RT Article
T1 The Chaco Skies: A Socio-cultural History of Power Relations
JF Religion and society
VO 8
IS 1
SP 62
OP 78
A1 López, Alejandro Martín
A2 Altman, Agustina
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/156785995X
AB This article looks into notions of the sky among the Guaycurú aboriginal groups in the Argentine Chaco within the context of the socio-religious changes they have undergone since the eighteenth century. By using ethno-astronomy and anthropology of religion perspectives, and based on our own ethnographic and documentary work, we have analyzed both the continuities and the ruptures in the Guaycurú skies. In doing so, we have found that social relations between humans and non-humans shape the Guaycurú experience of celestial space. These bonds have a strongly political character as they are structured around power asymmetries. The colonial experience, including Christian missions, has imposed modernity on these groups as an overall horizon of possibilities. However, the Guaycurú have sought to redefine modernity, creating their own "modernity paths".
K1 celestial space
K1 Chaco
K1 ethno-astronomy
K1 Guaycurú
K1 Indigenous People
K1 nonhuman beings
K1 Religion
DO 10.3167/arrs.2017.080104