Families of the forest [[electronic resource] ] : the Matsigenka Indians of the Peruvian Amazon / / Allen Johnson

• Autore: Johnson Allen W
• Pubblicazione: Berkeley, : University of California Press, c2003
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (277 p.)
• Disciplina: 305.898/39
• Soggetto topico: Machiguenga Indians - Kinship; Machiguenga cosmology; Machiguenga Indians - Social life and customs
• Soggetto geografico: Amazon River Region Social life and customs
• Soggetto non controllato: amazon rainforest; anthropologists; anthropology; cultural anthropology; cultural framework; cultural social; discussion books; economic self reliance; ethnographers; ethnography; family level society; family settings; forest life; harsh conditions; household economy; indigenous peoples; matsigenka indians; native indians; nonfiction; peru; peruvian amazon; self reliance; social sciences; social studies; social units; sociocultural perspective; textbooks; theoretical
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-242) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Introduction: Among the Matsigenka -- Chapter 1. Setting and History -- Chapter 2. Making a Living -- Chapter 3. Family Life -- Chapter 4. Society and Politics -- Chapter 5. Cosmos -- Conclusion: A Family Level Society -- Glossary -- References Cited -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: The idea of a family level society, discussed and disputed by anthropologists for nearly half a century, assumes moving, breathing form in Families of the Forest. According to Allen Johnson's deft ethnography, the Matsigenka people of southeastern Peru cannot be understood or appreciated except as a family level society; the family level of sociocultural integration is for them a lived reality. Under ordinary circumstances, the largest social units are individual households or small extended-family hamlets. In the absence of such "tribal" features as villages, territorial defense and warfare, local or regional leaders, and public ceremonials, these people put a premium on economic self-reliance, control of aggression within intimate family settings, and freedom to believe and act in their own perceived self-interest. Johnson shows how the Matsigenka, whose home is the Amazon rainforest, are able to meet virtually all their material needs with the skills and labor available to the individual household. They try to raise their children to be independent and self-reliant, yet in control of their emotional, impulsive natures, so that they can get along in intimate, cooperative living groups. Their belief that self-centered impulsiveness is dangerous and self-control is fulfilling anchors their moral framework, which is expressed in abundant stories and myths. Although, as Johnson points out, such people are often described in negative terms as lacking in features of social and cultural complexity, he finds their small-community lifestyle efficient, rewarding, and very well adapted to their environment.
• Titolo autorizzato: Families of the forest
• ISBN: 1-282-76259-1; 1-59734-611-X; 9786612762598; 0-520-93629-9
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910777363703321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II