I do believe
that both Corrasco and Clendinnen are trying to send similar messages. In both
of these books, the Spaniards have specific goals that they are trying to meet.
They are trying to convert the indigenous to become more like Spaniards and to
become the superior people in order to rule the land. In Inga Clendinnen's Ambivalent Conquests, he shows many events where the Spaniards are
trying to solidify themselves in the Mayan life by having them change their
lifestyles to eventually live like the Spaniards did. This is very difficult
for the indigenous because they had previously lived very different lives from
the Spanish. Although the Spanish tried their best to turn these indigenous
into Spaniards, it was very clear that they never really converted to
Christianity. In my opinion, they just understood and respected the religion of
the Spaniards to comply but they still had their old mentality.
In
The Other Conquest by Salvador Carrasco, it is very clear that the friar
had intentions of converting Topiltzin into a Christian but he was making it
very difficult because he already had another way of life drilled into his
head. Once you have lived a certain way for so long, it is very hard just to
rid of those ideas just by looking at a statue of the Virgin Mary. Although for
a while, the Friar thought that he had converted Topiltzin because of the way
that he acted when he would come around the statue, he had not. In reality, he
still had his old mentality and just ended up being confused.
I agree with you. I thought movie The Other Conquest and the book Ambivalent Conquest were both try to convey the same message. The message, that the conquest was not one side wholly dominating the other, but two sides changing one another. In the movie you can see several instances of misunderstanding and the inability to convey an idea to the other person. This left both sides confused and most likely frustrated. Thus in sighting changes, such as Topiltzin’s change in dress adoption of the Spanish language, and his seeming devotion, if not obsession, to the Virgin Mary. Also the Friar’s views on how to handle the indigenous people changed over the course of this movie. This affected the way these two men treated each other in this movie.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to the book, I like how you focus a lot on the Spaniard’s obvious attempts to insert themselves into Mayan life. I would also like to mention how the Spaniards freely added saints, especially virgin saints in hope of making the Mayans see their gods as Christian saints. This was done in hope of making converting the Mayans easier. These saints were an example of the Spanish changing to fit the natives. I would have liked it though if you had also pointed out some of the points where the Mayans had changed to fit more with the Spaniards. Rather in adopting their form of dress, their language and even a form of their religion. I do agree with your point though, and I liked how you presented it.