Syncretism, Bricolage and Mesoamerican Religión: an Approach to a Ceremonial Dance in Huave Culture

Although it is a category frequently used in anthropological literature, syncretism is not a notion that explains but should be explained. Through the discussions that have sparked ceremonial practices in Mesoamerica, this article examines the mechanisms that linked different religious traditions, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of Latin American religions
Main Author: Millán, Saúl (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer International Publishing 2021
In: International journal of Latin American religions
Year: 2021, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Pages: 64-75
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Mesoamerican Indians / Popular piety / Syncretism / Huave Indians / Ritual dance
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AG Religious life; material religion
AZ New religious movements
KBR Latin America
Further subjects:B Religion
B Syncretism
B Mesoamerica
B Snakedance
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Although it is a category frequently used in anthropological literature, syncretism is not a notion that explains but should be explained. Through the discussions that have sparked ceremonial practices in Mesoamerica, this article examines the mechanisms that linked different religious traditions, according to the principles that rules the “intellectual bricolage,” as Lévi-al Strauss called it when he tried to explain the mythological structure. A ritual dance, known among the Huaves as snakedance, allows us to reflect on the links between the pre-Hispanic past and colonial evangelization, in order to identify the common elements that made cultural dialog possible. Under these circumstances, the notion of syncretism is revealed as the variant of a more general principle that alludes to the connection of signs or, better yet, to the way in which different symbolic systems are articulated through rules that are never arbitrary, not even at the most intense moments of historical vicissitudes.
ISSN:2509-9965
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of Latin American religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s41603-020-00130-2