The Witches of Abiquiu

The Witches of Abiquiú: the Governor, the Priest, the Genízaro Indians, and the Devil by Malcolm Ebright and Rick Hendricks. UNM Press, 2006. Illustrations by Glen Strock. This is the story of a little-known witchcraft trial that took place at Abiquiú, New Mexico, between 1756 and 1766.

The Abiquiú Genízaro land grant where the witchcraft outbreak occurred was the crown jewel of Governor Vélez Cachupín’s plan to achieve peace for the early New Mexican colonists, caught between the Pueblo Indians’ resistance to Christianization and raids by nomadic indios bárbaros. Thanks mainly to the governor’s strategy, peace was achieved with the Comanches and Utes, the Pueblo Indians retained their religious ceremonies, and the Abiquiú Pueblo land grant survived and flourished.

According to leading New Mexico historian Marc Simmons, “[Ebright and Hendricks] demonstrate masterful detective work, allowing them to produce an authoritative narrative that is as provocative as it is well-grounded.” Includes drawings, map, and documents. 360 pp.