Lo festejan con borracheras a la usanza de los indios. Mestizos in the Muisca ritual festivities. Tenza, New Kingdom of Granada, XVI-XVII centuries

Abstract

This paper aims to study the phenomenon of mestizo participation in Muisca ritual festivities during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through the case of the Roa family, settled in the Tenza valley. Participation in these festivities called “borracheras” by the Spaniards was considered “idolatry”, while the mestizos tended to be Catholics. This therefore highlights the ambivalence that characterized the mestizos, who had deep ties to both the Spanish and the Muisca worlds. Beyond their religious dimension, these festivities fulfilled a social function.