(2021) "The Occult among the Aborigines of South America? Some Remarks on Race, Coloniality, and the West in the Study of Esotericism", in Asprem, E. and Strube, J. (eds.), New Approaches to the Study of Esotericism. Leiden and Boston: Brill, pp. 88-108 By Mariano Villalba

https://www.academia.edu/44709034/_2021_The_Occult_among_the_Aborigines_of_South_America_Some_Remarks_on_Race_Coloniality_and_the_West_in_the_Study_of_Esotericism_in_Asprem_E_and_Strube_J_eds_New_Approaches_to_the_Study_of_Esotericism_Leiden_and_Boston_Brill_pp_88_108?nav_from=42515f8d-08d5-446f-a164-c8d99a2cd165 This article argues that esotericism is not a European phenomenon diffused to the colonies, but rather global and originated through the conquest of America. Illustrating its emergence in New Spain and Peru, it discusses how the Eurocentrism of current research models has concealed such aspects, as well as other currents and factors in the Spanish Renaissance. Introducing a decolonial perspective, the article problematizes the boundaries of esotericism through a historically informed definition of “the West.” Finally, it discusses the concepts of “colonialism” and “race” in modern occultism by way of Henri Girgois’ "The Occult Among the Aborigines of South America" (1897), first General Delegate of Martinism in Latin America.