 | The Imbalance of Power: Leadership, Masculinity and Wealth in the Amazon Subjects: Trio Indians; Wayana Indians; Akuriyo Indians; Power (Social sciences) -- Guiana; Group identity -- Guiana; Leadership -- Guiana; Masculinity -- Political aspects -- Guiana; Guiana -- Ethnic relations; Amerindian societies have an iconic status in classical political thought. For Montaigne, Hobbes, Locke, Hume and Rousseau, the native American 'state of nature' operates as a foil for the European polity. Challenging this tradition, The Imbalance of Power demonstrates ethnographically that the Carib speaking indigenous societies of the Guiana region of Amazonia do not fit conventional characterizations of 'simple' political units with 'egalitarian' political ideologies and 'harmonious' relationships with nature. Marc Brightman builds a persuasive and original theory of Amerindian politics: far from balanced and egalitarian, Carib societies are rife with tension and difference; but this imbalance conditions social dynamism and a distinctive mode of cohesion. The Imbalance of Power is based on the author's fieldwork in partnership with Vanessa Grotti, who is working on a companion volume entitled Living with the Enemy: First Contacts and the Making of Christian Bodies in Amazonia. Marc Brightman is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Bologna. He has published on a variety of topics including ownership, indigenous movements, animism and forest governance. Marc Brightman is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Bologna. He has published on a variety of topics including ownership, indigenous movements, animism and forest governance. |
