Abstract

CANUTO CASTILLO, Felipe  and  SERRANO SANCHEZ, Ángel. The witchcraft at the end of the 17th century: the case of "La Chuparratones" in Queretaro, Mexico. Culturales [online]. 2018, vol.6, e338. ISSN 2448-539X.  https://doi.org/10.22234/recu.20180601.e338.

In this article, we analyze the characteristics of the witches from the New Spain, who in fact belonged to the “genre of witches from Spain”, unlike those of Mesoamerican tradition. Based on the record of the proceedings against Josefa Ramos on charges of sorcery and witchcraft, we study, on the one hand, the representation of the witch in the colonial imaginary, which was a replica of the representation known in Europe; on the other, the status that acquired the person considered as such and the actions and supernatural powers that were attributed to her. Josefa Ramos’ story shows how the accused, at least at a discursive level, took the assigned roll and started to act as a witch; therefore, it is considered that as a result of the ideas inculcated by the friars, the accused of witchcraft began to reproduce similar realities to those registered in Europe.

Keywords : colonial era; collective imagination; Inquisition; sorcery; witchcraft.

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