Rodrigo Villagra Carron Phd Thesis
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THE TWO SHAMANS AND THE OWNER OF THE CATTLE : ALTERITY, STORYTELLING AND SHAMANISM AMONGST THE ANGAITÉ OF THE PARAGUAYAN CHACO Rodrigo Villagra Carron A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2010 Full metadata for this item is available in the St Andrews Digital Research Repository at: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/965 This item is protected by original copyright I THE TWO SHAMANS AND THE OWNER OF THE CATTLE Alterity, storytelling and shamanism amongst the Angaité of the Paraguayan Chaco Rodrigo Villagra Carron A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St. Andrews April 2009 II ABSTRACT My thesis examines from an ethnographic account how history has been made, told and interpreted by the Angaité people of the Chaco since the Paraguayan nation-state effectively carried out the colonization of this territory in the 19th century until the present day. The key elements of this account are the Angaité’s notions and practices on alterity, storytelling and shamanism and how they interplay with one another. I explore the notions of alterity and its counterpart similarity in the context of multiple material transactions in which the Angaité engage both among themselves and with outsiders. I also examine the inseparable socio-moral evaluations attached to such transactions. I show how certain transactions such as exchange or commoditisation do not necessarily conflict with good social relations. Nevertheless, the closest relationships – preferably evoked in kinship terms - are constantly constructed by the combination of several practices including sharing, pooling, cohabitation and companionship and the relational morality that underpins them. This relational morality, I argue, is both inscribed and enacted through the telling of Nanek Any’a narratives –“Old news/events”. I analyze some of these narratives in order to show how the Angaité people interpret the consequences of the colonization of the Chaco. For this I provide an intelligible context for the Nanek Any’a that may otherwise appear contradictory or incomprehensible to a non-Angaité listener. The Angaité’s versions of history compared to the official accounts challenge the simplistic of the Angaité as “acculturated” and a homogenous indigenous people and situate them as main actors of their own lives. Rather than the Angaité being the victims of history the Nanek Any’a emphasize that it was the mistakes and failing of their ancestors in their original encounter with the Paraguayans that resulted in an unbalanced relationship with the latter in socio- economic terms. In addition to this, I describe in the light of the historical processes undergone in the lives of the Angaité, how the shamanic discourses and capacities and Angaité cosmology have changed. I explore how they have constantly incorporated external elements, and thus such shamanic elements pervades contemporary areas of life and interactions that include not only the paradigmatic indigenous shaman, but unusual figures such as pastors, powerful outsiders and leaders. III I, Rodrigo Villagra Carron, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 100.000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2003 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in Social Anthropology in the same date; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2003 and 2009. date ……… signature of candidate …………. I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in Social Anthropology in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date ………signature of supervisor ………… In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. We have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to Printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews. date ……… signature of candidate ………signature of supervisor ……… IV CONTENTS List of Maps, Tables and Figures vii Acknowledgements viii Note on Orthography xiii INTRODUCTION 4 A. On the Angaité People and their surroundings 4 A.i The Chaco 4 A.ii The Chaco colonization and the Angaité 5 A.iii The recent and current situation of the Angaité people 6 B. Research Objective 9 C. Literature review 19 D. Fieldwork 19 D.i The fieldwork setup 22 E. Outline of the thesis 24 CHAPTER 1. THE SHAMAN AND THE ANTHROPOLOGIST: A DISCUSSION OF MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS AND ALTERITY 26 1.1 How social relations are formed and understood 27 1.1.1 The moral logic of indigenous relations 27 1.1.2 The human “I” and “we”, kinship/relatedness and “sameness”, and the “other(s)” in Angaité discourse 29 1.1.3 Is it possible to transform the other(s) into enlhet/émok? 36 1.2 Learning Angaité and dealing with money 41 1.3 Types of transaction and types of relationship 48 1.3.1 Historical continuities and differences in Angaité exchange 55 1.3.2 Sharing with and “helping” the veske 59 1.3.3 Others as “friends” 65 1.4 Overlapping material transactions 67 1.5 The transformation of the “other” into affine or relative 71 1.6 Conclusion 73 CHAPTER 2. THE ANGAITÉ VERSION OF THE ARRIVAL OF PARAGUAYANS 76 2.1. The ethnographic context of storytelling 76 2.1.1 Storytelling in everyday life 78 2.1.2 How people talk about Nanek Anya: life histories and the trajectory of life 80 2.2 A changing myth 82 2.2.1 The “Arrival of Paraguayans” 84 2.2.2 The temporal and geographical location of the story 89 2.3 The nationalization process of the Chaco 92 2.3.1 Explorers, missionaries and surveyors 94 2.3.2 Mirroring the legend of the hostile Chaco “Indians” 98 2.4 The reading of the story 101 2.5 The “Arrival of Paraguayans” and cattle: another Angaité narrative 104 2.5.1. The social meaning of the second narrative: Do the valayo know V how to live well? 109 2.6. Many stories and many episodes: is there a common Angaité reading to the “Arrival of Paraguayans”? 111 2.6.1 The discarding of the “white” food: an inverted image of the violation of a food taboo 113 2.7. The correlation between gustatory/auditory senses and vitality/productive wealth 117 2.8 The vertical and horizontal axes and their mediatory means 120 2.9 On the mythical “genealogy of misfortune” 125 2.10 Conclusion 127 CHAPTER 3: THE “TWO SHAMANS AND THE OWNER OF CATTLE” 133 3.1 The methodological approach 138 3.2 The context and the intentions of telling the myth 141 3.3 The historicity of the myth and the obliteration of time 143 3.3.1 Enlhet-Enenlhet cosmology and the “ancient shamans” 144 3.3.2 Reshaping auxiliary beings in and beyond the “Two shamans and the Owner of Cattle” 151 3.3.3 “New” auxiliary spirits and new things to master 156 3.3.4 The historical records of cattle and trading 157 3.3.4.1 Cattle-hunting: crime and punishment 161 3.3.4.2 Trading with Anglicans and Paraguayans and the vanished shell necklaces 166 3.3.4.3. New conditions under Valay Veske: the turning-point in Angaité history 171 3.3.5 The breach of a taboo: “mythological” logic replacing historical rationale 177 3.4. Two Enxet variants 179 3.4.1 Comparative analysis of the Angaité and Enxet narratives 181 3.4.1.1 Circumstantial differences 182 3.4.2 The bipartite ideology of Amerindians 189 3.5 The importance of cattle in everyday life 192 3.6. Conclusion 199 CHAPTER 4 TRANSFORMATION OF SHAMANISM AND LEADERSHIP IN THE CHACO: CONSTANT INNOVATIONS? 201 4.1. The related capacities/powers of Apyoholhma and Veske 201 4.2. On the historical transformation and the shamanic potency 205 4.3 Rise and fall of the indigenous veske and the appearance of non indigenous 206 veske and indigenous pastors 211 4.4. Other foreigners and Paraguayans as shamans and veske 217 4.5. Non-shaman leaders (or hidden shamans?) 222 4.6 On the fading and less visible apyoholhma 237 4.7. Experimental (and failing) apprenticeship and old and new techniques 238 4.8. The historical and contextual visibility and non-visibility of the apyoholhma: between efficacy and danger 243 4.9. Conclusion 254 VI CONCLUSION 257 APPENDIX 1. List of Nanek Anya collected 263 APPENDIX 2: Quebracho and cattle companies, tannin factory ports and estancias on the right bank of the Paraguay River affecting the Angaité territory and neighbouring peoples 266 BIBLIOGRAPHY 267 VII LIST OF MAPS, FIGURES AND TABLES Map 1 Indigenous peoples of Paraguay 1 Map 2 Paraguay, Angaité territory and La Patria community 2 Map 3 Angaité communities landholdings 3 Map 4 Villages of La Patria community 91 Map 5 State land sale in the Paraguayan Chaco (1885-1887) 92 Map 6 Former Angaité villages, Anglican Missions, IPC Ranch and Ports 132 Figure 1.