Caciques as Administrators of the Colonial Labour of the Ayllus: Tribute-Payers and Non-Tribute-Payers in the Case of Chayanta in Charcas at the End of the Eighteenth Century

Abstract

The great debate on mining mita revealed the magnitude of “another mita”, the religious mita. This article analyses three themes. Firstly, the religious positions and the turns or mitas that existed for the different celebrations, including the “services” and the works carried out for the construction of the Church of San Pedro de Buenavista and for the priests’ residence. Secondly, women’s participation in services, both for the priest and for the churches, and in religious positions for devotions in the different parishes, parcialidades and annexes. Finally, the important role of the cacique in the organisation of this labour system, which includes the religious sphere, a dimension that has received less attention in historiography and which prompts us to think about the responsibilities of caciques in colonial society.