Full Description
Cosmology or cosmological ideas are often sought to solve problems in our daily lives. This book aims to rethink the topic of cosmology in anthropology through an ethnographic description of the many entanglements of cosmological ideas and the personal and political lives of individuals within the K'iche' Maya community of Momostenango, Guatemala. It addresses the question of why they turn to cosmology in an everyday context and how it is powerful and efficient for them. It also shows the way Indigenous cosmological ideas are echoed by contemporary philosophical and scientific conceptions.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Note on K'iche' Ortography and Transliterations
Maps
Introduction: Mesoamerican Cosmologies and Social Theory
Chapter 1. 'The Law of Us, the Indigenous'
Chapter 2. Seeing with Eyes of Fire: A Ritual Séance among a K'iche' Family
Chapter 3. A Future That Already Happened: Time Magic in K'iche' Rituals
Chapter 4. 'If You See Me in Dreams, I Can Harm You': On Witchcraft
Chapter 5. The Struggle for the Earth: The Cosmology of Activism and Resistance
Chapter 6. Altars of History: War, Rituals and Social Memory
Conclusion: What Is Cosmology?
Appendix: Some K'iche' Cosmological Concepts
Glossary
References
Index
