Diablada

The rebellion dance: La Diablada (the devil-dancing group)

This dance shows a deep Cosmo vision stemmed in the Andean cult of the mean "supay" of "huari", god of the mountains and of the devil of the catholic ythurgy.
The catholic religion implanted by the Spanish Crown in its colonies was designed by an educational system for the conversion of adult indians, "purifying" their "pagan"customs through, for instance auto sacramental and processions or commencement offering dances.
The conquistadores wanted to christianize the indians; they practiced the cathechesis of Christianism against the "paganism". However, the mutual religion influence caused the peculiar syncretism in our society.

Whom to ask for help?

Uprooted of their ayllus (communities), the mitayos (pawns) for the service of the conquistadores, would invoke their legendary god of the profundities Huari in the galleries, exuded in the owner of the spots or El Tio (the Uncle).
It so happened that Tio was converted into a benefactor deity of the Mitayo, who would beg him for protection and wealth, offering in exchange, chicha (a drink), alcohol and coca leaf.
With the passing of the years, the Andean man adopted the catholic faith as a strategy of survival rejoining native festivities, as the "jatun poccoy" blooming) with the European carnival brought by the conquistadores.
The dramatized fight between San Miguel Arch Angel and Candelaria Virgin in front of the devils and satans has a double interpretation.
In the christian sense, it would result being the exponent of the seven capital sins of the court of "Luzbel rebel Prince".
However, as a "satire" to the conquistadors the devil dancing groups implicates a rebellion of the miner mitayo that disguised as a devil to act against his oppressors, he would use the religions dance for expressing his anxiety of freedom and the struggle for acquiring it.
The Mitayo had scarce licenses and one of the exceptions was to get out of his underground work in carnival, while the orgies tolerated by the church, would prosper in the city.
This would reach a wantonness of his repressed inhibitions by the mita (forceful duty), and the vindication of his lost dignity.

A prehistory with Horns:

Since prehistorically days, as per a legendary thought and uru zootist, the demonological phenomenon takes us to the ancient "chullpas jakes", whose descendants are our urus fore parents.
The footprint should be looked for with the aid of archeology. Within the "zoolatric" cult of the ancient Orureños (native from Oruro city) stone-sculpted heads of pumas (kind of Andean tiger), deers, and mainly llamas (kind of Andean ruminants typical to these regions) with hornet shapes are to be found.
It also corresponds to this period the legend of the strength, fire, and the mountains god Huari who wanted to destroy the Urus for their virtual degeneration. Therefore, the hell supporters of Huari, had to be defeated by the ñusta; the toad the viper, the lizard, turned into stone and the army of ants condemned into simple sand dunes.
According to legend, the defeated Huari took refuge for good in the inside of the mountains where there are rich minerals, for not ever going out again.

Four Stages:

In the historical period of the devil dancing groups, there is a stage of transculturization that initiates with the foundation in Villa de San Felipe de Austria in 1.606, when the shock of two cultures was the norm, although the ancestral remains turned out to survive.
Another stage, that of religious dualism (1.789 - 1.900) is explained when the transfiguration of the Andean Pachamama into the Virgin of Socavon widens the religious syncretism while the third powerful ingredient germinates: the replying fact of relieving of the profound psychic repressions.
Out of this situation, it crops up the tradition of the famous bandit Anselmo Belarmino, the Chiru-Chiru or Nina-Nina that in spite of his misdeeds helped poor people and revered the Virgin of Candelaria in his shelter in the Pie of the Gallo mountain.
During the stage of the social diffusion of this dance (1.900 - 1.950), the tradition of the devil dancing groups followed its way together with other kinds of dances in the festivity of Virgin of Socavon. It is the period of the highest prosperity for the appearance of other kinds of dances in a process of disappearance and the creation of Institutions like the Gran Traditional and Authentical Devil Dance Group of Oruro that was born in 1.904.
After the Chaco War, there spurted up other groups : The Traditional Folkloric Devil Dancing: Group of Oruro (1.943), Círculo de Artes y Letras Devil Dancing Group (1.943), Artistic and Cultural Fraternity Devil Dancing Group (1.944).
Its members belonged to the well-doing middle class, called the "pijes" or "Kharas"it is the beginning of the incursion of the decent strata in the mineworkers dancing to turn it into a brilliant folkloric ballet. The indian began losing his performing role; the "khara" took his place.

Diablada