Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
O N E
The Devil and the
Fetishization of Tradition
I don't know you, Ayoreo. But I see you shine, smiling in the eyes of Deisy
Amarilla. . . . Like all anthropologists, she knew to transmit to us this Je ne sais
quoi that transports us to another dimension. Another world. To your world,
which used to be ours. . . . My eyes are marveling before you. I admire you for
your Innocence, for your wisdom, for your simple lessons, your way of resolv-
ing things. Your fatalistic superstitions, your at times perturbing coldness, your
loves: sincere, without hypocrisy. Everything brings me closer to you, Ayoreo.
Lost race. Happy, however, in these modern times. You knew to tell us your
stories, your legends, with openness. From you emanates this smile that I wear.
To read about you, to listen to you live, breathe and suffer.
P o e m i n t h e P a r a -
g u a y a n n e w s P a P e r u l t i m a h o r a , J u l y 1 1 2 0 0 9
It is impossible to do real ethnography among the Ayoreo anymore. Only the
bones are left. We are grave robbers, digging up bones.
a n o n y m o u s a n -
t h r o P o l o g i s t , 2 0 0 7
When I first met the New People in their dusty camp at the
edge of the forest, I was surprised to discover that Dejai, the
leader of the new settlement, had predicted my arrival.
“We knew someone like you would come here,” Cutai
told me one afternoon as we were taking a short break from
hunting honey in the deep shade of the forest.
“Someone like me?” I asked.
“Yes,” Cutai murmured. “An
Abujá
.”
“And what is an
Abujá
?” I wondered.
“It is said that they are
Satanas utocaidie
,” he replied with
a slight smile, looking down. “The helpers of the Devil.”
