The Witches of Abiquiu: The Governor, the Priest, the Genizaro Indians, and the Devil [Hardcover]

Malcolm , Ebright (Author), Rick , Hendricks (Author), Glen , Strock (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2006

The little-studied witchcraft trial that took place at Abiquiu, New Mexico, between 1756 and 1766 is the centerpiece of this book. The witchcraft outbreak took place less than a century after the Pueblo Revolt and symbolized a resistance by the Genízaros (hispanicized Indians) of Abiquiu to forced Christianization.

The Abiquiu Genízaro land grant where the witchcraft outbreak occurred was the crown jewel of Governor Vélez Cachupín’s plan to achieve peace for the early New Mexican colonists. They were caught between the Pueblo Indians' resistance to Christianization and raids by the nomadic indio barbaros that threatened the existence of the colony. Thanks mainly to the governor's strategy, peace was achieved with the Comanches and Utes, the Pueblo Indians retained their religious ceremonies, and the Abiquiú Pueblo land grant survived and flourished.

The Witches of Abiquiu is the story of a polarizing event in New Mexico history equal in importance to the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The little-known story of a priest's charges of witchcraft among Indians in mid-eighteenth-century New Mexico and how the Spanish government rejected the charges in the effort to achieve peace with their Native subjects. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Malcolm Ebright is director of the Center for Land Grant Studies, Guadalupita, New Mexico. He is also the author of Land Grants and Lawsuits in Northern New Mexico (UNM Press).

Rick Hendricks is an historical consultant to the Rio Grande Historical Collections at New Mexico State University. He is also the author of The Navajos in 1705 and was an editor of the six-volume Vargas Project (both UNM Press).

Glen Strock, Southwest folklore illustrator, received a Golden Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for his illustrations in Coyote Tales. He lives in Santa Fe.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (April 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826320317
• ISBN-13: 978-0826320315
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,763,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genizaros 101!!! Spooky story and peyote..., November 17, 2009

By 

Trent Rock (Goleta, CA (The 805)) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Witches of Abiquiu: The Governor, the Priest, the Genizaro Indians, and the Devil (Paperback)

This book is packed full of info on the Northern New Mexico Genizaros...the witchcraft part is pretty interesting too...I wonder how much peyote had to do with the "demonic possessions"...This book really fills in the gap withb regard to Governor Tomas Vélez Cachupín... a lot of Indian raids against the Spanish settlers and vice versa...then throw in the devil and crazy friars, spells, potions, snakes...It's a really great storyline.....the research is top notch..great foot notes section..I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Northern New Mexico history...and I found out a distant relative of min was one of the accused sorcerer!!! He died in a Mexiacan prison :( poor guy.....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The History of Abiquiu is a Kind of Witches' Brew...., July 27, 2007

By 

Thossy (Somewhere in Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Witches of Abiquiu: The Governor, the Priest, the Genizaro Indians, and the Devil (Paperback)

This is a fine history of Abiquiu, a small community in northern New Mexico about 80 miles northwest of Santa Fe.

Although it focuses on the outbreak of witchcraft in the mid-1700s, the author properly fills in the background with excellent depictions of the challenges of living in this remote crossroads under Spanish rule, the vagaries of colonial governance from the territorial capital in Santa Fe, and the contemporary status of the unique Abiquiu land grant that endures yet today.

You may be disappointed if you choose this book primarily for the topic of witchcraft. It's there, but, perhaps, not in the major role you would expect. But, if you are interested in the Southwest--northern New Mexico in particular--and the volatile milieu of peoples who have lived there over the last thousand years, you will be very pleased.

This is not to give the witch trials short shrift! The authors examine the decade-long efforts of a determined, outnumbered and outsmarted Catholic priest in Abiquiu--himself bewitched!--to save his community from the sordid practices of several admitted witches.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Witches of Abiquiu, March 8, 2007

By 

Susan Cruz Bradley "Uni Osti" (Wildomar,CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Witches of Abiquiu: The Governor, the Priest, the Genizaro Indians, and the Devil (Paperback)

I just started into the book and am amazed at the amt of history given. Not only can I see how misconceptions have happened. It has allowed me to understand folklore of this area. I'm very pleased.