Persona y Espacio. Sobre el concepto de “teko” en el abordaje etnográfico de las primeras etapas del ciclo de vida Mbya

Abstract

The current paper analyse the polisemic dimension the concept/word “teko” in Mbya practices and representations during the early stages of life cycle. Such practices and representations led us to recognize the existence of taboos and prescriptions oriented to prevent illness and granted both children health and their normal development and growing. According Mbya perspective, the violation of such prescriptions means a mayor risk to children health, as well as their closest Kim. The values and expectations associated to the Mbya reko (Mbya way of life) establish the conditions that make possible individual life (teko), reinsuring, at the same time, community existence (teko´a). These conditions are deeply related to the persistence of ancestral cultural practices associated to the use of the wild resources. The facts previously mentioned let us to make hypothesis about environmental value on Mbya individual construction process.