25th Annual Student Research Conference
Musical Syncretism in the Jesuit Republic of the Guaraní During the Latin American Colonial Period
David H. Linhares
Prof. Shirley McKamie and Dr. Bonnie Mitchell, Faculty Mentors
This essay aims to explore the Jesuits contribution to musical syncretism during their involvement with indigenous groups in colonial Latin America, specifically the Guaraní. Their efforts to Christianize the natives is placed in stark contrast to its surrounding context of the Spanish and Portuguese colonization and conquest. The principles of José de Acosta that called for the complete immersion and understanding of indigenous culture displayed Jesuits on the reductions as well as their love of the arts, provided fertile ground for a degree of cultural exchange and fusion. The blending European and Guaraní traditions had a significant impact on both the Jesuits and native Guaraní populations music and rituals. Dedication to the organization, protection and Christianization of the native people under the Jesuits control in Latin America, has amounted to the formation of a unified identity and culture amongst a people, who bear the musical and cultural influence of the rich and sorrowful history of the Latin American continent.
Keywords: musicology, Jesuits, Latin America, Spanish Conquest, syncretic music, indigenous culture
Topic(s):Anthropology
History
Music
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 304-3
Location: MG 2001
Time: 1:30