Saints, Witches and Go-betweens: The Depiction of Women in Missionary Accounts from the Northern Frontier of New Spain

Daniel T. Reff discusses the representation of women in missionary texts from the northern frontier of New Spain. Daniel touches upon two popular narratives from the early colonial period: Fray Alonso de Benavides's revised 'Memorial' and Andrés Pérez de Ribas's 'History of the Triumphs of Our Holy Faith.' Scrutiny of these texts suggests that indigenous women may have exercised more power and influence than Benavides and Ribas allowed. Daniel says flying nuns and other miracles were not really a violation of God's laws, but a declaration of their existence. They were God's way of reminding his people that he would never permit the human race to be without his wisdom and power. The form and content of the writings of Benavides and Ribas was influenced by the profound thinking that women are naturally weak or powerful only when they are agents of God or the devil.