Families of the Forest: The Matsigenka Indians of the Peruvian Amazon

279 Pages·2003·1.91 MB·English

by  Allen W. Johnson

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Families of the Forest
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Families of the Forest
The Matsigenka Indians
of the Peruvian Amazon
Allen Johnson
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley / Los Angeles / London
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Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs and figures are by the author.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2003 by
The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnson, Allen W.
Familiesoftheforest:theMatsigenkaIndiansofthePeruvianAmazon/
Allen Johnson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-520-23241-0 (cloth : alk. paper).—isbn0-520-23242-9 (paper :
alk. paper)
1. Machiguenga Indians—Kinship. 2. Machiguenga cosmology.
3. Machiguenga Indians—Social life and customs. 4. Amazon River
Region—Social life and customs. I. Title.
f3430.1.m3 j64 2003
305.898(cid:2)39—dc21 2002018748
Manufactured in the United States of America
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and totally chlorine-
free (tcf). It meets the minimum requirements of ansi/nisoz39.48-1992
(r1997)(Permanence of Paper).(cid:2)(cid:3)
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For
Walter Goldschmidt
and
Johannes Wilbert,
who know about ethnography
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I believe that if our philosophers had lived among the
Machiguengas ... they would have greatly doubted the
concept of Man as a social animal.
Padre Andres Ferrero,Los Machiguengas,1966
Tienen cosa linda, ellos. (“They have a beautiful thing,
those folks.”)
Peruvian living in a Matsigenka settlement
near the Pongo de Mainique, 1972
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Contents
List of Illustrations xi
List of Tables xiii
Preface xv
Introduction: Among the Matsigenka 1
1. Setting and History 11
2. Making a Living 38
3. Family Life 91
4. Society and Politics 140
5. Cosmos 187
Conclusion: A Family Level Society 223
Glossary 229
References Cited 231
Index 243