Victims and Warriors Violence, History, and Memory in Amazonia
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Biographical note
Casey High is a lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Edinburgh. He is coeditor of The Anthropology of Ignorance: An Ethnographic Approach."Casey High weaves together memories, facts and fantasies as these occur in contemporary Ecuadorian Amazonia, offering us a fascinating picture of Waorani life today. This highly original book takes us a step further in the understanding of current sociocultural transformations among Amazonian indigenous peoples."<br /> --Carlos Fausto, National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro<br /> <br /> "An exciting analysis of the most intimate aspects of memory and experience in a contemporary Amazonian indigenous group in dialogue with its own stereotypes. . . . A compelling book not only for anthropologists but for anyone interested in contemporary Amerindian groups."--<i>European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies</i><br /> "What do Bruce Lee, American missionaries being speared to death, Amerindians dancing in a national pride day, urban warrior performances, and a deeply felt sense of victimhood possibly have in common? In a refined narrative, Casey High weaves together memories, facts and fantasies as these occur in contemporary Ecuadorian Amazonia, offering us a fascinating picture of Waorani life today. This highly original book takes us a step further in the understanding of current sociocultural transformations among Amazonian indigenous peoples."--Carlos Fausto, National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro<br />
Victims and Warriors examines contemporary violence in the context of political and economic processes that transcend local events. Casey High explores how popular imagery of Amazonian violence has become part of Waorani social memory in oral histories, folklore performances, and indigenous political activism. As Amazonian forms of social memory merge with constructions of masculinity and other intercultural processes, the Waorani absorb missionaries, oil development, and logging depredations into their legacy of revenge killings and narratives of victimhood. High shows that these memories of past violence form sites of negotiation and cultural innovation, and thus violence comes to constitute a central part of Amazonian sociality, identity, and memory.