Mama Pacha: Creator and Sustainer Spirit of God
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.13169/decohori.3.0127 |
| Pages | 127-159 |
| Published date | 01 January 2017 |
| Date | 01 January 2017 |
| Author | Cecilia Titizano |
ISSN 2545-8728!
eISSN 2422-6343
horizontes!
decoloniales
Número 3!
Año 2017
Resumen
¿Qué es lo que hace tan querida a la Mama Pacha entre las comunidades
Indígenas Cristianas de los Andes y tan desagradable entre los teólogos y
representantes de las iglesias cristianas? Este artículo explora a la Mama
Pacha como el Espíritu de Dios presente en el mundo. A través de una
epistemología indígena descolonizadora y feminista, me acerco a la Mama
Pacha interculturalmente, dentro de su entorno cultural y filosófico.
Creativamente interpreto la filosofía Andina o Pachasofía y su lógica que
descr iben la re alida d com o flu ida y onto lógic ament e rel acion al,
desafiando la teología y filosofía occidentales. Finalmente, recupero la
concepción ancestral de Dios femenino que sostiene la dignidad y el valor
intrínseco de las mujeres indígenas y la creación.
Palabras clave: Lógica Andina, Pachasofía, Decolonialidad, Epistemología
indígena feminista, Interculturalidad.
Resumo
O que o torna tão cara a Mama Pacha entre as comunidades indígenas
cristãs nos Andes e tão desagradável entre os teólogos e representantes
das igrejas cristãs? Este artigo explora a Mama Pacha como o Espírito de
Deus presente no mundo. Através de uma epistemologia indígena e
fem in is ta de sc ol on iz ad or a, m e ap ro xi mo d a Mama Pacha
interc ultura lmente dent ro de seu a mbient e cult ural e filo sófico .
Criativamente interpreto a filosofia Andina ou Pachasofía e a sua lógica
que descrev em a realidade como sendo fluída e ontolo gicamente
relacional, desafiando a teologia e a filosofia ocidentais. Finalmente,
recupero a concepção ancestral de Deus feminino que sustenta a
dignidade e o valor intrínseco das mulheres indígenas e da criação.
Palavras-chave: Ló gica an dina , Pac ha so fía , De sco loni alid ade,
Epistemologia feminista indígena, Multiculturalismo.
Horizontes Decoloniales 3 (2017): pp. 127-159
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Mama Pacha
Creator and Sustainer Spirit of God
Cecilia Titizano
Graduate Theological Union
ISSN 2545-8728!
eISSN 2422-6343
horizontes!
decoloniales
Número 3!
Año 2017
Cecilia Titizano ! Mama Pacha
Abstract
What makes Mama Pacha so dear to self-identified Indigenous Christian-
Andean communities and so unpalatable to many theologians and
Christian churches’ officials? This article explores Mama Pacha as God’s
Spirit present in the world. Through a decolonial indigenous feminist
epistemology, I approach Mama Pacha interculturally, encountering Her
within her cultural and philosophical framework. I creatively engage
Andean philosophy or Pachasofía and its logic, interpreting reality as
ontologically relational and fluid, challenging Western theological and
philosophical categories. In this process, I retrieve an ancient female
understanding of God, one that upholds the dignity and intrinsic value of
indigenous women and creation.
Keywords: Andean logic, Pachasofía, Decoloniality, Indigenous feminist
epistemology, Interculturality.
About Cecilia Titizano
Born in Bolivia, she holds Master in Theological Studies (2011) from the
Franciscan School of Theology and a Master of Science in International
Development and Agriculture (2000) from the University of California at
Davis. Currently she is a Ph.D. student in Philosophical Theology at the
Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Her areas of research
focus on the intersection of Andean philosophies and spiritualities,
Roman Catholicism, indigenous feminisms, eco-theology and decolonial
epistemologies. Titizano is a member of the Academy of Catholic
Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) and the North-
South Dialogue, a network of Latin American and European philosophers
dedicated to intercultural philosophies.
Cita recomendada de este artículo!
Cecilia Titizano (2017). «Mama Pacha: Creator and Sustainer Spirit of
God». Horizontes Decoloniales 3: pp. 127–159. [Revista digital]. Disponible
en:
mm de aaaa].
Este obra está bajo una Licencia Creative Commons!
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!128
ISSN 2545-8728!
eISSN 2422-6343
horizontes!
decoloniales
Número 3!
Año 2017
Cecilia Titizano ! Mama Pacha
Introduction
Mama Pacha or Pachamama is the Spirit of God. Mama Pacha is
constantly creating and recreating the world. Mama means
«Mother» or «Lady» and Pacha is a complex term that in its
most general form could be translated as «all that there is.»
Wh en a p pro ache d t hrou gh i n dig enou s, f e min ist,
intercultural, and decolonial lenses, Mama Pacha uncovers an
1
Andean divinity that unfolds, sustains, and then enfolds
Pacha back into God’s dark, depth womb, where S/He
transforms it. The Andean Divinity is mysterious, relational,
multiple, fluid, open, and present in Pacha; challenging
Western substantive ontology and a central traditional
Christian tenant, creation ex-nihilo [out of nothing].
Ye t, Mama Pacha is popularly known as Mother Earth, a
living organism with a female spirit or personality and
motherly functions. Popular imagination envisions Mama
Pacha as the female personification of Mother Nature. She is
not God, for God is seen as a transcendent male Spirit and
She is a female spirit with a body. In academic circles,
especially theological ones, Mama Pacha has been presented
as an agricultural or fertility deity, a protector spirit and even
as Virgin Mary. Amid Andean people, especially among
indigenous communities, Mama Pacha is a beloved and
encompassing presence, «the source of life» (Mamani
Throughout this article, «interculturality» is understood as taking the
1
position of a
conscious way of life in which an ethical position favors
living together [convivencia] where difference takes place. As
a framework for thought and action, interculturality is
understood fundamentally as an alternative political-cultural
project that seeks the reorganization of current international
relations…[and] the corrections of the asymmetry of power
that exist today in the world of international politics
(Fornet-Betancourt, 2004: 12-13).
!129
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