Table Of ContentAnimism and the Question of Life
The central purpose of this book is to help change the terms of the debate
on animism, a classic theme in anthropology. It combines some of the fi n-
est ethnographic material currently available (including fi rsthand research
on the Chachi of Ecuador) with an unusually broad geographic scope (the
Americas, Asia, and Africa). Edward B. Tylor originally defi ned animism
as the fi rst phase in the development of religion. The heyday of cultural
evolutionism may be over, but his basic conception is commonly assumed
to remain valid in at least one respect: there is still a broad consensus that
everything is alive within animism, or at least that more things are alive
than a modern scientifi c observer would allow for (e.g., clouds, rivers,
mountains). It is considered self-evident that animism is based on a kind
of exaggeration: its adherents are presumed to impute life to this, that,
and the other in a remarkably generous manner. Against the prevailing
consensus, this book argues that if animism has one outstanding feature,
it is its peculiar restrictiveness. Animistic notions of life are astonishingly
uniform across the globe, insofar as they are restricted rather than exag-
gerated. In the modern Western cosmology, life overlaps with the animate.
Within animism, however, life is always conditional, and therefore tends to
be limited to one’s kin, one’s pets, and perhaps the plants in one’s garden.
Thus it emerges that ‘our’ modern biological concept of life is stranger than
generally thought.
Istvan Praet is Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Roehampton University.
Routledge Studies in Anthropology
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in Europe Change Models
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Elizabeth Murphy-Lejeune Edited by Kirsten Hastrup
and Martin Skrydstrup
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Edited by Mark Osteen Women’s Reproductive Practices
Cortney Hughes Rinker
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Edited by Adolfo de Oliveira 10 Senses and Citizenships
Embodying Political Life
4 Traveling Spirits Edited by Susanna Trnka,
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Mobilities
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Scholars and the Research
Endeavour 12 Times of Security
Seeking Bridges Towards Mutual Ethnographies of Fear, Protest and
Respect the Future
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6 Confronting Capital 13 Climate Change and Tradition
Critique and Engagement in in a Small Island State
Anthropology The Rising Tide
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Barber, Belinda Leach
and Winnie Lem 14 Anthropology and Nature
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7 Adolescent Identity
Evolutionary, Cultural and 15 Animism and the Question of
Developmental Perspectives Life
Edited by Bonnie L. Hewlett Istvan Praet
Animism and the Question
of Life
Istvan Praet
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
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First published 2014
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
World Map xv
Introduction 1
PART I
Restricted Life
1 Humans: Us, the Human Beings, the Living Ones 13
2 Monsters: An Argument Against Foreigners 37
3 Beasts: An Argument Against Wildlife 61
PART II
Life as Discontinuity
4 Adversity: An Investigation into Metamorphosis 89
5 Death: Ritual and the Suspension of Life 115
6 Catastrophe: Examining Collective Metamorphoses 138
Conclusion 165
Notes 169
Bibliography 181
Index 193
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Acknowledgments
When—as a graduate student in Belgium—I was captivated by a book chap-
ter on blowpipes and spears and Amazonian peccaries, I did not expect this
to be the beginning of a long journey that would take me to the UK, Ecua-
dor, France, Germany, and—ultimately—back to the UK. My debts are
endless and my gratitude to all of those who have helped me along the way
goes beyond the feeble attempt to express it in these few paragraphs.
First and foremost, I am profoundly grateful to the Chachi people of the
Esmeraldas region in Ecuador whose goodwill, advice, and hospitality have
been vital in innumerable ways. My biggest debt is to the Añapa Pianchiche
family. Santiago was not only an initial guide, but also a generous host, an
exceptionally knowledgeable teacher, and a great co-traveller. Of the many
good things that happened during fi eldwork, his friendship is among those
I value most. I thank his wife, Grandma Maria, for her infi nite kindness.
My research would have been impossible without the help of their children
and some of their close relatives. Raul—the best motorboat pilot of the Rio
Cayapas—took me up and down the river numerous times. The guidance
of Gladys, Santiago’s most adventurous daughter, has been crucial. Martha
has been a fantastic supporter throughout. I am also extremely grateful to
her husband Raul Tapuyo—indefatigable defender of land rights and one
of the most courageous Chachi leaders of his generation. I felt very privi-
leged to accompany him to various political meetings. And then there is, of
course, doctor Oswaldo, whose cheerfulness was always infectious. I also
thank his partner Alexandra. Their medical assistance saved me on sev-
eral occasions. Furthermore, I am very grateful to Luisa and her husband
Abel, to Jaime and—last but not least—to Samuel, the incorruptible social
activist. I also thank Santiago’s grandchildren: Rogger, Raquel, Tatjana,
Carolina, Sacha, Cindy, and Wendy. Particularly, I would like to express
my gratitude to Roberto, who accompanied me on so many occasions. Our
canoe trips to Estero Vicente together with Gilberto will always remain a
joyful memory, even though we sometimes capsized. I thank the people of
Estero Vicente and, more specifi cally, Maria and Alfonso for accepting me
in their household. This research would not have been possible without
their generosity, patience, and amicable hospitality. Their children deserve
