Since the 1990s, scholars across disciplines have been debating whether there is or is not a “crypto-Jewish” presence in New Mexico. Folktales often have been used as evidence in favor of each side of this debate, with one side arguing that such stories substantiate the existence of secretly Jewish, Catholic families and the other side insisting that the stories prove their own hollowness. This talk engages with the material of the debate but steps outside of its framework to suggest that, regardless of the veracity of crypto-Jewish folktales, these narratives can be socially productive tools for establishing and inhabiting crypto-Jewish identities.

Sarah Leiter is a PhD candidate in the Ethnology subfield of the UNM Anthropology Department. She is conducting ethnographic fieldwork among New Mexicans of Spanish descent, many of whom identify as crypto-Jews or as descendants of crypto-Jews. Sarah’s research explores narrative, ritual, and identification practices through a focus on dual citizenship and religious syncretism in the context of New Mexico.