ASTERISMOS GUARANI: IDENTIFICAÇÃO E ALGUMAS CONTROVÉRSIAS
GUARANI ASTERISMS: IDENTIFICATION AND SOME CONTROVERSIES

Author(s): Luiz C. Borges
Subject(s): Anthropology, Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: asterism; astronomy; controversy; culture; Guarani
Summary/Abstract: Fieldwork is crucial, altogether with the documental, historical and anthropological investigation, in Cultural Astronomy. Thus, one can confirm the asterisms identified in mythical narratives and informers’ statements. From the identification, description, and classification of asterisms and the relations between celestial phenomena and socio-historic features, derives the contribution for better knowledge and understanding of native epistemological systems and the complex relations established between things from things the sky and those of the earth. During the research among the Guarani in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo in Brazil, there were moments when some discrepancies between informers were noticed about asterisms, especially concerning their location, composition, and cultural role. More than a sort of problem, those disagreements are an anthropological and astronomical material that must be included among the hypothesis of the investigation. In the fieldwork in Espírito Santo in 2013, while some asterisms were identified, some controversies came about. We propose to discuss the discursive role of these divergences in knowledge production systems based on orality.

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