Topic: 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)
Religious sacrifices across various cultures and contexts sparked widespread interest in Early Modern Europe. As Christianity expanded into regions inhabited by "infidels" and "pagans", Europeans encountered a diverse array of sacrificial customs, ranging from the Sati rituals in India to the Aztec sacrifices in the Americas. This cross-cultural exposure captivated a wide audience, including theologians, philosophers, political thinkers, antiquarians, orientalists, missionaries, poets, artists, and even the general public. These encounters broadened the European understanding of sacrifice and led to a critical reassessment of classical and biblical sacrificial rites. This section includes:
- Sources: A selection of early modern printed materials, which include descriptions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa, alongside antiquarian and philological studies on religious sacrifice in classical antiquity and beyond. It also presents early modern works of ethnological observations and the first attempts to compare different sacrificial practices in various traditions and contexts, laying the groundwork for disciplines like the history of religions and anthropology.
- Iconographic Representations: A rich collection of images from the 16th to 18th centuries, illustrating a range of sacrificial rituals and practices as seen in different cultural and geographical contexts.
- Related Bibliography: An extensive bibliography spanning scholarly works from the 19th to 21st centuries, providing contemporary analyses and interpretations of these early studies and observations.
Beheading of Atahualpa (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4°.
Castigo a las adúlteras (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° [fol. 306].
Castigo a los que matan con ponzoña (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° [fol. 310].
Castigo, justicia, Sancay, Inquisición. (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° [fol. 302].
Castigos de vírgenes (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° [fol. 308].
Cómo lleva en tanta paciencia y amor de Jesucristo los buenos negros y negras. (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° [fol. 706].
Conquista. Don Francisco Pizarro le quema en una casa a Capac Apoguaman a Chava pidiendo oro. (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° [fol. 396].
Corregidor de minas castiga cruelmente a los caciques. (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° (f. 525).
Kusi Yupanqui (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4°.
Maltratamiento de los corregidores y padres españoles a los indios, indias pobres. (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° (fol. 922).
Muy bravo y colérico padre contra los caciques principales (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4°, fol. 594.
People of Qulla Suyu ofering a llama and basket of coca leaves to the mountain-waqa Willka Nuta (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4°.
Pobre de los Indios. De seis animales que comen que temen. (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4° [fol. 694].
Que no obedece a su padre (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4°, fol. 874.
The beheading of the Inca Tupac Amaru [ Ejecución del Inca Túpac Amaru I, en la plaza del Cuzco, año 1572 ] (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4°.
“Conçederación, Ciudad del Infierno. Penas graves, príncipe de las tinieblas, el rico, avariento, ingrato, lujuria, soberbia, castigo de los soberbios pecadores y ricos que no temen a Dios”. (1615)
from: Guamán Poma de Ayala, F. Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [1616]. Manuscript conserved in the København, Det Kongelige Bibliotek [ Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark ], GKS 2232 4°.
Ancient Tools of Torture (1591)
from: A. Gallonio, Trattato degli instrumenti di martirio e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentilicontro christiani, trattato de gli instrumenti di martirio, e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentili contro christiani, descritte et intagliate in rame, Roma, Donangeli 1591, n. 53
Ancient Tools of Torture, 2 (1591)
from: A. Gallonio, Trattato degli instrumenti di martirio e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentilicontro christiani, trattato de gli instrumenti di martirio, e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentili contro christiani, descritte et intagliate in rame, Roma, Donangeli 1591, n. 67
Ancient Tools of Torture, 2 (1591)
from: A. Gallonio, Trattato degli instrumenti di martirio e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentilicontro christiani, trattato de gli instrumenti di martirio, e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentili contro christiani, descritte et intagliate in rame, Roma, Donangeli 1591, n. 159
Ancient Tools of Torture, 3 (1591)
from: A. Gallonio, Trattato degli instrumenti di martirio e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentilicontro christiani, trattato de gli instrumenti di martirio, e delle varie maniere di martoriare usate da' gentili contro christiani, descritte et intagliate in rame, Roma, Donangeli 1591, n. 75