Introduction
Every civilization has a distinct identity formed by local history and culture. Literature plays a huge role in this formation because it reflects national archetypes and traditions. In Latin American literature, a significant role is devoted to the clash between indigenous cultures (barbarism) and colonialist settlers who are perceived to be more intelligent and developed (civilization).
Authors usually take this theme to reflect on the complicated legacies of slavery, oppression, and social inequality that shaped the self-perception of many people in Latin America. Such a feature is hard to identify in the literary tradition of other cultures except for the literature of Native Americans in North America and Aboriginal Peoples in Australia. The reason is that the history of Europe, Russia, and many Asian cultures was not about the brutal invasion of “civilized” people who wanted to accumulate their wealth in indigenous lands. The tension between barbarism and civilization is used as a metaphor to explain the broader political and social issues, such as patriarchal indigenous societies, the cruelty of colonialists, and the financialization of relations between the two sides.
Indigenous Way of Life in the Mid-Sixteenth Century
In most Latin American short stories, indigenous life is depicted as highly patriarchal and influenced by the higher powers. The masterpiece that shows this feature is “Popol Vuh,” a text describing the life of the Maya people, who lived in the contemporary territory of Guatemala. This text is considered a Mayan Bible because it summarizes this culture’s important myths and narratives.
“A Maiden’s Story,” a part of the “Popol Vuh” narrative, tells about the girl who eats from the tree of skulls. After this interaction with skulls from the tree, she becomes pregnant, but her father does not believe her justifications and orders her to kill his daughter (Popol Vuh 29). She is obliged to obey her father, and at the end of the story, the readers are horrified by the description of the Maiden’s killing by owls.
This story shows how women were submissive to men, especially when it comes to family ties. For example, when the father realizes his daughter is pregnant, he shouts “a real whore!” (Popol Vuh 29). Such inequalities and hierarchical power structures reflect a “barbarian” way of life, although such relations were formed over thousands of years. Therefore, the dichotomy between barbarism and civilization should be perceived from a realistic perspective, fully acknowledging that indigenous cultures were patriarchal and often undemocratic.
The Cruelty of Spanish Settlers
The side of civilization in the conflict between civilization and barbarism is often portrayed as a brutal and powerful force that will go to any lengths for its wealth and influence. Such a theme is elaborated in the literature of Fray Bartolomé de la Casas. He entered the Latin American lands as one of the Spanish settlers who wanted to start their new life there.
However, Fray Bartolomé was shocked by the atrocities committed by his fellow countrymen against Native Indians. Since then, Fray Bartolomé began to be the proponent of Indians’ rights to be independent and protected from violence. In his short story “Plague of Ants,” he describes how Indians were attacked by Spaniards in 1518-1519 and were killed in a short time. Indians are intentionally depicted as naked barbarians, sleeping on the ground and indifferent to their health (de las Casas 35).
In contrast, Spaniards want to earn more money by arranging enterprises (de las Casas 35). Although Spaniards are civilized, their brutality and inhuman striving for money make them much worse than “barbarian” Indians. As a result, the label “civilizational” is just a cover for people whose intentions and minds are corrupted and placed in an inferior position to “barbarian” thinking.
Indigenous People as Assets for Profit
Lastly, the crucial image in Latin American literature is the emphasis that civilizational people look at the Indigenous people not as individuals but as a means to earn more profits. Such a theme is raised in the literature of Gaspar de Villaroel, an Augustinian friar who lived from 1587 to 1665 and accurately described the perceptions and actions of the Spanish settlers. His story “The Adventurer Who Pretended That He Was a Bishop” describes a “well-educated priest” who arrives at Cuzco to solve some business-related problems (de Villaroel 43). On this trip, he takes advantage of the well-known hospitality of one city to foreigners and earns a good amount of money from this. Details about how the residents admired the guests play a special role here. History shows how the civilized side did not want to see the Indians as equal people.
Conclusion
The tension between barbarism and civilization serves as a template for discussing other colonial rule issues. Through the review of three short stories, it was evident that some traits of such duality were present in all the texts. In “Popol Vuh,” although it was not the authors’ intention, the readers will find it unjust to behave in such a way towards children. Fray Bartolomé tried to describe the real face of “civilization” Spaniards by documenting their cruelties. De Villaroel showed how Spanish people perceived Indians in their pursuit of wealth. It is interesting to investigate how Latin American literature evolved through the centuries.
Works Cited
de las Casas, Fray Bartolome. “Plague of Ants.” The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories, edited by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 34–38.
de Villarroel, Gaspar. “The Adventurer Who Pretended That He Was a Bishop.” The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories, edited by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 43–45.
Popol Vuh. “A Maiden’s Story.” The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories, edited by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 28–30.