Sarah Loomis

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Status, Seduction, and Beheadings:

The Purépecha Judith as Gender Subversion in the Relación de Michoacán

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Introduction

It can be difficult to develop a nuanced understanding of gender relations in historical

settings. The writers and compilers of historical archives are often men of power, who tend to

take a stereotyped and non-critical view of gender, particularly for gender identities and

experiences that differ from their own. Taking such documents as a source, simplified and

stereotypic interpretations of gender systems can be reified in historical scholarship. This is

further compounded in colonial settings, in which the effort to assimilate native peoples to the

beliefs and customs of their conquerors can lead to the erasure of native cultures and their

systems of gender relations. While these limitations must be acknowledged, the archival record

can nevertheless provide important historical context that, alongside other sources of information

such as archaeological artifacts and ethnographic accounts, can aid in the interpretation of the

social structures within these societies. My interest is in gender relations among the pre-Hispanic

peoples of West Mexico – the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Colima, Zacatecas, and Michoacán.

This essay will analyze representations of gender in both the text and illustrations of the

Relación de Michoacán1, a Spanish colonial history of the Purépecha people of Michoacán,

written based on interviews with the noblemen of this society. Although representations of

women are rare within the Relación de Michoacán, common themes emerge which shed light on

the social construction of gender within Purépecha society, as viewed through the lens of
1
Full title: Relacion de las çerimonias y rrictos y poblaçion y gobernaçion de los yndios de la provinçia
de Mechuacán hecha al yllustrisimo señor don Antonio de Mendoça, virrey y governador desta Nueva
España por su majestad (or, in English, Chronicle of the Ceremonies and Rites and Population and
Governance of the Indians of the Province of Michoacán Made for the Most Illustrious Sir Antonio de
Mendoza, Viceroy and Governor of This New Spain, for His Majesty).
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Spanish colonial government. Gender in Purépecha society was expressed in the body through

dress, labor, and familial ties. Embodiment of gender identity served to maintain gender roles

and the systems of differential social status which they supported. Even in instances where

embodied and status-driven gender binaries are violated, such as the historical tale of Tariacuri’s

daughter beheading an enemy nobleman, the use of gender stereotypes and symbolism to outline

the exceptionalism of this gender nonconforming character ultimately reinforces the gender roles

that define Purépecha society.

The Relación de Michoacán as Archive

For this project, I chose to examine the Relación de Michoacán, an illustrated codex

discussing life in Michoacán both during and prior to the time of Spanish conquest. “Codex” (pl.

“codices”) is an inclusive term for the diverse handwritten manuscripts that document the

indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica, especially those with painted illustrations of events and

customs (Florescano 2017; Noguez 2017). In a few precious instances, these books were written

and illustrated prior to the Spanish conquest. These are typically religious texts kept by priests to

provide records of sacred calendars, ceremonies, and prognostications. Written in indigenous

languages, these can provide great insights into ancient civilizations, but the majority were

destroyed during the Spanish conquest, due to their associations with indigenous idolatries. The

majority of surviving codices, then, were written during the Spanish conquest and colonization

of the Americas.

Some colonial documents were written by indigenous people themselves, while others

were written by Spanish officials and clerics. Indigenous people “produced histories, tribute lists,

maps, and genealogies to legitimize their power and fight against the encroachment of Spaniards,
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other indigenous groups, and even other members of their own families” (Afanador-Pujol 2015:

4). Although these documents represent indigenous perspectives, their political goals and the

influence of Spanish colonialism on indigenous societies distance these accounts from the

original pre-Hispanic beliefs and practices of these societies. These concerns are compounded in

documents written by Spanish authors. These authors generally produced ethnographic accounts.

Their descriptions of indigenous customs, beliefs, history, and government were used to “gain

useful information for [Spanish] religious, economic, personal, and political enterprises”

(Afanador-Pujol 2015: 4), such as land dispute and inheritance negotiations, colonial

governance, and Catholic conversion. Despite the self-serving interests of these documents, they

were generally written based on in-person observations of and discussions with indigenous

peoples, providing opportunities for indigenous informants to make their own voices and

interests heard. In many cases, indigenous artists were also hired to illustrate the manuscripts.

The Relación de Michoacán is one such document. It was created circa 1540 at the

request of the first viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza. Its author is unknown, but

believed to be the Franciscan friar, Jerónimo de Alcalá (Afanador-Pujol 2015). The document

was created as a means of preserving indigenous knowledge and history. The information

contained in the Relación was provided by the Purépechas, also known as the Tarascans, the

descendants of a mighty pre-Hispanic empire. The account included descriptions of places,

historical figures, gods, and titles referring to indigenous social groups. Following these are

descriptions of the governmental structure, rulers, military strategies, and ceremonial customs of

the Purépecha Empire. Finally, the document includes a firsthand account by Don Pedro

Cuiniarangari of the conquest of the empire by the Spaniards, ending with the execution of the

final ruler or cazonci, Zinzicha Tangaxoan, in 1530.

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The Relación de Michoacán is a “small book, approximately 20.5 x 14.5 cm” (Afanador-

Pujol 2015: 2). It was handwritten and illustrated on “European handmade linen-fiber paper”

(Afanador-Pujol 2015: 2). Like other codices of the early Spanish colonial period in Mexico, the

document was illustrated by indigenous artists. The current form of the document totals 139

pages in length, with 44 hand-painted illustrations. It was, however, originally longer. Parts were

removed prior to its binding and conservation in the Royal Library of the Monastery of San

Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, where it has resided from the sixteenth-century to the present day.

Based on the description of the document that its author gives in the Prologue, the entirety of a

section on religious ceremonies has been removed, most likely to prevent indigenous people

from replicating them after conversion to Christianity. The section describing Purépecha customs

and history has been rearranged, and may also have had pages removed. Following this ill-

advised editorial work, the document was bound in a “fine honey-colored leather cover, which

bears the monastery’s emblem” (Afanador-Pujol 2015: 3). Over time, an added text on the

indigenous calendar system, multiple page-numbering systems, and several restoration efforts

have created the current conditions of the document.

Rather than viewing the original document, still housed in the monastery library in Spain,

I viewed a facsimile copy, accompanied by thorough annotations, that was available for study at

Harvard’s Tozzer Library. The facsimile reproduced the appearance of the original as closely as

possible. It was a small, but thick volume. The pages were yellowed, almost apricot-colored in

places. The paper was thick, stiff, and rough. All the stains, rips, and other imperfections of the

original had been reproduced, including areas that had been painted over in white and rewritten

on, areas that show ink through from the other side of the page, and page numbering that had

been added in pencil. The text was handwritten with several different “hands” identifiable, each
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responsible for a lengthy segment of the book. There were wide spaces between lines of writing

and at the margins. Paragraphs were long, so in many places entire pages were taken up by

blocks of text, but where paragraph breaks do occur they were marked by a long graceful line to

the edge of the page. Seals representing the Royal Library of San Lorenzo were stamped in

several places throughout the text. Chapter titles were in larger, thicker ink, often accompanied

by illustrations. The illustrations were drawn in ink, with color washes added on top. Often a

border outlined the illustration. A few areas had been whited out and re-drawn. Only on the

frontispiece (Plate 1) has an unwanted part been drawn over without whiting out – a leafy screen

drawn over the figure of a politically contentious individual (Afanador-Pujol 2015: 25). Some

pages had been intentionally left blank for illustrations, but never filled. The cover was the least

convincing part of the reproduction. It was made of deep reddish-brown imitation leather on

cardboard. An ornate pattern had been stamped onto both the front and back covers and colored

black. The spine has the title (Relación de Michoacán) in gilded lettering on a patch of darker

brown. The front inside cover has identifying information for the Harvard library system while

back inside cover has a certification of authenticity describing this as the 19th reproduction copy

of this text. Overall, it seemed to faithfully reproduce many of the details that are suggestive of

the context in which the Relación was written. I was especially pleased with the detailed, full-

color illustrations (all of which can be found in Appendix A, referenced with Plate numbers

throughout this essay; see also images of the cover, handwritten text, and overall reproduction in

Appendix B).

I was drawn to this document for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Relación is “one of the

earliest surviving illustrated manuscripts from colonial Mexico” (Afanador-Pujol 2015: 2),

predating better-known works such as Bernadino de Sahagún’s Florentine Codex. Its

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ethnographic format provides in-depth information about Purépecha culture and history that

allows insight into the role that gender played in this society. Moreover, through its interviews

with indigenous nobility and illustrations by indigenous artists, it privileges indigenous voices,

although it is not free from biases introduced by the translation and commentary of its Spanish

author. The illustrations were especially compelling to me, since they represent an unmediated

expression of Purépecha viewpoints, hearkening back to a pre-Hispanic artistic tradition.

The illustrations of the Relación were not given official attribution, but were likely

created by Purépecha painter-officials known as carariecha (sing. carari). These artists were

kept on retainer by Purépecha nobility. Since carariecha were full-time artists and attached to

noble families, they were both skilled at their work and knowledgeable about the histories of

royal families. Politically, their allegiance was to these families who paid for their living

expenses and materials. The illustrations, then, were designed to reflect noble priorities and self-

perceptions. In order to suit the tastes of both their noble benefactors and the Spanish colonial

officials that the nobles wished to influence, the carariecha used a combination of indigenous

and European artistic conventions. Spanish friars and colonial officials introduced European

artistic works and techniques to the new world through imported prints, books, and paintings.

These images “were often used to educate indigenous pupils in the Christian doctrine”

(Afanador-Pujol 2015: 35) and other aspects of European culture and history. Through this

religious and cultural instruction, indigenous artists became familiar with European artistic

conventions, copying many images onto the walls of newly built convents and using them as

models for images in manuscripts for their noble Purépecha and Spanish clients. The indigenous

illustrations also share many artistic conventions with pre-Hispanic and colonial indigenous
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artwork from across Mesoamerica, where there was a long history of using such works to keep

records of indigenous histories and religious ceremonies.

Despite the indigenous input in the authorship and illustration of the Relación, its

representation of Purépecha society is influenced in multiple ways by the social viewpoints of

those involved in its creation. The Relación was written by and for Spanish colonial leaders in

order to reify colonial power structures. It reproduces common 16th-century European stereotypes

about both women and indigenous people. The interests of the Franciscan friar who acted as

primary author were to represent indigenous gods and worship in a way that encourages them to

be replaced by Christian beliefs and morality. Indigenous immorality – idolatry, human sacrifice,

drunkenness, warfare, and the like – are emphasized and exaggerated. The section of the book

exploring indigenous mythology, cosmology, and religious ceremonies was removed from the

book before it was bound and conserved. Beyond this, it is likely that many features of

indigenous beliefs and practices had already been changed through contact with Christianity.

Syncretic processes were very common in the conquest and colonial periods, creating hybrid

cultures where the delineation between traditional and newly-introduced features was not always

clear. The set of viewpoints represented in interviews with indigenous noblemen was also

somewhat limited. The Purépecha interviewed for the text and creating the illustrations were

adult male nobility who privileged adult, male, and noble interests at the expense of women,

children, and commoners. Finally, it has been noted that colonial codices often include a

discrepancy in gender representation between Spanish authored texts and the indigenous

illustrations and oral histories that inspired them. The Relación includes only a Spanish

translation of the original interviews. Comparison between the text and the illustrations reveals

that, in this case, women are more frequently mentioned in the text than they are shown in the
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illustrations, though in both cases, men take center stage in the histories and customary practices

of Purépecha society.

Gendered Bodies

While gender is not an explicit topic within the Relación, men and women are both

discussed frequently in the text and shown in the illustrations. From these representations, it is

clear that social roles within Purépecha society were highly gendered. Distinctions between the

genders were highlighted in the illustrations through many physical aspects, including manners

of dress, posture, action, and role within the scene. This gender embodiment was also

emphasized in the ways that bodily control is exercised in gendered ways, particularly in the

control of sexuality, labor, and procreation. Representations of gender are interwoven with other

aspects of identity, such as age and status, to provide specific social roles and accompanying

social expectations to all the members of society, with these roles and expectations made clearly

visible to members of the society and, through the illustrations of the Relación, to European

audiences, through physical, embodied characteristics.

Embodiment is a frequent theme in archaeological studies. Elements of embodiment are

frequently preserved within the archaeological record – artistic representations of bodies, items

of adornment, items created and experienced by the body, and, of course, human bodies

themselves. Through these objects, archaeologists seek to understand the limits of human

embodiment - “its physical bounds, the social discourses which define it, and experiences of

bodily practices” (Bulger and Joyce 2013: 68). The body “plays an essential role in the process

of identification, as well as serving as the primary instrument of experience” (Bulger and Joyce
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2013: 68). Our bodies both structure our individual experiential identities and the ways in which

we communicate ourselves to society at large.

Embodiment is particularly significant for discussions of gender, given that primary and

secondary sexual characteristics are an easily identifiable means by which to assign gender to

others, as well as providing sensations and experiences that can become unifying and defining to

cultural understandings of gender (Canary, Emmers-Sommer and Faulkner 1997). Yet, gender is

not primarily biological. Gendered bodies are also socially structured through specific types of

dress, labor, experiences, and beliefs, all culturally created, yet capable of leaving marks on the

body. These, alongside the wide variety of individual body types and personalities within a given

biological range, allow for the construction of non-binary and non-conforming gender identities.

Societies vary in their response to gender variation. Some provide third-gender categories

through which non-binary genders can be recognized, others accommodate or restrict them as

variations on a binary pattern, and still others condemn them harshly. Gender constructions

within binary categories similarly vary in the social roles to which they are assigned and the

strictness of gender role boundaries.

Dress and Adornment

Conventions of dress, labor, family ties, and morality in Purépecha society are primarily

based on binary gender, alongside age and status. Each of these factors is made visible and

enforced through physical embodiment. Adherence to these gender roles enables the

maintenance of social class for both individuals and families. It is especially important to note

that the value of women’s labor, reproduction, and reputation enhance the status of their

husbands, despite the background roles that women generally play.

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Elements of dress and adornment are particularly representative of the embodiment of

gender among the Purépecha, though they vary significantly based on other social categories

such as age, status, and title. Women wear knee-length skirts, often depicted with colorful striped

or plaid patterns to emphasize the fine weaving of the cloth. These colors and patterns are

opposed to the plain white, gray, or brown clothing that makes up all but the most ceremonial

garments of men. Throughout Mesoamerica, spinning and weaving were traditionally considered

women’s work, making the display of fine cloth an important indication of a woman’s skill,

industriousness, and, based on the quality of the material, wealth. Women’s breasts are usually

left bare, although they may wear shawl-like garments that cover their shoulders and upper

torsos. Their hair is grown out and worn loose around the shoulders, as opposed to the shorter

haircuts generally worn by men. These three elements make women easily distinguishable at a

glance. The consistency of representation for women is distinct from the variety of clothing worn

by men, suggesting the more limited range of social roles played by women in this society.

For men, dress is differentiated by status and title, with certain classes and professions

wearing specific attire. Loincloths are the most frequently depicted clothing items for men.

Lower class men, along with slaves, war captives, and criminals, may also be depicted naked as a

show of lowly status and shame. Noblemen wear loose-fitting robes. While lower-class men

wear close-cut hairstyles, noblemen may wear their hair long, sometimes braided, and often

bound up with a headband, a common symbol of authority throughout Mesoamerica. Certain

religious titles distinguish themselves with alternate clothing or hairstyles. The high priest or

petamuti is particularly recognizable. He wears a white garland (possibly of the white heron or

eagle feathers sacred to the god Curicaveri), a white-maroon-and-black patterned thigh-length

robe, sandals, a turquoise-encrusted gourd on his back, a tweezer-shaped pendant on his chest,
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lip plug, bracelets, and red-painted sideburns, also carrying a staff with a stone point and feather-

and-shell decorations. In war, men wear loincloths or layered cotton armor, and may carry

shields, feather banners, weapons, and feather headdresses.

Male dress, particularly of nobles, also incorporates additional insignias of authority,

including earspools, lip plugs, and bracelets. These symbols of office were gifted by the

paramount ruler, who would redistribute them upon the death of a municipal leader (Afanador-

Pujol 2015: 80-81), as shown in the upper left corner of Plate 10. Noble women are often shown

with elongated earlobes in which they wear earrings or thin bars. They also occasionally wear

bracelets. Both these accoutrements fulfill the same purpose as symbols of high status and

authority. Nobility, when in disgrace, are stripped of the symbols of rank and authority that

served as extensions of their physical body – their lip plugs, earspools, breastplates, and fine

clothing. This is clearly shown in Plate 7, which shows a scene of the capture of prisoners in war.

In the center of the illustration, the insignia of the captives are piled, where they act as both a

symbol of shame for the captives and the spoils of war for the victors. The captives themselves

are shown naked, bound, and guarded by their captors. The stripping of insignias is further

shown in Plate 9, which depicts the violent administration of justice through disfigurement. One

individual is punished for sorcery by having his eyes gauged out and his mouth lacerated.

Another pair has their ears lacerated as punishment for adultery. These disfigurements are not

only punishments in themselves, but prevent the wearing of earspools and lip plugs, tying the

physical symbol of their shame to an inability to display badges of status and authority.

Items of clothing and jewelry in the illustrations of the Relación de Michoacán not only

allow the gender of figures to be recognized, but also represent a character’s social status, titles,

and professions, showing the ways in which these social categories intersect with gender. For
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both men and women, items of dress act as symbols of status and authority. By signaling both

gender and status through dress, Purépecha people displayed important facets of their identity

and social roles, setting expectations for their behavior and social interactions that could be

easily recognized by others within their society. For the Spanish colonists that formed the

audience for the Relación, recognition of gender and status were important to facilitating social

and political ends in negotiating with and controlling indigenous populations.

Gendered Labor

Illustrations in the Relación de Michoacán go beyond typifying the dress associated with

each gender. The narrative scenes show the Purépecha as actors within the historical events and

customary activities of pre-Hispanic Purépecha life. The posture, action, and role within the

scene of each of these figures highlight other aspects of gender roles within this society. Men are

the main actors in these scenes, with women usually appearing as background characters, if they

are shown at all. Men are engaged in a wide variety of activities. In fact, several of the

illustrations depict lists of occupations and governing positions that men can perform (Plates 2,

3, and 4). Men are most frequently shown, however, in leadership roles or as warriors. Women

are most often shown carrying children or baskets of food, suggesting childcare and the

preparation and serving of food as the central tasks for women. Undetailed men and women are

also frequently depicted as making up audiences for ceremonies, important historical events, and

speeches made by leading officials.

The activities of figures within these scenes are representative of the types of labor

expected for each gender within Purépecha society. The labor divisions echo those seen

throughout greater Mesoamerica. Throughout Mesoamerica, gender roles were conceptualized as

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complementary, with tasks divided between men and women to form mutually dependent

relationships (Carmack et. al. 1996; Kellogg 2005; Brumfiel 2013). Men labored in the public

sphere, acting as warriors, rulers, diplomates, priests, and merchants. Women played primarily

household roles, where they were responsible for preparing and serving food, spinning thread,

weaving cloth, child care, and the sale of small items in local markets. Both men and women

played roles in agricultural activities, collecting wild food items, making crafts, and bearing

loads. Although their tasks within these larger activities were distributed by gender, they varied

between Mesoamerican societies and social classes.

A similar distribution of labor is present in the Relación de Michoacán. Men are shown in

positions of authority, particularly as officials and priests. In the lists of titles and professions

shown in Plates 2 and 3, men are also shown to be engaged in a variety of crafting, agricultural,

mercantile, hunting, and war-making activities. In other illustrations, men are often shown as

warriors. Men are also shown administering punishments, traveling by foot or in canoes, building

temples, carrying loads on their backs, conducting ceremonies, and performing sacrifices.

Women are shown more infrequently. Their activities include weeping for the dead, being given

away in marriage, sweeping a path, carrying children, and carrying food. Their roles in scenes

are more passive, less central, and generally part of larger groups of people. They sometimes

kneel and sometimes stand, while men either stand or, if they are of high status, sit on stools.

There are a few activities that both men and women participate in, often together. These include

marriage, dancing, eating, drinking, discussion, and witnessing important events. Social activities

provide opportunities for people of all genders to interact and participate. Both men and women

are also pictured as sacrificial and corporal punishment victims, as well. Only men appear among

the seized and bound captives, however, perhaps because the capture of an enemy warrior is a
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more significant status boost for his captor than the capture of a woman. Many important

activities are not shown at all, such as the preparing of food, the spinning and weaving of cloth,

collecting water or firewood, crafting, and agricultural activities (shown in the profession lists,

but not as part of the narrative scenes). All of these everyday activities are outside the purview of

religious and political events that are the main focus of the Relación, but are important economic

and survival activities, so their gender distribution would have a great impact on gender

dynamics in Purépecha society as a whole.

Beyond this distribution of everyday activities, special events also emphasized gender

divisions in society. Marriages are especially representative of this. They emphasize the

complementarity of Mesoamerican households, in which both a husband and wife are necessary

to make a complete functioning social unit. In many Mesoamerican societies, marriage was

required to reach adulthood and full personhood (Bassie-Sweet 202: 169-170; Carmack et. al.

1996: 445). Among the Maya, men could not hold political and religious offices until they had

married (Bassie-Sweet 2002: 170). For the Purépecha during the colonial era, it was one of the

“two prerequisites for reaching the age of majority” (Afanador-Pujol 2015: 24), alongside land

ownership. It is unclear, however, whether this tradition existed in pre-Hispanic times.

Gendered labor activities have a major impact on conceptions of gender and the

interrelation of the genders (Canary, Emmers-Sommer, and Faulkner 1997). The separation of

genders by their major tasks ensures that interaction occurs mainly within a single gender, with

the exception of cooperation between members of a family unit. Gendered labor thus ensures

closer connections within the family and more separation between the genders in the public

sphere. The tasks assigned to each gender further become the basis for conceptions of gender

identity – the types of skills, enjoyments, responsibilities, and personalities associated with each
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gender. Finally, gendered distribution of labor can reflect and create structures of power and

status in society, based on how different types of labor are valued and on how value – in terms of

property, leisure time, social capital, and access to the labor of others – is distributed. For the

Purépecha, these factors tended to favor men, who benefitted from the innate value and labor of

their wives. The value of women’s labor was not only in the work they performed however, but

also in the reproductive labor that conceived children and other familial ties in Purépecha

society.

Marriage and Bloodlines

Gender is also a defining variable for interpersonal relationships in Purépecha society.

These relationships are embodied through marriage ceremonies, sexuality, and procreation. Most

important, however, are the familial ties that are created through these activities, which allow

power to pass from one person to another. In this way, marriage, sexuality, and reproduction are

the embodiments of the central power structures of Purépecha society.

Purépecha marriages may be initiated in several ways (Alcalá 1970: 36-44). Most often,

it is at the request of the groom, but a ruler may also decide to give a female relative to a lesser

noble as a means of earning his loyalty, or else the marriage may result from a mutual agreement

by the couple or from social pressures when a couple is known to have had sexual relations.

Nobility marry only other Purépecha nobility, usually from their relatives, in order to maintain

titles and bloodlines. The male relatives of the couple send each other messages to arrange the

marriage and negotiate a dowry. On the day of the marriage, the wife and her dowry are sent to

the house of the husband. For lower-class couples, this is a simple, quiet affair. Among nobles,

the wedding is officiated by a priest. The woman is given new clothes and jewelry. She is
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accompanied by her relatives and other women to carry her dowry and household goods to her

new home. Noble husbands throw a feast and give gifts of clothing, blankets, and jewelry to all

the women of the wedding party.

For both noble and lower-class marriages, the couple are advised to live morally and be

good spouses. For both spouses, their duties are not to quarrel, to bathe each other, to be

productive, to prevent vice and adultery, and to make a home together. Wives are additionally

told to prepare food and make blankets for their husband, to give blankets and favors as gifts to

visitors, and to avoid talking to other men and visiting their houses to commit adultery. The

husband is told to be a teacher to his wife and raise her up, to farm a seed-plot and support her, to

be loyal to her male relatives, and to treat his wife gently even if she commits adultery and he

leaves her.

If a woman does not make blankets for her husband or if he feels mistreated, then he may

leave her. If the couple quarrels or does not have a house together, then the high priest may

separate them, for not being good spouses to each other. If a woman commits adultery, then her

husband may leave her or he may tell the high priest and have her killed. Since polygamy is

accepted among the Purépecha, a man may take a second wife if he is unsatisfied with his first,

and only is punished for adultery if he sleeps with another man’s wife, for which he may be

disfigured or killed and have his property and insignias taken from him.

Illustrations of marriage (Plates 11 and 12) emphasize the status and authority, labor,

goods, and exchange involved. The noble marriage is pictured by the priest and a noble man

leading a noble woman to her new house, with both this exchange and her dowry laid out before

witnesses. Meanwhile, a young man is admonished by an older and more powerful (based on his

size and dress) male relative. The second illustration, showing the marriage of lower class
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people, depicts a man’s second marriage, for which is customary for the husband to gather wood

for the temple and the woman to sweep the road in order to symbolize their life together, each

performing customary work for their gender and thereby promoting a blessed and successful

marriage.

Marriage practices and duties are thus highly gendered, with men having the greatest

power in both initiating and breaking the marriage. The physical act of the exchange of wives,

dowry, gifts, feasts, clothing, jewelry, and household goods symbolize the familial ties, new

household, and exchange of status and wealth that are being created in the act of marriage.

Marriage is implicitly connected to sexual activity, since adultery and premarital sex are major

concerns. This sexual control allows certainty of parentage and inheritance when children are

born.

Sexuality is generally discussed in the Relación in the context of marriage or adultery.

Similarly, the illustrations show marriages (Plates 11 and 12), incidents of drunkenness from

which adultery will result (Plate 26), the violent punishment of adulterers (Plate 9), and the

murderous seduction of a nobleman (Plate 43), but does not show any overt sexual acts.

Sexuality, then, is understood primarily through its impacts on marriage, reproduction, and

morality. This understanding of sexuality appealed to the Spanish, whose Catholic views on

sexuality held a similar moral valence. It also promoted control of sexuality and reproduction,

especially for women. This prevented disputes over access to women as both laborers and sexual

partners, and over inheritance of properties and titles, with their implicit relevance for the

distribution of wealth and status.

The text of the Relación makes frequent reference to the importance of familial relations

in the distribution of power in Purépecha society. One of the images illustrates these familial ties
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through a European-style family tree (Plate 44), with the founder of the lineage literally forming

the roots of the tree. This illustration only depicts male members of the royal lineage, yet it

nevertheless illustrates the importance of bloodlines, and therefore procreation, in the

continuance of Purépecha power structures. This is further emphasized through the individuals

included and excluded on the tree. The chart “portrayed only those men who succeeded their

fathers, uncles, or brothers on the throne, ignoring their numerous siblings. In this way, the tree

functions as a dynastic list rather than a full-fledged genealogy of the Uanacaze [ruling] family”

(Afanador-Pujol 2015: 147). The contemporary branches to the time of the writing of the

Relación display only a few select heirs as candidates for the Purépecha rulership. Although not

depicted on the tree itself, the choice of which royal relatives to portray was partially dependent

on the level of status of their mothers, which privileged them in the line of succession and also in

attaining the necessary social status to have input in the illustration of the Relación. Spanish

records indicate that the mother of the heir apparent, as represented by the Relación had been

christened and possibly married to the previous ruler under the auspices of the Catholic Church.

This Christ-sanctioned marriage would have provided additional legitimacy to the heir produced

by this woman in the eyes of the colonial officials. The importance of both male and female

status and family ties in the inheritance of royal titles serves as an illustration of the importance

of familial ties to the furthering of power structures in Purépecha society at large. Family

structure becomes the basis for social structure, with marriage, sexuality, and inheritance

embodying gendered social structures and their inherent social status dimensions.

Breaking Gender Boundaries

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Gender roles were a central factor in the organization of Purépecha dress, labor, and

families, with implications for the distribution of status within society. Yet, in exceptional cases,

deviation was permitted, especially for divine and heroic figures in oral histories. For instance,

one of the historical narratives of the Relación tells of one of the daughters of the ruler Tariacuri

who, during a time of war, was sent to the temple of the enemy, where celebrations and sacrifices

were underway. There, she seduced a nobleman by dancing with him and enticed him to follow

her home. Drawing him away from the main road, she attacked and beheaded him (Plate 43).

This story presents a strange mixture of traits within the Purépecha gender system. Her actions

are introduced similarly to scenes in which a ruler sends his son off to war. Tariacuri “dressed

her with many adornments” (Alcalá 1970: 227), just as he might gift a noble warrior with

jewelry as a show of favor. He then, “told her to go to Coringuaro and let herself be killed [a

term for entering a battle], for if she were a man she would die anyway in war and be cast aside”

(Alcalá 1970: 227). In this way, she is explicitly commanded to engage in combat, so that her

fate might compare with that of men in times of war. Yet, her manner of doing so is very

different from the open battles waged by men, instead using trickery and seduction, hallmarks of

feminine immorality in both Spanish and pre-Hispanic mythology. Particularly noteworthy is

that she conceals her knives in her blanket, a symbol of sexual relations, since a couple would

cover themselves with a blanket during marital or adulterous relations.

Having lured the man to a secluded place, where they laid down to sleep, she “held her

skirts very tight and cut them off at the knee so that she would be able to move quickly” (Alcalá

1970: 231). In doing so, she destroys a symbol of her femininity and enables herself to take on

masculine actions of quick movement and bloodshed. She symbolically realized this alternative

gender construction when she “untied the knives which were wrapped in the blanket, and took
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one in one hand. … She drew the knife with a lightninglike motion, cut off his head, and did it

all so quickly that he was unable to cry out” (Alcalá 1970: 231). The story ends in the following

way:

“Carrying the head by the hair, she took it to her village at the edge of which there was an

altar where they usually placed captives which they brought back from the wars. She put

the head there… Then she went home to Tariacuri and reported to him what had

happened. Everybody rejoiced and Tariacuri said to her: ‘Now you have given food to the

gods; let the Coringuaros blame whomever they wish, it makes no difference to us. Let

them attribute it to whomsoever they wish.’” (Alcalá 1970: 231)

In placing the head on a sacrificial altar used for war captives and, in so doing, “giving food to

the gods”, the unnamed woman’s actions are explicitly compared to the taking and sacrificing of

war captives as a man would do and her actions are implied to be sanctioned by the gods. Indeed,

the juxtaposition of Tariacuri’s final statements suggest the enemies might attribute her actions

to a warrior or god, since they would be so unexpected of a woman. The woman’s actions are

thus depicted as exceptional and compared to those of a male warrior, while at the same time

being accomplished by feminine means.

The story draws on pre-conceptions of femininity and masculinity shared by both the

Purépecha and the Spanish. Indeed, the tale and its depiction in the illustrations of the Relacion

(Plate 43) bear a striking resemblance to the biblical tale of Judith and Holofernes, which was

frequently illustrated by European artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and thus may

have been familiar to the Purépecha of the 16th century (Appendix B, Figure 5). In this story,

Judith, a Jewish woman, seduces the Assyrian general Holofernes, plies him with alcohol, and,

when he passes out, decapitates him, thus saving her home city of Bethulia. While heroic, the
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murderous seductress also presents a warning to men to beware of the seduction and deceit of

attractive women. In this way, even figures that subvert conventional gender representations can

be used to emphasize the usual boundaries of gendered behavior.

At the same time, the accepted indigenous symbols of embodied gender are carefully

subverted by Tariacuri’s daughter within this narrative. She uses the dress and jewelry that

symbolize beauty, wealth, and status to seduce a nobleman, discarding her feminine skirt in the

moment when her deceit is revealed. Rather than performing feminine actions, she performs the

labor of a male warrior in killing an enemy noble and sacrificing his head to the gods. She also

twists expected marital expectations through her murderous seduction of the nobleman. Through

all of these actions, she also takes on greater status within her own society in the way that a

successful male warrior would. Her actions thus highlight both the boundaries of masculine and

feminine identity in Purépecha society and their connections to status and physical embodiment.

Conclusion

The Relación de Michoacán serves as a narrative and visual archive through which

gender systems among the Purépecha people of Spanish colonial Michoacán can be examined.

Gender in Purépecha society was expressed in the body through dress, labor, and familial ties.

Embodiment of gender identity served to maintain gender roles and the systems of differential

social status which they supported. By signaling both gender and status through dress, Purépecha

people displayed important facets of their identity and social roles, setting expectations for their

behavior and social interactions that could be easily recognized by others within their society.

Gendered distribution of labor within Purépecha society similarly served to reinforce gendered

social spheres, with women performing labor in the home and men in the public arena. Familial
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ties are embodied through marriage ceremonies, sexuality, and procreation, which allow wealth

and status to be distributed and inherited through familial lines. As with labor, these family

structures are strongly gendered in a way that privileges men. Even in instances where embodied

and status-driven gender binaries are violated, such as the historical tale of Tariacuri’s daughter

beheading an enemy nobleman, the use of gender stereotypes and symbolism to outline the

exceptionalism of this gender nonconforming character ultimately reinforces the gender roles

that define Purépecha society. Visual and embodied expressions of gender thus serve to strongly

differentiate male and female roles, while upholding systems of power that benefit male nobility.

As a document created through collaboration with Purépecha nobleman, the Relación both

documents and upholds a vision of Purépecha society in which male noblemen are the arbiters of

gender and status, as expressed in the physical control of the gendered and classed bodies within

their society.

Works Cited:

Afanador Pujol, Angélica Jimena. (2015). The Relación de Michoacán (1539-1541) and the

Politics of Representation in Colonial Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Alcalá, Jerónimo de. (2001). [c. 1540]. Relación de Michoacan: Relaçión de las Çeremonias y

Rrictos y Poblaçión y Governaçión de los Indios de la Provinçia de Mechuacan Hecha al

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Yllustrísimo Señor Don Antonio de Mendoça, Virrey y Gobernador Desea Nueva España

por su Majestad, Ecétera: C.IV.5: Original Conservado en La Real Biblioteca de

Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Armando Mauricio Escobar Olmedo, María

Del Carmen Hidalgo Brinquis, Vicenta Cortés Alonso, Benedict Warren, Francisco

Miranda, Juan José Batalla Rosado, and Gerardo Sánchez Díaz, eds. Colección Thesaurus

Americae 3. Madrid: Patrimonio Nacional. 

Alcalá, Jerónimo de. (1970). [c. 1540]. The Chronicles of Michoacán. Eugene R. Craine and

Reginald C. Reindorp, trans. and eds. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Bassie-Sweet, Karen. (2002). Corn Deities and the Male/Female Principle. In Ancient Maya

Gender Identity and Relations. Westport, Connecticut: Bergin & Garvey. Pp. 169-190.

Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. (2013). The Archaeology of Gender in Mesoamerica: Moving Beyond

Gender Complementarity. In A Companion to Gender Prehistory. Diane Bolger, ed.

Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. Pp. 564-584.

Bulger, Teresa Dujnic, and Rosemary A. Joyce. (2013). Archaeology of Embodied

Subjectivities. In A Companion to Gender Prehistory. Diane Bolger, ed. Hoboken, NJ:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pp. 68-85.

Canary, Daniel J., Tara M. Emmers-Sommer, and Sandra Faulkner. (1997). Sex and Gender

Differences in Personal Relationships. New York: The Guilford Press.

Carmack, Robert M., Janine L. Gasco, and Gary H. Gossen. (1996). The Legacy of

Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization. Second Edition.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Florescano, Enrique. (2017). Presentación. In Códices. Xavier Noguez, ed. Mexico City:

Secretaría de Cultura. Pp. 11-15.

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Noguez, Xavier. (2017). Introducción. In Códices. Xavier Noguez, ed. Mexico City: Secretaría

de Cultura. Pp. 19-37.

Kellogg, Susan. (2005). Weaving the Past: A History of Latin America’s Indigenous Women

from the Prehispanic Period to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Appendix A:

Relación de Michoacán Illustrations (Alcalá 2001)

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Plate 1: Frontispiece - "Presentation of the manuscript to the Viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza”
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Plate 2: "Concerning their government". A list of officials and professions.

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Plate 3: "Concerning their government". A list of officials and professions.

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Plate 4: "The priests of the temple”

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Plate 5: "Forays into the villages of their enemies"

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Plate 6: "How they destroyed a village”

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Plate 7: "How they destroyed and burned a village"

Plate 8: "Concerning those who died at war"

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Plate 9: "Concerning the justice administered by the Cazonci [ruler]"

Plate 10: "Concerning the deaths of the chiefs and how they were replaced"
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Plate 11: "Concerning the manner of marriage of the lords"

Plate 12: "The manner of marriage among the lower-class people"

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Plate 13: "The death of the Cazonci [ruler] adn the burial ceremony"

Plate 14: "How another Master was selected"

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Plate 15: "The speeches of the chief priests and the presentation made to the Cazonci [ruler]"
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Plate 16: "Concerning the dreams and omens of these people before the Spaniards came"
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Plate 17: "How Montezuma, Master of Mexico, sent a request for help to the Cazonci [ruler] Zuanga"
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Plate 18: "How the Cazonci [ruler] and other lords tried to drown themselves”
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Plate 19: "Concerning the general administration of justice"

Plate 20: "How the Masters of the Chichimecas took the daughter of a fisherman and married her"
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Plate 21: "Lord Caricaten asked Zurumban for help against Tariacuri, for he was surrounded on his
island"

Plate 22: "How Quariacuri warned Tariacuri and he was able to capture the priest Naca in an ambush"

Plate 23: "How Tariacuri had Naca cooked and eaten by his enemies"
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Plate 24: "Zurumban ordered the destruction of the houses of Tariacuri's people, and the lords who were
the cousins of Tariacuri were shot and his sisters were sacrificed”

Plate 25: "Concerning the marriage of Tariacuri with the daughter of the Master of Coringuaro, and she
was a bad woman"

Plate 26: " How the friends of Tariacuri's wife came and got drunk with her, and Tariacuri's grief over
his wife's infidelity"
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Plate 27: "The enemies of Tariacuri are sacrificed"

Plate 28: "How the brothers-in-law of Tariacuri, through his first wife from Coringuaro, sent a message
asking for rich plumages, gold, silver, and other things"

Plate 29: "Tariacuri finds his lost mother and nephews"

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Plate 30: "Tariacuri sent a message for his son Curatame, and they disagreed"

Plate 31: "Tariacuri advises his nephews and son that they are to be Masters"
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Plate 32: "Concerning the Islanders who sent a principal called Zapivatame to place himself under the
orders of Tariacuri, and how he was imprisoned”

Plate 33: "Curatame sent for Hiripan and Tangaxoan, who were doing penance in a cave"
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Plate 34: "Tariacuri gave a part of his God Curicaveri to his nephews and his son, then tried to shoot
them because of some temples they made"

Plate 35: "Tariacuri ordered Hiripan and Tangaxoan to kill his son Curatame because he was a
drunkard, and they killed him while he was drunk"
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Plate 36: In dreams the goddess Xaratanga appears to Tangaxoan and the god Curicaveri to Hiripan

Plate 37: "The people of the village of Yzipamucu asked the people of Coringuaro for help"
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Plate 38: "Tariacuri sent his nephews to warn and advise a brother-in-law not to get drunk. While
returning, a strange thing happened to Hiripan connected with a tree on the mountain"

Plate 39: "Tariacuri showed his nephews and his son how to carry on the war"
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Plate 40: "How Hiripan, Tangaxoan, and Hiquagage conquered the entire province"

Plate 41: "Speeches and reasoning of the chief priests regarding the history of their ancestors"
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Plate 42: "One of Tariacuri's sons called Tamapucheca was captured, and his father ordered him killed"

Plate 43: "A lord of Coringuaro was killed by a daughter of Tariacuri"

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Plate 44: "The Masters who followed Hiripan, Tangaxoan, and Hiqugage
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Appendix B:
Additional Images

Figure 1: Map of colonial Michoacán (Alcalá 1970)

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Figure 2: Reproduction of the Relación de Michoacán at the Museo Nacional de Antropología (National
Anthropology Museum) in Mexico City
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Figure 3: Facsimile Cover (Alcalá 2001)

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Figure 4: A typical page of handwritten text from the Relación (Alcalá 2001)
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Figure 5: Botticelli's Judith Holding Holofernes' Head, c. 1500