The female and male socio-symbolic relationship in the San Judas Tadeo brotherhood of the 21st Century, in Lima, Peru

Abstract

In this article we use an anthropological perspective to analyze the mechanisms of interaction between female and male actors in a given cultural system based on gender identity, and performed within the realm of the Catholic religion in the public activities where they demonstrate their faith. The relationships between the genders are analyzed as mechanisms of symbolic interaction in the construction of a specific community, oriented around San Judas Tadeo, in the city of Lima, Peru. The mechanism of interaction and the construction of institutionalized devotional commu- nity is studied with regard to the Franciscan Apostolate of the Knights of San Judas Tadeo, which includes two female institutions. Through ethnography, as well as interviews and conversations with the actors, the participation of female and male groups in institutionalized public devotion is described and analyzed from the perspective of the historical interdependence that has been formed between socio-religious-lay groups in the Peruvian capital.