Textual Mediation and Religious Practice in the Catholic Missions in South America : Anthropological and Historical Perspectives
| Project/Area Number |
17520566
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Cultural anthropology/Folklore
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| Research Institution | National Museum of Ethnology |
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Principal Investigator |
SAITO Akira National Museum of Ethnology, Department of Advanced Studies in Anthropology, Associate Professor (20290926)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2006)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
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| Keywords | Bolivia / Moxos / Mission / Jesuits / Catholicism / Documents / Literacy / 文化人類学 / 民族学 / 宗教学 / テクスト学 / 歴史人類学 |
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| Research Abstract |
This study focuses on the uses of documents in the Catholic religious practice among the indigenous people in Moxos region in Lowland Bolivia. It aims to reconstruct their history from the seventeenth century to the present. The results can be summarized as follows :
1. Stability and endurance of the "document culture" in Moxos
The uses of documents introduced into Moxos by the Jesuits in the seventeenth century persisted without major modifications until the twentieth century. Even today we can observe the same "document culture" in remote villages. This remarkable stability and endurance are certainly due to a close connection between the documents and the Catholic liturgy.
2. Radical change in the method of document administration
While the uses of documents hardly changed, the way these documents were administered changed radically after the expulsion of the religious order in 1767. In the Jesuit period, all the documents were kept in the church and the parochial house. After 1767, however, this collection was scattered and lost. As a counter measure, the natives made handwritten copies, kept them in their houses, and transmitted them to the next generation. As a result, small, individualized notebooks appeared in large numbers, all of which were unique in the selection of texts, the format and the style of presentation.
3. Effects of the Spanish language education
The Spanish language education that began in 1780s prepared the indigenous people to manipulate and eventually to challenge the colonial administrative and judicial institutions. Those literate in Spanish obtained information from the outside world, complained about the misconducts of the local officials to the central government and kept in close contact by exchanging letters. A new type of leaders emerged, new ethnic identities were forged and the anti-colonial movements became active, the outcome of which was the revolt of 1810-1811.
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Report
(3 results)
Research Products
(6 results)
