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The Spanish were surprised by how difficult it was to convert the Andeans to Catholicism, as they seemed

particularly stuck to their traditions and ways of life (MacCormack 141). Practice of the Aztec Religion had been

quite easily stamped out by comparison. The survival of the Andean Tradition was due in part to the rugged

terrain which made movement by the Spanish difficult. It was also due in part to its diversity; it was difficult for

the Spanish to identify all the religious practices when their only frame of reference to start with had been the

Inca, whose religion was only superficially similar to that of their subjects.

But more than anything what allowed the Andean Tradition to survive was it’s history of syncretism.

Rather than be stamped out by Catholicism, the Andean faith system merely changed to adapt to its new masters.

In fact, Andean tradition played a large role in creating and empowering colonial Christianity (Mills 3). The

practice of reverence to the saints in Catholicism was similar enough to the reverence of huacas that the Andeans

found it quite simple to adopt the saints as such. The Catholic practice of tearing down Andean temples and

building churches in their place made it simple for Andeans to be willing to accept the price of baptism in order to

enter what they still perceived as their temples.

The 17th century saw attempts by the Archdiocese of Lima to attempt to put an end to Idolatry throughout

Peru via a practice of Extirpation. In this practice, missionaries would be sent to Andean communities where they

to report all non-christian practices to the authorities, who would then take over the conversion process of the

locals. Ironically, it is through the reports of these extirpators that much of our knowledge of the Andean Tradition

survived (Mills 3). By the 1660s, the extirpators were actually taking a rather light approach toward Andean

Practices, especially those that had made their way into the practice of the Christian faith. Many claimed that the

idolatry they did witness was “harmless” and a result of “mistaken beliefs in the worship of God.”

As much as the Spanish may have believed in the superiority of their religion, there was no doubt that the

tenants of that religion were being adapted more and more by the local Andeans (MacCormack 285). Toribio

Alfonso de Mogrovejo, Archbishop of Lima from 1581 to 1606 even observed the the Andeans were actually

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