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Máscaras sonoras y metamorfosis en el lenguaje ritual de los runas del Alto Pastaza (Amazonía, Perú)
oleh: Andrea-Luz Gutiérrez Choquevilca
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | Institut Français d'Études Andines 2016-04-01 |
Deskripsi
Based on a study of oral Quechua tradition in the Alto Pastaza (Peru), this article examines the concept of «acoustic masks» in the context of ritual enunciation and communication practices. A focus on code-switching techniques used in the andoa-katsaki origin myth, as well as on the transmission process of kayachina hunting songs and llakichina love songs, reveals that the voices of certain non-human entities are invested with power, which is central to ritual activities for the initiated hunter as well as for Quechua lovers. It becomes evident that voice transformation through the use of specific onomatopoeias holds a role similar to that of a «mask», in the field of sound: that is, the power to show the visible side of the invisible actors of ritual interaction, directed towards predation or seduction. The study of the performative role attributed to sound offers indispensable tools in order to understand the effectiveness of Quechua ritual. «Metamorphosis» of the hunter or the lover is directly linked to a manipulation of the process of citation or mimesis of the voice of an invisible or non-human speaker. This analysis suggests that the acoustical communication techniques observed in Quechua ritual language play a key role not only in the symbolic economy of the relationships between humans and non-humans, but also from a cognitive and pragmatic point of view in the transmission of certain animistic representations.