Morelia inquisition
The Inquisition entered the territory of New Spain in 1522, but it was not until 1570 when the Court of the Holy Office was established in Mexico City, thus having a well-defined body of officials headed by the Inquisitor Mayor.
Based on the procedure of the Holy Office, it can be said that it went through two periods: the first, from the 16th century to the first half of the 18th century, was characterized by pursuing religious causes in order to unify, under one same religion, to the New Spanish population. The second stage starts from the second half of the XVIII century until the consummation of the Independence of Mexico. Its main task was the pursuit of Enlightenment ideas, which could modify the colonial status of New Spain; although he also wanted to return to having the ideological presence that centuries before had manifested. It is in this second stage where the study that we will do on the case of the mestizo Juan Nepomuseno is framed.
Valladolid, now Morelia, in the second half of the XVIII century, was a city with approximately 15,000 inhabitants. Civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the Bishopric of Michoacán resided there (the Bishopric of Michoacán had under its jurisdiction the territory that currently includes the states of Michoacán, Colima, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, part of Guerrero and even a small part of Tamaulipas.)
In Valladolid there was a strong economic oligarchy, which fostered trade and interest in politics and culture; the contrast in the Valladolid population was represented by the precarious condition of the mixed and black indigenous people.
Witchcraft in Valladolid
Free blacks, mestizos and mulattoes who lived in the outskirts of the city constantly arrived in Valladolid with the intention of selling their products made in their towns of origin. Although it also had the regular visit of vagabonds and criminals, thus constituting a problem for the civil government. Juan Nepomuseno joined the ranks of that group, since he was a resident of the city of Guanajuato and was apprehended in the main square for stealing meat and a guangoche[citation required].
On February 5, 1776, a man of mestizo quality named Juan Nepomuseno Perales was denounced before the Valladolid Inquisitorial Police Station; since he had committed a robbery and, when he was apprehended in the Plaza Mayor of Valladolid, he brought with him & # 34; ... instruments that sorcerers and superstitious people carry for their evil purposes... & # 34; And since then it was followed for malicious uses [citation needed].
When Juan Nepomuseno was searched, nothing was found, because he had already intentionally thrown away a package [citation required]. His captors noticed and took on the task of reviewing it; It contained a little bird that we call suckers, a peyote root, a woman's hair, ground rosemary, coyote skin and some Catholic images. Faced with this situation, the civil authority referred Juan Nepomuseno Perales for carrying trinkets to the Valladolid Inquisitorial Police Station.
Once the process began, Perales admitted carrying and bringing witchcraft objects. He said that in the town of Curupaceo a man had given them to him so that he would win at gambling, so that the women would love him and so that he would work well in his trade as a street sweeper. And, while the investigations continued, Juan Nepomuseno decided to set fire to his cell door and escape through the rooftops.
Let's take advantage of Juan Nepomuseno's absence to learn something about sorcery. This practice sought to modify the environment through the use of palpable instruments. He wanted to modify reality in favor of the person who requested the help of sorcery and the one who carried the instruments. The study of sorcery is interesting, because we find synchronous elements with the procedures used. You can see both indigenous and African influences and elements along with others of Catholic and European roots.
Juan Nepomuseno carried vegetables whose properties were known to all: peyote and rosemary; and others of a fanciful and symbolic nature: the sucker, human hair and coyote skin. The peyote was for love witchcraft purposes. It was enough to load it in a rag to benefit from its magical characteristics; this fetish exerted its faculties on the opposite sex, generating a powerful and irresistible attraction. For its part, the chupamirtos was requested for its supposed magical properties, in order to be filled with love by bringing it with it to have its desired effects. The same was the case with rosemary, it was used as an amulet because, by loading a few twigs or powder, it had its protective effect.
As we can see, the predominant thing was amulets composed of animal organic matter, since it was intended to use the vital force that was considered contained in them. But, regardless of the matter, the fetish's job was to protect the person in whose contact it is.
Juan Nepomuseno was recaptured and released on May 22, 1779, since there was no witness to ensure that Perales had a pact with the devil or that he was a sorcerer. Before being released, he was explained the falsehood of the superstitions [citation needed ] .
This case followed by Juan Nepomuseno serves as an example to show how sorcery had among its main believers the mixed man, the black and the indigenous and the poor white; they sought in them their powers against daily ills, constituting a lubricant for the difficult colonial situation.