Religious influences in Peru Rebecca Schnaar Mary Louks Allsion Marek

Indigenous Practices in Peru

The Incas and the Andeans  The Incas took over and ruled the Andeans.  Non-Incas paid tribute to them, because under the Sun God, they were superior.

 Variations in religious practices were found from village to village.  They worshipped many gods and deities.

Gods  Vira Cocha: God of Creation  Pachacamac: God of the Earth (animator of the Earth)  Sun God  Moon Goddess

Sun God

Vira Cocha

Sacrifices  Sacrifices ranged from small amounts of food to humans.  Corn was sacrificed everyday as a tribute to Inti.

Sun God  In order to salute the Sun God every morning, villages were built facing eastward.  Gold was believed to be his tears and was used to celebrate him at festivals.

Pizarro’s Arrival  The Indigenous people thought that Pizarro and the Spanish were Vira Cochas.  During his arrival, people were undergoing warfare. This worked towards his advantage.  He killed the leader and the rest could not resist.

Incan Attempts at Revolt  In 1780, there was a supposed revolt led by an Incan descendant.  This was suppressed by the Spanish.  There have been no successful or major attempted revolts led by Incan groups since this event.

Incan Ruins

Impact of Religious Beliefs on Women’s Equality and Family Structure

 Religious influences impacts women’s access to resources, affecting family size, poverty, inequality, health and abuse.  Both indigenous religious customs and the Catholic Church embrace a patriarchal system, where men share a disproportionate amount of power in decision-making, polity and economy.  This limits women ’ s roles within the public sector and marginalizes women within the private division of labor.

 Indigenous traditions and Catholic beliefs limit women’s access to birth control.  Internalized values of fertility and control of family size and contraception are reinforced through cultural and religious roles.  Limited access to birth control, raises family size as high as ten or more children in rural areas, which in turn increases poverty, HIV/AIDS, and women ’ s health concerns.

 Women in Peru suffer gender-specific human rights violations including violence and sexual abuse.  A patriarchal system and machismo culture is thought to influence levels of violence.  A survey completed in 2000 estimated that 51 per cent of Lima women and 69 percent of Cusco women have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partner.

 Levels of violence are thought to be even higher, as it is thought that much abuse goes unreported, due to a pervasive belief that a woman who have been raped or sexually assaulted must, in some way, be responsible for the crime.  Therefore, many women are apprehensive of reprisal, have difficulty seeking justice, and fear that their complaints will not be taken seriously or the police may investigate their sexual history inappropriately.

Indigenous Women’s Group Protesting Violence

 Catholic Relief Services and other NGO organizations have implemented women’s shelters and homes to provide health care, education, and safety.  However, critics argue for a sterner focus on prevention rather than treatment by implementing access to birth control and raising women’s economic contributions through job training and education, which are both thought to increase women’s overall independence and well-being.

Colonization’s Impact on Indigenous Practices

 According to the 1993 census, 89% of Peru’s population over the age of 12, are Catholic.  This is a direct result of colonization.

Church in Colca, Peru

 The native people rather than rejecting their traditions, have intertwined them with the Catholic faith.  A highly visible example of this layering of faiths is the festival of Corpus Christi.

 There is a procession of Virgins and Saints through the streets of Cusco.  The native dishes and drinks are still prepared as well.

 Another group that has assimilated Catholic traditions is a group that immigrated much later, the Jewish community of Iquitos.  They live in the Amazon region of Peru and immigrated during the rubber boom.  Many men married native women and participate in elements of the Catholic faith.