Jose Juan Arrom: Antiquities Of The Indians

An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians Fray Ramón Pané, with introductory study by Jose Juan Arrom is an extensive recording of the native civilization and their religious practices. Ramón Pané described himself as a “humble friar”. Sent by Columbus, he was commanded to go and live with the native people of the island of Hispaniola. Pané was expected to keep a testimony and document what he learned about the native Indians. They were hoping to obtain information of their culture, beliefs, and religious ceremonies. Pané’s recordings of what he learned during his time living amongst the Indians is very crucial in the understanding of their culture today. It was as close to a live recording as one can get. Although Pané’s account of the …show more content…
Pané’s was actually the first to broadcast how the Spaniards mistreatment and cruelty to the native Indians. He also addresses in his writing of the Physicians and their practices illustrating them as being con artist or tricksters. Describes how the physicians bamboozle the citizens by telling them the cause of their illness was due to their negligence of not praying to him, giving him land, etc. He also goes into greater details of the trickery illusions physicians performed to convince …show more content…
In Sociology, they have a term ‘cultural relativism’ which means for one to be able to understand another culture then one must view them in the thought of that culture. Culture relativism was quiet obviously not present in the minds of the Spaniards. Multiple Spaniard recordings, including the works of Fray Ramón Pané, Christopher Columbus, and Pietro Matire D’anghiera, tirelessly compared and judged the culture of the Indians to their own beliefs of Christianity. Therefore, their opinions of the Indians were unfairly formed and this quickly led to the Spaniards treating the Indians unfairly. The picture I think of the Spaniards upon overviewing this was a completely blind race for dictatorship, whether they realized it or not. They were so blinded by their own faith and religion that they created a very exaggerated belief that the Indians were uncivilized and it was the will of the gods that the teach them. Which justified to them the need to force their own beliefs of Christianity onto these savage Indians. When they felt they weren’t gaining enough power by converting the natives they responded by means of slaughter and violence in the name of fair punishment for not believing. Pané, the “humble friar,” even made argument to justify theses means. Implying that there are those that you will not be able to convince and in such a case you must resort to