The Americas' First Theologies
Early Sources of Post-Contact Indigenous Religion
Sergio Romero author Frauke Sachse author Garry Sparks editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:24th Aug '17
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The Theologia Indorum by Dominican friar Domingo de Vico was the first Christian theology written in the Americas. Made available in English translation for the first time, Americas' First Theologies presents a selection of exemplary sections from the Theologia Indorum that illustrate Friar Vico's doctrine of god, cosmogony, moral anthropology, understanding of natural law and biblical history, and constructive engagement with pre-Hispanic Maya religion. Rather than merely condemn the Maya religion, Vico appropriated local terms and images from Maya mythology and rituals that he thought could convey Christianity. His attempt at translating, if not reconfiguring, Christianity for a Maya readership required his mastery of not only numerous Mayan languages but also the highly poetic ceremonial rhetoric of many indigenous Mesoamerican peoples. This book also includes translations of two other pastoral texts and parts of a songbook and a catechism. These texts, written in Highland Mayan languages by fellow Dominicans, demonstrate the wider influence of Vico's ethnographic approach shared by a particular school of Dominicans. Altogether, The Americas' First Theologies provides a rich documentary case example of the translation, reception, and reaction to Christian thought in the indigenous Americas.
For scholars of Mesoamerican religious history, religion, and literature, and transatlantic Catholicism, this study offers an important and understudied topic. Scholars of religion and rhetoric in the Americas will delight at the careful analysis of rhetorical and literary intercourse. * Daniel Jones, Religious Studies Review *
This fascinating book is a time machine of sorts...The Americas' First Theologies is a landmark sourcebook in documenting the earliest period of interreligious encounter in the Americas. Although not an interfaith dialogue, the fact that two religious traditions are in conversation is a social phenomenon worth reflecting upon. Sparks and his colleagues have produced a text that not only is of historical and cultural interest, but a work that may have significant implications today as well. Use of The Americas' First Theologies in classroom settings may trigger some thought-provoking discussions. Recommended for university libraries, and commended as a prospective textbook for indigenous studies, religious studies, anthropology, comparative literature, and/or linguistics courses. * Christopher Buck, Reading Religion *
ISBN: 9780190678302
Dimensions: 236mm x 157mm x 33mm
Weight: 635g
344 pages