The Black-man of Zinacantan, a Central American Legend

The Black-man of Zinacantan, a Central American Legend PDF Author: Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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The Black-man of Zinacantan, a Central American Legend

The Black-man of Zinacantan, a Central American Legend PDF Author: Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description


The Black-Man of Zinacantan

The Black-Man of Zinacantan PDF Author: Sarah C. Blaffer
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292769849
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
The subject of this work is anomalies—those things that are between one state and another, neither dead nor alive, neither animal nor human. In this instance, they are the "spooks" (espantos) that inhabit the Maya area: the charcoal-cruncher, a disembodied head that goes off into the night to eat charcoal; the characotels, men who have turned into animals in order to steal chickens; and others. The victims chosen by spooks are likewise between two states: they are caught while asleep or drunk; or they may be humans who ignore social conventions and behave in "un-human" manner. The Black-man of Zinacantan focuses on a small, super-sexed demon who possesses a six-foot-long, death-dealing penis and a penchant for mischief-making. This demon is known in Highland Chiapas as h'ik'al, the Black-man. Although h'ik'al's prototype may have been the bat deity, an ancient Maya god of sacrifice, the demon has been adapted to contemporary life. Sarah Blaffer analyzes the position of anomalies in societies and shows h'ik'al as a norm-offending, yet norm-reinforcing, specter, who by his character and actions demonstrates the proper sex roles for Zinacantec men and women. The data for the study was recorded in Zinacantan, a Tzotzil-speaking Maya community, and in other Maya towns in southern Mexico and Guatemala; the study includes an analysis of tales recorded and translated by Robert M. Laughlin. The drawings that decorate the text were adapted by Virginia Savage and Joseph Barbieri. Besides being a comprehensive treatment of Maya demonology, the book demonstrates the newer approaches in comparative mythology of Claude Lévi-Strauss and others.

Chronicling Cultures

Chronicling Cultures PDF Author: Robert V. Kemper
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 9780759101944
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Description of methods used in long-term anthropological field projects, some extending over half a century. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 3

Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 3 PDF Author: Victoria Reifler Bricker
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292791747
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
The sixteen-volume Handbook of Middle American Indians, completed in 1976, has been acclaimed the world over as the single most valuable resource ever produced for those involved in the study of Mesoamerica. When it was determined in 1978 that the Handbook should be updated periodically, Victoria Reifler Bricker, well-known cultural anthropologist, was elected to be general editor. This third volume of the Supplement is devoted to the aboriginal literatures of Mesoamerica, a topic receiving little attention in the original Handbook. According to the general editor, "This volume does more than supplement and update the coverage of Middle American Indian literatures in the Handbook. It breaks new ground by defining the parameters of a new interdisciplinary field in Middle American Indian studies." The aim of the present volume is to consider literature from five Middle American Indian languages: Nahuatl, Yucatecan Maya, Quiche, Tzotzil, and Chorti. The first three literatures are well documented for both the Classical and Modern variants of their languages and are obvious candidates for inclusion in this volume. The literatures of Tzotzil and Chorti, on the other hand, are oral, and heretofore little has been written of their genres and styles. Taken together, these essays represent a substantial contribution to the Handbook series, with the volume editor's introduction placing in geographic perspective the five literatures chosen as representative of the Middle American literary tradition.

Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 3

Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 3 PDF Author: Munro S. Edmonson
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292775938
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Selected References, in English, on the Ethnology of the Indians of Mexico, Central and South America

Selected References, in English, on the Ethnology of the Indians of Mexico, Central and South America PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Indians of Central America
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Weaving the Past

Weaving the Past PDF Author: Susan Kellogg
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198040422
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Weaving the Past offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary history of Latin America's indigenous women. While the book concentrates on native women in Mesoamerica and the Andes, it covers indigenous people in other parts of South and Central America, including lowland peoples in and beyond Brazil, and Afro-indigenous peoples, such as the Garifuna, of Central America. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, it argues that change, not continuity, has been the norm for indigenous peoples whose resilience in the face of complex and long-term patterns of cultural change is due in no small part to the roles, actions, and agency of women. The book provides broad coverage of gender roles in native Latin America over many centuries, drawing upon a range of evidence from archaeology, anthropology, religion, and politics. Primary and secondary sources include chronicles, codices, newspaper articles, and monographic work on specific regions. Arguing that Latin America's indigenous women were the critical force behind the more important events and processes of Latin America's history, Kellogg interweaves the region's history of family, sexual, and labor history with the origins of women's power in prehispanic, colonial, and modern South and Central America. Shying away from interpretations that treat women as house bound and passive, the book instead emphasizes women's long history of performing labor, being politically active, and contributing to, even supporting, family and community well-being.

Currents in Anthropology

Currents in Anthropology PDF Author: Robert Hinshaw
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 311080929X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 589

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Guide to the Hispanic American Historical Review, 1956-1975

Guide to the Hispanic American Historical Review, 1956-1975 PDF Author: Wilber A. Chaffee
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822304296
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description


Gender in Pre-Hispanic America

Gender in Pre-Hispanic America PDF Author: Cecelia F. Klein
Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks
ISBN: 9780884022794
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
Gender in Pre-Hispanic America offers rich opportunities for comprehending current trends and considering future directions in research. It is unique in that it puts social theory at the forefront of the discussion. The book has a special intellectual presence and contemporary relevance in its engagement with the social lives and constructs of its authors and readers alike. The consideration of the role of gender in our daily lives, including in our professions, becomes inescapable when reading this book. It is not simply a question of men's roles having been possibly overemphasized and overstudied to the detriment of women's. The fact that genders, as opposed to sexes, are socially constructed categories focuses our attention on the ways in which these and other social constructs have shaped our present understanding of the past and informed past peoples' understand of their present. In various articles in this book, the reader will not find unanimity in what is meant by "gender" or how to go about studying it. What will be found, however, is a collection of interesting, informed, thought-provoking, and often lively essays. It is hoped that this volume will mark a stage in an evolving study of this field and provoke new research in the future.