An Unstable Wor(l)d: Conceptions of the Cosmic Order in the Narratives and Rituals of a South American Indigenous People

Abstract

According to French anthropologist Pierre Clastres, this large existential question is at the core of the cosmology of Guarani people, inhabitants of the South American jungles since time immemorial. The Guaraní myths conceptualize the origin and the path of humanity as an unstable and unfinished condition, which is oriented toward the search for adudje, and candiré, perfection that can be reached, singing and dancing, without passing through the proof of death. “Singing-dancing” and “story-telling” are the two ways in which Guaraní transmit their traditional knowledge. They “sing” (mborai) in daily and annual rituals. They tell stories (mombe´u) around the community’s fire and in other domestic circumstances. Through their songs they address the gods, and summon entities beyond the human. They also tell stories aimed at renewing and updating human memory and socializing children, entertaining them with the feats of their ancestors.