Pathways of Memory and Power crosses the disciplinary boundary where anthropology and history meet; exploring the cultural frontier of the colonial and postcolonial Andes. Thomas A. Abercrombie uses his fieldwork in the Aymara community of Santa Barbara de Culta; Bolivia; as a starting point for his ambitious examination of the relations between European forms of historical consciousness and indigenous Andean ways of understanding the past. Writing in an inviting first-person narrative style; Abercrombie confronts the ethics of fieldwork by comparing ethnographic experience to the power-laden contexts that produce historical sources. Making clear the early and deep intermingling of practices and world views among Spaniards and Andeans; Christians and non-Christians; Abercrombie critiques both the romanticist tendency to regard Andean culture as still separate from and resistant to European influences; and the melodramatic view that all indigenous practices have been obliterated by colonial and national elites. He challenges prejudices that; from colonial days to the present; have seen Andean historical knowledge only in mythic narratives or narratives of personal experience. Bringing an ethnographer’s approach to historiography; he shows how complex Andean rituals that hybridize European and indigenous traditions—such as libation dedications and llama sacrifices held on saints’ day festivals—are in fact potent evidence of social memory in the community.
#241812 in Books 2016-09-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.40 x .70 x 5.60l; .0 #File Name: 0295999594192 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. So this is a sad bookBy William S JamisonTwo other books come to mind while reading this. One is Hillbilly Elegy which I read recently and felt similar distaste for the circumstances of most if not all of the characters portrayed. (Mostly for reasons of their lives being so dissimilar to mine.) So this distaste is precisely what the book evokes. Along with both of these there is the attempted examination of the causes of the social malaise of the characters. Here I also feel a disenchantment since these hypotheses do not agree with my sense of sociological development and guilt. I after all like reading Charles Murray and Frances Fukuyama. When I drink a beer or some other alcoholic drink I drink one of those. I do not drink to become intoxicated. I drink one glass because the doctor recommends it. Neither do I curse at my loved ones - or anyone else. No chair throwing. Nor have I ever lived in a mobile home except while on vacation in the Poconos for a little while. (It was a nice one.) So my problem is the books depict a life that is totally other for me. And that of course is the value of the book; that it opens my eyes to the lives of people that are very different. It also gives their explanation of why they think life is so unfair - even though following the story of the Raven perhaps in time patience will be rewarded? Perhaps. Lives later perhaps. Meanwhile; people have their lives and the lives of their children destroyed. So sad. So this is a sad book. Unfortunately; this is not going to attract tourists to Juneau I think. How many want to go see Old Tom?But meanwhile; for a completely different type of life; I enjoy reading the biography of Habermas. Now that is a life I can learn from and want to emulate instead of understand in order to avoid.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Loved these braided stories!By Jo-Ann MapsonErnestine Hayes's second memoir is a literary feat the likes of which this reader has never seen. The format is a braided narrative; which she weaves together so that we hear all stories; yet are never lost in the story. The use of overlapping imagery and deliberate repetition of place in various time frames was fascinating; but the strength of this memoir is story. Starting with the story of Raven stealing the daylight begins the adventure; and from that time everything that happens seems tied to legend and Tlingit tales. Characters from Blonde Indian are here again; finding themselves caught and having to make hard decisions. I confess I have a soft spot for Old Tom. He walks a path that seems to leave him in the various straits he's trying to escape; and learns the same lesson Raven does--there are prices to choices--and choices that change the path. Love this memoir.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Ernestine Hayes has a wonderful way of expressing detailed and sensitive information about her ...By Harper HainesErnestine Hayes has a wonderful way of expressing detailed and sensitive information about her childhood. She is a gifted writer and I applaud her memoir.
