Book
The Lettered Mountain: A Peruvian Village’s Way with Writing
Duke University Press
2011
Abstract
Andean peoples joined the world of alphabetic literacy nearly 500 years ago, yet the history of their literacy has remained hidden until now. In The Lettered Mountain , Frank Salomon and Mercedes Niño-Murcia expand notions of literacy and challenge stereotypes of Andean “orality” by analyzing the writings of mountain villagers from Inka times to the Internet era. Their historical ethnography is based on extensive research in the village of Tupicocha, in the central Peruvian province of Huarochirí. The region has a special place in the history of Latin American letters as the home of the unique early-seventeenth-century Quechua-language book explaining Peru’s ancient gods and priesthoods. Granted access to Tupicocha’s surprisingly rich internal archives, Salomon and Niño-Murcia found that legacy reflected in a distinctive version of lettered life developed prior to the arrival of state schools. In their detailed ethnography, writing emerges as a vital practice underlying specifically Andean sacred culture and self-governance. At the same time, the authors find that Andean relations with the nation-state have been disadvantaged by state writing standards developed in dialogue with European academies but not with the rural literate tradition.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Lettered Mountain: A Peruvian Village’s Way with Writing
- Creators
- Frank Salomon - University of Iowa, AnthropologyMercedes Niño-Murcia - University of Iowa, International Programs
- Resource Type
- Book
- Table of contents
- Introduction: Peru and the ethnography of writing -- An Andean community writes itself -- From khipu to narrative -- A tale of two lettered cities: schooling from ayllu to state -- "Papelito manda": the power of writing -- Power over writing: academy and ayllu -- Writing and the rehearsal of the past -- Village and diaspora as deterritorialized library.; Contents Illustrations Tables Preface Introduction: Peru and the Ethnography of Writing One: An Andean Community Writes Itself Two: From Khipu to Narrative Three: A Tale of Two Lettered Cities: Schooling from Ayllu to State Four: ‘‘Papelito Manda’’: The Power of Writing Five: Power over Writing: Academy and Ayllu Six: Writing and the Rehearsal of the Past Seven: Village and Diaspora as Deterritorialized Library Conclusions Appendix: Examples of Document Genres Notes References Index
- ISBN
- 9780822394341; 0822394340; 0822350270; 9780822350279
- eISBN
- 9780822394341; 0822394340
- Publisher
- Duke University Press; Durham N.C.
- Number of pages
- xix, 368 pages
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2011
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology; Linguistics; International Programs; Spanish and Portuguese
- Record Identifier
- 9983903696402771
Metrics
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