Syncretism as Decolonial Bricolage

Sor Juana synthesized Nahuatl traditions, Spanish learning, Christian theology, and classical philosophy into work that was authentically hers. Rather than pure preservation or total assimilation, she practiced bricolage—using available cultural materials to construct meaning. Postcolonial decolonization recognizes syncretism not as contamination but as creative survival and cultural assertion. When colonized peoples blend traditions, they refuse the false choice between complete Westernization and frozen authenticity. This concept validates hybrid identities and cultural forms that emerge from colonial encounter. Syncretism as decolonial bricolage honors the resourcefulness of those who build new worlds from the fragments of multiple traditions. Sor Juana's intellectual synthesis models how postcolonial subjects can claim agency in cultural creation, building identities and knowledge systems that reflect the complex histories they inhabit without apology or shame.