The Aesthetics of Production the Sense of Community

8/12/2019 The Aesthetics of Production the Sense of Community

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T H E A E S T H E T I C S O F P R O D U C T I O N T H E S E N S E O F C O M M U N I T YA M O N G T H E C U B E O A N D P IA R O A

J o a n n a O v e r in gA e s t h e t i c s in t h e m o d e r n W e s t h a s b e e nd i sen tang led f rom m os t o the r rea lms o f ac t iv i ty ; i th a s b e e n s e p a r a t e d o u t f r o m r e li g io n , f r o m t h e

m o r a l a n d t h e p o l i t i c a l , a n d f r o m t h e d o m a i n o fk n o w l e d g e a n d t r u t h . W e t e n d t o p l a c e a r t o n t h es ide of gen ius : i t i s an as oc ia l a c t i v i ty , no t o f thee v e r y d a y n o r p a . r t a k i n g o f t h e p r a c t i c e o f i t . A sG a d a m e r n o te s , 1 w e a r e i n fl u e n c e d b y K a n t ' sr e f a s h i o n i n g o f m o r a l p h i l o s o p h y , a t a s k th a tpur i f ied e th ics f rom a l l aes thet ics and des i re . Kanta ls o l im i t e d t h e i d e a o f k n o w l e d g e t o t h et h e o r e t i c a l a n d p r a c t i c a l u s e o f r e a s o n , t h e r e b ye x c l u d i n g a e s t h e t i c s f r o m b o t h . I n s o d o i n g , h ea l so remove d the ac t i v i ty o f aes the t ic j udgm ent i nt h e a r e a o f l a w a n d m o r a l i t y f r o m t h e c e n t e r o fp h i lo s o p h y , a n d h e t h u s e x c l u d e d t h e n o t i o n o fs e n s u s c o m m u n i s o r s e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y ( ac o n c e r n o n c e g e n e r a l t o W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y a n da n i n h e r i t a n c e f r o m R o m a n p h i l o s o p h y ) f r o m h i sf o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e d o m a i n o f a e s t h e t i c s . I n t h i spape r I sha ll use V i co ' s use o f t he conc ep t senseo f c o m m u n i t y 2 a s t h e s e n s e o f t h e r i g h t a n d t h eg e n e r a l g o o d t h a t i s a c q u i r e d t h r o u g h l iv in g i nc o m m u n i t y a n d w h i c h is r e la t e d t o it s s p e c i fi cs t ruc tures and a ims. As such, i t has both a po l i t i ca land mora l mean ing , and embraces an aes the t i c s ,and i ndeed a m etaphys i cs , o f ac t i on as we l l.

T h e c o n t r a s t i n g v i e w o f a e s t h e t i c s a s a nau tonomous rea lm (ye t ano the r a l ongs ide re l i g i on ,s c ie n c e , e c o n o m i c s , p o l i t ic s ) t e n d s t o b e o u ri n h e r i t a n c e in t h e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s ; a l t h o u g h i na n t h r o p o l o g y w e d o h a v e a w e a k a n t h r o p o l o g y o fa r t w h i c h s a y s , w e a k l y , t h a t o t h e r p e o p l e s, incont ras t to us , do not separate ar t , i ts ac t i v i ty andi ts j udgm ent , f ro m it s use . Desp i te such an o bv iousi n s i g h t , w e h a v e b a r e l y b e g u n t h e p r o c e s s o ff o l l o w i n g t h r o u g h t h e i m p l ic a t i o n s , b o t htheore t ica l and p rac t i ca l, o f such an en tang lemen tJoanna Overing is Professor of Anthropology at the LondonSchool of Economics London.Dialectical Anthropology 14:159-175, 1989.9 1989Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed n ~e Netherlands.

o f t h e e v e r y d a y w i t h a e s t h e t ic j u d g m e n t a n dac ti vit y. I t is m y a rgu me nt in t h i s essay tha t f o r ust o u n d e r s t a n d w h a t t h e s o c i a l is f o r t h eam er i nd ians o f t he So u th Ame r i can ra in fo res t, wem u s t r e tu r n to o u r f o r m e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h e r ea e s t h e t i c s w a s n o t t h e a u t o n o m o u s c a t e g o r y i t i stoday , but a po l i t i ca l and mora l one. I t i s on ly whenw e r e in t e g r a te a e s t h e t ic j u d g m e n t w i t h t h e m o r a l l yg o o d a n d t h e m o r a l l y b a d , a n d b o t h j u d g m e n t a n dm o r a l i t y w i t h p r o d u c t i v e k n o w l e d g e a n d a c t i v i t y ,t h a t w e c a n b e g i n t o s a y s e n s ib l e th i n g s a b o u t t h eeconomy , the po l i t y , and the soc ia l ph i l osophy o ft h e s e p e o p l e s . F o r i n s ta n c e , f o r th e P i a r o a , apeop le o f t he Or i no co Bas in , p rodu c t i on it se lf wasv i e w e d a s a c r e a t i v e a c t i v i t y t h a t w a s e it h e rb e a u t i fu l o r u g l y , a n d a s s u c h s o c i a l o r a s o c i a l,d o m e s t i c a t e d o r d a n g e r o u s . B e h a v i o r t h a t w a sb e a u t i f u l l y c o n t r o l l e d w a s u n d e r s t o o d t o b ec o n d u c i v e t o t h e c r e a t io n o f c o m m u n i t y, w h i l e u g lyexcess was no t . Beau ty fo r t he P ia roa was then amora l no t i on , hav ing to do w i th bo th the m ora l i ty o fp e r s o n a l r e l a t io n s h i p s a n d t h e u s e o f p r o d u c t iv ef o r c e s . A e s t h e t i c s , in t h e b r o a d e r s e n s e o f it smean ing , w he re bea u ty is seen as an exp ress ion o fm o r a l a n d p o l i ti c a l v a lu e , b e c o m e s c r it ic a l t o a nund ers tan d ing o f t he i r eve ryday soc ia l l if e and o fthe i r ow n eve ryd ay judg m ents o f it .

A l t h o u g h w e d o n o t h a v e a p a r t i c u l a r l y g o o dr e c o r d i n o u r e t h n o g r a p h y f o r e x p r e s s i n g t h ea m e r i n d i a n v i e w o f t h e s o c i a l , o r t h e i r s e n s e o fc o m m u n i t y, t h e w o r k b y G o l d m a n o n t h e C u b e o i san obv ious excep t i on to such a j udgment . I n a l l o fh is wr i ti ngs , G o ldm an i ns is ts t ha t we take se r i ous l yt h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g s o f t h e p e o p l e w e s t u d y , 3 a n dw i t h The Cubeo h e g a v e u s a n e t h n o g r a p h y t h a tc a p t u r e s w e l l a p a r t i c u l a r A m a z o n i a n s e n s e o fc o m m u n i t y . I s h a ll s a y m o r e o n h is s u c c e s sshor t l y . In genera l , h ow ever , i t can be sa id that theam er i nd ian sense o f com m un i t y is d i f fi cu lt f o r us tounders tand : i t i s a l i en no t on l y t o many t rends i nWestern soc ia l and po l i t ica l thou ght , bu t a lso to


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o u r o w n w e l l e n t r e n c h e d c a t e g o r i e s ina n t h r o p o l o g y . T h e m o s t r e le v a n t b i a s f o r t h ep u r p o s e o f t h i s p a p e r i s t h a t o f h i e r a r c h y :a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s t e n d t o u n d e r s t a n d s t r u c t u r e s o fh i e r a r c h y o r i n s t i t u t io n s o f c o e r c i o n a n ds u b o r d i n a t i o n m u c h m o r e e a s i l y t h a n th e y d os t ruc tures o f equ al i ty or ins ti tu t ions of coo pe rat ionand peace.

Peter Riv iere desc r ibes w el l 4 ou r d if fi cu l ties inund ers tan ding egal i tar ian asp ec ts o f the soc ia l andp o l it ic a l o r g a n i z a t i o n o f a m e r i n d i a n s o c i e t ie s o fl o w l a n d S o u t h A m e r i c a , a n d p a r t ic u l a rl y t h o s e o ft h e G u i a n a s . I n t h e G u i a n a s t h e r e a re n o w a r r i o rs o c i e t ie s , n o fo r m a l c o u n c i l o f m a t u r e m e n , n om o i e t y o r g a n i z a t i o n s f o r t h e p la y i n g o u t o fcom m un i t y l i fe , no age se ts , no descen t g roups . Ino t h e r w o r d s , t h e r e e x i s t f e w m e c h a n i s m s f o rc o r p o r a t e g r o u p d e c i si o n - m a k i n g , w h a t e v e r t h etop i c a t hand . Thus e thnographers have f requen t l ydesc r i bed these peop les , a nd l ow land am er i nd iansin genera l , i n te rm s o f wha t they l ack , and no t o fw h a t t h e y h a v e a n d w h a t t h e y s a y . W h e n o n ea t t e m p t s t o d e s c r i b e t h e i r i n f o r m a l i t y t h r o u g ho r d i n a r y a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l v o c a b u l a r y , t h e y a p p e a rto have no commun i t y o rgan i za t i on wha tsoever .

In form al i ty can, ho we ver , be a po l it ica l c reed,a soc ia l and aes thet ic va lue. As Clas t res noted wi threspec t to the common l y found amer i nd ian re fusa lo f ins t i tu t ions of coe rc ion an d subo rd inat ion, i t i si m p e r a t i v e t o a c c e p t t h e i d e a t h a t n e g a t io n d o e sno t s i gn i f y no th i ngness ; t ha t when the m i r ro r doesn o t r e f l e c t o u r o w n l i k e n e s s , i t d o e s n o t p r o v et h e r e i s n o t h i n g t o p e r c e i v e . ''5 C l a s t r e s w a ss p e a k i n g o f th e d i s a s s o c i a t io n in t h e a m e r in d i a ns o c i e t i e s o f t h e lo w l a n d s o f l e a d e r s h i p a n dins ti tu t ions of coerc ion . I t is my sug gest ion tha t theso-ca lled loosene ss of s t ruc ture that o f ten resu ltsn o t o n l y h a s i ts p o l i t i c a l i n t e n t , b u t am o r a l / a e s t h e t i c o n e a s w e l l . T o u n d e r s t a n d t h isp o i n t, i t is n e c e s s a r y f o r u s t o c o m p r e h e n d t h es o c i a l s e n s e o f t h e a m e r i n d i a n s , t h e i r s e n s e o fc o m m u n i t y .But as I have noted , to d o s o i s a d i ff i cu l t task .I n c o n t r a s t t o t h e t r e n d i n W e s t e r n p o l i t i c a l a n dsoc io l og ica l t houg h t tha t equa tes the soc ia l w i ththe cons t ra in t o f a co l lec t i v i ty and wi th re la t ions ofd o m i n a t i o n , 6 l o w l a n d a m e r i n d i a n s , in t h e i rpo l i t i ca l t heo ry , t end to i ns i s t upon the oppos i te ,

w he re 'the soc ia l (a t leas t in its pos i t i ve sense ase x p r e s s e d t h r o u g h t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f c o m m u n i t yl i f e ) i s v i ewed as the means th rough wh i ch peop lecan ac t i ve ly prevent he es tab l i shment o f re l a t i onso f d o m i n a n c e . H o w e v e r , t h e a s s u m p t i o n s o f t h ed i s c i p l in e , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e o n t h e c o l l e c t i v eo the r , can d i so r ien t t he un wa ry e thnog rapher . I t isthe re fo re my sugges t i on tha t t he ega l i t a r i an i sm o fm a n y l o w l a n d a m e r i n d i a n s - - t h e i r a v e rs i o n t oc o e r c i o n a n d t o r e l a t io n s h i p s o f s u b o r d in a t i o n ,t h e i r d i s d a i n o f b o t h s o c i a l ru l e a n d c o l l e c t iv edec i s i on p rocesses , the i r a t t it udes towa rd p rope r t ya n d w o r k , a n d t h e i r in s i s te n c e u p o n p e r s o n a la u t o n o m y , y e t a t t a c h m e n t t o c o m m u n i t y - - c a n b eu n d e r s t o o d a n d t r a n s l a t e d b y u s o n l y i f w e f i rs texp lo re th e i r pa r t i cu l a r sense o f t he socia l. The i ri ns t i t u t i ons o f equa l i t y , t he i r sense o f commun i t y ,and c reat ion of i t a re , a f ter a l l , cons t i tu t i ve o f onea n o t h e r; t h u s th e a r g u m e n t s e e m s a n o b v i o u s o n eto m ake .

I t is a l s o th e a r g u m e n t t h a t G o l d m a nre ite ra ted t ime and aga in i n h i s e thnogra phy o f t heCubeo . i n The Cubeo G o l d m a n u n f o ld s f o r u s th er e a l i ty o f a m e r i n d i a n v i ll a g e l if e fo r t h o s e w h oexp er i enc e i t and fo rm i t - - t he i nhab i tan ts o f t hec o m m u n i t y . A s m y o w n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o fa m e r i n d i a n v a l u e s a n d m e t a p h y s i c s a d v a n c e s , as l o w p r o c e s s o v e r t h e y e a r s, I a m i n c r e a s in g l yi m p r e s s e d w i t h th e e t h n o g r a p h i c s e n s i ti v it y o fG o l d m a n , w h o o v e r t w o d e c a d e s a g o t o l d u s i nv e r y s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d m a n n e r w h a t t h e b a si cpr inc ip les o f Cubeo soc ia l l i fe were.A l t h o u g h h i g h l y u n f o r t u n a t e , i t is a l s oi n t e r e s t i n g t h a t t h e e x t e n t o f G o l d m a n ' sa c c o m p l i s h m e n t h a s b e e n s o m e w h a t o v e r lo o k e din l o w l a n d a m e r i n d i a n s t u d i e s . P e r h a p s it w a snecessary fo r s t ruc tu ra l ism to p l ay i tse lf ou t be fo rew e c o u l d u n d e r s t a n d t h e i m p o r t o f G o l d m a n ' swo rk . A l so , i t i s onc e aga in fash ionab le to speak o ft h e s o c i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n o f e m o t io n s , a n d t h ere la ti on be twe en va lues and soc ia l ac ti on . Thus w ecan on l y now rea l i ze the courage o f Go ldman, andapprec ia te i t , f o r t ak i ng the Boas ian s tance tha t hed id i n the m ids t o f t he a ge o f i sms , evo lu t ion i sm,func t i ona l i sm, s t ruc tu ra l i sm, e tc. Fo r Go ldm an tou n d e r s t a n d t h e C u b e o a s w e l l a s h e d i d b a c k in1 9 63 , a n d t h e i r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p ro p e rr e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e in d i v i d u a l a n d t h e


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c o m m u n i t y , i t w a s n e c e s s a r y f o r h im t o s h e d ag o o d d e a l o f i n t e l le c t u a l b a g g a g e fr o m b o t han th rop o log y and the W es te rn sc ien t if ic t rad i ti on i ngenera l . I sha l l re fer aga in to s om e of th is bag ga geb e l o w . F o r n o w , I s h a ll q u o t e h is c o n c l u d i n gr e m a r k i n The Cubeo w h e r e h e e x p l a i n e d t h e i regal i tar ian va lues and the i r re la ted lack o f in teres ti n economic expans ion as i n l a rge pa r t p roduc ts o ft h e i r o w n d e c i s i o n a n d c h o i c e , r a t h e r t h a n t h eresul t of external forces:

M u c h o f t h e f o r m o f a c u l t u r e r e p r e s e n t s a s t y le o f l i f et h a t n e e d n o t i n d e e d c a n n o t b e e x p l a i n e d s i m p l y int e r m s o f f u n c t i o n e q u i l i b r i u m o r a d a p t a t i o n . A s t y le o fl if e t h e n m u s t b e s t u d i e d i n i t s o w n t e r m s s i n c e i t t o o i sp a r t o f t h e d i v e r s i t y o f n a t u r e . 7

G o l d m a n ' s a r g u m e n t w a s t h a t t h e C u b e o v a lu e s o fa n d r h e t o r ic o n e m o t i o n a l s p o n t a n e i t y a n dpersona l au ton om y ( the exp ress ion o f t he i r senseo f c o m m u n i t y ) w e r e c o n s t it u ti v e o f t h e ir e c o n o m i cac t i ons , and as such p l ayed a pa r t i c i pa to ry pa r t i nt h e i r e x p l a n a t i o n . F o r in s t a n ce , t h e C u b e oe c o n o m y w a s n o t a m a t t e r o f a n i n ho s p it a b leenv i ronmen t , bu t o f va lues s o l i d ly he ld . They we rea p e o p l e w h o preferred e m o t i o n a l c o m f o r t o v e rmater ia l advantage.I sha l l f i r s t summar i ze Go ldman ' s desc r i p t i ono f t h e C u b e o s e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y ( w h a t h es u m m a r i z e s a s t h e i r s t y le o f lif e ) , w h i c h w a s apo l it ica l and m ora l unde rs tand ing o f t he foun d ingo f c o m m u n i t y t h a t p e r t a in s t o t h e s p h e r e o f w h a t Is h a l l r e f e r t o a s p r o d u c t i v e ( o r a e s t h e t i c )k n o w l e d g e . I t h i n k i t is p r o b a b l y t h e c a s e ingenera l t ha t amer i nd ians have such a ca tegory o fk n o w l e d g e t h a t r e l a te s t o a t h e o r y o f w o r k a n dcreativ ity : in the i r und ers ta ndin g i t i s prod uc t ive o ra e s t h e t i c k n o w l e d g e t h a t a l l o w s f o r t h em a i n t e n a n c e o f c o m m u n i t y a n d p r o v id e s th ec r e a t iv e f o r c e f o r i ts c o n t i n u i ty . T h e C u b e oca tegory o f p roduc t i ve knowledge has i t s obv iousp o l i t i c a l s i d e : f o r t h e m i t r e f e rs n o t o n l y t o th ecapab i li ti es tha t a l l ow fo r t he use o f resources o fth i s ea rth, bu t a l so to those tha t a l l ow fo r tac t , o rt h e c a p a b i l i t i e s f o r g e t t i n g a l o n g p e a c e f u l l y o rs o c i a b l y w i t h o t h e r p e o p l e in e v e r y d a yr e la t io n s h i p s. It w o u l d b e m y a r g u m e n t t h a t th epar t i cu la r i s ti c desc r i p t i on o f Go ldm an o f t he Cu beo

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s t y le o f l i f e c a n b e e x t e n d e d t o m a n y o t h e ram er i nd ian peo p les . 8 S ince I canno t i n th i s essayu n f o l d t h e f u l l e t h n o g r a p h i c s u p p o r t f o r s u c h acon ten t i on , I sha l l concen t ra te on the P ia roa caset o s h o w t h a t t h e ir s e n se o f c o m m u n i t y a n ds t ruc tu res o f equa l i t y a re i n many ways s im i l a r t ot h o s e o f t h e C u b e o .A t f i rs t g l a n c e , if t h e a n a l y s i s i s t h r o u g hn o r m a l a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l c a t e g o r i e s o f s o c ia lo r g a n iz a t io n , t h e C u b e o a n d P i a ro a m a y l o o k v e r yd i f fe r e n t f r o m o n e a n o t h e r . T y p i c a l o f t h e N o r t hW e s t A m a z o n g r o u p s , t h e C u b e o h a v e p h r a t r i e s ,s i b s , v i r i l o c a l i t y , a n d a h i e r a r c h y o f s t a t u s e sp l a y e d o u t i n r i t u a l ; w h i l e t y p i c a l o f t h e e x t r e m ei n f o r m a l it y o f th e G u i a n e s e g r o u p s , t h e P i a ro ak e e p t o t h e m i n im u m t h e w a y s in w h i c h e x p r e s s io nc a n b e g iv e n s o c i a l ly t o g r o u p d i f fe r e n c e s a n dd i s t inc t i ons . 9 Even the P ia roa mo ie t i es pe r ta in toa n a f t e r w o r l d a s o c i a l e x i s t e n c e , a n d t o a t h is -wo r l d l y soc ia l l i f e . How ever , m y po in t is t ha t t hesemore obv ious ( to the an th ropo log i ca l eye ) fea tu reso f soc i a l o rgan i za t i on wh i ch re f l ec t d i f f e rence a res u p e r f i c i a l c o m p a r e d t o t h e i r r e s p e c t i v eu n d e r s t a n d i n g s o f t h e s o c i a l , w h i c h s h o w a c l e a rs i m i l a r it y . G o l d m a n h i m s e l f m a k e s t h e s a m ej u d g m e n t w h e n h e s ta te s t h e p r i o ri ty f o r t h e C u b e oo f b o t h p e r s o n a l a n d c o m m u n i t y a u t o n o m y ( t h epol it ica l va lues of in form al i ty ) o ver the pr inc ip les o fs i b a n d p h r a t r y o r g a n i z a t i o n . A s a n a s id e , t h eo b v e r s e c a s e c a n b e m a d e in a c o m p a r i s o nb e t w e e n t h e P i a r o a s a n d t h e i r n e i g h b o r s , t h ef ie rce Yan om am i : wh i le the soc ia l o rgan i za t iona l

f e a t u r e s o f t h e t w o g r o u p s a r e v e r y a l i k e , t h e ycon t ras t cons ide rab l y in the i r respec t i ve sense o fc o m m u n i t y .

I n t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e P i a r o a s e n s e o fc o m m u n i t y , m y c o n c e r n w i l l b e t o e x p l o r e f u r t h e rt h e s t r o n g a n d i n it ia l i n s i g h t s o f G o l d m a n o nA m a z o n i a n p r o d u c t i o n a n d c o m m u n i t y l if e b yfocus ing d i rec t l y on the a rea o f t he aes the t i c s o fp r o d u c t i o n , a n i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t o f P i ar o ap r o d u c t i v e k n o w l e d g e a n d th e r e f o r e o f t h e irm e t a p h y s i c s o f c o m m u n i t y a n d i ts e g a l i ta r ia ns t ruc tu res . I t i s impor tan t t o no te a t t h i s po in t t ha tt h e r e a r e h ie r a r c h i c a l a s p e c t s t o t h e s o c i a lo r g a n i z a t i o n o f a ll a m e r i n d i a n g r o u p s , a n d m ye m p h a s i s h e r e o n e q u a l i t y i s r o o t e d in t h ea r g u m e n t t h a t , f o r t h e A m a z o n i a n g r o u p s ,


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h i e r a r c h y m u s t b e u n d e r s t o o d t h r o u g h t h e m o r eenco mp ass ing ins t itu t ions o f equa li ty , and no t v iceversa.T h e S e n s e o f C o m m u n i t y o f t h eC u b e o : C o l le c t iv i ty t h e M a n a g e m e n to f M o o d a n d t h e P l e a s u re o f W o r k

I n d a i l y l iv i n g , a c c o r d i n g t o G o l d m a n , t h eCubeo exp ressed the appa ren t oppos i tes , a h ighva lua t i on o f bo th i nd i v i dua l i sm and co l l ec t i v i sm;but whe n co l lec t iv ism loom ed too la rgne, the Cu beow e r e q u i c k t o a s s e rt a u t o n o m y . ' ~ ' G o l d m a nc l e a r ly u n d e r s t o o d t h a t i n t h e C u b e o s e n s e ofc o m m u n i t y t h e r e w a s an e qu a l v a lu a t i o n o fcom m un i ty ( the des i re fo r l in kage w i th peop le )a n d p e r s o n a l a u t o n o m y . H i s s t re s s u p o n t h ec o m p l e m e n t a r i t y o f c o m m u n i t y a n d p e r s o n a lau tonomy in Cubeo soc ia l though t i s ev idence o fo n e a r e a w h e r e G o l d m a n w a s a b l e t o s h e d t h ebaggage o f Wes te rn soc ia l though t : the an t i pa thybe tween the p r i nc ip les o f com mu n i ty and pe rsona lau to nom y is sa l ien t to a m a jo r s t rand o f Wes ternind iv idua l ism. In th is Western argument , a l l o thera g e s a n d p l a c e s g i v e h i g h v a l u a t i o n t o t h ec o l l e c t i v i t y , a n d t h e r e f o r e t o r e l a t i o n s o fs u b o r d i n a t i o n . W i t h t h i s l o g i c a n d t h e r h e t o r i csup port in g i t, individualism, w i th i ts em pha sis uponf r e e d o m a n d e q u a l i t y , c o u l d only t he re fo re be amod e rn Wes te rn phenom enon . 11

The amer ind ian v iews the soc ia l as the meanso f keep ing re la t i onsh ips o f subo rd ina t i on a t bay ,unde rs tand the re la t i onsh ip be tween f reedom andt h e c o m m u n i t y i n a d i f f e r e n t a n d m o r e p o s i t i v eli gh t, w he re i t is on l y th roug h pe rsona l au tono mythat the soc ia l can be ach ieved. In th is v iew, thesocia l is not g iven pr io r i ty over the individual, norv i ce v e r s a . In c o n t r a s t , a m o d e r n W e s t e rnunderstand ing o f mora l i ty car r ies wi th i t the no t ionof the moral individual outsi e of soc ie ty . 12 Sucha s t ress on d i sengagemen t wou ld be to ta l l y a l i ento amerindian individual ism.T h e w a y s in w h i c h t h e C u b e o e x p r e s s e dp e r s o n a l a u t o n o m y w e r e m a n y , b u t th e m o s to b v i o u s w a s th e i r d i s t a s t e f o r o r d e r s a n dc o m m a n d s . A s G o l d m a n r e p o r t s , 1 3 in C u b e osocial l i f e . . , one ne ithe r com ma nds no r submi ts .T h i s is a p o l i t i c a l d e s i r e t h a t is p r o b a b l y

w i d e s p r e a d a m o n g t r o p i c a l f o r e s t g r o u p s o f t h eAm azon , a nd as C las t res has exp ressed it , 14 i fthere is someth ing comple te ly a l ien to an Ind ian , i tis the i dea o f g iv i ng an o rde r o r having to o b e y . . .On e a rea ove r wh ich each C ube o i ndi vidua l hadsove re ign ty was ove r h i s /he r own l abo r . No Cubeoc o u l d b e c o e r c e d t o w o r k , a n d w h i l e h e a dm e ncou ld d i r ec t ce r ta in co ll ec ti ve w o rk b y men , no oneh a d ju r i s d i c t io n o v e r t h e w o r k o f w o m e n . 1 5 N o rcou ld one demand the p roduc ts o f ano the r ' s wo rk :each c rop be longed to the one respons ib le fo r i t sg rowth . 16

A l t h o ug h t h e C u b e o s t re s s e d t h e ir a u t o n o m yw i t h r e s p e c t t o w o r k a n d t h e p r o d u c t s o f w o r k ,l a b o r w a s n o t d i s a s s o c i a t e d f r o m t h e t ie s o fc o m m u n i t y . T h e y p r i v i le g e d s h a r i n g an dg e n e r o s i t y a s p e r s o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s ti c s w h i c hb e s t o w e d s t a t u s . G e n e r o s i t y a n d s h a r i n g , b o t hva lues o f commun i ty , we re l i nked to the asse r t i ono f i nd i v i dua l r i gh ts ; fo r one acqu i red respec t byg i v in g a w a y w h a t o n e o w n e d , e s p e c i a l l y o fe c o n o m i c u t il it y . 1 7 G o l d m a n r e m a r k s t h a t t h eCube o had a lmos t a to ta l l ack o f anx ie ty abou t theloss o f p rop er ty . 18

What th is par t icu la r mix tu re o f the va lua t ion o fc o m m u n i t y a n d t h e v a lu a t i o n o f t h e i n d iv i d ua le n t a i l e d f o r t h e C u b e o w a s a d i s a s s o c i a t i o n o fpo li ti cal and eco nom ic advantage. For them , foodand p roduc t i on sym bo l i zed the am i ty o f the h igh l ykn it s i b comm un i ty . ''19 Acc o rd ing to G o ldman , theco ro l l a r y was tha t the to ta l economic p roduc t wasd i v o r c e d f r o m t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f s t a tu s a n dpower . In h is words,

he C u b e o c a n n o t t h in k o f e c o n o m i c a d v a n t a g e a s apo l i t i ca l adva n tage ove r o the rs and conve rse l y theyc a n n o t r e g a r d th e e c o n o m i c a d v a n t a g e o f o t h e r s a s at h r e a t t o t h e i r o w n a u t o n o m y . E c o n o m i c e q u a li z a ti o nth rough the va r i ous fo rma l channe l s o f d i s t r i bu t i on i staken fo r g ran ted .20The c r i t i ca l d i f fe rence be tween the poo r andt h e w e a l t h y c o m m u n i t y w a s n o t, th e r e f o re , am a t t e r o f p r o d u c t i v e a c c u m u l a t i o n , b u t o n e o fmora ls . 21 Neve r the less, the Cub eo v iew tha t thec o m m u n i t y w i t h h i g h m o r a l e w a s t h e w e a l t h y o n ewa s based on a f irm sense o f rea li ty ; fo r i t wa s on lyt h r o u g h t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f h i g h m o r a l e t h a t


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collective ac tivities, and ind ee d all work, could besmoothly carried out or carried out at all. Probablyt h e m o s t i n n o v a t i v e i n s i g h t o f G o l d m a n o na m e r i n d i a n s o c i a l l if e , a n d t h e k e y t ounderstanding it, w as his sensitivity to the stronginsistence by the Cubeo upon psychic comfort, ortact, in their social relationships, and especially inthose enta i l ing coopera t ion in work . Go ldmanobserves 22 tha t all collective enterprises of thes ib , such as hun t ing , f i sh ing , f o rag ing , andhousebu i l d ing , r equ i r e a mood o f gen ia l i t y .Without i t , the sense of col lect ivity weakens. Onthe level of individual realtionships, the dissatisfiedwife p rodu ced less to eat. 23 It probably can besa id in genera l about the lowland amer ind iansense of community that in it work is a matter thatmust ca ter to ind iv idua l des i res , ta len ts , anddispositions.In the Cubeo understanding of the socia l ,then, production was dependent upon the creationof high public morale,24 which ma kes good senseif culturally the mem bers of the com mun ity refusedt o e n t e r in t o c o m m a n d a n d o b e d i e n c erelat ionships and worke d ( in accordance wi th av a l u e o n p e r s o n a l a u t o n o m y ) w i t h o n l y t h eminimum of direction. The most important role ofl eade rsh ip became the es tab l i shmen t o f h ighmora le among the members o f the communi ty ,which carried with it the creation of comfort on thematerial leve l. Such a value on material comfortmust , a t the same t ime, be p laced wi th in thecontext of the Cubeo assessment of mater ia l i tyand their lack of interest in material abundance forits own sake.25

A c c o r d i n g t o G o l d m a n , e a c h s o c ia lrelat ionship for the Cubeo demanded a specif icatmosphere of feelings, sentiments, and emotions,the implication of which was that in the successfulcreation of a Cubeo community, its members hadach ieved a spo n tan e i t y o f co r ,, respondenceb e t w e e n e m o t i o n a n d a c t i o n . 2 6 A g a i n inGoldm an 's word s , 27 to the Cubeo noth ing o fconsequence can result from an act divorced fromits proper mood. For instance, men worked onhousebui ld ing only when they fe l t cheer fu l anddedicated: 28 the m ost productive wo rk was thatwhich brought pleasure, work that carr ied with i tan air of the spontaneous. From a political point of

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view, collectivity -- and the work demanded for itsexistence - - became a matter of the pol i t ics ofm o o d m a n a g e m e n t , a n d n o t o n e o f t h eestab l ishment o f ins t i tu t ions o f h ie rarchy andrelationships of domination and subordination. Forthe Cubeo, the lat ter solut ion would have beenasocia l , and therefore contrary to their sen se ofcommunity.We are spe aking h ere of an ethics o f sociality.The Cubeo unde rs tand ing o f h igh m ora le wasat tached to a pa r t icu la r sense o f m ora l it y tha tplaces high value upon relationships of harmonyand cooperation. The personal auton om y that theydesired was no t free-for-all individualism whereanything could go. Goldman stressed the greattact of Cubeo adults about criticizing, intruding, orimposing upon others, and the acute sensit ivitythey had for one another's moods, their tolerancefor the bad mo ods of others. Privacy for se lf andothers w as important to their sense of community,which included the moral dogm a that one must notintrude upon th e feelings a nd moo ds of others. 29This sense of privacy w as not that of the m odernWest, for the Cubeo value on privacy w as one thatpertained to the domain of emotions and personald ign i ty , and not to the wor ld o f p roper ty andpersonal possessions.I have desc r ibed e l sew here 30 t he f ir s tlessons of Piaroa chi ldren when the communityleader taught them the art of living, the wisdom ofl ead ing a t r anqu i l l i fe and ho w to go abou tachieving it. Basically, the children we re taughtwhat in our own moral phi losophy are cal led theother-regarding virtues, thos e that enable one totake respons ib i l i t y f o r one ' s ac t i ons t owardsothers, rather than the self-reqarding virtues suchas amb ition, talent, courage. 31 From G oldman 'sdesc r ip t i ons , t he Cubeo ' s unde rs tand ing o f ape rson ' s au tonomy and h i s /he r ob l i ga t i ons t orespec t t he au tonomy o f o the rs sounds ve rysimilar to the Piaroa case . The Piaroa leader alsotaught the ch i ld ren about soc ia l de f ic ienc ies ,especially those of il l-nature, arrogance, envy andm a l i c e . T h e C u b e o s t r e s s e d g r e e d , f o r t h eexcessive behaviors that they most loathed wereglut tony, which they v iewed as unfr iendly, andnon-sharing, wh ich they saw as pathological . 32For bo th the Cubeo and the Piaroa, persona l


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a u t o n o m y w a s a t b a s e a h i g h l y s o c i a l n o t i o n , apo in t t ha t i s cen t ra l t o the i r unders tand ing o f worka n d t h e p r o d u c t i v e p r o c e s s in t h e i r r e s p e ct iv esense o f commun i t y .Work , f o r t he Cubeo (and fo r t he P ia roa ) , wasnot , as i t i s in the W est , a lienated f rom the pe rsonalre l a t i onsh ips o f co m m un i t y and the i r mora lit y. I ns u m m a r y , t h e r e w a s a c o n n e c t i o n i n t h e C u b e os e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y b e t w e e n t he p e r s o n a lr e l a ti o n s h i p s o f w h i c h c o m m u n i t y i s c o m p r i s e d ,p rodu c t i on and wea l th , t he p leasures o f wo rk , aneth ics o f tac t , an d the i r h igh eva luation of personalau tono my . I t wa s nece ssary fo r t he po l it ica l l eadert o t a k e a l l t h i s i n t o a c c o u n t i n h i s r o l e a s t h ec r e a t o r o f h ig h m o r a l e . T a c t , r e s p e c t f o r t h efee l i ngs o f o the rs and o the rs fo r se l f , was c l ea r l yc o n s i d e r e d t o b e a n a s p e c t o f p r o d u c t i v ek n o w l e d g e f o r t h e C u b e o .

W ork was to be p leasurab le , and a p rod uc t o fdes i re ; i t w as n ot a rea lm set apa r t from e i ther thep e r s o n a l o r t h e s o c i a l. R a t h e r , b o t h i n t e n s e l yp e r s o n a l a n d s o c i a l , w o r k w a s b o t h a p r o d u c t o fp l easu rab le so c ia l re l a t i onsh ips an d a c rea to r o ft h e m . I t w a s a c t i o n t h a t fu l f il le d t h e d e s i r e t oprov ide for se l f and the des i res and l i ves o f o thers- - o f ch il d ren , spouse , and o the r m em bers o f t hev illa g e. 3 3 T h r o u g h s u c h w o r k a p r o p e r c o m m u n i t ya n d l in k a g e w i t h o t h e r s c o u l d b e c r e a t e d a n dmainta ined. The two, wo rk and soc ia l l inkage, w ereseen to be con s t it u t ive o f one ano the r . W i thou t thet ranqu i l re la t i onsh ips o f goo d c om m un i t y l if e , onec o u l d n o t w o r k ; a n d w i t h o u t w o r k , o n e h a d n oc o m m u n i t y . In o t h e r w o r d s , w o r k , in c l u d in g o re s p e c i a l l y t h e d a i l y m a i n t e n a n c e o f l i f e , w a s n o tunders tood as d rudgery : t ha t i s a Wes te rn no t i on ,o r a p r o d u c t o f r e l a t io n s h i p s o f d o m i n a t i o n a n ds u b o r d i n a t i o n . I n p r i n c i p le , t h e C u b e o w o r k e dw h e n c h e e r f u l ; f o r t h e m , a ll e ff o rt w a s t o b ei n h e r e n t l y s a t i s f y i n g , 3 4 a s a p r o d u c t o fpleasurable social relat ionships.T h e i m p o r t a n t p o i n t t h a t G o l d m a n u n d e r s t o o dabout amer ind ian soc ia l and po l i t i ca l organizat ion,and the ph i l osophy o f soc i a l i t y t ha t suppor ted i t ,was tha t t he ve ry fac t o f peop le l i v i ng toge the r i nc o m m u n i ty w a s d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e d i l y c rea t i ono f h i g h m o r a l e a m o n g i t s m e m b e r s , a n d n o t u p o nthe es tab l i shment o f laws, ru les , and corporat ions .T h i s i s o n e g o o d r e a s o n f o r t h e P i a r o a a n d t h e

C u b e o t o l o o k s o m u c h a l i k e o n c e t h e e x te r io rfo rm o f soc i a l o rgan i za t i ona l f ea tu res i s removed .S i n ce l in k a g e t o o t h e r s f o r b o t h t h e C u b e o a n d t h eP ia roa rema ined ( i ns i s ten t l y ) on a more i n fo rma lp l a n e a n d w a s t o a l a r g e e x t e n t c o n s i d e r e d t o b es u b j e c t t o p e r s o n a l p r e f e r e n c e , t h e g r o u p s t a y e dt o g e t h e r o n l y s o l o n g a s i t s m e m b e r s a n d i t sl e a d e r s a c h i e v e d a n d r e t a i n e d g e n i a l i t y o fr e l a t i o n s h i p s . 3 5 I n c o n t r a s t t o p e o p l e s w h ob e l ie v e t h a t t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s h a v e t e m p o r a le x i s t e n c e t h r o u g h s u c h m e c h a n i s m s a s t h ecorpo ra te ownersh ip o f p roper t y and the j u ra l ru l eso f s u c h c o r p o r a t i o n , n e i t h e r t h e C u b e o n o r t h eP i a ro a u n d e r s t o o d c o m m u n i t y a n d t h er e l a t io n s h i p s o f w h i c h i t w a s c o m p r i s e d a s apo l i t i ca l g i ven tha t a l l owed fo r con t i nu i t y th rought ime , bu t as a p rocess o f ex i s tence tha t had to bed i l y a c h i e v e d b y in d i v i d u a l s t h r o u g h t a c t a n dw o r k . T h e p o l i t i c a l c h o i c e w a s o n e t h a t o p t e d f o rd a i l y p h y s i c a l a n d e m o t i o n a l c o m f o r t r a t h e r t h a nfo r the more abs t rac t s tab i l i t y t ha t pas t and fu tu rei n h e r i t a n c e , w i t h i t s ru l e s a n d r e g u l a t io n s ,entai ls . 36

For m any am er i nd ians , w ork i s a l so a c rea tivec a p a b i l i t y , a m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f p r o d u c t i v ek n o w l e d g e , t h a t c o n f e r s h u m a n s t a tu s , a n dth roug h i t one can c rea te possess ions , 37 such aso r n a m e n t s , t h e m a t e r i a l m e a n s f o r t r a n s f o r m i n gt h e e a r t h ' s r e s o u r c e s f o r u s e , a n d t h et rans fo rmat i ons themse l ves (e .g . , ga rden p roduce ,c o o k e d f o o d ) . A s I s h a ll i n d i c a t e b e l o w w h e nspeak ing abou t the P ia roa , o rnamenta t i on and thec a p a b i l i ti e s f o r w o r k w e r e n o t d is a s s o c i a t e d .B e a u t y o n a p e r s o n s p o k e o f t h e b e a u t y o f h i s / h e rc r e a t i v e c a p a b i li t ie s a n d s k ill s fo r w o r k l o d g e dw i t h in t h e p e r s o n w h i c h a l lo w f o r p e r s o n a la u t o n o m y . T h e u s e , h o w e v e r , o f s u c h b e a u t i f u lc rea t ive sk ill s f o r wor k w as o n l y poss ib l e w i th i n thecon tex t o f the soc ia l: t hey w ere an a spec t o f soc ia la c t i o n , a n d t h e i r p u r p o s e w a s in f a c t t h ep r o d u c t i o n a n d r e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e c o m m u n i t y - -made exp l i c i t i n en joyab le pe rsona l re l a t i onsh ips .T h e t a c t n e c e s s a ry b o t h f o r p r o d u c t i v e k n o w l e d g eand fo r t he c rea t i v i t y o f p roduc t i on ca r r i ed w i th i tan aes the t i c s tha t re l a ted b o th to p rod uc t i on ( it sp l e a s u r e s ) a n d to th e m o r a l i t y o f s o c i a lrelat ionships (thei r pleasure). In brief , w e can referto i t as a social aesthet ics, a cr i tical ele m en t of an


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amer ind ian sense o f comm un i ty , o r the dom a in o fp r o d u c t i v e k n o w l e d g e t h a t in t h e a m e r i n d i a nu n d e r s t a n d i n g a l l o w s f o r t h e b u i l d i n g a n dm a i n t e n a n c e o f c o m m u n i t y . G o l d m a n , i n h ise thnog raphy on the Cubeo and h i s emphas i s i n i ton the Cubeo va lues o f ex t reme tac t i n pe rsona lre la t i onsh ips and the p leasu re o f wo rk , l ead us toth is a rea o f soc ia l aesthe t ics , wh ich I now wish todeve lop .T h e A e s t h e t i c s o f W o r k a m o n g t h eP i a ro a o r P r o d u c t i v e K n o w l e d g e

T h e v a l u e s o f p e r s o n a l a u t o n o m y a n dcommunityS i n c e I h a v e w r i t t e n a t c o n s i d e r a b l e l e n g t he l sewhe re on the i n fo rma l i t y o f P ia roa soc ia l l i f eand upon the i r ex t reme va lue on t r anqu i l i t yQ i npersona l re la t ionsh ips wi th in the com m uni ty , ~ 'U Isha ll he re summ ar i ze on l y a few obv ious po in ts tomake the c om par i son c lea r, I sha ll then speak a tg rea te r l eng th be lo w on the i r aes the t ics o f wo rk .The va lues o f com mu n i ty tha t I sha ll d i scuss he ldspec i f i ca l l y fo r the P ia roa v i l l age , the phys i ca l l yi so la ted and l a rge comm una l house , wh i ch w as a

sem i-endoga mo us, res identia l g rou p tha t wa s fa i r lya u t o n o m o u s a s a n e c o n o m i c , k in s h i p, a n dc e r e m o n i a l u n it . T h e s a m e v a l u e s o f a m i t y h e l don ly par t ia l l y fo r the po l i t i ca l te r r i to ry , the la rgests o c i a l u n i t i n P i a r o a l a n d , w h i c h w a s n o r m a l l ycompr i sed o f s i x to seven o f the h igh l y d i spe rsedm u l t ip l e - f a m i l y c o m m u n i t i e s . T h e t e r r it o r ia lpopu la t ion , howe ver , res ided togethe r in the houseo f i ts l eade r fo r th ree m on ths o f the yea r du r i ng theg rea t P ia roa i nc rease ce remony , the Sar i . Dur ingth is fes t iva l, the aesthe t ics o f com m uni ty l ife and i tsr e la t e d w o r k t h a t I d e s c r i b e a l s o a p p l ie d t o t h eu n i te d m e m b e r s o f t h e t e r r i t o r y , w h i c ha p p r o x i m a t e d 3 5 0 p e o p le . W h a t is m o r e , th efes t iva l cou ld on l y be p resen ted by the te rr ito r ia ll e a d e r if s u c h v a l u e s o f c o m m u n i t y c o u l d b each ieved fo r the who le .Typ i ca l o f Gu ianese amer ind ians , the P ia roap l a y e d o u t c o m m u n i t y l i f e i n a h i g h l y i n f o r m a lmanner , and, as wi th the Cubeo , they ins is ted onpe rsona l au tonomy wh i l e a t the same t ime p lac ingh igh va lue upon the soc ia l . The r i gh t o f pe rsona l

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c h o i c e w a s p r o c l a i m e d c o n s t a n t l y in d a i l yc o n v e r s a t i o n - - a n d t o t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i s t a s k i n gabo u t the i r r u les . I t wa s up to the i nd iv i dua l toc h o o s e o r n o t to c h o o s e t o f o l lo w t h e p r o p e r w a y so f d o i n g t h i n g s , a n d i t w a s v e r y b a d m a n n e r s t oc o m m e n t d i r e c t l y i n a n e g a t i v e m a n n e r u p o n adec i s ion o f ano the r , whe the r w i th respec t to food ,w o r k , r e s i d e n c e o r s e x u a l h a b i t s . Ev e n c o r r e c tmar r i age (abou t wh i ch I have wr i t ten 39 as the onesoc ia l - o rgan i za t i ona l i ns t itu t ion o f com mu n i ty li fea m o n g t h e P i a r o a t h a t t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i s t m i g h teas i ly ca tego r ize ) w as a ma t te r fo r ex t reme ly l oosein te rp re ta t i on ; and no mar r i age was cons ide red tobe proper i f a l l part ies involved -- parents, pa rents -i n - la w , b r i d e a n d g r o o m - - d i d n o t a g r e e to it .Aga in , there wa s no res idence ru le , bu t re la t ivesw i th wh om i t wa s good and a l so co r rec t to l i ve: thef i na l cho i ce was l e f t to the i nd i v i dua l o r ma r i ta lcoup le . The same can be said fo r the reckon ing o fspec i f i c k insh ip ties, o f ten a to r tu ou s de c is ion fo ran individual to make. 40

Da i ly wo rk was l oose l y o rgan i zed and as suchu s u a l l y re f l e c t e d t h e p e r s o n a l m o o d s a n dp re fe rences o f the i nd i v i dua ls i nvo lved . Th e wo rko f ano the r was neve r taken fo r g ran ted . The r i gh tto p re ference re fe r red bo th to the persona l cho iceo f c o - r e s i d e n ts w i t h w h o m o n e fo u n d it m o s tc o n g e n i a l t o s p e n d t i m e a n d t o t h e t y p e o f t a s ki tse lf . I t wa s usu a l ly severa l ye ars a f te r mar r iageb e f o re a y o u n g m a r r i e d c o u p l e c o o p e r a t e dtoge the r in the c lea r ing o f ga rden : it was t ime anddesi re fo r car ing fo r the i r ch i ld ren tha t led them toth is task. I f one d id no t f ind congen ia l the k insmenw i t h w h o m it w a s n o r m a l t o c o o p e r a t e a t le a s tpart ia l ly, for instance a father or mother, one l ivede l s e w h e r e i n a n o t h e r c o m m u n i t y . M e n e s p e ci a ll yt e n d e d t o s p e c i a li z e in w o r k t h a t t h e y e n jo y e dm o s t ; s o m e m e n h a te d h u n t i n g , t h u s m a d eart ifacts instead, o r f ished. O the r m en hu nted dai ly.A s f o r t h e C u b e o , r e s p e c t f o r th e m o o d s a n dp r e f e r e n c e o f o t h e r s w a s f o r th e P i a r o a anessential asp ect o f the i r sense o f com m uni ty . I f ape rson m isbehaved i n an uncon t ro l l ed way so ast o b e a c o n t i n u a l n u i s a n c e t o o t h e r s , s / h e w a sa d v i s e d b y a k i n s m a n o r c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r ( it sr u w a n g t o u n d e r g o a c u r e w i t h t h e l e a d e r , w h oh a d s h a m a n i c p o w e r s , t o d i s c o v e r t h e e x t e r n a lcause o f the pe rson ' s l ack o f con t ro l . The cu re wa s


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then a p r i va te ma t te r be tween the i l l one and theruwang.The a f fl uen t c om m un i t y fo r the P ia roa was theo n e t h a t c o u l d t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t o n a d a i l y l e v e lboth f lex ib i l i ty in schedules o f work and ind iv idua lp re fe re nce s fo r t he spe c i f ic t asks themse l ves ; asfo r the C ubeo , a f fluence wa s a ma t te r o f ach iev ingp e r s o n a l c o m f o r t in w o r k , a n d n o t o f p r o d u c t iv ea c c u m u l a t i o n . S u c h a f fl ue n c e d e m a n d e d t h ec r e a t io n o f c o m m u n i t y t h a t h a d b o t h t h e hig hmora le an d the s ize to a l low fo r such f l ex ib i li ty andc o o p e r a t i o n . W h e n I w a s w i t h th e P i a ro a fo r m yf i r s t f i e l d w o r k w i t h t h e m i n 1 9 6 8 , i n d i v i d u a l sr e m e m b e r e d w i th h o r r o r h o w h a r d t h e y h a d t ow o r k w h e n t h e y w e r e n o t m e m b e r s o f l a rg e rc o m m u n i t i e s ; t h e o l d e r p e o p l e d r e a m e d o f t h et ime i n the pas t , be fo re the d i sease ep idemics o ft h e 1 9 4 0 s a n d 1 9 5 0 s , w h e n P i a r o a c o m m u n i t i e sw e r e la r g e r . A v e r y s m a l l c o m m u n i t y o f 1 5 - 2 0p e o p l e s i m p l y d id n o t h a v e t h e m e m b e r s h ipr e s o u r c e s t o a l l o w f o r p e r s o n a l c h o i c e a n d m o o di n t h e c a r r y i n g o u t o f a l l t h e d u t i e s r e q u i r e d f o rd a i l y s u r v i v a l - - t h e f i s h i n g , t h e h u n t i n g , t h eco l l ec t i ng o f f ood and f i rewood , the ga rden ing , t hep repara t i on o f game and ga rden p roduce , and ther i t u a l n e c e s s a r y f o r d a i l y p r o t e c t i o n . T h es u c c e ss f ul l e a d e r w a s t h e o n e t h a t m a n a g e d t oa t t r a c t s u f fi c ie n t p e o p l e i n t o h is c o m m u n i t y w h ocou ld amiab l y coopera te on a da i l y bas i s , and whothen was ab le to m a in tai n such h i gh mo ra le w i th i nit. I t w a s o n l y t h r o u g h h i g h m o r a le t h a t c o m f o r ti n work ( the de f i n i t i on o f a f f l uence fo r t he P ia roa )cou ld be ach ieved . A l thoug h he had ex t rao rd i na ryp o w e r s t h r o u g h h i s p o w e r s o f w i z a r d r y v is -a -v isw o r l d s o u t s i d e t h e s o c i a l , t h e le a d e r o f ac o m m u n i t y ( i t s ruwang h a d v e r y l i t t l e p o w e r o fcoerc i on ove r the ac t i ng ou t o f soc i a l ma t te rs . I twa s he , in fac t , as the know ledge ab le teacher o fthe eth ica l va lues of personal autonomy, equal i ty ,a n d t r a n q u i l i t y , w h o t a u g h t f o r m a l l y a g a i n s t s u c hc o e r c i o n . F o r th e P i a ro a , c o e r c i o n h a d n o p la c ew i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e e v e r y d a y w o r k o fc o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s ; t h e y w e r e a s a l l e r g i c t o t h eidea o f t he r i gh t o f com m and as to the no ti on o fs o c ia l r u le . N o p e r s o n c o u l d o r d e r t h e w o r k o fano the r ; and on a da i l y bas i s a l l p roduc ts f rom thej u n g le w e r e s h a r e d e q u a l l y a m o n g m e m b e r s o f t h e

c o m m u n i t y , w h i l e g a r d e n p r o d u c t s a n d a r t i f a c t sw e r e p r iv a t e l y o w n e d b y t h e i n d iv i d u a ls w h o s ew o r k p r o d u c e d t h e m . T h e r e w e r e n o m e c h a n i s m s ,s u c h a s g r o u p s o f e l d e r s o r a d u l t m e n , fo rc o r p o r a t e d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g o v e r d i s p u te s o reconomic mat te rs ; t hus sovere i gn ty w i th regard tom o s t d a i ly a c t i o n w a s l a r g e l y in th e h a n d s o fin d iv id u a ls . A w o m a n n o t o n l y o w n e d t h e g a r d e nprod uce tha t she he rse lf p rod uced , b u t ne i the r thec o m m u n i t y n o r a h u s b a n d h a d l e g a l r i g h t s t o h e rp r o g e n y i n t h e c a s e o f d i v o r c e . A s p a r t o f h e ri n d i v i d u a l p r o d u c t i v e c a p a b i l i t ie s , s h e w a srespons ib le for her own fer t i l i ty . As important as i twas fo r any P ia roa to dwe l l i n a l a rge commun i t y ,n o P i a ro a r e c o g n i z e d t h e l e g i t im a c y o f th e p o w e ro f t h e c o l l e c t i v i t y . T h e n o t i o n t h a t a w h o l ec o m m u n i t y m i g h t h a ve r ig h t s o v e r o n e o r t h a t o n em u s t s u b m i t to a d e c i s i o n f o r t h c o m i n g f ro m ag e n e r a l w i ll , o r t h a t o n e ' s m o r a l i t y w o u l d b ei m p o s e d f r o m a b o v e b y th e c o m m u n i t y , w o u l dhave be en a bh or r en t i deas to the P ia roa . 41 Theu s e o f s u c h p o w e r s o f c o e r c i o n w o u l d b e j u d g e das asocial and pol i t ical ly i l legi t imate.As w i th the Cu beo , the P iaroa i ns is ted on ther i gh ts o f t he i nd iv idua l and a t the sa me t ime p l acedh i g h v a l u e u p o n t h e s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s o fc o m m u n i t y . T o b e s o c i a l w a s c o n s i d e re d b y t h eP i a r o a t o b e t h e m o s t v a l u e d c h a r a c t e r i s t ic o fhum ans l iv ing on th i s ea r th ; bu t such soc ia l it y wa sn o t a s s o c i a t e d b y t h e m w i t h a n o t i o n o fco l lec t iv i ty and the po l i t ica l po w ers w i th w hich i tm i g h t b e e n d o w e d . R a t h e r , th e c r e a ti o n o f t h ec o m m u n i t y a n d it s s o c i a li ty c o u l d o n l y b e d o n et h r o u g h t h e s k i l l s a n d t h e p e r s o n a l a u t o n o m y o fi n d iv i d u a l s . T h i s d a i l y w o r k o f t h e c r e a t i o n o fc o m m u n i t y a c t i o n w a s m a d e p o s s i b l e t h r o u g hw h a t I h a v e r e f e r r e d t o a b o v e a s a e s t h e t i ck n o w l e d g e , a n a r e a o f k n o w l e d g e f o r th e P i ar oaw h i c h e n t a i le d b o t h 1 ) t h e c r e a t i v e s k i l ls o fp r o d u c t io n ( o r t h o s e p o w e r s th a t e n a b l e d o n e t ot r a n s f o r m t h e e a r t h ' s r e s o u r c e s f o r u s e ) a n d 2 )t h o s e s k i l l s t h a t l e d t o t h e c r e a t i o n o f t r a n q u i lr e l a t io n s h i p s w i t h th o s e w h o m o n e li ve d a n dworked . In the i r t heo ry o f agency , t he use o f t hesetw o se ts o f sk ill s separa ted hum an i t y o f toda y (andperhaps the P ia roa a l one) f rom a l l o the r agency i nthe un i ve rse , pas t o r p resen t . The o rnaments workby the P ia roa and the de s igns p a in ted on them tha t


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made them beautiful spoke of these related skillsof sociality and productivity.

B e a u t y a n d C r e a t i v i t y B e a d s o fK n o w l e d g e a n d t h e C r y s t a l B o x e s o ft h e G o d sOutward beauty in P iaroa aesthe t ics is amanifestation of the beauty of the productive skillsand m oral capa bilit ies tha t are lodged within thepe rson . E l sew here I have desc r ibed P ia roaornam entation, but tow ard a different end; 42 thussome of the ethnography is worth repeating here.For ornament the P iaroa wo re necklaces, leg andarm bands m ade of beads or cotton, depen ding ongender, and various face and body paints. All suchornamentat ion i l lust rated on the sur face of thebody the p ro tec t ive sk i ll s conta ined w i th in theperson.The Piaroa used a deep red dye (k eraeu) forbod y and face paint ing, the designs of which the yapplied wi th carved w oode n stamps. The womenalso applied black leg and arm designs made of aresin dye. These face and body markings of menand wo me n we re specific pictor ial representationso f t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l f o r c e s o r c r e a t iv e

capabili ties held within their bo dies, serving as itsinner c lo th ing . The s tamped body mark ings o fw o m e n r e p r e s e n t e d t h e i r k n o w l e d g e o freprodu ct ion , and were ca lled the des igns o fmenstruation ; while the markings of men spoke oftheir product ive knowledge of hunt ing, f ish ing,chan t ing , cu r ing and p ro te c t i ng . Men ' s f acedesigns we re also called the paths of beads orthe path of the word s of the c hant, indicating thespecific knowledge of chanting; the design was thepath, or the order, of the wo rds and chants. Someof these designs were seen by Piaroa men whenunder hallucinogenic trance, particularly during anincrease ritual. They were also the designs of theirtwil led basketry. The beautiful baskets made byPiaroa men which carr ied these designs of thepath of wo rds were us ed by them for the storageof i tems of r i tual value, such as their drug kits,drugs and combs. I t was through use of combsthat the forces of their productive thoughts werekept in order. Just as the forces for gardening,hunt ing, f ish ing were understood as product ive

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powers, so too are the forces for chanting; for i twas th rough them tha t the Piaroa leader , ther u w a n g , b rough t i n to t he commun i t y f r om thea b o d e o f t h e g o d s a l l p o w e r s f o r l if e a n dproductivity. Because they came from the gods, allsuch p roduc t i ve powers , i nc lud ing a wom an 'sferti li ty, we re therefore labelled by the P iaroa aswizardry (maer ipa).43 Individuals received thesecapabilit ies gradually through their lives, and oftenat their own request, as they felt they personallycould achieve mastery over them.A person 's p roduct ive powers were s to redwith in his /he r internal beads of l i fe, which alsocame f rom the crysta l boxes of the gods. Ther u w a n g , th rough h is chants and t rave ls to thea b o d e o f t h e g o d s , b r o u g h t t h e f o r c e s f o rproductivity enclosed within beads of life into thisworld and placed them within the individuals of hiscomm unity. These beads were called the bea ds oflife (kaekwaewa reu) because they designated theforce for the l i fe of the sense s (kaekwae) withinone which enabled one to have desires. Productiveand other knowledge contained within them was incontrast cal led one's l i fe of thoug hts ( ta kwa ru).The quantity of necklace be ads wo rn by a personindicated the quantity of internal beads of life s/hehad thus far acquired. T hus, the amount of beadsw o r n i n d e c o r a t i o n t o l d o f t h e d e g r e e o fcapabili ties ow ned b y the perso n wearing them:the great r u w a n g / e a d e r and the woman w i thseveral children we re ladened w ith them.The Piaroa associated bea uty with creativeabundance and fe r t i l i t y : t o wea r many beadsconferred beauty; the gods who were the sourceof productive powers had many names, and weretherefore beautiful; the house of the gods, f i l ledwith each type of edible food, had many names,speak ing o f the i r beauty , the good v is ions o fw i z a r d r y t h a t a r u w a n g h a d w h e n u n d e r t h einfluence of hallucinogens w ere bea utiful ones, andthey we re a l so h igh l y p roduc t i ve - - t hey we revisions of increase that replenished the jungle ofplants and animals. All of the forces for productionwithin the crystal boxes of the gods were beautifuland con cretized as such: insid e the box of curing,chants of the fert i l i ty goddess, Cheheru, was thebeautiful light of her songs, along with a long cordof beads that had al l the colors of the rainbow,


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1 6 8

w h i l e a n o t h e r f r in g e o f b e a d s h u n g d o w n f r o m h e rh a m m o c k ; h e r c r o w n o f t o u c a n f e a t h e r s l a y o n ar a f t e r . W i t h i n h e r c r y s t a l b o x o f h u n t i n g p r o w e s sw e r e h e r b e a u t i f u l a m u l e t s a n d h e r n e c k l a c e o fm e d a l l io n s , a n d w i t h i n a ll o f h e r b o x e s o f p o w e rwe re m any beau t if u l wa te r fa l ls .

A b u n d a n c e a l o n e , h o w e v e r , d i d n o t l e a d t ob e a u t y : b e a u t y w a s a l w a y s t i e d t o t h e n o t i o n o fm o d e r a t i o n i n t h e u s e o f c r e a t i v e c a p a b i l it i e s .P i a r o a e t h i c a l s t a n d a r d s c o n j o i n e d t h e s o c i a l a n dthe m o ra l l y good w i t h t he c lean , the beau ti fu l, andt h e re s t r a i n e d ; w h i l e a s o c i a l b e h a v i o r an dw i c k e d n e s s w e r e t i e d t o d i r t , u g l i n e s s , m a d n e s sa n d e x c e s s . 4 4 In P i a ro a c o s m o g o n y , p r o d u c t iv ef o r c e s w e r e i n t h e i r o r i g i n b o t h w i l d a n dp o i s o n o u s ; a n d to d a y , if o n e d i d n o t a c h i e v em a s t e r y o v e r t h e s e d a n g e r o u s p r o d u c t i v e f o r c e st a k e n i n s i d e o n e , o n e w o u l d b e l e d t o e x c e s s iv e( u g l y ) b e h a v i o r a n d m a d n e s s . T h u s , t h e P i a r o an o t i o n o f p r o d u c t i v e k n o w l e d g e c a r r i e d w i th i t at h e o r y o f b e a u t y a n d u g l i n e s s t h a t h a d i t s m o r a la n d p o l i t i c a l s i d e . I n o t h e r w o r d s , w i t h in t h ec o n t e x t o f m o r a l a n d s o c i a l a c t i o n , p r o d u c t i v ek n o w l e d g e b e c a m e b r o a d e n e d to a e s t h e t i ck n o w l e d g e .

T h e B e a u t i fu l a n d th e U g ly a T h e o ry o fth e S o c ia l a n d th e A s o c ia lT h e P i a r o a d e s c r i b e d t h e g o o d a n d

p r o d u c t i v e p o w e r s o f w i z a r d r y a s n o t o n l ybeaut i fu l , bu t a ls o as c lean , and f resh : i t wa s

t h e c l e a r y e t m o d e r a t e l i g h t o f t h e m o o n , i nc o n t r a s t t o t h e s t r o n g l i g h t o f t h e s u n , t h a t w a sdes igna ted as t he p rec iou s l igh t o f w iza rd ry . Thel igh t o f the m oon , i t s c lear , f resh l igh t w i th ou t co lo r ,w a s t h e l i g h t o f t h e w o r d s o f t h e ruwang s l i fe-g iv ing and l if e -p ro tec t ive pow e rs , o r h i s p roduc t i vecapab i l i t ie s . The m oon - l i t wa te r w i t h in t he c rys ta lb o x e s o f s o n g a n d w i z a r d r y o w n e d b y t h e g o d sw a s c l e a n , c l e a r a n d f r e s h , a n d i t w a s w i t h t h i sw a t e r t h a t t h e ruwang e a c h n i g h t c l e a n s e d a n db e a u t i f ie d t h e w o r d s o f h is c h a n t s . A l l o f t h ec o n t e n t s o f t h e c r y s ta l b o x e s o f t h e g o d s r e m a i n e dbeau t if u l beca use t hese e the rea l be ings , th rou gh ap u r e l if e o f t h o u g h t s ( ta kwa ru) , c o n t i n u a l l yc l e a n s e d t h e i r p o w e r s . A w o m a n w a s b e a u t if u l(a kwakw ahu), a n d a m a n h a n d s o m e (a kwakwa ),

w h e n f r e s h l y b a t h e d , t h u s c l e a n s e d , a n d w e a r i n go r n a m e n t a t io n , t h e i r b o d y d e s i g n s a n d b e a d s ofl if e. I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e th a t t h e p r o d u c t s o fone ' s labo r -- a ch ild , a com b , a ga rden , a b low gun-- w e r e l a b e l l e d a s o n e ' s a k w a . B e a u t y(a kwakwa ), t h o u g h t s ( ta k waru) a n d t h e p r o d u c t so f w o r k (a kwa) were l ingu is t ica l ly l inked .

P o w e r s t h a t w e r e e s p e c i a l l y e v il c a m e f r o mt h e i m m o d e r a t e h e a t a n d l i g h t o f t h e s u n , a n dc i r c le s o r r a i n s o f r u s t s t a i n e d b y t h e s u n ' s fo r c eand f il led w i t h m adne ss fe ll fr om the sky t o po iso no n e . A n u n s c r u p u l o u s h u n t e r c o u l d t a k e p o w e r f u lh u n t i n g p o i s o n s o r c h a r m s f r o m v u l t u r e d o w n , s k yr u s t, c e n t e r - o f - t h e - s k y d o w n , a ll o f w h i c h w e r ef i l l e d w i t h t h e f i e r c e f o r c e o f s u n d o w n . S u c h ah u n t e r, o n e w h o t o o k s u c h p o w e r s , w o u l d b epo isoned by t he b r igh t f o rce o f t he sun in to a s ta teo f pa rano ia and u g ly behav io r .

Bu t a l l p roduc t i ve f o rces we re po ten t ia l l y ev i li n use . The c rea to r god o f t hese p roduc t i ve f o rcesd u r i n g m y t h i c t i m e w a s p h y s i c a l l y u g l y , m a d , e v i land f oo l i sh in ac t ion . The s ou rc e o f h i s capab i l i ti e st o u s e a n d t r a n s f o r m r e s o u r c e s o f t h e e a r t h - - t og a r d e n , t o h u n t, t o c o o k - - w e r e th e p o i s o n o u sh a l l u c i n o g e n s g i v e n t o h i m b y t h e s u p r e m e d e i tyb e n e a t h t h e e a rt h . H e a l s o u s e d t h e p o i s o n o u sp o w e r s o f t h e s u n t o i n c r e a s e t h e fo r c e o f h isc a p a b i li ti e s . T h e t r e m e n d o u s p o w e r s h e c r e at edc o n s t a n t l y p o i s o n e d h i s d e s i r e s ( h i s l if e o fsenses ) , and t hus he was t he a rche typ ica l asoc ia lbe ing o f my th ic t ime , a p reda to r and cann iba l . Hen e v e r m a r r i e d , b u t r a t h e r g l e e f u l l y c o m m i t t e dinces t and a te h is po ten t ia l a f f i nes . The po ison o fh i s p o w e r s e v e n t u a l l y a f f e c t a l l o t h e r g o d s o fc rea t ion t ime h is to ry .

My th ic t ime was a t ime o f rap id t echno log ica ld e v e l o p m e n t , w h e n t h e m e a n s f o r u s i n g t h e e a r t h 'sr e s o u r c e s w e r e c r e a t e d , a n d b e c a u s e o f t h epo ison o f t he f o rces t ha t a l l owe d fo r t h i s c rea t ion , i tw a s a l s o a p e r i o d t h a t i n c r e a s i n g l y b e c a m ec h a r a c t e r i z e d b y th e v i o l e n t c o m p e t i t i o n o v e r t h eo w n e r s h i p o f n e w t e c h n o l o g y a n d th e re s o u r ce swh ich i t made use o f . Wh i le a t f i r s t t he gods we rem o r e o r l e s s p e a c e f u l l y a b l e to a c q u i r e s u c hr e s o u r c e s a n d t h e f o r c e s f o r p r o d u c t i v e a c t i v i t yt h r o u g h m a r r i a g e a n d e x c h a n g e , t h e s e f o r c e sb e c a m e t o o m u l t i p le a n d s t r o n g f o r th e g o d s t om a s t e r th e i r p o te n c y , a n d s l o w l y t h e y p o i s o n e d t h e


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w i l l s a n d d e s i r e s o f t h o s e w h o r e c e i v e d t h e m . A st i m e w e n t o n , t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f g r e e d ,a r r o g a n c e , a n g e r a n d l u st m a d e i m p o s s i b l e t h em a i n t e n a n c e o f p e a c e f u l c o m m u n i t y a n di n t e r c o m m u n i t y r e l a ti o n s h i p s . A l l o f t h e c r e a t o rg o d s b e g a n t o s t e a l a n d t h e n m u r d e r f o r a c c e s sa n d o w n e r s h i p o f e v e r m o r e p o w e r f u l fo r c e s f o rt r a n s f o rm i n g t h e r e s o u r c e s o f t h e e a r t h ; a n d t h e nt h e y b e g a n t o m u r d e r a n d c a n n i b a l iz e f o r th eo w n e r s h i p a n d t h e c o n t r o l o f t h e d o m a i n sthemselves . A l l re la t ionsh ips de velop ed in to tho seo f p r e d a t o r a n d p r e y , a n d th e c r e a t i o n o f apeace fu l commun i t y l i f e became imposs ib l e . Th i sc r e a t iv e p e r i o d o f h i s t o r y e n d e d w h e n a llt ra n s f o r m a t io n a l f o r c e s f o r p r o d u c t i o n w e r e th r o w no u t o f t h i s w o r l d i n to a n e w a n d s t a b l e h o m e inc e l e s ti a l s p a c e : t h e s e p o w e r s a r e t h o s e t h a t a r ehoused today i n the sa fe ty o f t he c rys ta l boxes o fthe p resen t -day gods d i scussed above .I t i s h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t t h e e t h e r e a l ,ce l es t i a l gods who today own a l l t hese p roduc t i vef o r c e s h a v e n o l if e o f t h e s e n s e s t o b e s op o i s o n e d . T h e y c a n n o t t h e r e f o r e u s e t h e p o w e r sthey ow n , bu t ra the r w i th a ll the fo rce o f t he i r l if eo f t h o u g h t s t h e y c l e a n s e a n d b e a u t if y t h e m . AP i a r o a w h o t o o k a n e x c e s s o f p r o d u c t i v e f o r c e sf r o m th e s e g o d s b e y o n d h i s / h e r c a p a b i l it y tomas te r, w ou ld no t be ab le to c l eanse the m o f the i rpo i son ; and the re fo re , l ike the c rea to r go d o f t hesepow ers and l a te r a ll c rea to r gods , the pe rson ' s li feo f s e n s e s w o u l d b e c o m e p o i s o n e d , a n d s / h ewo u ld su f fe r madne ss and a c t unsocia ll y. 45 I t wa sf o r th i s r e a s o n t h a t t h e P i a r o a i n s i s te d o n t h eg r a d u a l a n d t h e l i m i t e d a c q u i s i t i o n o f p r o d u c t i v ep o w e r s fr o m t h e g o d s . A n d it w a s b e c a u s e a c c e s sto these c rea ti ve pow ers were l im i ted to them tha tt h e P i a r o a c o u l d in p r e s e n t d a y t im e c r e a te a n dm a i n t a i n t h e s o c i a l c o m m u n i t y , a na c c o m p l i s h m e n t i m p o s s i b l e fo r c r e a t i o n t im ebeings.In the Piaroa aesthet ics of social i ty , the socials ide of c leanl iness, beauty, an d the restrained -- al ls i gns o f t he m as te ry o f the p roduc t i ve fo rces w i th ino n e - - w a s m a n i f e s t e d t h r o u g h t h e i n d iv id u a l 'sc a p a b i l i ty o f m a i n t a i n i n g h a r m o n y in o n e ' sr e l a t io n s w i t h o t h e r s . T h i s is a p e o p l e w h or e s p e c t e d t r a n q u i l it y in a m a n m o r e t h a n h isp r o w e s s in h u n t i n g . T h e a s o c i a l s i d e s o f d i r t,

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ug l i ness , and excess - - s i gns o f p roduc t i ve fo rcesw i th i n one s t i l l po i soned by mons t rous and f i e rcesunl ight - - w ere the negat ive qual it ies o f madness ,g r e e d , q u a r re l s o m e n e s s a n d a r r o g a n c e , a s p e c t s o fc h a r a c t e r t h e P i a r o a m o s t a b h o r r e d . U n l e s s o n ek e p t t h e p r o d u c t i v e f o r c e s w i t h i n o n e i n c o n t ro l ,o n e c o u l d n o t li ve s o c i a l l y in c o m m u n i t y . T h eP ia roa exp l i c i tl y asso c ia ted exce ss i n the use o fresources o f t h i s ea r th w i th i l l eg i t ima te soc ia l andpo lit ica l pow er : t he boxes o f pow er own ed b y them a d e a n d e v il c r e a t o r g o d o f f o r c e s f o r u s in gr e s o u r c e s w e r e c a ll e d t h e b o x e s o f d o m i n a t io nand t y ranny .In the P ia roa theory o f soc i a l i t y , t he asoc ia lp e r s o n t r i e d t o d o m i n a t e h i s n e i g h b o r s , c o m p e t ew i th them, th i eve from them, and even to ea t t hem.T h e u n c o m f o r ta b l e o n t o lo g i c a l d i l e m m a w i th w h i c ht h e P i ar oa w e r e f a c e d w a s t h a t o f h o w t o p r e v e n tth i s f rom occur r i ng i n eve ryday l i f e ; f o r t he P ia roaconc eived of the i r very m ean s of li ving a nd fu l fi ll ingt h e i r m a t e r ia l n e e d s a s b a s i c a l l y p r e d a t o r yc a p a b i l it i e s ( t h e a b i l i t y t o h u n t , t o g a r d e n , t ot r a n s f o r m f o o d f o r c i v i l i z e d e a t i n g a n d , i n d e e d ,rep roduc t i on ) . There was , then , a s t rong sense o fv i o lence (and fo r t hem ug l iness ) a t tached to the i ru n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e c a t e g o r y o f p r o d u c t iv ecapab i l i ty . The sp i r it o f song s w i th i n the r u w a n gw a s a l s o t h e s p i ri t o f h u n g e r a n d th e s p i r it o fj a g u a r ' s b r e a t h ; w h i l e t h e s p i r i t o f t h eh a l l u c i n o g e n , y o p o w i t h i n h i m w a s th e s p i ri t o fb a t t le . In s h o r t , p r o d u c t i v e p o w e r s w e r ep o i s o n o u s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l f o r c e s o f p r e d a t i o n ,a n d , a s s u c h , f o r c e s f o r th e c o n q u e s t a n ddom ina t i on o f o the rs.T h e s e c o n d d i le m m a f o r th e P i a r o a w a s t h a tt h e b e a d s o f l i f e t h a t c o n t a i n e d t h e p o i s o n o u sk n o w l e d g e a n d c a p a b i li ti e s w e r e a l so d a n g e r o u s .They were the source tha t endowed the i nd i v i dua lw i t h t h e w i ld f o r c e s f o r t h e lif e o f t h e s e n se sw h i c h e n a b l e d o n e t o b r e a t h e , t o w a n t s l e e p a n dw a t e r , t o d e s i r e f o o d a n d s e x . T r a d i t i o n a l l y , t h eb e a d s o f o r n a m e n t a t i o n w o r n b y t h e P i ar oa w e r emade f rom a spec ia l g ran i te tha t t he P ia roa sa idw a s th e o u t c r o p p i n g o f f a e c e s o f th e m o s tpow er fu l and dange rous de i t y o f t he un i ve rse , t het a p i r / a n a c o n d a w h o s e d w e l li n g w a s b e n e a th t h eear th . For safe and there fore soc ia l usage, both thel ife o f the senses and pro duc t ive cap abi l i ti es had to


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b e c l e a n s e d o f t h e i r d a n g e r , a n d i t w a s f o r t h isreason tha t the gods gave the Piaroa the c leans ingpower o f the moon . I t enab led one to r i d bo th theb e a d s a n d t h e f o r c e s o f p r o d u c t i v e c a p a b i l i t ywi th in one o f the i r respective wi ldnes s and po ison.T h i s i s w h y t h e ruwang c l e a n s e d a n d t h e r e b ybeaut i f ied each n igh t h is beads o f knowledge andt h e w o r d s o f h is c h a n t s : h e r id t h e m o f t h e i rw i ldness and the i r po isonous, p redatory madness.The p rocess o f c l eans ing the beads o f the d i r t o ft he t a p i r / a n a c o n d a ' s f e ce s a n d p ro d u c t i v eknow ledge o f i t s c rea to r god ' s po i son made thembeautiful.A e s t h e t i c k n o w l e d g e is , t h e n , p r o d u c t i v eknowledge beaut i f ied , and there fore c iv i l i zed . Theb e a u t y o f P i a r o a o r n a m e n t a t i o n r e f e r r e d n o t s om u c h t o t h e b e a u t y o f p r o d u c t i v e f o r c e s p e r s ew i t h i n o n e , b u t t o o n e ' s m a s t e r y o ft r ans fo rma t iona l capab i l i t i e s we re no t cons ide redbeauti fu l un less c leansed o f the i r ven om and the i rp reda to ry v io lence. The am oun t o f know ledge wasf o r n a u g h t w i t h o u t i t s c a r e f u l m a s t e r y , a n d t h epe rson wh o took p roduc t i ve sk il ls beyond h i s /he rcapab i l i ty fo r master ing them became ug ly , a t leastmoral ly speaking.The socia l s ide of c leansing (and beauti fy ing)was the mas te ry the individual ach ieved over bo thh is /h er l ife o f senses and produ ct ive capab i l i tiesth roug h the o ther aspe ct o f one 's l ife o f though ts ,o n e ' s ta 'kwakomenae. O n e ' s l if e o f t h o u g h t s(ta'kwaru) i s made up o f two componen ts , bo th o fwh ich com e f rom the c r ys ta l boxes o f the gods . 46The product ive fo rces fo r mater ia l ex is tence (one 'sta'kwanya), fo rme d o ne par t o f the l ife o f though t ,wh i le one 's soc ia l capab i l i t ies and mora l ap t i tudef o r m e d t h e o t h e r ( o n e ' s ta'kwakomenae). T h et o t a l i t y o f o n e ' s ta'kwaru ( b o t h ta 'kwanya andta'kwakomenae) wou ld fo rm a pe rson ' s aes the t i cknow ledge .Ta'kwakomenae gave one the capab i l i t y fo rmak ing pe rson a l dec i s i ons , and i t wa s the re fo reone ' s pe rsona l cho i ce h ow one deve loped it : one ' sv i r tu o u s a c t i o n t o w a r d o t h e r s w a s a m a t t e r o fpe rsona l dec i s i on . A rough g loss o f the ca tego ryw o u l d c o v e r w i ll , r e s p o n s i b il it y , c o n s c i o u s n e s s ,i n ten t i o na l i t y , r a t i on a l i t y ; and it wa s l essons inta'kwakomenae tha t a leader f i rs t gave ch i ld ren ,l o n g b e f o r e t h e y b e g a n t o i n c o r p o r a t e w i t h i n

t h e m s e l v e s t h e d a n g e r o u s f o r c e s f o r p r o d u c t i o nand rep roduc t i on . Once a mas te ry o f soc ia l i t y wasa c h i e v e d , o n e c o u l d t h e n gradually, t h r o u g hta'kwakomenae, beg in to mas te r the s t rong fo r cesfo r wo rk .B e a u t y f o r t h e P i a r o a w a s a s o c i a laccomp l i shmen t , t i ed to reason and the con t ro l o fe m o t i o n s . T h r o u g h ta'kwakomenae one ach ievedmastery over bo th soc ia l and product ive behav io r ,a p r o c e s s t h a t b e a u t i f i e d b o t h b e h a v i o r a n d t h ese l f . Product iv i ty and mora l act ion , then, be longedf o r t h e P i a r o a t o t h e s a m e a e s t h e t i c s ; i n t h e i raes the t i cs o f mo ra l i t y , an aes the t i cs o f the bodyspoke o f an aesthe t ics o f w ork a nd soc ia li ty . I t w asan aesthe t ics tha t a lso en ta i led a par t icu la r senseo f comm un i ty , wh i ch exp la ins wh y the soc ia l cou ldo n l y b e a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h t h e p e r s o n a l a u t o n o m yof individuals.Ta'kwakomenae, one 's mastery o f soc ia l i ty ,w a s , t h e n , i n i n i m i t a b l e a m e r i n d i a n l o g i c , a l s oo n e ' s p e r s o n a l a u t o n o m y . I n o t h e r w o r d s , a s at ransce nden ta l fac t , the we igh t o f ac t i ng soc ia ll ywa s p laced in the han ds o f the ind iv idua l, and no tw i th the co rpo ra te g roup o r co ll ec t iv i ty , o r w i th apo l i ti ca l leadersh ip. Th is was w hy the asser t ion o fp e r s o n a l a u t o n o m y , cha'kwakomenae ( it is myw a y , my d e c i s i o n ) , w a s t h e m o s t f r e q u e n t lyexpressed phras e in the ev eryd ay l ife of the Piaroa.T h e P i a r o a s o c i a l p r i n c i p l e s o f p e r s o n a lau tonomy and ega l i ta r i an i sm were re l i g i ous fac tsw h i c h , a s s u c h , s t a t e d t h e m e t a p h y s i c a lp rerequ is i tes fo r soc ia l i ty . The crea t ion o f po l i t i ca lh ie rarchy, tha t s i tua t ion where s tab le re la t ionsh ipso f dom inat ion bec om e inst i tu tiona l ized , has as itsm i n i m a l p r e r e q u i s i t e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f e n d o w i n gt h e c o l l e c t iv i t y w i t h p o w e r - - w i t h p o w e r o ve r tr e s o u r c e s a n d t h e i r u s e , o v e r l a b o r a n d th ep roduc ts o f l abo r . In P ia roa on to logy , p roduc t i veforces, the i r ownersh ip , mastery and use, cou ld bea mat te r o f indiv idua l ow nersh ip , ma stery and use.T h e d a r k s i d e o f s u c h a s o c i a l p h i l o s o p h y ,w i th the pa r t i cu la r on to logy tha t suppo r ted i t , wasthat an y not ion of the socia l, at least in the strongsense of i ts meaning, was l imi ted to re lat ively smal lsocia l uni ts, w he re a mi lieu of socia l in t im ac y couldb e c r e a t e d . O n e c o u l d n o t t o t a l l y t ru s tr e l a ti o n s h i p s o u t s i d e t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f s u c hi n t i m a c y n o t to b e c o m e t h e p r e d a t o r y a n d


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c a n n i b a l is t i c o n e s o f j a g u a r a n d a n a c o n d a . T h eid iom o f cann iba l i sm was a l l - pe rvas i ve i n P ia roat h i n k i n g a b o u t r e la t i o n s h ip s , w h e t h e r a b o u t t h er e l a ti o n s h i p b e t w e e n g o d s o f t h e p a s t, b e t w e e nthem and humans , be tween humans and an ima ls ,a n d f i n a ll y b e t w e e n h u m a n s , a n d e s p e c i a l l ybe tween a f f i nes (no t l i v i ng w i th one ano the r ) andbe tw een P ia roa and a ll o the r peop le . 47 Ou ts idet h e s a fe t y o f t h e m o r a l , n o n - c o m p e t i t i v ere la t ionsh ips o f co mm un i ty l if e , the re wa s a t l eas tthe po ten t ia l it y , even am ong fe l low mem bers o f thepo l i ti ca l te r r i to r y , o f the o the r bec om ing one ' spredator and enemy. On ly the soc ia l re la t ionsh ipsc rea ted w i th in the commun i ty we re no t po ten t i a l l ys a v a g e o n e s , a n d i t w a s f o r t h i s r e a s o n , f o ri n s t a n c e , t h a t a y o u n g p e r s o n l o n g e d f o r t h ee n d o g a m o u s m a r r i a g e , f o r a p a r t n e r f r o m w i t hi nh i s / h e r o w n c o m m u n i t y . S u c h a c h o ic e w a saesthe t ica l ly based.T h e P i a r o a s e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y :a e s t h e t i c k n o w l e d g e a n d t h e c r e a t i v i t yo f m a i n t e n a n c e

Go ldman , as I no ted above, sa id o f the Cub eot h a t c o l l e c t i v i t y w a s d e p e n d e n t o n t h e d a i lyc r e a t io n o f h ig h m o r a l e , a n d it w a s g o o d m o o dm a n a g e m e n t t h a t l e d t o h i g h p r o d u c t i v i t y w i t h i nt h e c o m m u n i t y . In t h e i r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h es o c i a l , w o r k w a s p r o p e r l y a h i g h l y s o c i a l a n dp leasu rab le ma t te r . Produc t i ve accumu la t i on wasno t the goa l o f the com mun i ty , bu t r a the r the da i l yc r e a t i o n o f h i g h m o r a l e w h i c h a l l o w e d f o rp roduc t i ve and soc ia l comfo r t . Sah l i ns , i n StoneAge Economics ca tego r izes such economies asd o m e s t i c m o d e s o f p r o d u c t i o n w h i c h , a l th o u g haf f luent , a re anarch ic in o rgan iza t ion . And so theym a y b e . H e s a y s th a t t h e D M P h a s a l l t h eo r g a n i z a t i o n o f s o m a n y p o t a t o e s in a c e r ta i nfamo us sa ck o f po ta toes, '48 and he no tes tha t thep r i n c i p a l r e l a t i o n s o f p r o d u c t i o n in s u c heco nom ies take on a m oda l i ty o f the in t imate . 49T h u s , t h e u n i t y o f s o c i e t y i s s a c r i f i c e d f o r t h ea u t o n o m y o f t h e d o m e s t i c g r o u p a nd th eprodu c ing individua l . He then argues tha t the DMPis, there fore , re f ractory to the exerc ise o f po l i t i ca lpow er and the en la rgemen t o f p roduc t ion .

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These character is t ics , w i th wh ich ne i ther I norG o l d m a n w o u l d d i s a g r e e , l e a d h i m , h o w e v e r , t oc l a s s if y s u ch e c o n o m i e s a s s t r u c t u r e s o funde rexp lo i ta t i on and , as such asoc ia l and , a tt h e i r b a s e , o n t h e s i d e o f n a t u r e . T h e p r i m i t i v eDMP, he says, 50 suppo r ts the ph il osophe rs ' manin isolat ion, the ir m an in nature. Un i ty ( the socia l)can be crea ted on ly to the exten t tha t k insh ip andp o l i t i c a l m e c h a n i s m s a r e a b l e t o o v e r c o m e t h ea n a r c h i c a n d d i s p e r s a l fo r c e o f t h e D M P, w h e r et h e g r e a t e s t c h a l l e n g e b e c o m e s t h a t o f g e t t i n gpeop le to wo rk more , and m ore peop le to wo rk .The ana rchy ab ou t wh i ch Sah lins is speak ingis no t soc ia l o r po li ti cal anarch y, bu t the an archy o fn a t u r e . H e a r g u e s th a t e c o n o m i c a l l y . p r im i t i v esoc ie ty is found ed on an an t i -soc ie ty , 51 and inorder fo r soc ie ty o r a soc ia l s ta te to be ach ieved,t h e e c o n o m i c d e fe c t s o f t h e D o m e s t i c M o d e o fProd uct ion mu st be overco me . 52 Kinsh ip mo ra l i tyand the po l i t i ca l power o f the ch ie f , fo r ins tance,thro ug h insti tut ions of h iera rchy and all iance co uldove rcome the ana rchy o f the DMP. The economicv a lu e s o f a u t o n o m y a n d e q u a l i t y m u s t b eunderm ined be fore the soc ia l can be c rea ted . 53Bas i ca l l y , Sah l i ns is equ a t i ng s t ruc tu res o fegal i tar ianism with a state of nature, asocia l i ty, andunderproduct ion ; in contrast , he p laces s t ructureso f h i e r a r c h y t h r o u g h w h i c h s u r p l u s c a n b eprodu ced on the s ide o f the soc ia l . In the end, th isis a n e t h n o c e n t r i c s t a n c e , a c o m m o n o n e ina n t h r o p o l o g y , t h a t g o e s a g a i n s t th e v e r ye thno cen t r i sm tha t he a t tacks - - the equ a t i on o fp r o g r e s s w i t h d e g r e e o f p r o d u c t i v i ty . 5 4 M o r eimpor tan t , in h is de l ineat ion o f a DMP he missest h e p o s s i b l e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e c a t e g o r y o fp roduct ive knowledge tha t is o f ten assoc ia ted wi thsuch econom ies , whe re wo rk i s pa rt and pa rce l o fs o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d an a e s t h e t i c s o fc o m m u n i t y . O t h e r ' s i d e a s a n d j u d g m e n t s a b o u tthe soc ial , the ir sense o f com mu n i ty and wo rkas a ca tegory wi th in i t , can be very d i f fe ren t f romSahl ins ' es sent ia l ly Western (and an throp o log ica l )v i ew and j udgmen t .

What Sah l ins v iews as the anarchy o f na ture ,the P iaroa and the Cubeo unde rs tood as the h igh l ydes i rab le soc ia l s ta te to be achieved. The pr im arypo li ti ca l goa l o f these amer ind ian co mm uni t ies w asthe ach ievement o f the soc ia l , bu t such soc ia l i ty - -


14/17

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i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e i r s e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y - -w a s d e p e n d e n t u p o n b o t h t h e e c o n o m i ca u t o n o m y o f t h e in d i v i d u a l m e m b e r s o f t h ec o m m u n i t y a n d t h e c re a t io n o f h i gh m o r a l e a m o n gt h e m . T h e e c o n o m i c g o a l o f s u c h a c h i e v e m e n tw a s in d e e d t h a t o f C h a y a n o v ' s r u l e : '5 5 a s t h ec o m m u n i t y g r e w w i t h r e s p e c t t o i ts w o r k i n gcapac i ty , the less the ind iv idua ls in i t had to work.T h i s i s in c o n t r a s t t o S a h l i n s ' v i s i o n o f t h ep r o d u c t iv e ( a n d s o ci a l) c o m m u n i t y , w h e r e t h r o u g hr e l a t i o n s o f h i e r a r c h y r e s o u r c e s , l a b o r , a n d t h e i rp rodu c t s w ou ld be exp lo i t ed t o t he i r fu ll es t.

For the Pia roa , they a lone o f a l l agents in theh i s t o r y o f t h e u n i v e r s e c o u l d a c q u i r e t h ec a p a b i l i t ie s o f s o c ia l i ty . T h e g o d s o f th e m y t h i cp a s t , w h o o w n e d t o o m a n y p o w e r s f o rt r a n s f o r m i n g t h e e a r t h 's r e s o u r c e s fo r u s e a n dw e a l th , b e c a m e m a d d e n e d b y t h e i r p o w e r s a n dt h u s th e y c o u l d n e v e r m a i n t a i n t h e s o c i a lre la t ionsh ips o f com m un i t y l i fe . The c rea t ion t imeh i s t o r y o f t h e c r e a t o r g o d s w a s a p e r i o d o f r a p i dt e c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t , c h a r a c t e r i z e d b yv i o l e n t c o m p e t i t i o n o v e r t h e o w n e r s h i p o f n e wt e c h n o l o g y r e s o u r c e s . W h i l e t h i s u s e o f p o w e r b yt h e P i a r o a c r e a t o r g o d s a r e t h o s e t h a t w e m i g h tj u d g e a s c o n d u c i v e t o p r o g r e s s a n d li b e ra t io n i no u r h u m a n , s o c i a l r e a lm , i t w a s t h e P i a r o aj u d g m e n t t h a t i t w a s m i s u s e , c o n d u c i v e o f ty r a n n ya n d c a n n i b a l i s t ic b e h a v i o r , a n d t h e r e f o r ed e s t r u c t i v e o f t h e s o c i a l . W h a t w e w o u l d s e e a sn a t u r a l in h u m a n h i s t o r y , t h e P i a r o a s a w a sbarbar ic .T h e P i a r o a r e c o g n i z e d t w o t y p e s o f h i s t o r y ,

and t he re fo re two t ypes o f c rea t i ve p rocesses : 1 )t h e c u m u l a t iv e h i s t o r y o f c r e a t i o n t i m e , w h e ndem on ic c rea t ive f o rces o f p ro g ress we re let l ooseon the ea r th , f ree f o r t he t ak ing ; and 2 ) t he non -c u m u l a t i v e h i s t o r y o f p r e s e n t - d a y t im e , w h e r ec r e a t i v i t y w a s s e e n a s a d a i l y b a t t l e a g a i n s t t h er e t u r n o f c u m u l a t i v e h i s t o r y e n a c t e d b y t h e m a dand g reedy c rea to r gods . The c rea t ion o f t h i s non -c u m u l a ti v e h i s to r y ( a n d t h e s o c i al w o r k w h i c h w a si t s a i m ) w a s d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e s k i l l s

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