Being and Becoming Maya in Chan Kom: Towards Heideggerian Interpretations of Cultural Transformation
Author(s)
Andrew R. Hatala
ABSTRACT
Between the years of 1931
and 1950, Robert Redfield, social science researcher and ethnographer from the
University of Chicago, and Alfonso Villa Rojas described subtle and explicit
cultural changes within Chan Kom, a Maya village in North-Central Yucatán.
Using the theoretical framework developed by Martin Heidegger regarding worlds, being and , this
paper explores the social and cultural changes in the Maya village of Chan Kom
in order to deepen our understanding of how cultural change occurs more
generally. Through this analysis, several aspects of cultural change emerge.
Cite this paper
Hatala, A. (2013). Being and Becoming Maya in Chan Kom: Towards Heideggerian Interpretations of Cultural Transformation. Advances in Anthropology, 3, 16-22. doi: 10.4236/aa.2013.31003.
Hatala, A. (2013). Being and Becoming Maya in Chan Kom: Towards Heideggerian Interpretations of Cultural Transformation. Advances in Anthropology, 3, 16-22. doi: 10.4236/aa.2013.31003.
References
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[1] Coe, M. D. (1999). The Maya. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Ltd. [2] Durkheim, E. (1912). The elementary forms of religious life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [3] Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretations of Cultures. New York, NY: Basic Books. [4] Good, B. (1994). Medicine, rationality, and experience: An anthropological perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [5] Hatala, A. R. (2008). Spirituality and aboriginal mental health. Advances in Mind Body Medicine, 23, 6-12. [6] Hatala, R. A. (2010). Frankl & Freud: Friend or foe? Towards cultural & developmental perspectives of theoretical ideologies. Psychology & Society, 3, 1-25 [7] Hatala, R. A., & Desjardins, M. (2010). The spirit messenger and the traditional exemplar: Two figures of the elder among plains cree communities. Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 30, 49-81. [8] Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time. In J. Macquarrie, & E. Robinson, (Trans.), New York, NY: Harper & Row. [9] Heidegger, M. (1971). The origin of the work of art. In A. Hofstadter (Trans.), Poetry, language, thought, New York, NY: Harper & Row. [10] James, W. (1961). The varieties of religious experience: A study in human nature. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. [11] Kahn, H. E. (2006). Seeing and being seen: The Q’eqchi Maya of Livingston, Guatemala and beyond. Austin: University of Texas Press. [12] Keesing, R. (1990). Theories of culture revisited. Canberra Anthropology, 13, 46-60. doi:10.1080/03149099009508482 [13] Little, W. (2004). Mayas in the marketplace: Tourism, globalization, and cultural identity. Austin: University of Texas Press. [14] Maurer, K. (1997). Ancient images, modern visions: Representations of Maya identity in Belize. PhD dissertation, Los Angeles: University of California. [15] Molesky-Poz, J. (2006). Contemporary Maya spirituality: The ancient ways are not lost. Austin: University of Texas Press. [16] Redfield, R. (1950). A village that chose progress. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. [17] Redfield, R., & Rojas, A., V. (1934). Chan Kom: A Maya village. Washington, DC: Carnegie Institution of Washington. [18] Taylor, C. (1979). Interpretation and the sciences of man. In P. Rainbow, & W. Sullivan (Eds.), Interpretive social science, Berkley: University of California Press. [19] Waldram, J., Cal, V., & Maquin, P. (2009). The Q’eqchi Healer’s Association of Belize: An endogenous movement in heritage preservation and management. Heritage Management, 2, 35-54. [20] Watanabe, J. (1992). Maya saints and souls in a changing world. Austin: University of Texas Press. [21] Watanabe, J., & Fischer, E. (2004). Pluralizing ethnography: Comparison and representation in Maya cultures, histories, and identities. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press. [22] Thompson, E. J. (1970). Maya history and religion. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.