Table Of ContentWebb
anthropology | latin america | religion
W
hen psychological anthropologist
Hillary Webb went to Peru to learn
“ I first heard the word yanantin back in 2000, when I traveled to Peru to learn about about the Andean concept of yanantin, or
Andean indigenous philosophy. Something about the word resonated deeply within complementary opposites, she planned to
Y YANANTIN AND MASINTIN
me. Perhaps it caught my attention because it felt so counter to the Western paradigm use a traditional ethnographic approach in
that I had been raised in, a paradigm in which the opposites are typically seen as IA IN THE ANDEAN WORLD which she would attempt to understand how
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antagonistic and, therefore, as existing in a perpetual war for dominance. Seven years N this remarkable philosophical perspective is
later I returned to Peru to conduct an ethnographic study in which I would attempt TA lived by the indigenous Peruvians themselves.
But when she asked a young shaman named
to shed light on indigenous Andeans’ psychological experience of yanantin. This
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H Amado to explain yanantin, she was given an
book recounts the events that took place during my fieldwork in Peru as I worked
T answer that would not only change the way she
E
with eight indigenous Andeans in an attempt not only to understand, but to integrate
viewed the research process, but would shake
complementary dualism within my own worldview.” I
AN the philosophical foundation within which
—hillary s. webb
N she was raised. “Out of respect I do not define
A yanantin,” he said. And then, “May I suggest
D
“Y anantin and Masintin in the Andean World recounts the compelling scholarly and
N that you download the information from the
personal odyssey of Dr. Hillary Webb, an anthropologist who came to understand E cosmos instead?” This book is Webb’s account
D
hillary s. webb is the managing editor the Andean complementary world view as a sophisticated and practical philosophical A of where these cryptic statements led her.
of Anthropology of Consciousness, the model and, in doing so, was transformed both personally and professionally. Many N M Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean
peer-reviewed journal of the Society for readers of this book will no doubt be transformed as well.” World is more than a scholarly study. It is also
the Anthropology of Consciousness. She —stanley krippner, author of Psychiatrist in Paradise: WA a psycho-spiritual autobiography that tells the
earned an MA in consciousness studies and Treating Mental Illness in Bali story of Dr. Webb’s eventual “download”—a
S
a PhD in psychology. Dr. Webb is the author O process that included entering into ceremony
I
of Exploring Shamanism: Using Ancient “ An outstanding, important work. In addition to adding to the ethnographic literature RN with the mescaline-bearing cactus San Pedro.
Rites to Discover the Unlimited Healing In this groundbreaking book, Webb recounts
about these fundamental concepts that inform Andean world views, it adds a L
Powers of Cosmos and Consciousness and T experiences and conversations pertaining to
fabulous case example that will be cited long into the future.” D
Traveling Between the Worlds: Conversations I the indigenous Andean view of such polarities
—bonnie glass-coffin, author of The Gift of Life:
with Contemporary Shamans. She lives in N as male and female, mind and body, life
Female Spirituality and Healing in Northern Peru
southern Maine. and death, good and evil, and much more.
In addition to illuminating the subtleties of
yanantin, Webb presents her work in ways
that transcend many of the problems of
COMPLEMENTARY DUALISM
ethnography’s separation of observer from
observed. Rich narrative descriptions and
IN MODERN PERU
analyses allow readers to share her experiences.
University of
jacket photographs: (front) courtesy of Carl isbn 978-0-8263-5072-5 Webb’s subject matter and lively prose will
NEW MEXICO Press ËxHSKIMGy350725zv*:+:!:+:!
Austin Hyatt; (back flap) author photograph move Andean scholarship forward as well as
courtesy of Hillary S. Webb unmpress.com
serve as an example of innovative ethnography.
jacket design: Melissa Tandysh 800-249-7737
Hillary S. Webb
Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World
figure 1: © Hillary S. Webb, 2009, Tukuy ima qhariwarmi:
Everything is Man-Woman
YANANTIN AND MASINTIN
IN THE ANDEAN WORLD
COMPLEMENTARY DUALISM
IN MODERN PERU
Hillary S. Webb
University of New Mexico Press
ALBUQUERQUE
© 2012 by the University of New Mexico Press
All rights reserved. Published 2012
Printed in the United States of America
17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Webb, Hillary S., 1971–
Yanantin and masintin in the Andean world : complementary dualism in modern
Peru / Hillary S. Webb.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8263-5072-5 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-8263-5074-9 (electronic)
1. Quechua philosophy. 2. Quechua cosmology.
3. Quechua Indians—Rites and ceremonies. 4. Shamanism—Peru.
5. Dualism. 6. Mind and body. 7. Space and time. I. Title.
f2230.2.k4w43 2012
985´.00498323—dc23
2011019069
DESIGN AND LAYOUT: MELISSA TANDYSH
Composed in 10.5/14 Minion Pro
Display type is Italian Old Style MT Std
To all those who walk with their tails straight up.
And
(of course)
to Carl
CONTENTS
Illustrations | ix
Acknowledgments | xi
INTRODUCTION: The Complement of Difference | 1
CHAPTER ONE: The Knower and the Known | 19
CHAPTER TWO: Mind and Body; Spirit and Flesh | 35
CHAPTER THREE: Of Time and Space | 49
CHAPTER FOUR: Between Self and Other | 63
CHAPTER FIVE: Chaupin | 77
CHAPTER SIX: The Lanzón | 91
CHAPTER SEVEN: On Good and Evil; Life and Death | 105
CHAPTER EIGHT: The Symbolic Versus the Actual | 119
CHAPTER NINE: Male and Female | 137
CHAPTER TEN: Perfection Versus Wholeness | 151
vii
Epilogue to the Narrative | 167
CONCLUSIONS: The Global and the Local:
Reflections on Yanantin | 171
Notes | 183
References | 193
Index | 199
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE 1 Tukuy ima qhariwarmi: Everything is Man-Woman ii
FIGURE 2 Despacho xiv
FIGURE 3 Cuzco with Full Moon 18
FIGURE 4 Rope Bridge, Sicuani, Peru 34
FIGURE 5 Interdimensional Doorway, Bolivia 48
FIGURE 6 Shaman at Ausangate 62
FIGURE 7 Cuzco at Night 76
FIGURE 8 Tenon Head, Chavín 90
FIGURE 9 Don Maximo, Cuzco 104
FIGURE 10 Torreón and Apu Yanantin at Machu Picchu 118
FIGURE 11 Wife and Husband, Ausangate, Peru 136
FIGURE 12 Tinajani, Peru 150
FIGURE 13 Apu Ausangate 170
ix
