BETWEEN THE FOX AND THE CONDOR: RAISING LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AND SYMBOLISM IN THE “QUEBRADA DE HUMAHUCA”
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Abstract
This essay analyzes the relation between human beings and the environment in the context of raising livestock in the Quebrada of Humahuaca (Province of Jujuy, Argentina). The analysis is based on ethnographic research and on scholarly research conducted in other parts of the Andes. The relation between human beings and the environment is symbolically mediated by three wild animals of the region - the fox, the condor, and the eagle. These animals symbolize to the shepherd what will happen in the near future to his or her farm or ranch. This phenomenon is referred to in the Andes as ‘señas’ [signs] that the people of the Quebrada read in nature and interpret; these three wild animals produce ‘señas’ that indicate of ‘good luck’ or ‘bad luck.’ The human being of the region does not produce as an individual, but rather in close relation with other beings around her/him, and with whom he shares the work of farm production.
Nature functions as a mediator of livestock production, and this mediation establishes a kind of ‘kinship’ between domesticated animals and non-domestic animals, which reveals the relationship amongst different species.
The people of the Quebrada interpret the signs that nature produces, and in this way construct meanings that frame their lives.
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The author/s grant exclusive license without temporary limit for the manuscript to be published in Cuadernos-FHyCS edited by Humanides the Faculty of Social Science, National University of Jujuy.
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