Producing “Idolatry:” Indigenous Knowledge Production via Colonial Investigations into Animism, Luzon, 1679–1687

Indigenous communities in Luzon, Philippines, actively shaped the concept of 'idolatry' during colonial investigations in 1679–1687 to serve their own interests and navigate colonial pressures. These investigations, conducted by missionaries, involved interviews with indigenous respondents whose transcriptions are preserved in Seville's Archivo General de Indias. The study reveals that indigenous agents were not mere informants but active producers of knowledge, generalizing their religious beliefs strategically to protect themselves from persecution and reinterpret indigenous deities within a colonial context.

Sy, N. M. (2021). Producing “Idolatry:” Indigenous Knowledge Production via Colonial Investigations into Animism, Luzon, 1679–1687. Philippiniana Sacra, 56(167), 99–130. https://doi.org/10.55997/1004pslvi167a4