Sensing locality in Yura: rituals of carnival and of the Bolivian state

Journal/Book: Amer Ethnologist. 1999; 26: 4350 North Fairfax Drive Suite 640, Arlington, VA 22203, USA. Amer Anthropological Assoc. 957-980.

Abstract: In this article, I discuss how an indigenous population in highland Bolivia established a sense of locality through participation in two different rituals: the musically based rituals of carnival and the bureaucratic practices or rituals of state that resulted from the initial implementation of a decentralizing law. Through a privileging of visually perceived representations, the logic behind the new law assumed populations were attached to contiguous territories within a national grid. In contrast, carnival rituals-through a focus on centerpoints, musical sonorities, and perceiving subjects-emphasized a relationship to locality through a sounding-off through space.

Note: Article Bigenho M, Hampshire Coll, Amherst,MA 01002 USA

Keyword(s): nation-state; space; music performance; sense experience; Bolivia; Popular Participation; Yura; POLITICS; IDENTITY; CULTURE; BOUNDARIES; ANDES

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