New words for old skies: recent forms of cosmological discourse among the aboriginal people of the Argentinian Chaco
Abstract
In this paper we discuss the contemporary production of cosmological discourse, especially that concerning celestial space, among the aboriginal Toba and Mocová communities of the Argentinian Chaco. Cosmology remains essential for Tobas and Mocovás at the present time. However, we shall demonstrate the importance of the emergence of new producers of cosmological discourse related to new actors in the struggle over leadership. We will also take into account the present contexts of discourse - the new interlocutors and communications technologies. Our goal is to understand cosmological terms in the context of the complex relations resulting from the structural subordination of these groups to national society.
- Publication:
-
Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy: Building Bridges between Cultures.
- Pub Date:
- 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S174392131101249X
- Bibcode:
- 2011IAUS..278...74M