his ceremony, the conqui

stador concludes, tha
t they thereby "demonstrate" th
eir "willingness"

to be subjects of the king (DJO 340). The key performative gesture that punctuates and sells the "act of vassalage" for the Spanish is, of course, the one originally developed by Cortes: after the speech, the Indians are made to kneel before the friars. For each Pueblo, Onate instructs the caciques that to demonstrate "their desire to offer obedience to God and