Fear As a Way of Life : Mayan Widows in Rural Guatemala

Between the late 1970s and the mid-1980s, the people of Guatemala were subjected to a state-sponsored campaign of political violence and repression designed to not only defeat a left-wing, revolutionary insurgency but also destroy Mayan communities and culture. The Mayan Indians in the western highlands were labeled by the government as revolutionary sympathizers, and many Mayan women lost husbands, sons, and other family members who were brutally murdered or who simply "disappeared." Based on years of field research conducted in the rural highlands, Fear as a Way of Life traces the intricate links between the recent political violence and repression and the long-term systemic violence connected with class inequalities and gender and ethnic oppression----the violence of everyday life. Columbia University Press Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Author’s Note......Page 16 Six Women from Xe’caj......Page 18 Part One: A Legacy of Violence......Page 22 1. In the Aftermath of War: An Introduction......Page 24 2. The Altiplano: A History of Violence and Survival......Page 46 3. Living in a State of Fear......Page 76 Part Two: A Legacy of Survival......Page 102 4. From Wives to Widows: Subsistence and Social Relations......Page 104 5. The Embodiment of Violence: Lived Lives and Social Suffering......Page 132 6. The Dialectics of Cloth......Page 148 7. Shifting Affiliations: Social Exigencies and Evangelicos......Page 170 8. Mutual Betrayal and Collective Dignity......Page 188 Notes......Page 194 Glossary......Page 210 Bibliography......Page 214 A......Page 236 C......Page 237 D......Page 240 F......Page 241 H......Page 242 L......Page 243 M......Page 244 N......Page 245 P......Page 246 S......Page 247 T......Page 248 W......Page 249 Y......Page 250 Columbia University Press Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 12 Author’s Note 16 Six Women from Xe’caj 18 Part One: A Legacy of Violence 22 1. In the Aftermath of War: An Introduction 24 2. The Altiplano: A History of Violence and Survival 46 3. Living in a State of Fear 76 Part Two: A Legacy of Survival 102 4. From Wives to Widows: Subsistence and Social Relations 104 5. The Embodiment of Violence: Lived Lives and Social Suffering 132 6. The Dialectics of Cloth 148 7. Shifting Affiliations: Social Exigencies and Evangelicos 170 8. Mutual Betrayal and Collective Dignity 188 Notes 194 Glossary 210 Bibliography 214 Index 236 A 236 B 237 C 237 D 240 E 241 F 241 G 242 H 242 I 243 J 243 K 243 L 243 M 244 N 245 O 246 P 246 Q 247 R 247 S 247 T 248 U 249 V 249 W 249 Y 250 0231100337,9780231100335,0231100329,9780231100328 This text traces the links between the political violence and repression in the late-20th century and long-term systemic violence connected with class inequalities and gender and ethnic oppression. It addresses the social responsibilities inherent in thepractice of anthropology. If you want to speak to widows, go to Xe'caj," the young man sitting across from me advised.