Consuming grief: compassionate cannibalism in an Amazonian society

318 Pages·2001·8.8 MB·English

by  Beth A. Conklin

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I N A N
A M A Z O N I A N
S O C I E T Y
U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S P R E S S , AU S T I N
B E T H A . C O N K L I N

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I Copyright©bytheUniversityofTexasPress
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LibraryofCongress
Cataloging-in-PublicationData
Conklin,BethA.
Consuminggrief:compassionatecannibalisminan
Amazoniansociety/BethA.Conklin.—sted.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
---(cloth:alk.paper)—
---(pbk.:alk.paper)
.PakaasnovosIndians—Funeralcustomsand
rites. .Cannibalism—Brazil. I.Title.
.. 
.''—dc -

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mybrotherJim(–),
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on ix Acknowledgments
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2 xiii AbouttheArtistandIllustrations
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62 xiv ANoteonOrthography
xv Introduction
PART I: CONTEXTS, 1
3 ChapterOne:CannibalEpistemologies
24 ChapterTwo:Wari’Worlds
47 ChapterThree:CulturalCollisions
PART II: MOTIFS AND MOTIVES, 63
65 ChapterFour:Funerals
87 ChapterFive:ExplanationsofEating
PART III: BODILY CONNECTIONS, 109
111 ChapterSix:SocialAnatomy
132 ChapterSeven:EmbodiedIdentities
157 ChapterEight:BurningSorrow
PART IV: EAT AND BE EATEN, 179
181 ChapterNine:PredatorandPrey
205 ChapterTen:HuntingtheAncestors
224 ChapterEleven:TransformingGrief
241 Afterword
242 AppendixA:TheStoryofMortuary
Cannibalism’sOrigin
247 AppendixB:TheStoryofHujin
andOrotapan
252 Notes

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S 277 Index
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MyresearchamongtheWari’ofRondônia,Brazil,hasbeensupportedby
grantsandfellowshipsfromtheFulbrightCommission,theInter-American
Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research,
theTinkerFoundation,andtheRobertPennWarrenCenterfortheHumani-
ties at Vanderbilt University. A CharlotteW. Newcombe Fellowship from
the Woodrow Wilson Foundation supported dissertation writing, and a
Vanderbilt University Research Council grant provided assistance while
writing part of this book. I am grateful to all these institutions for their
generosityinmakingthisworkpossible.
Theinitialfieldresearchonwhichthisstudyisbasedwascarriedoutin
–, under the sponsorship of Julio César Melatti of the Universi-
dadedeBrasília,whoprovidedinvaluableassistanceinfacilitatingauthori-
zationofmyresearchbytheConselhoNacionaldeDesenvolvimentoCien-
tíficoeTecnológico(q)andtheFundaçãoNacionaldoIndio().
LuisCarlosPannunzioofqandEzequiasHerreraFilho,OlgaNovion,
DelvairMelatti,andLuisOtávioof,Brasília,helpedgetmyresearch
under way. Conceição Militão at ’s Brasília archives and the staffs
oftheConselhoIndigenistaMissionário()andtheMuseudoIndioin
Riograciouslyfacilitatedaccesstoarchivalmaterials.
Anthropology in Brazil flourishes in a dynamic community of scholars
doing some of the most stimulating work in the discipline today. In the
evolving conversations about native Amazonian ways of living and dying,
mythinkingowesspecialdebtstotheworkofBruceAlbert,ManuelaCar-
neiro da Cunha, Carlos Fausto, Philippe Descola, Peter Gow, Christine
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T: Hugh-Jones, Stephen Hugh-Jones, Joana Overing, Anne-ChristineTaylor,
S
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