book review of laua lewis hall of mirrors

Laura A Lewis’s Hall of Mirrors attempts to explain the social hierarchy of early New Spain society and argues that through sanctioned and unsanctioned domains that dominate every day life; consequently, society’s layer are intertwined and often conflict and influence each other in New Spain society. The term sanctioned domain refers to rules of society that were handed down and enforced from the Spanish government and distributed through the lower rungs of society(5). The term unsanctioned domain pertains to acts that were considered to go against Spanish moral and religious beliefs. Unsanctioned acts consisted of witchcraft which could be broken down into dealings with the devil, and use of “black Magic”(6). Sanctioned and unsanctioned domains are the threads that interlocked all layers of new early Spain society. Lewis argues against the traditional meaning of casta in early New Spain and forms her own idea in the book. Casta could be defined as a sanctioned domain of non-ordered pyramid of stratification that depends on sanctioned and unsanctioned domains that allow movement throughout the social hierarchy(33). New Spain society turns into a mingling of the different branches of society that form amongst the social hierarchy. Raza or race is another very important concept that is introduced in the book also(23). Spaniards started to link raza with the purity of bloodlines and genealogy of people within their society that were connected to Moors and Jews. Spanish inquisitors would often ask people if their raza contained Jewish or Moorish blood(23). The Spaniards considered Jewish of Moorish blood lines to be undesirable and be impure; consequently, the Spaniards would also link it with religion that challenged Spanish Christianity. Casta characteristics was often seen as being fluid which allowed social mobility and allowed interactions of groups throughout the social pyramid of society(33).
1.
The main difference between casta and raza seems to be that casta was trying to keep the groups of society together and included while raza was used to exclude people from the main sections of society and to make a point of removing them. The Spaniards living in New Spain controls the majority of the property and lands, occupy most of the high public offices and makes and enforces the laws of the land(34). The Spaniards believed that the right to rule emanated directly from the Christian God from which their religion was based. The Spaniards often used the blacks, mestizos, and mulattoes to act as extensions of the Spanish government to deal with Indians(34). However, The Spanish was not the only group that exhibited power and control in the New Spain society. The Indians also maintained power in New Spain through unsanctioned domains and the power flowed from the bottom upward in the social hierarchy(107). Unsanctioned domains such as witchcraft gives the Indians the ability to challenge and upset control of the society. Spaniards quite often visits Indians in search of potions or magic to deal with illness and heartbreak(120). The Indians not only sold to the Spaniards but quite commonly non-Spaniard’s purchased and bought services and products from Indians. The Indians through unsanctioned domains now possess a way to survive and thrive in the economic system of New Spain(123). The Indians now have a way to move about and intermingle through the higher rankings in the social hierarchy of New Spain society and connect themselves to each of the groups above them. The sanctioned and unsanctioned domain rules are what set New Spain apart from the way caste systems are generally believed to have functioned. 2.
Lewis provides significant and sufficient information to prove that through sanctioned and nonsanctioned domains members of New Spain society could have mobility and not be stuck in a stagnant state. Spaniards wrote laws and enforced them on the classes below them and used the middle classes to act as extensions of their power(34). The blacks, mestizos, and mulattoes obtained their access to other classes by acting as agents of the Spanish rule and by overseeing and applying discipline to Indians that was ordered by the Spaniards; consequently they also purchased goods and services from the Indians. The Indians developed relationship’s buy selling their black magic because they could sell to both the Spaniards and the middle classes also(122). The above relationships helps to prove that New Spain society did not operate the way normal caste societies work. Early New Spain society could be considered as a hall of mirrors because the casta system was just a blurred interpretation of how a normal caste system operated.