Focusing on the Bororo people of west-central Brazil, this book addresses the construction of self-identity through interethnic interaction. By presenting the images the Bororo have of themselves as well as the images of others who have interacted with them, Brazilian anthropologist Sylvia Caiuby Novaes argues convincingly that Bororo self-images are constructed with the aid of a peculiar looking-glass—it is in the images of others that they see themselves.
Incorporating contributions from psychology, psychoanalysis, linguistics, and semiotics,Play of Mirrorsfocuses on symbols, images, discourse, and meanings rather than solely on the problem of acculturation. It thus reflects the thinking of a new generation of Brazilian anthropologists who have shifted their focus from native communities as isolated entities to an examination of their embeddedness within broader national and international arenas.
Focusing on the Bororo people of west-central Brazil, this book addresses the construction of self-identity through interethnic interaction.
Author Sylvia Caiuby Novaes is Professor of Anthropology at the Universidade de S?o Paulo and has conducted field research among Brazilian Indians for more than twenty years. Izabel Murat Burbridge is a freelance translator in S?o Paulo.
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Contemporary Anthropology and Studies of Identity and Social Change
- 2. Identity in the Broad Sense: The Other as Model
- 3. Literature as Mirror: Different Views of Social Change in Bororo Society
- 4. Self-Image as Formed in the Play of Mirrors: Structural Distance and Reference Values
- 5. The Salesian Missions in Mato Grosso
- 6. The Salesians and the Progressive Church: The Reshaping of an Image
- 7. Missionaries and Indians: Identification Created through Martyrdom
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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