Words Made Flesh

Language, Body, and Conversion in Colonial Latin America

Examines the role of the body in Indigenous-language religious texts from colonial Latin America

Words Made Flesh examines the role played by corporeality in a series of missionary linguistic and poetic projects from Brazil, Peru, and Mexico in early colonial Latin America. Caroline Egan analyzes how works produced in Indigenous languages for the purpose of evangelization were shaped by and, in turn, transformed native understandings of embodiment.

Egan follows the trajectories of specific understudied words in the colonial corpus, tracing their usage through grammars, dictionaries, doctrinal translations, and hymns in Tupi, Quechua, and Nahuatl. These words, however, might not be the first to come to mind when thinking about missionary projects in the colonial world—such as God and trinity, heaven and hell, angel and demon. Instead, the book examines words like the Tupi îuká (to kill) and manõ (to die); the Quechua sunqu (now often translated as "heart"); and the Nahuatl chōca (to weep), cuīca (to sing), and ihuinti (to get drunk). With complementary emphases on regional specificity and comparative ramifications, Words Made Flesh argues that the changing fortunes of these words speak to significant areas of dialogue and debate between Indigenous communities and missionary writers in the late sixteenth century.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.