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Animal Souls and Human Destiny in Chamula

Author(s): Gary H. GossenSource: Man, New Series, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Sep., 1975), pp. 448-461Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2799813 .

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ANIMAL SOULS AND HUMAN DESTINY INCHAMULAGARY H. GOSSEN

UniversityfCalifornia,antaCruzThe Chamula Maya) Indians fsoutherniexico explainmuchof individual ate ndfortune,s well s personalityifferences,n terms f systemfclassificationf nimal oulcompanions,anging romaguarsfor herich nd powerful,o skunks or hepoor andhumble. hisprecolumbianonceptnvolveshe ssociationf n ndividual-not f group,assignifiedy the oncept f totemism-with soul ompanion, iven t birth, ho sharesfor lifetimevery troke ffate f tshuman ounterpart.his ystemndrelatedoul on-cepts re rticulated ith herest f Chamula ocietyn such way that single onceptualvocabulary ealswith uchdiverse spects f ife s personalitynd economics, estinyndsex,beauty nd cosmology,llness nd physical istance.ndian rawingsnda native extare lso ncludedn an attempto translatehamula deas bout elf, ody, oul nd destinyinrelationo society nd cosmos.

Thisarticle escribesnd nterpretsomeprinciplesf selfhood, ody, oul anddestinymong heChamula ndians f southern exico. Thesepeoplemake heirliving s subsistence aize agriculturalistsnd craftsmen,nd as day-labourersnChamula nd intheMexican-Mestizoommunity. hey speakTzotzil,which sone of theMaya family f languages.Although here s some bilingualismnSpanishndTzotzil, erhaps s much s tenpercent. mongmen, he ommunityis predominantly onolingual nd is culturally onservativen its sense ofseparatenessromMexico national ulture. he municipiof 40,000persons on-sists f over OO catteredatrifocallyrganised amlets hich re politicallyndritually' ependent pon a single eremonial entre,which s in turn hecom-munity'spoint of articulation ith Mexican government genciesand theCatholicChurch.Chamula s thus he yncreticroduct foverfour enturiesfcontact ith panishndMexican ustomsnd nstitutions.DescendantsftheAncientMaya,theChamulas hare pan-Meso-Americanindigenous elief n what is generally nown as nagualismor tonalismon theanthropologicaliteraturef the rea Adams& Rubel I967; Colby 967; Foster1944; Madsen 967; VillaRojas 1947; I963; Vogt I969: 369-74). Althoughhisancient elief asmanyocalvariant orms,talwaysnvolves he ssociationfanindividual-not roups sgenerallyignifiedn the oncept ftotemism-withnanimal oulcompanionwhich oams n a quasi-naturalabitat ndshares or life-time he icknessndhealth, ood and bad fortune,f tshuman ounterpart.nmanyMeso-Americanndian ocieties,heconcept s specificallyssociatedwiththe behaviour fwitches. n others, uch as Chamula, nimal oul companionsaffecthedestinyfall people n the community.he nuances nddynamicsfthis onceptnparticularommunitiesrecomplex nd elusive utworth ursuingManN.S.) 10, 448-46I.

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GARY H. GOSSEN 449nevertheless,or n this oncept ies, n a shadowy, overt orm,whatmight ecalled a philosophy findividual eing. n otherwords, his rticle ttemptsotranslateome Chamula deas bout elfhood.'I shallfirst efine omeChamulacategories hat elate o body, elf, ouls nddestiny. shall hendescribe hedynamics nd points f structuralesonance fthese deaswith ther arts f Chamula ociety ndcosmology,or t sstrikingonote theextent o which a single onceptual ocabulary eals withaspects fChamula ife sdiversesbody ndbeauty,llness ndeconomics,estinyndsex,cosmology nd theory f personality'. will concludewithan illustrationndinterpretationf the oncept s itappearsna narrativeext.

IIPeople nd nimal oulsChamulas elieve hat hey ive n theFourth reation,hemost uccessfulndmost ecentffour uccessivettemptsnthepart ftheprimaryun/Christeityto establishnordered niverse ithproper eings. heybelieve hat hey re theonly ruly uccessfuleings speakingao'ik'op,thetrueanguage' rTzotzil) ndthat hey nhabit hevery entre f thesquare arth-island.hisgivesthem nadvantageousositionndealingwith heSun/Christeity, or hey elieve hatthey ccupy heonlyplace on earthwhichbenefitsrom hefulldirect ays f thesun when t s at its zenith. he sun sultimatelyesponsibleor ll life ndlandforms nearth,s well as for heprimaryategoriesf time ndspace. nfact, heboundaries f theuniversere delimitedythe un'svertical athover day)andundernight)he arth.SeeGossen972 and 974, formore ata ncosmology.)Thus,man and theuniverse erecreated y theSun/Christndare constantlyat hismercy.He is thefirstrinciplendgrand verseerforder. he Sun/Christandhiskinsmen,he aints, onstantlyemand emembrancendsupplicationntheform fpeople'sprayers,ongs ndsacred ubstances, anyofwhich re nfact ctual rmetaphoricalepresentationsf heat-such as incense,obacco, umand candles. n analogousfashion,hewhole realmof thenormative nd thedesirable-models f andforproperhumanbehaviour,o borrowfromCliffordGeertz-is typicallyiscussedyChamulas nrelationo thehot desirable)/cold(notdesirable) ichotomy. or example, hehuman ifecycle begins s a coldfoetuscalleda 'monkey',mas,formonkeys receded hecreation f theSun/Christ's rder n theFirstCreation). t continues s an ever-increasingycle ofheat,thehottest ointbeingreached hortly eforedeath.However,humanenergy,s the ycles f sacred eatof theSun/Christ,usthavecontrol nd pre-dictable orm n order o becomesocially seful. rom these wo factors,hen,accumulationfspiritualeat nd control f t,derives art fthe xplanation orhuman ifferencerpersonality.omeChamulas ecomepolitically,conomicallyor spirituallyominant verothers; heyhave hotter eartsmask'isinyo ntonyu un).Others re ess uccessful;hey avecolderheartsmas ikil o nton u un).Still other tates nvolvegreatheat (energy)wvithoutroperformor control.Examples redrunkenness,nger ndwitchcraft.he samekeymetaphorsescribeactive, ertileexualityheat) sopposed o mpotence,terilityrbarrennesscold-ness).Likewise, ontrolled eat erves s metaphor ordescribing astery f thespokenword ndevaluatingndividualerformances,s for xample,n oratory r


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450 GARY H. GOSSENprayer. o speakwell,by this rtisticanon, s to speak with heatedheart.' ospeak coldly', ncontrast,s not desirableGossen,975).In spite f their rofessednterestn attaining many-facetedtate f balancedspiritual eat as adults, hamulas re well aware thatpeople approach his dealwithvarying egrees fsuccess. ome die at the age of twenty; ome ive to berespected,hot' elders. Some achieve economic success,with regular nnualsurpluses f maize; others ie in debt.Some are powerful nd influential;thersmust ive their ives n subserviencend deferenceo others. ome have goodhealth, hileothers reconstantlyll. One oftheperplexing ysteriesf Chamulalife, hen,sthenature f ndividual ifferencend ndividual ortunen theworldofthe un.Whiledifferingegrees nd qualities f piritual eatdescribeifferencesinpeople, hesemetaphorso not really ccountforr explain hevariation. on-siderationf thisproblem,f may call it that, eads to the main subject fthisarticle-justwhat onstitutesnddeternminesndividual ature, ate nd fortunenChamula.2Central o theSun/Christ'slan for managing nd maintainingrder n theuniverse as a scheme fdelegation f powers o hismother theMoon/VirginMary) ndseveral aints nd other upernaturals.e gaveto StJeromeknownnTzotzil s totik olom,Our FatherJaguar'),heresponsibilityorman's ndividualdestiny.3he senior spectof StJerome itswiththe Sun/Christn thethird(highest)evelofthe ky.His unior spect ivesna sacredmountain alledTzonte-vitzwhich ies nChamula erritory.nboth fhis spects,tJeromearriesuthismandate oroverseeing umandestiny hrough he mediumof three ypes fspiritsr soulswhich reassociated ith achand every uman eing.The first f these s called ?ora,meaning time,' fate,'or destiny.'A kind ofpredestinationhich s irrevocable rom irth nward, he?orafor achpersonhastheform fa multicolouredandlewhich splacedbyStJeromen thethird(uppermost)evel of the heavens t the timeof an individual's irth. ifferentlengths epresentifferentifespans.he longer nes of coursehavepotential orgeneratingreater eat n the ssociatedndividual'sife panthando the hortercandles.As ongas his andle urns nthe ky, he ssociatederson nd his nimalsoulcompanionive.When tgoesout-eithernaturally,y burning p itsfuel,orprematurely,hroughhe nterventionf a witch h?ak'camel r thrower fsickness')-the ersonndhis oulcompanion ie.Because f ts rucialmportanceto thefate fthe ndividual,he?ora andle snearly lways ymbolicallyresentin shamanisticuring eremonies.t srepresentedymulticolouredandleswhicharereadilyvailable n allplaceswhereChamulas rade.Related to ?ora s a second ypeof ndividualpirit. ora s representedn thelivinghuman ody bythe 'ulel,which s an invisible ssenceocated t thetipofthetongue. t is thefirstpirito become ssociated ith hebodyas a foetus-symbolisinghe ightingfthe ?ora andle n thesky-and is the astto departfrom hebody several ays fter hysical eath-symbolisinghe otal xtinctionof the ?ora andle. t isthis ssence f the ndividual hatgoesto live eternallyntheunderworldnd that eturnsovisit elativesachyear t theFeast f theDead(October3 and November ) as long as they ut out foodfor t.During ife hec'ulelmaybe afflictedy an illness alled 'ulelal,which s generallylassifieds agrave llnesswhichthreatenseath.Since the 'ulelhasthirteenarts, nyor all


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GARY H. GOSSEN 45Ipartsmaybe afflicted.hiscauses arious egreesnd kinds f ickness.n the ky,c'ulelal illness s manifestedy theflickering,oppling veror nibbledwax (allusually oneby witches) f one's Pora andle.A final ignificantact bout thec'ulel piritsthat t s alsopresent, ith ll of the ame ttributes,n the ipof thetongue fone's animal oulcompanion.This eads o the hird ype f ndividualpirit,he nimal oulcompaniontself,called anul, erivingrom on,whichmeans animal.'The canul sassignedo theindividualt birth y StJeromnendthe un/Christ.his nimal hares verytrokeoffortunehattshuman ounter-partxperiences.t is alsoof the ame ex as itshumanassociate.The canulhas two 'aspects,' junior (?iiinal) and a senior(bankilal),ach of whichhas thirteenarts.4 he unior aspect f thecanulives nthesacredmountain amedTzontevitzocated n Chamulamunicipal erritory,where t stended ytheunior spect fStJerome. he senior spect fthe oulanimal ivesonthe hird evelof the kywhere t s tended ythe enior spect fStJerome. uring heday, hese ssociated nimals oamthewoodsandfields ftheirerritoriesuch sanordinarynimalwould.However, tnight, tJerome,in bothhis uniorand senior spects, erds hem ntocorrals-theuniorone onthe acredmountain,he eniornthethird evel of the ky.Herethey pend henightnrelativeafetyrom heperils fdarkness-a imewhenmostmisfortunes,particularlyhose aused y witchcraft,ccur. t s n order oguaranteehis ight-time are hat ne mustmakeoccasional rayersfsupplicationo StJerome.Seefigures and2 forChamula ndiandrawingsf these nimal oul corrals ndStJerome,he ttendant.)Byfar hemost ommon auseof llnessnChamula s believed o be the ossofor njurynflictedpon one or several f the wenty-sixarts f the anulthirteenfor ach spect,unior nd senior). osscan occurduring exual ntercourse,right,excitement,leasure, nger raccident. hus human llnessesretypicallyausedby numerous fflictionsf thecanul, nd, somewhat essfrequently,rom heafflictionsfthe 'ulel, ssociated ith he andle f destinyn the ky.Thismakes

FIGURE I. Animal oul ompanionsseniorspect)n their orraln the hirdevel f hesky. rawing yMarian opezCalixto. otedead nimala coyote) nthe oreground;the rtistxplainedhat his oyote ndhishuman ounterpartied ftern attackromthe nimal oulcompanionf a witch. t Jerome,atron fanimalouls,s helpingsmallnimala deer) nto he orral.


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4S2 GARY H. GOSSEN

FIGURE 2. Animal oul companionsjunior aspect) n their orral earthe top ofTzontevitzmountain,n Chamulamunicipio.rawing yMarian opez Calixto. heartistxplainedhat he hreenimals aiting o theright f the corral re the oulcompanionnimalsfwitcheshere hownscow, dog, nd horse); hey rewaitingforgood' oul ompanionnimalsoventureutofthe orral.a total f hirty-nineartsf he umanpirittwenty-sixor he oubleanulndthirteenor he 'ulel)whichanbe afflictedingly,lus very arge umberfcombinationsfparts hich anbe ointlyfflictedr ost. t s the haman'soletoascertainypulsingndbyobservationf ymptomshat artsf he oul reafflicted.e must hen rescribehenecessaryandles, erbs,lowersndfoodsandsaytheproper rayerst a formaluring eremonyorestoreealth ndintegrityo the oul onfiguration.See Vogt 969: 4I6-76 for etail ncuringceremoniesnneighbouringzotzil-speakinginacantan.)All nimaloul ompanionsrewild nimalsith ive igits.t s hisympathetictrait-fiveigits-whichstablisheshe pecial iebetweenmankindndtheseanimals.t ssignificanto note ere hatheTzotzilword orman' vinik)sthesame s theword ortwenty,'ndicatinghat he otal ftwentyigitsscon-sideredo be a strikingspectfhumanhysiologynd n mportantnatomicaltraitf oul ompanionnimalsswell.5 ll remammals.urthermore,heyrerankedccordingothreeevels. hethirdevelsthemost ankilal'senior')ndthusncludeshose nimals ssociatedith ich ndpowerfulndividuals;hesecondevelwithmoderatelyuccessfuleople; nd he irst ith he umblendthe oor. heonlynimal hich ll nformantsgreedobe a thirdevel anul astheaguar. hemost owerfulhamansndpoliticalnd eligiouseadersypicallyhavetheaguar oulcompanion.n the econd evel regenerallyanked hecoyote, easelndocelot. hefirstevelmost ie'inal r junior') ypicallyn-cludeshe abbit,possumnd kunk.heresgeneralgreementmongnform-antsbouthejaguar'sirstankositionnd bouthe owrankf possum,kunkand abbit. owever,he econd-levelsnot onsistentlyeportedromndividualto ndividual.Seetable, below.)


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GARY H. GOSSEN 453TABLE I. The ciencef he oncrete:hanmulanimal ouls

Wild soulcompanionnimals Domestic nd other nomalous nimals(5 toes,ikehumans) (Clovenhooves, laws, tc., nlike umans)Carnivores Herbivoresnd Omnivores HerviboresndOmnivores

Stronger eople,richpeople Weaker people, ordinary Witches ave one of theseandcargo-holders. people. plus a strongwild animalsoul companion.jaguar rabbit cattleocelot skunk sheepcoyote raccoon pigsfox opossum chickensweasel squirrel turkeyswildbirdsinsects

Early reation. Later reation. Recent reation.Distant habitat (lowlands, More frequentlyeen in Seenevery aynearhousehot). highlands. compounds.Infrequentlyeen, octurnal. Nocturnal, diurnal and Diurnal.crepuscular.Notetheparadox: hat ome f he ame nimals hich reusedfor itualacrificencuringceremoniesndother itualslso are thefamiliarsfwitches. mbiguous owerthatmakesthem ffectiveymbolsmakes attle,hickensndturkeysseful orboth acred ndasocialends. heep re never aten, ituallyrotherwise; ork seaten nly ccasionally.I am ofcourse ndebtedothework fClaudeLevi-StraussI966) inmy ttempt,hownnthis able, o translatehe ogicof animal oulclassification.Thesebeliefsrerelatedothe eluctancefChamulas okill nyof hese nimals,for heymight herebye killing hemselvesr a relative. his snotto saythattheydo notdo so, onlythat heykillthemwith omefear ndtrepidation. ostindividualsf these peciesrenotanimal oulcompanionsfanyone;yet heresalwaysa dangerous ncertainty.arrative olklore f Chamula aboundswithreportsf suchmisfortunes.he followings an abstract f a 'truerecent arra-tive' about Chamulawoman'smistakenilling f herownsoulcompanionndherconsequenteath.6Therewas a womanwho scolded weasel,notknowingt was actually erown soulanimal. heweaselwasangrynddecided oeat hewoman's aby hicks ndeggs hat adnotyethatched.he woman aw theweasel o nto he hicken's est ndran toff, hasingitto ts ave.Shedug t out nd clubbed ttodeath ndthen urnedtup with uel il.Shediedthree ays ater, orthadbeenherownsoul nimal.Although eople houldhaveonlyonecanul,witches ave a strongnimal oulcompanion lus naberrant,nomalous reaturehatsoutside he lass fanimalsoulcompanionreatures.t ssignificanthat henumberndtype fdigits, .g.,clawsand clovenhooves, re thetraitswhichChamulasnote as making hem

'different'rom oulcompanionnimals. uch econd nimal oulsforwitches retypicallyomesticnimals nd fowl nd wild birds. tappears hat he nomalousclassificatoryosition f domesticnimals-neitherof thewoods' norhuman-gives hemmportantntermediaryowerboth s sacrificialnimalsparticularlyso in thecaseof chickensndturkeys)ndaswitches' oulcompanions.Witchesrequire hepowerof a strongnimal oulcompanion o as to be dominant ver


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454 GARY H. GOSSENall other anuletik,n order o do them ll ftheir lients o desire; hey lso requiretheanomalous nimal n order o give them ccess o places uch s housecom-poundswhere heywill not be noticed. his enables hem o do evil thingsur-reptitiously,s in the form f a turkey r chicken, orpotential ictimswouldnormallynot expect a domestic nimal or bird to hurt them. Furthermore,domesticnimalsreconstantlyresentn and around he iving ompoundsf allfamilies,husgiving hem ntimate ontactwiththe members f the household.This enables hem o harm ndividualsn thehouseholdmore asily. See table ,above.)Allpeople, ncluding itches,may earn he dentityf their nimal oulcom-panion hrough reams seetextbelow). Typically, eople have the ame dreamthree imes.Althoughn individual'snimal oul companion igures rominentlyin thisdream, tsmeanings notalways lear. n these ases, shamanmustbeconsulted.Whileshamans nd witches anusuallymakesureof themeaning ftheir wnandtheir lients' nimal ouldreams,manypeopleare notsureoftheidentityf their oul animals ven n adulthood. ven f theydo know,they rereluctanto discuss hematter ublicly.Insum, hen, hefactors hichdeterminendividual ate nd fortunere lmostcompletely eyond he ndividual'sontrol. heyderive rimarilyrom heSun/Christ ndStJerome,he andle ffate, nd from heuniorandsenior spects ftheanimal oulcompanion. he healthy odycarries his onstellationf nflu-ences nequilibrium;t s thepassive earer f forces ver which treally as nocontrol. he afflictedodysuffersrom disequilibriumituationnthewhole; apart s missing,njured r destroyed. s preventative easures,bout theonlywaysan individual an affect is own destinyre ) to pay homageto theSun/Christ, tJeromendtheother aints o as to encouragehem o continue heirvigilance ndcompassionormankind,nd 2) to be a conservative,onforming,generousndividualo asnottoattractnger rjealousy, or hese ouldbe turnedinto attacks f witchcraft.s a curativemeasure, heonlytraditional ay toremedyne's afflictedonditions tohire shaman o ntervenenone'sbehalf yperformingitualscalledk'elel r ?ilel, watching ver' or seeing' respectively)whoseprimary oalis torestorenequilibriumituationothe everalndividualspirits hich ffectheorganism.

IIIDynamicsFour Chamula axioms boutselfhoodmaybe gleaned rom heabove. First,one'shealth nd fortuneregoverned y a complex et ofextra-somaticorceswhich nemay nfluencenlymodestly,nd then nlywith hehelpof specialist.Second, iving n health nd happinessmounts imply o copingwiththe n-evitable. hird, ll peoplearenotequal. Thisprinciple ollows rom hesimplefact hat omepeoplearebornwith jaguarsoulcompanion ndotherswithrabbit.Never hall he wainmeet, xceptna dominance-submissionelationship.To fulfilne'sdestiny,hen,s essentiallymatterfdiscovering,ccepting,ndcopingwith neself; hats,todiscoverwhatone's animal oulprobablysand ts


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GARY H. GOSSEN 455relative osition n the ranked rderof beings.This informationeveals ne'splace n the ocialuniversend n ts mage, he piritual niverse. fourthxiomrelates o the ndividual's iscovery rocess f his ituation: lthough reordained,one's ong and short angehealth ndfortunere discovered fter hefact, y aposteriorieasoning.The discovery rocess s complex. t requires n understandingfthe cosmosand of the ondition fone's ?ora andlen the ky n relation o those f others.talso requires nowledge f the dentityf one's animal oul companion nd its'role' in theuniverse f soul companion nimals.Of these equirementsnthediscoveryrocess, n understandingfthe osmosis themost ccessible o all Chamulas.The primacy f the Sun/Christs thefirstprinciple f time nd space s stated ountless imes n narrativesnd in relatedritual equences. he first otion f beingwas theSun/Christ's;very dultknowsabouthisoriginal elimitationftheuniversendhis irst ertical rbit-underndthen ver theearth sland-in theFirst reation, nd abouthisfour ffortsnthesuccessive our Creations o create atisfactoryeings.Even now,in theFourthCreation, heSun/Christemains hekey symbol f order s evidencedn theseasons nd in thedaily ycles f heat nd light,which re viewedas essential ohuman urvival.Human destinys thereforeltimatelyied to thecontinuingbenevolence f thesundeity nd hiskinsmen,he saints.This principles sofundamentals to constituteommonknowledge seeGossen 972; 1974). Yetnearly lways he tate f the deities' atisfactionithone's behaviours knownonly fter ood or bad fortune ccurs.Less accessible o ordinary eople is knowledge bout one's Pora andleofdestinyn the ky.Only the best hamansnd mostdangerouswitches laim toknow thiswith ertainty:o find utabout trequires strenuousourney f thespecialist'snimal oulcompanion othe ite f these andles n thethird evelofthesky. have been told that t is notusually onsidered orth hetrouble, ori) it shard o get there, nd2) it s veryhard o change he onditionfthe ?oracandle xcept y special etition o StJerome r the Sun/Christ.owever, hesesoul ourneys nd petitionsre made n the case of grave llnesses hich re be-lievedto involve toppled r damaged?ora andle.Good shamans reable toascertainhegeneral ondition f a patient's'ulelby pulsing is wrist. hus, l-though bsolute nowledge boutthecandle tselfs extremely ard o comeby,shamans ave as their tock nd trade heability o read the reflex'presence fit all thirteenarts) n theform f the 'ulel.Discovery f the dentitynd relative owerof one'sctanulr animal oulcom-panion salso hard oaccomplish ith bsolute ertainty. umblepeople resaidto haveonly hegeneral nderstandinghat hey aveone of thehumble nimals-forexample, rabbit r an opossum.However, most shamans nd majorre-ligious iguresndpolitical igures avethis nformationt a muchfirmer'evelofcertainty.y far hemost ommonmedium f discoverys thedream.n thisway-usuallythroughdreamwhich ccurs hree imes-the erson iscoversheidentityndrelative ocialposition fhis animal oul n thehierarchyf powerand nfluence hichprevails mong ll ofthe oul companions. he personmayalso discover he favouredor doubtful) osition f his soul companionn rela-tion o theoverseer,Our Father aguar' r StJerome.


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456 GARY H. GOSSENIV

A textIn order o base the concluding emarksf this rticle pon substantiveataratherhan n myown modest ffortso paraphrasendtranslatehamula bstrac-tions, would ike o quote n full ChamulaTzotzilnarrative. riginally ecitedby a shaman s evidence or his own strengthnd effectivenesss a curer, histestimonyhronicles dream n which heshaman iscovered he extraordinarystrengthf his aguar soul companion.7Concerningnimal oulCompanions

Well,mygodfatheroldme this tory henhehad a dream ne timewhenhe was sleep-ing.A aguarwalked owards road.Whenhe arrived t theroad,he climbed tree.Whenhe saw man oming, e climbed own ndbithim uickly; hen e suddenlyrabbed im.He cutouthisheart nd ate t alongwith he ongue; uthe didn't at all ofthem.He ustate little it.He carriedhem o his ave.Whenhe arrivedt the ave,he gave ittle ites ohisfriendsecause heywerehungry. hat s whyhe gave little ite o each fhis elatives.Theywere fraid o go out to ook for heir wnfood, o every ight e went utto ookfor ood.He didnothing ut atpeople. very ight e went o the lacewhere he ig treewas.Finally he eople ealisedhat here as a aguarby the oad.Theywent o killhim; heywent t night o killhim.They ook heir uns.Whenthey rrivedt theplacewhere hejaguarwas, they ound im ittingnthetree.Whenthehuntersrrived,hey urned ntheirights nd sawhim rappedn the ree. hey aw that e wassittinghere. heytooka shot athim]. henmygodfatheraw hathey ad hot thim.Heknew ight waywhenthegunfired. e stopped hebullet.He grabbedt withhishand.The gun roared gain;this ime e didn't top hebullet. t hithim nthe ibs.Whenthebullet ithim n the ibs,he quickly ifted ishair nd cleaned heplacewhere hebullet ad entered. hat s whytherewasn't lotofblood.The gunroaredgain.Thebulletmissed im.He grabbedt nhis hand.Finally e realised hathe was notgoingto be able to escape hebullets.Hescrambledown he ree, leeing. e went o hide nthehills. e didn't ie.Whenmygod-fatherawtheaguarflee othehills, e wokeup.He wasreally rembling!e wasveryscared, uthe was still ying herenbed.His animaloulhadbeen cared. isbodywas stillasleepn hisbed.But whenmygodfatherokeup,he had a terribleeadache. e had a fever,ecouldn'tgetoutofbed. He almost ied.He was nbedfor wo weeks.He slowly ecovered,uthedidn't atfor our ays.He only rank littleorn ruel. incehis nimaloulhaddefendedhimself ithhishands, heyooked s ifthey adbeenburned. ustmagine,ll the kinpeeled ff ishands!He didn'tworkfor ourweeks.My,buthe wasvery rightened.hefact s that ealmost ied.Then,whenhegotbetter,etalked. e toldme: I wasvery ick.I almost ied. didn't atfor ourweeks, ndallthe kin imply eeled ffmyhands. heyreally urt,' aidmygodfather.Thefactsthat [i.e.,my nimaloul]went long he oadeating eople, ndthen heyweregoing o killme. t's that hey ealised hat heroadwasdangerous. heyrealised hat herewas a jaguaron theroad.Thentheywent okillthejaguar, uthe wasmy oul nimal. hat swhy almost ied.They hot t memany imes,butthey idn't itme.The bullets ent oone side. grabbedhebulletswithmyhand.Sincemyhandprotected e, llthe kin ame ff,'aidmygodfather.But this appenedlongtime go,'he said.That s howhe found ut that is oul nimalwasa aguar, orhesawhimwhilehe wassleeping.I amon the hirdevel. am themost owerful.knowthat amonthe hirdevel.That s how defendmyfriends,' ygodfatheraid o me. t sbecause heaguar sthe trongestanimal oul].He is onthe hirdevel.Theopossum,heweasel ndthefox reon the irstevel.They re heweakest. he firstevel s for he oulsofpeoplewhodon'tknow howto cure.The second evel s for he nimal ouls f thosewho cancure little it.The thirdevel s for hemost owerfulurers.hat s where heanimal ouls f hewitchesre, nd lso hose fgoodcurers. was told his ecause hemanwasmygodfather.

(TranslationyEleanorA. Gossen.)


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GARY H. GOSSEN 457V

A readingThe most triking evelationn thenarratives thestrictdentity elationshipbetween he hamannd his oulcompanion. he aguar snotmerely metaphorfor henarrator'seing, ut s an integral,ausal omponentfhis tate fbeing.All thathappened o theaguaralsohappened o hishuman ounterpart.t snotentirelylearwhether he nformant'sodfather as a witch forhis aguarsoulcompanion ctually illedmanypeople)or whether e was a virtuous hamaninterestednridding he ommunityfwitches rperhapsfother on-Chamulas.Inthe atter ase, hemurders ouldnotbeasocial ctsbutrather demonstrationoftheman'sjaguar's)moral trengthnd nterestnthe ommunity'selfare. heinformant ho toldme thenarrativeuggestedhe atternterpretationy notingthat he victimswereprobablywitches hemselves,on-Chamulas ull of evildesigns n thefortunesfChamulas.n this ase, heir eathswere good thing.Thus, theme f altruism uns hroughhe ext.Thisattitudeustifiesheaguar'sfierceness.e doeshiskilling or he akeof hisrelativesnd hiscommunity. isactions repurely elfless.o use hiswords,That is how I defendmyfriends.'Anothermportanthemewhichruns hroughouthe text s predatory itingand eatingbehaviour.This trait irst ccurred mongthepeople of the FirstCreationnd isnow identified ith urrentFourth reation) socialhumanbe-haviour ndistant,on-Chamula laces.Forexample, hamulas onstantlyskedmywife nd me fpeoplebit ndateone anothernourcountry,ince hey newthatwe came from eryfar way.The logicofthisfavouriteuestion ecameclearwhenwe learned hat his ndeedwas the habitofthepeopleofthe FirstCreation. hatwas oneof thereasonswhytheSun/Christestroyedhese eople,for heymade tewingmeat ftheir wn children.hus, t ssignificanthat reatsocialdistance, eep ntiquitynd reat upernaturaltrengthsuch s that xhibitedbytheaguar)share possiblyredatoryrientationotherest ftheuniverse. obe exact, trongnimal ouls reassociated ith he otalityfhuman xperiencethroughhefour reationslarge nimals, articularlyaguars,havebeen aroundcontinuouslyince heFirst reation, ccording o narrativeccounts). urther-more, hey re associated ith hemostdistant eaches f spaceon earth,n thattheirhabitat s the tropical owlands, n area populatedby Spanish-speakingMexicans,whomChamulasdo not likeor trust. he lowlands re believed oreach o thevery dgesofthe arth, ar wayfrom heir ool highland ome nthecentre f theearth. n contrast,maller nd lesspowerful oul companionanimalswerefirstreatedntheSecond ndThirdCreations nd thus o nothavethe umulativeemporal xperience hich he arger nesdo. Also,most fthesehumbler reaturesre foundcloser o theChamulas'homehighlands,makingthemmorenumerous,morevisible ndmorevulnerable. ll of thismakes ensewhenonereflectsn thefact hat, monghumans,hererecertainly oreof theweakthan here re ofthe trong.Thus,basicprinciplesf time nd spaceseemto be underlyingactors hichgive ordernot onlyto thestrengthf aguarsvis-a'-vis ther oul companionanimals,ut lsoto thegeneral oncept f nimal ouls s a component f ndividualbeing.This informations summarisedn table i. In general, trong nimals,


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458 GARY H. GOSSENparticularlyjaguars,avedistantime-spacessociations,iving hem kind fover-view ofuniversalxperience.urthermore,he trongestoul nimals renocturnalcarnivores hat re infrequently,f ever, een n thehighlands.n contrast,heweakest oul animals e.g.,skunks nd rabbits) re diurnal nd crepuscular erbi-vores nd omnivores ho areassociated ith hevery lose reaches f time ndspaceknown o Chamulas,.e.,the reas round heir ome ompounds. hey reseenfrequently,nd are often illed, hus xplainingnexplicit ashion hevulner-ability ftheweak and thepoor.Returning o thetext, he shaman ppears o haveambivalent eelings boutcontrolfhispower, .e.,how toexplain is aguar soul nimal's ttacksnothers.Although e states hat his ehaviour mounted o an assertionfhis trengthordefence f hisweaker ellows,hechroniclefevents oes notmaketheaguar'smotives ntirelylear. t appears hat predatoryttitudefan individual's wnsoulanimalwith egard o others'nimal oulsmaybeusedfor hedefence f thecommunitys well as for tsdetriment.his s exactly he mbivalent osition fpowerful hamans nd politicians is-a-vis hecommunity. hey could easily'bite' their ountrymen,ut do not. This s thesupremelyocialcomponentftheir ehaviour. hey rethedefendersf the ommunityromvil ndchaos, ortheir oulsare hot k'isin),nalogous o the essence f theSun/Christeity, heoriginalife-givingorcewho hasthe power to destroys well as to create ndmaintainhe ocialorder. t is significanthat he oulanimals fthehumble rebelieved o be colder' than hose f thepowerful. hisfollows rom hefact hatthey remore distant rom hesymbolic ssence ndexample f the Sun/Christdeity han, ay, he aguar.Related o this elief,t sgenerally nown rom arra-tivesthat smaller nimalswere created ater,usually n the Second or ThirdCreations.heyhave hus ad ess xperience,sspecies, ith he nduringumula-tive truthsf the universe,mbodied n thesun. Theyarein thisway junior'(?iW'inal)o the more senior oulanimals bankilaT),nd so have essheat.Thus,much fhumandifference,nequalitynd diversityf fate nd fortunererelatedto deep-lying rinciples f cosmoswhich derive rom un-primacyn Chamulathought.

VIConclusions

Withthis,we come full ircle ndmaynotebrieflynconclusionhatChamulaconceptsf selfhood, estiny, ealthnd ndividual ersonalityhare nevaluativevocabularywith many other spects f Chamula life. This shared evaluativelanguage ocuses pon thekeyhot/cold alue syndrome hich s derived n partfromheplaceofthe undeityn theChamula osmos.From conomic uccessoactive exuality, romhighalcoholic ontent f rumtocanons f beautynthespokenword,from olitical owerto thequalities fthe lderly hich ommandrespectnd deference,rom iewsof emotion o deas boutpersonality,heres akey metaphor-high nergy, r heat, containedby form, .e., rule-governedbehaviour-which ubsumes hesediverse valuative omains.The higher heenergy, he greater he potential orgoodness ndthegreater he possibilityfdestructive,socialbehaviour.


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GARY H. GOSSEN 459Given he ocial eality hich his valuativechemepparentlyasforChamulasociety sa whole,whatdo individualshink bout heir verall onditionrstate

ofwell-being?t sprecarious,t best. uststhe unmighttanymoment estroytheFourth reation,o themost owerfulhamanmight esort owitchcraftr aspark rom hehearthmight urndown a thatched ouse.Thisfundamentaln-certainty,ombinedwiththecomplex etofforceswhichdeterminesndividualfate,makeswhatWesterners ight all spiritual eace' or generalhappiness'state f mind which doesnot occur n the Chamularepertoryf emotion.Aperson s constantlyuffetedboutby at leastfour pheresffortune,escribedabove,which renotreally nderhiscontrol. venpowerandwealth ndgloryare thrustpon one, and,eventhen, he onditionmaybe ephemneral,ulnerableto sabotage ya witch r subject o a capricious ecision n thepartof theSun/Christ rhis ssociates.he Fourth reationmightven uddenlyometoan end.The bestone canexpect s,perhaps,o havea 'contented eart' lekyo?nton),oknowthat, or hemoment,he everal orcescting ponone re n nequilibriumstate,hat ne sapparentlyopingwith heniche neis destined ooccupy.Thisterms alsoused to describe pleasant, greeable erson. t is interestingn thisregard o note that he state f the contented eart' smostoften escribedyChamulas n festivalituations,imes f ideal ritual tatementsf thenormativeorder, imes fabundantobacco, um, ncense,ireworksndmusic-all symbolsofheat ndallsusceptibleodirectensoryxperiencefparticipants.llpeople-not ustthosenaturallyndowedwith jaguar soul, long,fat andle fdestinyand a favoured ositionn theeyesof theSun/Christ-mayxperienceorthemomentf he estivalhe contentedeart,'n deal tate fhot quilibrium,henall isas it shouldbe, aguars ndopossums reatingneanotherwithduerespect,knowing heir espectivelaces ntheworldof the un. t issurely otunrelatedto thisdiscussionhat heChamulaTzotzilword festival'derives rom proto-Mayaword kinh)meaningsun,heat, ime nddivinity'see Leon-Portilla968:34-40).Byfar hemore ommon ondition f emotionwhich eopledescribes tohavea 'sadheart' satyo?nton).hisconditionsbest ranslateds uncertainty.'t neednotbe accompanied ysickness r evenexplicitworries; t is simply 'normal'state fanxietybout whether ne is copingwithone'sniche n life.Exceptforstronghamans nd other owerful eoplewho arebelieved o have special n-sightnto hemysteriesfselfhood nd ndividual estinyshaman, ilol, ctuallymeansseer' nTzotzil), tnearlylwayshappenshat ne earns he truth' boutone's personal ituation nlyafter ood or ill fortune as already truck. orordinaryeople,fate s intelligiblenly nretrospect;ence,Chamulas'fatalismandapparent assivityefore he nevitable.8

NOTESThis rticle asoriginallyreparedor symposiumn mages fBodyStates,rganisedyShelley rringtonorthe 973 meetingsftheAmerican nthropologicalssociation,nNew Orleans.MyfieldworkI968-9) inChamula,tate fChiapas, asundertakens apart f heHarvardChiapasProject nder hedirectorshipf Evon Z. Vogt. amindebted o him ndtomanymembersf theProject orbackgroundthnographicorkandformanyyears f ideas,encouragementndcriticism,hich re thegoodthingsbout long-termegional roject.Dane Archer,helley rrington,riloki andey, homasRohlenandVictorTurner ave


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460 GARY H. GOSSENreaddraftsf this rticle,ndhaveprovidedmuch sefulommentndcriticism., ofcourse,remainesponsibleor he rticles tstands. etailon Chamula thnographyndcosmologymaybe foundnPozas i959, I962) and GossenI97I; I972; I974).I 'Selfhood',sused n this rticle,efersothebodyofChamula olk eliefsertainingothenaturef selfn relationosociety.2 The problems notunlike hatconsideredy Evans-Pritchardn his classic ccount,Witchcraft,raclesndmagicmong heAzandeI937), yet theChamula asediffersn that tinvolveswitchcrafts only neof a configurationffactors hichmpingeponthefate ndfortunefthe ndividual.3 Itappearshat aintJeromecquiredhis ole n the yncreticesponseoCatholicmission-isation ecause panishmages f him ypicallynclude lion ying t hisfeet. hisprobablymadehimthemost ppropriateaint or illinghe lot n thepre-Columbianantheonorlordor patronf nimalouls. hatStJeromes still nown s OurFatheraguaruggestshattheaguardeity illed his lot nthepre-Columbianeriod, likely ase ince he ult fthejaguarfiguresery rominentlys a motifnMeso-Americaneligiousrt nd culptureinceat east he ime f theOlmecCivilisationntheMeso-Americanre-ClassicCoe i965).4 This unior/seniorrderingrincipleswell knownntheMayaarea ofMeso-AmericaIt s used o classifyhenomenall theway fromiblingerminologyo mountains.enerally,older, arger,icher, oredistantnd morepowerfulre senior' ualities. ounger,maller,poorer, losernd esspowerfulre junior' ualities.See Vogt 969: 230-45.)5 It is worth oting hatAncientMayanumerationndcalendricaleckoning,s wellasmostmodemMayacountingystems,reof hebase-2oypeseeCoe I966). Forexample,hemodemTzotzilwordforforty'sca?vinik'twotwenties'r twomen').6 'Truerecent arrative'bae'i?ac'k'op)s oneof wogenresf eriousrose arrative hichtheChamulas ecognise.he other enres calledtrue ncient arrative.'othare believedtobe true eportsf past vents,hedistinguishingttributeeing ime foccurrence;truerecent arrative'eportsvents fthepresent,ourth reation, hiletrue ncient arrative'dealswithnarrativesbout heFirst, econd, ndThirdCreations.ee Gossen 97I and1974formoredetail nChamula arrative.7 Thistextwas toldtome n I968 bySalvadorGuzmain akbolom,ge 30,ofMilpoletahamlet. e originallyeard hetalefrom isgodfather,howasthen practisinghaman.The godfatherastryingo persuadeneighbourohire im o cure memberftheneigh-bour'sfamily ho was ll.The textstypicalfnearlyllChamulanarrativesnthattsper-formanceontext asoneofprovidingvidencendsupportingnecdotal atafor specificsocial ituation.n otherwords, eitherhis extnor hundredsf otherswhich heard ndrecorded ere old,when nproperocial ontext,orentertainmentalue' lone.8 On a more peculativeote,t scertainlyossiblehat heremarkablentellectualuper-structureftheAncient lassicMayamayhavebeen n effortoreconcile,t an nstitutional,'state' evel, ome of theambiguitiesn their iewof ndividualeing.AuthoritiesescribeAncientMaya astronomy, athematics,alendrics,ritingnd artas modesofcalculatingandrecordinghepatternf divine emporalycleswhich onvergeo influence'r cause'events t a givenmomentCoe I966). MiguelLeon-Portillaas calledAncientMayareligionandphilosophy'chronovision,'systematicstrologicalchemewhich ould ocate,n factpredict,hepattemf divine emporalycleswhich erved stheguidingsign' f eachgivenmoment f human xistenceLeon-Portilla968). The theocratictatemay,n a generalense,have egitimisedts xistenceothepopulace y providingfull-timeroup fchiefs, riestsand stronomershohadthe iftfprophecy-providersf nformationhich he opulationat argeneeded oguide ts verydayife. his nformationncludeduch tems spropitiousdates oplantmaize ndcuttimber,s well asproper imesndmodesfor ppealingothedeities or ontinued ell-being.fterhefall f theClassicMayaand the pasm ftheCon-quest, he chronovisiono doubtcontinuedmongtheMayamaizefarmerss a headlessastrologicalystem,fatalisticiewofbody ndpersonwithout professionalropheticlasswhoseob itwastoclarifynd ontrol estiny.hamulas' iewof ndividualeing asmost fthequalities,uch spreordinationffate, f the ncient hronovisionith nly fewoftheinstitutionalisedediawhichmayhaveprovidedlaritynMayaantiquity.Turning o thefuture,lso on a speculativeote, t seems lear hatplanned ocialandeconomichange,uch s that hartedorChamula yMexico's nstitutoacionalndigenista(Departmentf IndianAffairs) ill surely ncounternsurmountableesistancen this ndother ndian ommunitiesfplannerso notacknowledgendreckonwith he hasmwhichseparatesndigenousoncepts f destiny,elfhood,elf-determination,reewill andfutureorientationromhose ftheWest. nfact,t sentirelyossiblehat herelativeulturalon-servatismf the Maya areaofthe New World amountingo some3,000,000personsn


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GARY H. GOSSEN 46IMexico,GuatemalandHonduras)maybe n part xplained ythe emarkableulturalnsula-tionprovided y theMaya concepts f self nd destiny. lways pparentlyncorporatedntodomestic itual racticesuch s curing), ather han ntopublic eremonialffairs,onceptssuch s animal oulsmayhaveprovided secure eservoirf ndiandentitynd ocial eparate-ness ven n themidst f colonial nd twentiethenturyuropeannfluences.

REFERENCESAdams,RichardN. & Arthur . Rubel I967. Sickness nd socialrelations.n HandbookfMiddle mericanndians, ol. 6 eds)RobertWauchope& ManningNash. Austin:Univ.of TexasPress.Coe,MichaelD. I965. Theaguar'shildren:re-classicentral exico.New York: Museum fPrimitive rt.I966. TheMaya.New York:Praeger.Colby,Benjamin . I967. Psychologicalrientations.nHandbookfMiddle mericanndians,vol. 6 (eds) RobertWauchope nd Manning ash. Austin:Univ. of TexasPress.Evans-Pritchard,. E. 1937. Witchcraft,raclesndmagicmonghe zande. xford:ClarendonPress.Foster, eorgeM. 1944. NagualismnMexico ndGuatemala. ctaAm. , 85-103.Gossen, aryH. 1971. Chamula enresfverbal ehaviour..Am.Folkl. 4, 45-67.I972. Temporal ndspatial quivalentsn Chamularitual ymbolism.n Reader ncomnparativeeligion:n nthropologicalpproacheds)W. Lessa& E. Z. Vogt 3rd dn)NewYork:Harper& Row.I974. Chamulasntheworldf he un: imend pace n Mayaoral raditioln.ambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniv.Press.I975. To speakwith heated eart:Chamula anons fstylendgood performance.InExplorationsn the thnographyf peakingeds)R. Bauman & J. Sherzer. ambridge:Univ. Press.Leon-Portilla, iguel 968. Tiempo realidadnelpensamientoaya.Mexico: InstitutoeInvestigacionesistoricas,niversidadacionalAutonoma eMexico.Levi-Strauss,laude 966. The avagemind. ondon:Weidenfeld Nicolson.Madsen,William 967. Religious yncretism.n HandbookfMiddle mericanndians,ol.6(eds)R. Wauchope & Manning ash.Austin: niv. ofTexasPress.Pozas,Ricardo 959. Chamula: npueblo 'ndion os ltos eChiapasMem. nst. ac. ndig. ).Mexico: nstituto acional ndigenista.I962. Juan heChamula: n ethnologicale-creationf heife f Mexicanndiantrans.)Lysander emp.Berkeley,osAngeles:Univ.ofCalifomia ress.VillaRojas,A. I947. Kinshipndnagualismna Tzeltal ommunity,outheasternexico.Am.Anthrop. 9, 578-88.-- -I963. El nagualismoomo recurso e controlocial entre os gruposMayancesdeChiapas,Mexico.Estud. ult.Maya , 243-60.Vogt,E. Z. I969. Zinacantan: Maya communitynhighlandhiapas.Cambridge,Mass.:Harvard niv. Press.

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