The Witches of Abiquiu: The Governor, the Priest, the Genizaro Indians, and the Devil

by Malcolm Ebright, Rick Hendricks, Glen Strock (Illustrator)

The little-known story of a priest's charges of witchcraft among Indians in mid-eighteenth-century New Mexico and how the Spanish government rejected the charges in the effort to achieve peace with their Native subjects.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2006

Reviews

[refgoddess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting story of culture clash and religion in the early southwest. Should be required reading for all New Mexicans, imho. Or at least, anyone interested in understanding the concept of the Genizaro.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scholarly account of accusations of witchcraft in New Mexico. Fascinating to me that this occurred before the Battle of Yorktown. I picked this up because I lived in New Mexico and know the areas discussed, and Isabel Cañas mentioned this book as inspiration for The Hacienda.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The US had witch trials *after* Salem’s. These were a result of cross cultural misunderstandings, the influence of The Inquisition, greed, superstition, a feeling of a lack of control by the priests, and a host of other, mundane reasons. “In a kind of circular self-fulfilling prophecy, the Franciscans viewed native religious ceremonies as witchcraft, and the Indians used witchcraft against the Franciscans as a form of resistance to Christianization.” No burnings or hangings resulted altho one German who escaped prison later died in the desert - the Jornada del Muerto. Some accusations were reminiscent of Salem, others were just silly. Most regrettable from religious and aesthetic POVs was the defacement of the two stone lions in the Jemez mountains. By now the Inquisition had lost interest in love magic, shape-shifting, and demonic possession. And the Church decided that much was the result of the missionaries not bothering to learn the language. Civil authorities also undermined the local priests’ hysteria as they recognized the local herbalists as benign. And the fires died when fuel was no longer provided.
Read also Marc Simmons’s books.

[Jennifer Bohnhoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

The village of Abiquiu, in Northern New Mexico, had witch trials after the ones that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, but for a number of reasons, which may include the fact that these ended much better and that these happened under Spanish, not English jurisdiction, no one knows about them.

The trials in Abiquiu seem to stem from cultural misunderstandings between the Spanish priests and the genizaros, Indians from mixed tribes who were trying to preserve their own cultures. “In a kind of circular self-fulfilling prophecy, the Franciscans viewed native religious ceremonies as witchcraft, and the Indians used witchcraft against the Franciscans as a form of resistance to Christianization.”

No burnings or hangings resulted from these trials. One one death was that of a German trader who escaped from prison but died in the Jornada del Muerto, the waterless track that had claimed so many others. Some accusations were reminiscent of Salem, others were just the bizarre statements of an hysterical priest. Unfortunately, some ancient art, most notably two stone lions in the Jemez mountains, were destroyed.

The reason this witch hunt ended so peacefully was because the Inquisition had lost interest in love magic and the Church decided that the missionaries' not bothering to learn the language had caused much of the misunderstandings. Civil authorities, specifically one Governor, recognized that allowing the indigenous peoples to use their local herbalists was benign and helped keep the territory calm and governable.

This is not an easy book to read. It rambles and doesn't alway seem logical. But it covers an important period in history that more people should be aware of. Important reading for anyone who wants to understand genizaro culture.

[Cheryl Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a readable history, particularly the introduction and conclusion, of an apparently forgotten chapter of New Mexico's history, and of North America's religious history. The internal chapters made details of the Abiquiu witch trials accessible to those of us who neither read 18th-century Spanish nor have access to the documents. The authors are quite humane in dealing with people on both sides of a big culture clash.

[Coreena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and I appreciated learning about the area where I live and my family came from. There was much here that made me think of my grandmother, who I'm told was something of a curandera back in the day. The writing was sometimes dry or repetitive, but as it was an academic book, I appreciated the thoroughness.

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exhaustive and detailed account of the witchcraft hysteria in Abiquiu between 1756 and 1766. Excellent overview of the history of New Mexico, reframing Abiquiu as the middle ground between opposing forces even before the Spaniards.

[Jackie Easley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The little-known story of a priest's charges of witchcraft among Indians in mid-eighteenth-century New Mexico and how the Spanish government rejected the charges in the effort to achieve peace with their Native subjects. Good historical book.

[CHRISTINE PADILLA · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABIQUIU NEW MEXICO THE TRUE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH A PRIEST AND THE WITCHCRAFT IN THIS TOWN

[Magister · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors' weird imputations of benevolent intent to Velez Capuchin were both puzzling and disconcerting.

[Lori Sheats · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject that was bogged down in the prose.

[Trent Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is PACKED with information...It's like a textbook for Genizario's 101...It really fills in the gap in history regarding 18th century New Mexico....I found out that one of my distant relatives was an accused Sorcerer!!...This is a great book for anyone interested in Northern New Mexico history...and the story is kinda spooky.....I'm wondering how big a part PEYOTE played in all the demon "possessions"?? Maybe some one in the village got a hold of some "bad" peyote?!!! ;)

[Ed Dodson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic but poorly written and redundant.

[Jami Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult but fascinating.