"Walking Towards The Land Without Evil" is a Msc dissertation, by María Crespo Arauco (1998). This portion of the dissertation defines authoritative and sacred aspects of the Tupi-Guarani. Arauco's analysis is summarized below.
The Tupi-Guarani do not believe in political power – non-coercive power. They have a Chief, who essentially has no power, but his exclusive role is to care for the people of the village. He is considered the hardest worker and he must be an outstanding speaker. The people of the village consider his speech's empty speech – do not care what he has to say – and the author states, this empty speech only emphasizes his lack of power (Arauco 1998:14). The true authority of the Tupi-Guarani lies in each house-hold a leader, and the Chief must work to prevent hostility and keep peace amongst them. The Chief, no political power in his grasp, works for the community and it is his debt that he must repay to them.
On the other hand, coercive power – forcing someone to follow an order by threat of punishment – does not exist amongst the Tupi-Guarani. The author cites why: this kind of power goes against society and symbolizes the negation of reciprocity as the ontological principle of society (1998:15). The author points out, both the Shaman and the Chief do actually have recognized authority at some point in time. The Shaman, his authority is based off alterity – state of being "Other"; and the Chief, his authority is recognized at times of war, over the warriors. War is a basis of alterity, because of the possibility of dying an "honorable" death and dying as "other"; or capturing a prisoner and stepping closer to alterity.
It is evident how the warriors reach the "Other", but there is another way: cannibalism. The author says, cannibalism constitutes the privileged means to access the Land Without Evil after death. Both the Killer and victim are presented passage to alterity (1998:16).
Women are considered "eaters of flesh"; they believe their body mixes with the victim, and gives them passage to alterity or death. It is a sense of social immortality, as they fuse with the body and maintain life of the forsaken one. As for the warriors, they are not allowed to eat the flesh of the victim; instead, they must fast for a number of days – another means to becoming closer to alterity.
As for the victim, being eaten by the village is considered an honorable death; therefore, he is granted entrance to the Land Without Evil. When he is first captive, he is treated with respect and cared for; he is given a wife and food – the goal is to fatten him up. To many of the villagers disdain, he receives the title "Brother-In-Law", because he is now apart of their society. When the ritual time comes – a few months – he is stripped of his societal title and his wife is taken away; he is an enemy once again and prepared for his final fate.
His death is an indication of war, because his tribe will seek revenge on the Tupi-Guarani. The warriors embrace this notion and treat it as an honor they are willing to pursue.
María Crespo Arauco
1998 "Walking Towards The Land Without Evil: Power And Authority Among The Guarani".
Msc dissertation, Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics and
Political Science.
The Tupi-Guarani tribe was an isolated society that resided in South America. Isolation and vague knowledge of their cultural traditions, led to fear from outsiders and earned them nicknames such as "savages". I believe that they did not want to adapt to their surroundings, and this a challenge in Anthropology. Little was known about the tribe, because I do not think they were flexible and they became comfortable avoiding the outside world.
ReplyDeleteI noticed, the Tupi-Guarani are also accepting of death, in modern times deemed "radical". In the least ethnocentric way possible, I think risking one's life for a religious purpose is a shocking practice. Remaining reflexive, I do believe their intentions were to protect their society first but embrace death if bestowed upon them. In my opinion, embracing death could be argued as a maladaptive practice. For instance, when more and more warriors are eager to fight and risk their lives to reach "Other"; women are eventually left with no one to reproduce with and society will then begin to dwindle. I do agree that not being afraid to protect your tribe is a courageous act and I think it provided them with confidence when staring into deaths eyes.
I think our society agrees that cannibalism is an interesting way to practice religion, and comes as a shock at how accepting they are of it. This practice was psychologically reassuring to the tribe. Believing they would reach a state of alterity helped them face death. I give them the benefit of the doubt, because the rite of passage, cannibalism, validated their existence and motivated their daily human actions.
I do not believe the Tupi-Guarani were blood-thirsty or savages; they were an indigenous group who truly believed their alterity faith. Some aspects, such as isolationism and cannibalism, are not practical to me; but I think they wanted only the best for their society. I have become aware that they were passionate about becoming "Other" and that was their main motive. The Tupi-Guarani are a sacred group spread throughout South America and I share a reflexive attitude towards their cultural practices.