Apropiación, circulación y pervivencia de figuras del apóstol Santiago en el Mundo Andino. El caso de pequeños retablos y piedras pintadas

Olaya Sanfuentes, Apropiación, circulación y pervivencia de figuras del apóstol Santiago en el Mundo Andino. El caso de pequeños retablos y piedras pintadas [Cultural Appropriation, Circulation and Survival of Saint James Iconography in the Andean World: The Case of Portable Altarpieces and Painted Stones] Departing from a corpus of painted stones and small altarpieces, which depict St. James, the Apostle, as Moor Slayer or Indian Killer, this article attempts to explain the success of the introduction, circulation and survival until today of this Christian saint in the Andean culture. The figure of St. James – patron saint of Spain – riding a white horse whilst decimating his enemies, is an example of a prototype whose meaning is reassigned over time and space, over diverse eras and geographies. Some keys to interpret and explain this phenomenon lie in the Andean culture itself, specifically in its constant process of sacralisation as well as in the huaca as a mediator between the physical and the spiritual worlds. The methodological approach to this problem uses strategies taken from the academic fields of History and Anthropology, specifically Ethno-history. Keywords: Saint James the Apostle – Huaca – Stones – Altarpieces – Santiago Moor Slayer – Santiago Indian killer