Title

Extirpación de La Idolatría del Pirú

Description

The 1621 book Extirpación de La Idolatría del Pirú (Extirpation of Idolatry of Peru), written by Father Jusepe de Arriaga, is a detailed description of Inka religious practices, written so Spanish clergy could recognize what were then considered blasphemous activities and quash them. His almost anthropological documentation of Native Peruvian religion is regarded as the best contemporary accounting of the subject. It has been translated into English and remains in print to this day.

Source: Detail of title page of Pablo Jose de Arriaga’s Extirpación de La Idolatría del Pirú, 1621, Archive.org. Image by Martayan Lan.