Advertir el parentesco espiritual. Compadrazgo, sociabilidad y redes de poder en Jesus de Machaca (corregimiento de Pacajes, Charcas, siglo XVII)

Abstract

As an effect of the regulations issued by the III Limense Council (1583-1591) and the first synods of Charcas (1619-1620), the requirement to record the baptisms, marriages and burials of the native population led the parish priests of the Andean south to prepare and preserve the respective books as documentary evidence of the daily practices of their offices. This article aims to explore the first book of baptisms of the pueblo of Jesús de Machaca (Pacajes province, Charcas, Viceroyalty of Perú), whose pages contain traces of the work of the successive priests of the town between 1633 and 1673. Specifically, we analyze compadrazgo practices among parishioners, deployed according to the criteria for selecting godparents for boys and girls who were born within the family groups of the ayllu of the pueblo. We also deepen the genealogical framework of the cacical family, the Fernández Guarachi, and their links with lesser authorities and ecclesiastical auxiliaries. Finally, we inquire into the link between the local priests and the higher instances of the diocesan government from the records of the episcopal visitas contained in the book, which sought (not always successfully) to shape the daily life of the parish.