Rain forest literatures: Amazonian texts and Latin American culture (Cultural Studies of the Americas)

356 Pages·2004·3.69 MB·English

by  Lúcia Sá

Rain Forest Literatures
Cultural Studies of the Americas
Edited by George Yúdice, Jean Franco, and Juan Flores
Volume 16 Rain Forest Literatures: Amazonian Texts and Latin
American Culture Lúcia Sá
Volume 15 Carnival Theater: Uruguay’s Popular Performers and
National Culture Gustavo Remedi
Volume 14 Cuban Cinema Michael Chanan
Volume 13 Ethnography at the Border Pablo Vila, editor
Volume 12 Critical Latin American and Latino Studies
Juan Poblete, editor
Volume 11 Mexican Masculinities Robert McKee Irwin
Volume 10 Captive Women: Oblivion and Memory in Argentina
Susana Rotker
Volume 9 Border Women: Writing from La Frontera Debra A. Castillo
and María Socorro Tabuenca Córdoba
Volume 8 Masking and Power: Carnival and Popular Culture in the
Caribbean Gerard Aching
Volume 7 Scenes from Postmodern Life Beatriz Sarlo
Volume 6 Consumers and Citizens: Globalization and Multicultural
Conflicts Néstor García Canclini
Volume 5 Music in Cuba Alejo Carpentier
Volume 4 Infertilities: Exploring Fictions of Barren Bodies
Robin Truth Goodman
Volume 3 Latin Americanism Román de la Campa
Volume 2 Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance
of Politics José Esteban Muñoz
Volume 1 The Fence and the River: Culture and Politics at the
U.S.–Mexico Border Claire F. Fox
Rain Forest Literatures
Amazonian Texts and Latin American Culture

Lúcia Sá
Cultural Studies of the Americas, Volume 16
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis  London
The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges assistance provided for the
publication of this book by the Division of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Stanford
University, Palo Alto, California.
A portion of chapter 1 appears in “Tricksters e Mentirosos que Abalaram a Literatura
Nacional: as Narrativas de Akúli e Mayuluaípu,” in Macunaíma e Jurupari: Cosmogonias
Ameríndias, edited by Sérgio Luiz Medeiros (São Paulo: Editora Perspectiva, 2002), 245–59;
reprinted with permission of the publisher. A portion of chapter 5 first appeared in “O
Índio muda de voz: ‘Gaspar Ilóm’ e ‘Meu Tio o Iauaretê,’” in Romance Languages Annual 4
(1992): 564–69; reprinted with the permission of Purdue University. A portion of chapter 7
appeared in “A Lenda do Jurupari: texto sagrado ou fruto da imaginação de littérateurs?” in
Macunaíma e Jurupari: Cosmogonias Ameríndias, edited by Sérgio Luiz Medeiros (São Paulo:
Editora Perspectiva, 2002), 347–58; reprinted with permission of the publisher. Chapter 11
first appeared as “Perverse Tribute: Mario Vargas Llosa’s El hablador and Its Machiguenga
Sources,” in Tesserae: Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies 4, no. 2 (1998): 145–64;
see http://www.tandf.co.uk for more information on Tesserae: Journal of Iberian and Latin
American Studies.
Copyright 2004 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
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Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sá, Lúcia.
Rain forest literatures : Amazonian texts and Latin American culture / Sá, Lúcia.
p. cm. — (Cultural studies of the Americas ; v. 16)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8166-4324-5 (hc : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8166-4325-3 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Latin American literature—Indian influences. 2. Indian literature—South America—
History and criticism. 3. Acculturation—Latin America. I. Title. II. Series.
PQ7081.S2155 2004
860.9'98—dc22
2003025854
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Gordon Brotherston
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Contents
Note on Translations ix
Acknowledgments x
Introduction xiii
Part I. Roraima and the Carib
1. Pacaraima Texts 3
2. Macunaíma (1928) 35
3. Penetrating the Dark Interior 69
Part II. The Great Lowland Territory of the Tupi-Guarani
4. Tupi-Guarani Texts 91
5. Romanticism and After 115
6. Maíra (1976) 153
Part III. Confluence in the Rio Negro
7. The Upper Rio Negro: Jurupari and the Big Snake 173
8. Snake Norato (1931) 205
9. The Green Stage 221
Part IV. The Arawak and the Uppermost Amazon
10. The Machiguenga and Their Heritage 241
11. The Storyteller (1987) 251
Epilogue 275
Notes 289
Works Cited 299
Index 315
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Note on Translations

T
ITLES OF NON-ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS that appear in English refer to existing
translations, cited in the bibliography. On occasion, small emendations
have been made to correct obvious slips, to restore missing phrases or
sentences, and to create consistency with other texts.
Unless otherwise stated, all translations of works whose titles appear in
the original language are mine.
ix