In Favor of Deceit: A Study of Tricksters in an Amazonian SocietyIn stories ranging from subtle creation myths to derisive, off-color tales, the Kalapalo Indians of central Brazil demonstrate a fascination with deception and its many functions. In myths about tricksters and dupes, they explore the ambiguity of human experience, showing how important to human understanding is a sense of illusion, paradox, and contradiction. Ellen Basso's new study of these stories considers their relationship to other kinds of Kalapalo activities involving deception and features a unique collection of South American Indian narratives translated directly from performances by master storytellers in their original Carib language. Combining an ethnopoetic, performance-focused approach to storytelling with an action-oriented psychology, Basso arrives at an ethnographic understanding of Kalapalo trickster myths and Kalapalo ideas about deception. The commentary on the translations considers matters of theme, discourse, narrative progression, and performance context. The dialogical, interactive nature of Kalapalo storytelling, the development of characters through their conversations with one another, and the many ways storytelling and ordinary life enrich one another are examined to reveal the complex psychology of trickster myths and the special tricksterish quality of day-to-day Kalapalo behavior. |
Contents
An Elusive Intelligence | 1 |
Dimensions of Deception | 227 |
Illusionists Modern and Ancient | 293 |
The Impossible Imitation | 318 |
In Favor of Deceit | 351 |
Bibliography | 369 |
Other editions - View all
In Favor of Deceit: A Study of Tricksters in an Amazonian Society Ellen B. Basso Limited preview - 1988 |
In Favor of Deceit: A Study of Tricksters in an Amazonian Society Ellen B. Basso Limited preview - 2022 |
Common terms and phrases
action Afasa Agouti Aifa Alligator answered arrived home arrows asked Aulukuma beautiful began burity burity palm canoe characters children-to-be Cuckoo daughter dead deception Dung Beetle dusk Dyekuku's father fire fish fitsagu Friend Fufitsigi furred animals Go ahead Grandfather grandmother grandson hair hammock happened human husband inside Jaguar Kafanifani Kalapalo Kangangafanga Kangangatï kill King Vulture Kudyu Kuikuro Kutsafugu Kwatïngï leader lines Listen look Maned Wolf manioc manioc bread manioc fields Mbambangisï monster mother Muluku Nafigï Nakika narrative necklaces nigifeke Nitsuegï older brother once Ouch piqui plaza powerful Sagangguegï settlement shamans slept snake someone speech stayed Swallow-Wing swamp deer Tapir Taugi tell thing tigi told tree trickster Trumai tsik tsiuk tsuk Ukwaka Ulutsi Upper Xingu validation vulva Wahatsi walk wife wives woman women younger brother younger sister