The Diablada or Danza de Diablos (English: Dance of Devils) is a traditional South American dance created in the Andean Altiplano characterized by the mask and devil suit wore by the dancers.^[4] The dance is a mixture of the Spaniard's theatrical presentations and Andean religious ceremonies such as the Llama llama dance in honour of the Uru god Tiw (their protector in mines, lakes, and rivers),^[5] and the Aymaran miner's ritual to Anchanchu (a terrible demon spirit of caves and other isolated places).^[6]

The origins and sense of patrimonial identity of this dance is a matter of dispute between authorities and historians of Bolivia, Chile and Peru where it's performed as an important part of their respective festivities.^[1] There is a style of dance proper of Ecuador named Diablada pillareña,^[7] and squads of Diablada were founded in other countries such as Argentina, United States and Austria.^[8][9][10]

History

The origin of the Diablada is a matter of dispute.^[1] The 2001 proclamation of the Carnaval de Oruro as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO suggested that this dance had roots in the ancient dance of the Llama llama in worship of the Uru god Tiw which used to take place in the ancient location where the modern Oruro, Bolivia is nowadays for being this area a sacred place for the Urus.^[5] It is also believed that the dance could have had its beginnings in another city of modern-day Bolivia, such as in the city of Potosí, back then a miner's settlement during the Spanish conquest, from where it later spread to Oruro and other parts of the Altiplano.^[11] Another theory suggests that the Diablada would have been introduced in 1576 to the native Lupakas people of Juli, located near Lake Titicaca in the Altiplano of present-day Puno, Peru; and from there it allegedly spread to other parts of the Spanish domain in the Americas.^[12] During the evangelism of the natives, the missionaries instilled the Christian paradigm of good and evil by teaching them their theatrical dance which was a representation of the seven deadly sins that concluded with the victory of the angels over the demons (which is how the costumes of angels and demons became associated with the dance). Ultimately, the result was a fusion between Spanish and Andean culture in the Altiplano as the original dance taught by the Jesuit missionaries adopted Andean elements.

The Diablada' represents a mixture between Christianity and Andean religions that goes as far back as 1538, where in the mines of Aullagas (in northern Potosí) the natives adopted Christian religious figures and adapted them to their indigenous religious visions.^[11] The dance eventually became part of a series of Christian religious festivities, most prominently during the celebrations to the Virgin of Candelaria (also known as the Virgin of Socavón).^[11] These Christian rituals replaced the old Andean beliefs and mythology, and the festivities changed from honouring what were considered "pagan" gods to that of honouring Christian saints and God. Over the years, the Diablada has developed uniquely in various regions of South America, which has led to variations such as the Diablada Puneña and the Diablada of Oruro.^[6]

Native American roots

The debate about the patrimonial identity of the Diablada concerns its roots as well.^[1] Chilean and Peruvian organizations suggest that since this dance is inspired in the Andean civilizations previous to the formation of the current national borders, it should belong equally to the three nations and other Andean states such as Argentina and Ecuador as well. Bolivian cultural organizations and government label this as an "unlawful cultural heritage appropriation" and consider that the declaration of the Carnaval de Oruro as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity gives Bolivia and the city of Oruro support on this claim.^[13] Bolivian scholars such as the professor of ethnomusicology and cultural heritage, Diego Echevers Tórrez, express that the Diablada is not the mere representation of the devils in a defined space, but constitutes the cultural heritage of the city of Oruro with specific actors and environment.^[14]

Uru roots theory

After the declaration of the Carnaval de Oruro as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 18 May 2001, the UNESCO delegated their ex-ambassador in Bolivia, Ivés de la Goublaye de Menorval, the task to be the moderator of the project and handed a form to the Bolivian authorities to be filled in coordination with historians and folklorists, such as Ramiro Condarco Morales, Mario Montaño Aragón, Fernando Cajías, Alberto Guerra Gutiérrez, Javier Romero, Elías Delgado, Carlos Condarco Santillán, Marcelo Lara, Zenobio Calizaya, Zulma Yugar, Walter Zambrana and Ascanio Nava.

The document elaborated by this group is based in the theory that the modern Diablada has roots in the ancient rituals performed 2000 years ago by the Uru civilization. The study makes reference to a deity named Tiw who was the protector of the Urus in mines, lakes and rivers and, in the case of Oruro (or Uru-uru), the owner of caves and rocky shelters. The Urus worship this deity with the dance of the devils being the Tiw himself the main character, later this name was hispanicized as Tío (English: uncle), and as product of the syncretism, the Tiw represented the figure of the devil regretting and becoming devotee of the Virgin of Socavón.^[15]

During the times of the Tahuantinsuyu, the four administrative entities known as suyus had their own representative dances during the Ito festival, a festivity once celebrated throughout the entire empire but, according to the historian José Mansilla Vázquez, who based on manuscripts of Fray Martín de Murúa, says that these festivities were outlawed during the Viceroyalty of Peru with the exception of Oruro which, for being considered an important miner city in the 16th century, counted with some privileges and the Spanish authorities looked to the other way allowing this festivity persist in this city, adapting itself later into the Spanish traditions between the Carnestolendas and the Corpus Christi becoming into the Carnaval of Oruro over the centuries.^[16]

The ancient authors, Fray Martín de Murúa and Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala make reference in their works to the different dances of the area, including the dance of the Llama llama, name given by the Aymaras to refer to the Urus dressed as dancing demons, as it was recorded by Ludovico Bertonio. This dance was performed during the Ito festivities by the representatives of the region known as Urucolla, a sub-region of the south-eastern suyu of Collasuyu located in the lake system of the Department of Oruro between the basins of the lakes Poopó and Coipasa, where the Uru civilization had the city of Oruro as their main social centre, becoming together with Nazca and Wari one of the most ancient cities in the Andean world.^[16][17]

The supporters of this theory consider that the Uru mythology is reflected in the symbolism of the Diablada. The legend behind the importance of the city of Oruro as an ancient sacred place for the Urus tells the story of the chthonic deity Wari, which in the Uru language means soul (Uru: hahuari). He, after hearing that the Urus were worshiping Pachacamaj, represented by Inti, unleashed his revenge by sending plagues of ants, lizards, toads and snakes, animals considered sacred in the Uru mythology. But they were protected by the Ñusta who adopted the figure of a condor, defeating the creatures petrifying them and becoming sacred hills in the four cardinal points of the city of Oruro; these animals are also often represented in the traditional masks of the Diablada.^[18][19][20]

Aymaran roots theory

The Punean scholars who defend the theory of Juli, identify the roots of this dance with the Aymaran traditions of the Lupacas. The director of the cultural group Yuyachkani of Peru, Miguel Rubio Zapata, during an interview in 2007 with the Punean mask maker, Edwin Loza Huarachi, proposes linking the Diablada Puneña with the myth of the Anchanchu, a demon in the folklore of the Aymara people in Bolivia and Peru.^[6][21]

This iconography was adopted in Puno during the Candlemas festivity by the mask makers in this city during the last half of the 20th century, in the past the masks were imported from the Bolivian mask maker Antonio Vizcarra and had the Uru iconography. But after Alberto and Ramón Velásquez established the first Punean mask workshops in Puno in 1956, this art followed different paths.^[3]

Even though the Punean masks still use ants, lizards, toads and snakes, some differences were introduced. The main one is the colour of the masks, the Punean variation of the dance contains two new characters, the golden Anchanchu (Aymara: Q'ori Anchanchu) and the silver Anchanchu (Aymara: Q'olqe Anchanchu). These characters wear a full golden or silvered mask.^[6]