PRIESTS, SACRISTANS AND CANTORS. ACCOUNTING AND MATERIAL CULTURE IN THE INDIGENOUS PARISH OF ANDAMARCA (BOLIVIA, 1779-1844)

Abstract

This research studies the inventories of goods inserted in the accounting book of the indigenous parish of Andamarca, Bolivia (1779-1844). The source high- lights an interdependence between the inventory as a documentary genre and parish accounting, allowing us to analyze forms of representation and self-representation, as well as links between material culture and society. The methodological approach from the history of material culture seeks to link the microhistory of an indigenous parish with the regional and viceregal contexts, observing the social structures that the objects contribute to build. The particular analysis of a sacristan’s management shows the dis- trust that the Church could have in those who exercised the office, while a parallel exercise referred to a master cantor allows tracing his career in the office over forty years, linking parish musical practice with the spaces and objects that enhanced it.