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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.
“This book constitutes an outstanding anthropological work delving on the current cosmo-sociopolitical configurations by K’iche’ Maya. It is full of keen observations ... an effervescent account of current local political and cultural nonlinear transformations.” • Alessandro Questa Rebolledo, Universidad Iberoamericana
“Drawing on the philosophical insights of computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter, the author charts a new path for understanding non-Western cosmologies and their role in Indigenous societies, such as those of the Maya of Guatemala and Mexico. His arguments are subtle, complex, and well illustrated with anecdotes from fieldwork in Momostenango and interesting moments in the ethnohistory of the K’iche’. Altogether, Zamora Corona provides much rich and provocative material for contemplating the nature and place of cosmology in ethnography. Recommended.” Choice
Alonso Rodrigo Zamora Corona teaches Ethnology at the National School of Anthropology and History in Mexico. His research interests are in Indigenous cosmologies, ontology and Indigenous writing systems in Mesoamerica.
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