Gods & vampires: return to Chipaya

Wachtel, Nathan; Volk, Carol

Book

Gods & vampires: return to Chipaya

University of Chicago Press • Chicago • Published In 1994 • Pages:

By: Wachtel, Nathan, Volk, Carol.

Abstract
Drawing on follow-up research conducted in 1991, this book discusses the substances of change that have occurred in Chipaya communities since the author's previous fieldwork in the 1970s and 1980s. Over those decades, Chipaya communities witnessed profound changes and social transformation. One of the most significant changes the author noticed was the dissolution of the traditional Chipaya religious system, including the disappearance of the underworld divinities that dominated community life in the 1970s. Main reasons given for this include the rapid assimilation of Chipaya people into the dominant Aymara and Spanish cultures, expansion of missionary churches, the advent of education and youth migration, and globalization. Nevertheless, the author finds continuity of some elements of the old Chipaya culture. One is the myth of [n]kharisiri[/n], a vampire-like creature believed to appear in the person of a white or [i]mestizo[/i] man, causing death and sickness by extracting body fat from innocent victims. A second element exhibiting a degree of continuity is the kinship rule by which the Chipaya divided themselves into moieties.

Cultural identity and pride

Community structure

Cultural participation

Inter-ethnic relations

Rest days and holidays

Political movements

Moieties

Behavior toward non-relatives

Sorcery

Prayers and sacrifices

Organized ceremonial

Congregations