Huillas names three things in the records: a territory, the circle of Huillas; a legitimate church of priestesses of witchcraft and of the relation between life and death; and a force able to form a battle phalanx. It played a divided role in the occupation of Caldero.
| Type | Territory, church and armed force |
| Spanish entry | Huillas |
Description
The records note the circle of Huillas, a locality of its own, and a “temple of Huilla” (spelling uncertain). Huillas keeps a delegation in Caldero “near the area of the temples”, among recognized churches. Its priestesses are “the priestesses of the world of witchcraft, of sorcery, of the relation between life and death, but it is a legitimate cult”. They are referred to familiarly: “you remember the girls of Huillas”.
Roles
- Diplomatic: meetings are arranged with the church, gifts are given, and it is treated as an equal (“top hat to top hat”). The unexplained “fruticías” appear on the same agenda.
- Military: the girls of Huillas can form a combat phalanx (recorded when they were not doing so), and “those of Huillas” appear beside the Red Guards in the occupation of Caldero.
There are “differences even within the church of Huillas”.
The occupation of Caldero
During the occupation some women of Huillas helped the population beside the azarotes, others loaded carts to migrate, and “those of Huillas” stood with the occupying Red Guards. In the final combat of that cycle the antagonists came “to reclaim the church of Huillas”: “a blaze loaded with fire coming at full force, with a priestess and a fanatical sorceress”. The dispute was over who possesses the church.
Conflicting accounts
- The divergent positions during the occupation may be factions of one body or a change of sides; both readings stand.
- One story makes Huillas a place that gave rise to a cult; another, a figure that named a territory.
Open questions
- Whether the circle, the temple and the delegation are one hierarchy or one thing; whether “Huilla” and “Huillas” are the same.
- What gifts are given to the church, and where its doctrine splits.
- The temple’s look, vestments, insignia and colors; the meaning of “fruticías”.