Abstract

Studies of religiosity in Southern Andean Aymara communities have reported on the importance of cultural systems of gender in the theoretical configuration of rituals. Considering these preceding studies, I present here the results of an investigation that intends to explore the "subjects of worship" and their contexts, given the role they play as key actors in local history. Through interviews and ethnographic observations, conducted in two communities of Northern Chile's high plateau, I have explored the divinities and their relationships to understand the philosophical bases of the process of gender symbolization. I compare the data collected in two periods of fieldwork (1982-1997 and 2007-2016). The results testify to the evolution of colonial processes of gender, characterized by the imposition ofJudeo-Christian ideology. At the same time, they show how social actors struggle to include knowledge and beliefs acquired from ancestors. References to the sexual domain lead to contradictions with the hegemonic system. The heterogeneity of the ideas and religious practices is manifested in a superposition of gender traditions that resist amalgamation; however, the school and health systems join the churches in continuing to evangelize and reduce the feminine to motherhood.