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What the Book Explores

In Moon, Sun, and Witches, anthropologist Irene Silverblatt examines the complex evolution of gender roles and social hierarchies in the Andean world, spanning from the heights of the Inca Empire through the early centuries of Spanish colonial rule. The work is a critical study of how political power, religious ideology, and gender identity are inextricably linked. The author explores how the transition from a native imperial system to a colonial one fundamentally restructured the lives and symbolic meanings of Andean women.

Gender Parallelism in the Inca Empire

The first part of the book explores the concept of “gender parallelism” that defined the pre-Columbian Andean world. Silverblatt explains that Inca society was organized into two parallel spheres: one for men and one for women. This was not a system of absolute equality, but one of mutual necessity and symbolic symmetry. Men traced their descent through their fathers to the Sun (Inti), while women traced theirs through their mothers to the Moon (Mama Killa). The author examines how this parallelism extended into the economy, where women held their own rights to land and resources, and into the religious sphere, where the Coya (the Queen) and the priestesses of the Moon maintained their own independent ritual hierarchies.

The Impact of Colonial Patriarchy

The work then turns to the profound shifts brought about by the Spanish conquest. Silverblatt explores how the imposition of Western patriarchal structures and European property laws dismantled the traditional Andean gender systems. Under Spanish rule, the legal and social status of women was diminished as they were increasingly defined by their relationship to men. The author examines how the colonial state and the Catholic Church collaborated to enforce a new social order that marginalized indigenous women, stripping them of the institutional power they had held under the Incas. This transition is framed not just as a cultural clash, but as a systematic restructuring of class and gender to suit the needs of a colonial economy.

Witchcraft as Resistance

A central and compelling theme of the book is the analysis of “witchcraft” during the colonial period. Silverblatt examines how traditional Andean religious practices, once the domain of respected priestesses and healers, were rebranded as diabolical by the Spanish Inquisition and the “Extirpation of Idolatries” campaigns. The author explores the ways in which indigenous women, pushed to the margins of the new colonial society, used these traditional practices as a form of resistance. By maintaining ties to the local spirits (huacas) and ancestors, these women—labeled as witches by the authorities—preserved Andean identity and created a counter-hegemonic space. The work suggests that the figure of the “witch” in colonial Peru was a product of the colonial imagination, used to pathologize indigenous spiritual resilience.

Historical / Cultural Context

Published in 1987, Moon, Sun, and Witches appeared during a transformative era in the fields of anthropology and history. It was part of a broader movement toward “ethnohistory”—a discipline that combines the archival methods of history with the cultural insights of anthropology to recover the voices of those often omitted from the traditional historical record. At the time of its writing, most histories of the Inca Empire focused almost exclusively on the male-dominated political and military hierarchies. Silverblatt’s work was instrumental in shifting the focus toward gender as a primary category of historical analysis.

The book also reflects the intellectual climate of the late 20th century, which sought to understand the long-term psychological and social impacts of colonialism. By focusing on the Andes, a region with a deep and persistent indigenous identity, Silverblatt provides a case study in how symbolic systems—like the celestial pairing of Moon and Sun—can be both a tool of statecraft and a site of cultural survival. The work remains relevant for its examination of how external systems of belief are imposed upon a population and how those populations adapt, resist, and reinterpret their own traditions under pressure.

Who This Book Is For

This work is intended for readers with a scholarly interest in the history of the Andes, gender studies, and the anthropology of religion. It provides a detailed academic look at how ideologies are used to justify and maintain class distinctions. Those interested in the “psychology of belief” will find the sections on the Extirpation of Idolatries particularly insightful, as they detail the process by which a society’s sacred traditions are transformed into “superstition” or “evil” by an outside power. While the book is an academic text with extensive notes and citations, its clear prose makes it accessible to any general reader interested in the intersection of mythology, power, and human behavior. It is a vital source for anyone seeking to understand the symbolic frameworks that continue to influence Andean culture today.

Further Reading

To further explore the themes of gender, colonialism, and Andean culture, the following works are recommended:

• The First New Chronicle and Good Government by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala – A primary source that documents the same period from an indigenous perspective.
• Women in the Crucible of Conquest by Karen Vieira Powers – An exploration of how women of various backgrounds navigated the challenges of early colonial Latin America.
• The Huarochirí Manuscript – A 16th-century record of Andean myths that provides primary evidence of the religious traditions discussed by Silverblatt.
• Daughters of the Inca by Beryl J. Gillespie – A study of the roles of women in Inca history and society.

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