TENSIONS BETWEEN THE PRACTICE OF WITCHCRAFT AND THE EVANGELICAL DOCTRINE IN COMMUNITIES OF THE SOUTH ANDES

Zen C.C.; Encarnación-Pinedo M. · Temas Americanistas (2024) · DOI: 10.12795/temas-americanistas.2024.i53.09

Resumen

Hereby we analyze how the symbolic framework of Andean witchcraft’s practices comes into conflict with the Evangelical church’s doctrine established in the indigenous communities of the South Andes, especially in Ayacucho. These churches wage a spiritual war against the locals who exercise these practices: “disobedient souls”, who are called to repentance or subjected to purification rituals leading to their “salvation”. Nevertheless, in these spaces, witchcraft is legitimized as an accepted social practice within the magical-religious imaginary.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos