The curse of Nemur : in search of the art, myth, and ritual of the Ishir / Ticio Escobar ; translated by Adriana Michele Campos Johnson ; foreword by Michael Taussig.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Escobar, Ticio, 1947- author.

Taussig, Michael T., author of foreword.

Contributor:

Johnson, Adriana Michéle Campos, 1972- translator.

Series:

Illuminations (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Illuminations: Cultural Formations of the Americas

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chamacoco mythology.

Chamacoco Indians--Religion.

Chamacoco Indians.

Chamacoco Indians--Rites and ceremonies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (326 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania : University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Tomaraho, a subgroup of the Ishir (Chamacoco) of Paraguay, are one of the few remaining indigenous populations who have managed to keep both their language and spiritual beliefs intact. They have lived for many years in a remote region of the Gran Chaco, having limited contact with European or Latin American cultures. The survival of the Tomaraho has been tenuous at best; at the time of this writing there were only eighty-seven surviving members. Ticio Escobar, who lived extensively among the Tomaraho, draws on his acquired knowledge of Ishir beliefs to confront them with his own Western ideology, and records a unique dialogue between cultures that counters traditional anthropological interpretation. The Curse of Nemur- which is part field diary, part art critique, and part cultural anthropology-offers us a view of the world from an entirely new perspective, that of the Ishir. We acquire deep insights into their powerful and enigmatic narrative myths, which find expression in the forms of body painting, feather decoration, dream songs, shamanism, and ritual. Through dramatic photographs, native drawings, extensive examination of color and its importance in Ishir art, and Escobar's lucid observation, The Curse of Nemur illuminates the seamless connection of religious practice and art in Ishir culture. It offers a glimpse of an aesthetic "other, " and in so doing, causes us to reexamine Western perspectives on the interpretation of art, belief, and Native American culture.

Contents:

Introduction

The great myth

Feathers and featherwork

Corporal painting

The rite

The path of the shamans

The history.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780822973096

082297309X

OCLC:

891383859