Pastoral Quechua explores the story of how the Spanish priests and missionaries of the Catholic church in post-conquest Peru systematically attempted to “incarnate” Christianity in Quechua, a large family of languages and dialects spoken by the dense Andes populations once united under the Inca empire. By codifying (and imposing) a single written standard, based on a variety of Quechua spoken in the former Inca capital of Cuzco, and through their translations of devotional, catechetical, and liturgical texts for everyday use in parishes, the missionary translators were on the front lines of Spanish colonialism in the Andes.
The Christian pastoral texts in Quechua are important witnesses to colonial interactions and power relations. Durston examines the broad historical contexts of Christian writing in Quechua; the role that Andean religious images and motifs were given by the Spanish translators in creating a syncretic Christian-Andean iconography of God, Christ, and Mary; the colonial linguistic ideologies and policies in play; and the mechanisms of control of the subjugated population that can be found in the performance practices of Christian liturgy, the organization of the texts, and even in certain aspects of grammar.
Pastoral Quechua explores the story of how the Spanish priests and missionaries of the Catholic church in post-conquest Peru systematically attempted to “incarnate” Christianity in Quechua, a large family of languages and dialects spoken by the dense Andes populations once united under the Inca empire. By codifying (and imposing) a single written standard, based on a variety of Quechua spoken in the former Inca capital of Cuzco, and through their translations of devotional, catechetical, and liturgical texts for everyday use in parishes, the missionary translators were on the front lines of Spanish colonialism in the Andes.
The Christian pastoral texts in Quechua are important witnesses to colonial interactions and power relations. Durston examines the broad historical contexts of Christian writing in Quechua; the role that Andean religious images and motifs were given by the Spanish translators in creating a syncretic Christian-Andean iconography of God, Christ, and Mary; the colonial linguistic ideologies and policies in play; and the mechanisms of control of the subjugated population that can be found in the performance practices of Christian liturgy, the organization of the texts, and even in certain aspects of grammar.
Alan Durston is assistant professor of history at York University, Toronto, Canada.
“For specialists in Andean languages, Pastoral Quechua is
obligatory reading. For the nonspecialist, this is a fresh and
enlightening way of looking at history. In most colonial church
histories language appears as a subtopic under evangelization. In
this case, language itself, and the background battles over
language, become the lens through which the reader views and
relives colonial Andean history.” —The Catholic Historical
Review
“In this careful study of Quechua pastoral texts Durston's research
is fundamental, opening up news ways of understanding how decisions
about translation affected the growth and development of
Christianity in South America. Pastoral Quechua is a 'must-read'
for all scholars of the colonial Andes.” —Journal of Ecclesiastical
History
“A study of how Catholic priests and missionaries attempted to
‘incarnate’ Christianity in Quechua by codifying a single written
standard grounded in a version of the language spoken in the former
Inca capital of Cuzco.” —The Chronicle of High Education
“. . . an indispensable and original tool for those in the field of
Spanish and Portuguese linguistics, colonial Latin American
history, and the history of the Catholic Church. . . . Although
this is a complex and scholarly work, Durston's close examination
of the unusual subject matter and his transparent writing make the
work very interesting, even for the non-specialist.” —Catholic
Library World
“Pastoral Quechua is a remarkable new addition to the
interdisciplinary studies of colonial Peru. Combining the fields of
history and linguistics, Alan Durston’s study develops a holistic
understanding of Christian translation into Quechua, the principal
language family of the former Inca Empire.… His many discussions
about the institutional struggles for colonial power through the
use of the written language open new avenues of analysis for all
those interested in colonial history and historical and
anthropological linguistics, and for literary critics of this
period.” —Colonial Latin American Historical Review
“The volume is worth the effort of even the non-specialist. Few
have the skills to reach this level of analysis. Durston has made a
major contribution to Andean studies with this well-written and
carefully researched analysis.” —American Historical Review
“ . . . Durston has written a carefully documented history of the
many ways in which Spaniards sought to study, learn, and then
employ Quechua to convert the newest members of the Church’s flock.
. . . Durston’s excellent study will be useful to scholars in many
fields: linguistics, anthropology, theology, Quechua literature,
semantics, history, sociology, and Hispanic studies.” —Renaissance
Quarterly
“Durston’s book explains how pastoral Quechua developed and why it
never became a universal written standard for nonpastoral uses.
Some of the analyses are little masterpieces of research. . . . His
analysis of Ore’s hymns and its intertexts is a marvel. His study
of the ways in which Christian writers substituted Andean tropes
and images for European ones is another masterpiece of analysis.”
—Hispanic American Historical Review
“Durston’s achievement, which is a major contribution, is to show
us the detailed and complex inner workings of the Spanish theory of
domination through Quechua translation. The book is highly
recommended.” —Church History
“Pastoral Quechua, with its subtle and complex analysis, is the
long-awaited book that successfully charts the correlation between
conquest and religious translation in Peru.” —Latin American
Studies
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