African slaves were forced into societies with cultures that were very different from their own. When they were forced to leave their homes and were taken to the Americas many of them took much of their cultural identities with them. Some slaves still managed to maintain some of their beliefs and practices by passing on knowledge to their children. Over time many Africans had become devout Christians and Catholics, they began to speak Spanish or other European languages, and they adopted many European practices. In order to maintain a sense of their heritage slaves modified their beliefs and cultural practices to suite their new surroundings (Thornton, 209-210).
The Catholic Church was very strict in their beliefs and anything that strayed from that was considered to be of the Devil (McKnight & Garofalo, 174). It was not uncommon for an Afro-Latino, free or slave, to be accused of witchcraft or sorcery because they would continue to practice their pagan beliefs. Many Africans and would use “a variety of charms, talismans, and rituals to bring themselves luck and to protect themselves from various maladies” (McKnight & Garofalo, 176). This practice was brought with them from Africa, but the Church saw it as a threat and as idolatrous and therefore it was a crime.
One woman who continued to follow African practices was tried and convicted of witchcraft. She was a baptized Catholic, but her beliefs were somewhat modified because of the knowledge she had of her African culture. Paula de Eguiluz was tried three times for witchcraft; in 1624, 1632, and 1636 (McKnight & Garofalo, 175-177). She was accused of killing an infant, disappearing without a trace, selling potions, and numerous other acts. Paula de Eguiluz had done nothing wrong, in fact her explanations for each and every one of her accusations were very logical. The baby was going to die anyway because its belly was swollen and all she did was wrap the baby up with some herbs, yet she was accused of sucking “the life out of her through her naval” (McKnight & Garofalo, 183). She was also accused of disappearing and landing on a rocky area without getting hurt. Her explanation for that was that she jumped out a window and landed in the water which is why she was unharmed. Another accusation was that she had taken bones from a grave to grind up and give to her master to help him get better. She said she was told to grind up the bones with some orange peel and rosemary and give to her master to remedy a fever, but she did not because her master would not let her. The simple acts of putting herbs on a dying baby and wanting to help her master get better caused her to be accused of witchcraft. She had done nothing wrong except to follow pagan practices.
Thornton argued that Africans brought their individual cultures over to the Americas and due to the European influence that they encountered cultures were modified (Thornton, 206). This becomes evident when looking at the trials of Paula de Eguiluz. She was baptized as a Catholic and appears to believe in the Christian doctrine, yet her actions show that she still maintained some of her African culture. She continued to use herbal remedies for healing and spells and even tried to give Christian purposes to them to satisfy the Church, but they were not satisfied (McKnight & Garofalo, 177). Unfortunately Paula de Eguiluz was unable to practice and maintain her cultural practices without scrutiny, but it is evident that African culture did not disappear once Africans were brought to the Americas.
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