In this body : Kaqchikel Maya and the grounding of spirit / Servando Z. Hinojosa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hinojosa, Servando Z., 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cakchikel Indians--Guatemala--Comalapa--Social life and customs.

Cakchikel Indians.

Cakchikel Indians--Guatemala--Comalapa--Religion.

Human body--Social aspects--Guatemala--Comalapa.

Human body.

Human body--Guatemala--Comalapa--Religious aspects.

Mind and body--Guatemala--Comalapa.

Mind and body.

Comalapa (Guatemala)--Social life and customs.

Comalapa (Guatemala).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albuquerque, [New Mexico] : University of New Mexico Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"The Kaqchikel Maya, who live in the highlands of central Guatemala, experience soul as part of a continuum of bodily states. This account of life in one highland Maya community shows how, among Kaqchikels, spirit expresses itself fundamentally through the body, and not as something entirely separate from the body. By examining the lived-meanings of midwifery, soul therapy, and community dance in the town of San Juan Comalapa, the book identifies the body as the primary vehicle for spiritual grounding in daily life. Hinojosa invites readers to understand how specialists in these activities articulate their knowledge of the spirit through their understanding of blood, and he encourages readers to glimpse the hidden life of the body and how bodily processes guide local understandings of spirit at the personal and group level. This work further illuminates the agentive role of the body in Maya spiritual experience and enriches the current discussions of Maya spiritual revitalization"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part One. Soul and Place in Mesoamerica

Approaching Soul in Mesoamerica

The Human Landscape in Comalapa

Embodying Spirit in Comalapa

Part Two: The Midwife and Spiritual Gestation

The Midwife at Work

Birth Organs and the Stirring of Will

Knowledge about the Soul and the Child's Fate

Part Three. The Soul-Therapist and Securing of Spirit

Soul-Therapists and their Beginnings

Elusive Spirits and Surrogate Bodies

Part Four. Maya Dancers and Renewal of Spirit

Performing Soul, Performing Community

The Las Delicias Becoming

The Moros in Public and Private Space

Appendix.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780826337474

0826337473

OCLC:

922925918