Allegations of Superstition and Witchcraft Before the Inquisition, 1626 (Part 1 of 2)

Several women accused others or denounced themselves to the Inquisition for engaging in superstitious activities, often involving plants or powders to control the behavior of their husbands or love interests. More often than not, the women accused of having knowledge of such practices were indigenous, not Spanish—like Doña Inés, a Tano native, and María de Villafuerte, a Mexica native from Cuautitlán. But several Santa Fe women, regardless of caste, came forward to denounce themselves or others for employing such remedies. These included María de Abendaño, who used them on her husband Diego de Vera; Isabel Holguín, who had learned about them from her Tewa servants; and Leonor Hernández, who tried to win back the love of her husband Juan de Herrera.

Juana López, the wife of Francisco de Almazán, was eager to denounce María de Abendaño and Doña Inés to the Inquisition but could not bring herself to do so in person, sending Lucas de Figueroa to testify on her behalf. Yet her enthusiasm fell short when it came to denouncing herself or her mother, María de Villafuerte, for trying out some of the charms themselves. Juana revealed one other interesting vignette—that María de Abendaño had allegedly engaged in some inappropriate behavior with the mestizo Hernán Martín Serrano, son of Doña Inés.

A paleographic transcription of witness testimony in Spanish is available in the Cibola Project’s “Cross vs. Crown in New Mexico, 1626.”

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Statement of Lucas de Figueroa to Friar Alonso de Benavides

29 January 1626

Santa Fe

In the town of Santa Fe, on the 29th day of the month of January of the year 1626, in the afternoon, before Father Friar Alonso de Benavides, Commissary of the Holy Office of these provinces of New Mexico, there appeared without being summoned and swore in due form a man who said his name was Lucas de Figueroa, residing in this town, of the age of 29 to 30 years. For the relief of his conscience, he says and denounces that about four or five days ago Juana López, a Spaniard, married to Francisco de Almazán, a Spaniard, resident of this town, sent for this declarant and told him that, as she was newly delivered of a child, she had not attended the reading of the edicts. But her husband had recounted to her some things from them, and she therefore begged this declarant to come in her name to declare and denounce what in relief of her conscience she felt before the said Father Commissary.

And it is, that a certain Doña María, whose surname this declarant does not remember, wife of Diego de Vera, Spaniards, residents of this town, said to the said Juana López that, because she had had some “bad” dealings with a mestizo called Hernando, son of an Indian woman of this land named Doña Inés, who today lives in this town, and so that the said Diego de Vera, her husband, might not see some of her improprieties nor kill the said Hernando, the said Doña Inés gave her certain powders so that she might give them to drink to her said husband Diego de Vera, and that thus she gave them. And that afterward,  although he might see her laugh and play, he would not scold her.

And later this same Doña María went to see the said Juana López, and, communicating the matter, gave her the same powders for the same purpose and showed them to her, and  they were blue in color. But the said Juana López did not wish to receive them, saying that she had no need of them, for she loved her husband very much, and thus the said Doña María took them back.

And yesterday, on that very day, when this declarant went to the house of the said Juana López, she asked him if he had come to tell the said Father Commissary the aforesaid, and when he told her no, she again directed him to come, as he has now done. And it being read to him, he said that it was well written in the same manner as the said Juana López had told it to this declarant, and that he does not say it out of malice. He promised secrecy and signed it with his name.

Friar Alonso de Benavides {rubric}                                            Lucas de Figueroa {rubric}

Commissary                                                                                     

Witnessed by

Friar Pedro de Ortega {rubric}

                                                                                                      Notary

Statement of María de Abendaño to Friar Alonso de Benavides

1 February 1626

Santa Fe

In the town of Santa Fe, on the first day of the month of February in the year 1626, in the afternoon, before Father Friar Alonso de Benavides, Commissary of the Holy Office of these provinces of New Mexico, there appeared, without being summoned, and swore in due form to tell the truth, a woman named Doña María de Abendaño, wife of Diego de Vera, vecino of this villa, who, for the relief of her conscience, said that about a year ago, or somewhat less, she was speaking with an Indian woman, native of this land, called Doña Inés, saying that her husband, Diego de Vera, scrutinized her and scolded her for every little thing. The said Indian woman, Doña Inés, told this declarant that she would give her some powders so that he might be gentle and not scold her, and this declarant asked for them and received them, and gave them to her said husband in his food. They were little flowers, yellow and blue, but they had no effect.

And this declarant states that she characterized the remedy as beneficial to a certain Juana López, and to Doña Isabel Olguín, her aunt, and to Mariana, wife of Jusepe Ramos, so that they might use those said powders which the said Indian woman Doña Inés would give them, though it was this declarant who was giving them, and she promised only to give them to Mariana, who wanted to receive them, but because they were so few she did not share them with her.

And this declarant says she did this ignorantly, not understanding it to be so grave a sin, being but a young sixteen-year-old girl, raised in such a distant land, and for this she asks mercy. And likewise she declares that Doña Isabel Olguín, wife of Captain Juan de Vitoria Caravajal, vecinos of this town, aunt of this declarant, told her how the said Indian woman, Doña Inés, gave the said Doña Isabel some powders, and she showed them to this declarant, for the said purpose, which were of a brown color, and she does not know if others knew of it.

Likewise she declares that a Mexican Indian woman, a ladina, who had been married to a Spaniard called Juan de la Cruz, and who herself is called Doña Beatriz, told this declarant how she had seen another Indian woman, also ladina, named Doña María de Villafuerte, vecina of this town, roast some fat worms that grow in dung, and that she had given them to a man, and told this declarant to do the same so that her husband would be gentle. But this declarant did not do it, and this is the truth, by the oath she has taken. And she was charged with secrecy, and she promised it.

And she further says that the said Indian woman, Doña Beatriz, told this declarant how the said María de Villafuerte, in the time when her husband Francisco López was alive, would place earth from graves beneath his pillow so that he would sleep. And she did not sign, for she does not know how.

Likewise this declarant remembers that the aforementioned Juana López, wife of Francisco de Almazán, had given this declarant a little white root and told her to give it to her husband to drink, that thereby he would love her, saying that her mother, who is the said María de Villafuerte, had sold it to another woman named Leonor, a mulata, wife of Juan de Herrera, vecinos of this town.

Likewise, she declares that, asking a certain Indian laborer named Alonso for some remedy so that she might be well loved, the said Indian gave her some black powders, like something burnt, and this declarant gave them to a man in his food so that he would love her. And this same Indian gave to this declarant a rose of Castile, and some cotton, and honey of little flies, and said that if she chewed it all together and anointed herself with the saliva upon her breasts, she would be loved; and also, that you have to spit with the same saliva.

And another Indian woman gave her some powders of maize and honey wrapped in cotton, and told her to eat it, and anoint her ears with it, and spit, and thereby she would appear fair and be loved. And of all this she made use.

She also declares that the little white root mentioned above—Doña Beatriz saw her grinding it and she asked her for it, saying she wished to give it to a man so that he would love her, and this declarant gave it to her.

Friar Alonso de Benavides {rubric}                                                Witnessed by

Commissary                                                                                     Friar Pedro de Ortega {rubric}

                                                                                                          Notary

Statement of María de Villafuerte to Friar Alonso de Benavides

29 May 1626

Santa Fe

In the town of Santa Fe, on the 29th day of the month of May in the year 1626, in the morning, before the said Father Friar Alonso de Benavides, Commissary of the Holy Office of these provinces, there appeared of her own accord, without being summoned, and swore in proper form, a woman who said her name was María de Villafuerte, about 40 years of age, a native of the town of Cuautitlán, widow of the now-deceased Francisco López, a native of Jerez, and resident of this said town of Santa Fe.

She, for the relief of her conscience, says and declares that about a year ago, some Indian women of the Tewa nation told her that a certain root was good so that men would love women. This declarant gave it to her daughter, Juana López, wife of Francisco de Almazán, resident of this town, for that same purpose, and Juana ate it. But this declarant does not know whether it had any effect.

She further declares that about a year ago she herself also gave this same root twice to a man, with the intention that he might love this declarant.

She also declares that Doña Isabel Olguín, wife of Captain Juan de Vitoria Carabajal, gave this declarant a root, telling her that she should give it to a man to eat, (correcting herself) or rather, that she herself should eat it, and with that she would forget a man for whom she had affection and whom she desired not to love. This declarant says she ate it and indeed forgot him.

She further declares that about two years ago the said Doña Isabel Olguín told her that one of her servants, an Indian woman of the Tewa nation, had advised her to vomit and then to give what she expelled from her mouth in the food of a man she loved so that he would love her in return. But that she, Doña Isabel, had not wanted to do it because it was filthy (or vulgar). And that when she told her these things, no one else was present but the two of them.

She also thinks that Doña Isabel Olguín told her how she had once given some powders to a man she loved so that he might love her; that this was something her Indian servant of the Tewa nation had told her to do; and that it must have been drunkenness (borrachera),[i] for it had no effect. This declarant thinks she may have told this once to her daughter, Juana López, but to no one else.

She also declares that about a year ago, while in the church of this town, speaking with Leonor Hernández, a mulata woman, native of Querétaro in New Spain, married to Juan de Herrera, a Spaniard, both residents of this town of Santa Fe, Leonor said to this declarant that her husband was leaving her for another woman. This declarant gave her a root that grows in this land and told her to give it to her husband Juan de Herrera to eat, assuring her that with that he would not leave her for another. And that it was no sin when given to one’s own husband, but that with others it was, as she had heard it said in New Spain when she was a girl (though she does not remember by whom). And that after Leonor had given the root, some days later this declarant asked her how it had gone, and she replied that it had been of no effect, for her husband Juan de Herrera still went to the house of another woman.

And this is the truth, and for it she asks mercy. She was charged with secrecy, and she did not sign because she did not know how. It was signed by the said Father Commissary.

Friar Alonso de Benavides {rubric}                                        Witnessed by

Commissary                                                                             Friar Pedro de Ortega {rubric}

                                                                                                  Notary

Continued in Part 2.

[i] The term drunkenness or intoxication doesn’t make much sense in this sentence. Perhaps the word had another colloquial meaning.

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Sources:

Viridiana Rivera Álvarez and Jerry R. Craddock, “Cross vs. Crown in New Mexico, 1626” UC Berkeley Research Center for Romance Studies, Cibola Project, 2019. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0xq1g5b3 

Archivo General de la Nación 

Inquisición, Volumen 356, Expediente 116 and 117, fol. 310r-311v (Images 83719, 83721, 83722)

Available at: https://repositorio.agn.gob.mx/