrelaciones
delosindios cuentan, dequenuestros escritoresespañoles nohacenmención, pornohaber tanto
entendido lossecretosdeaquellatierra, ysoncosasmuy dignas deponderar, comoagoraseverá"
p. 359).
(1962:38
Hereitshould benoted thatthepublication ofneweditions, evenifonlyreprintings, was
nota proforma ritual.Ineachcase,theoriginal procedures ofreview andapproval hadtobe
repeated (Friede1959:pp.50-51).
39Todorov 1982:pp.227-237.
40SeeRicard 1966;Gibson1952.
41Seeendnote 24.
42Fortheactivities ofAcostaandSahagún, seeLopétegui 1942andBallesteros Gaibrois
1973,respectively.
43Sahagún 1938:v. 1,p. 119.
44Ibid.,pp.119-122.
45Ibid.,p. 122.

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22 ROLENAADORNO

46Acosta1962:p.252.
47Relevant portions ofthisintroductory statement follow: "Cualquiera historia, siendo
verdadera ybienescrita, traenopequeño provecho Nohaygente
allector.... tanbárbara quenotenga
algobueno quealabar, nilahaytanpolítica quenotenga algoqueenmendar. Puescuando larelación
o la historiadeloshechos delosindios, notuviese otrofruto másdeestecomún deserhistoria y
relación decosas,queenefecto deverdad pasaron, merece serrecibida porcosaútil, ynoporser
indioses de desechar la noticia de suscosas, ...porque allítambién haypropiedades dignas de
consideración. Asíquecuando estonotuviese másqueserhistoria, siendo comoloes,ynofábulas y
ficciones,noessujeto indigno deescrebirse yleerse. Mashayotramuy particularrazón, queporser
degentes pocoestimadas, seestima enmásloquedeellasesdigno dememoria, yporserenmaterias
diferentes denuestra Europa, comolosonaquellas naciones, da mayor gustoentender deraízsu
origen, sumododeproceder, sussucesos prósperos yadversos. Y noessólogusto sinoprovecho
también, mayormente
48"Junto paralosqueloshandetratar,.../' (1962:p. 319).
conesto,es bienquenose condenen tanabsolutamente todaslascosasde los
primeros conquistadores delasIndias, comoalgunos letrados yreligiosos hanhecho, conbuencelo
sinduda, perodemasiado. Porque aunque porlamayor parte fueron hombres cudiciosos yásperos, y
muy ignorantesdelmododeproceder, quesehabíadetener entre quejamáshabían
infieles, ofendido
a loscristianos,perotampoco sepuedenegar quedeparte delosinfieles hubomuchas maldades
contra Diosycontra losnuestros, quelesobligaron a usarderigor ycastigo." (1962:p. 373).This
efforttobalance theaccount hasbeenseenas Acosta's desire tocopewith thelessons ofhispast
experience, when hiscondemnations oftheconquistadores were expurgated from theDeprocurando...
(SeePereña 1984:p.34).
49Sahagún 1938:v. 1,p.4.
50Juan Bautista dePomar ( 1941: p.4)began hisRelación deTexcoco [1582]byciting the1539
inquisitorialexecution ofDonCarlosOmetochtzin, thesonofNezahualiltzintli, asthereason why
thefew lords whostill possessed anycodices burned them forfear ofbeing accused ofidolatry ifsuch
artifacts were found intheir possession.
51GarcíaArenal 1975:p.29;Bennassar 1979:p.93.
52Jákfalvi-Leiva 1984:pp.80,86;seepp.79-88 fora review ofthelinguistic politicsofthe
Spanish empireattheendofthesixteenth century andthepositions ofitsmajor protagonists and
critics.
53A royaldecree ofSeptember 7, 1558,reveals thatneither theIsabeline edictof 1502
(requiring statelicensing ofallbooksprinted), northecensorship carried outbytheHolyOffice
through itsIndex ofprohibited books, wasconsidered sufficient todealwith writingsonAmerica.
Outlawed explicitlyweretheprinting andsaleofbooksinthree categories: 1)thoselisted onthe
Index, 2) heretical works, and3) frivolous, lascivious accounts, offering bad moralexamples
("materias vanas,deshonestas ydemalejemplo") (Friede 1959: p.49).Inthis context, theelaborate
arguments ofAcostaonwhyitwasacceptable, indeed important, toreadabouttheNewWorld
inhabitants becomes especially significant.
54Acosta1962: p.9.
55Ontheideaof theconnection between chivalric romance andtheconquest ofAmerica, the
observations ofWilliam Prescott, Alfonso Reyes, Torre Revello, andLeonard inhisRomances of
Chivalry intheSpanish Indies [1933] should alsobenoted.
56Leonard 1949: pp.25,31,53,65;Pastor 1983: 238-239.
57Bernal pp.154-156, 191-192,
Díaz1967:p. 147.
58Mention should bemade ofStephen Gilman whosuggested that the
(1961: pp.107,110-111),
Amadis functions within theBernalDíaz narrative as a "wayof solving theproblem of
communication," as a "kindofliterary shorthand" tohelpthereader, evenas heargues along
Leonard's linesthatthechivalric reference represented the"spontaneous associations ofthe
conquistadores" andreflected a "sense ofselfas knight-errant."
59Bernal Díaz 1967: seealsop. 153.
601851:v. l,p. 179.p. 151;
61SeeLerner andMoríñigo 1979:v. 1,p.37;Pastor 1983:pp.471-513.
62SeeChevalier 1976.
63Rodriguez 1948:pp.12-15; Bataillon 1950:p.210ff.
64Chevalier Prampolini
1976; Eisenberg 1973.
65Chevalier 1974: p.47;seePierce (1976:pp.111-135) forananalysis oftherolemagic played
inthenovels ofchivalry.

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 INCOLONIALSPANISHAMERICA
AMERINDIANS 23

66Leonard 1933:p.253.
67Pierce1976:pp.Ill, 165.
68CaroBaroja1978:p. 57;seeCaroBaroja1964.
69"Y desabordegentilidad deDiossienten
delservicio
queloscelosos
ydeinfidelidad enellas
[costumbres (quenoséyosienedadalguna
degeneradas] delpueblo sehasentido
cristiano mayor), a
mijuicioelprincipio (LuisdeLeón1853:v.3,p. 37).
yla raízyla causatodasonestoslibros"

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