Abstract

FIGUEROA, Óscar. The Rāmāyaṇa in Mexico: the Awakening and Decline of a Fascination (1870-1940). Lit. mex [online]. 2025, vol.36, n.1, pp.59-88.  Epub June 24, 2025. ISSN 2448-8216.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.litmex.2025.1/s00x1327.

The Rāmāyaṇa was among the first texts of classical Indian literature that caught the interest of European orientalism. In the 1870’s this interest reached the Mexican cultural milieu, as can be inferred from translations, newspaper articles, artistic manifestations and other testimonia. This contribution examines such testimonia, especially those by the intellectual José González de la Torre, in order to uncover the reception, dissemination and representation of the Rāmāyaṇa in Mexico in the last decades of the 19th century. The study discloses an important chapter of Mexican orientalism, as it was through the Rāmāyaṇathat India obtained a well-defined symbolic identity in the country’s cultural imaginary. Around this symbolism converged cosmopolitan aspirations, but also a patriotic impetus. However, in the first decades of the 20th century there occurred a sudden decline, suggesting a change of status, also outlined in the paper.

Keywords : Rāmāyaṇa; Hispano-American Orientalism; Mexico and India; José González de la Torre..

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