¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique
The labeling of fellow humans as “cannibals” is a trope employed by people across the globe, often in an effort to cast doubt on the humanity of others. In this study I am interested in alimentation, in particular anthropophagy, not only as a signal of belonging and exclusion, but also as a site of...
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| Formato: | Online |
| Idioma: | español |
| Editor: |
El Colegio de México
2015
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| Acceso en línea: | https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2046 |
| Revista: |
Estudios de Asia y África |
| authentication_code | dc |
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| _version_ | 1853489268658274304 |
| author | Huhn, Arianna |
| author_facet | Huhn, Arianna |
| author_sort | Huhn, Arianna |
| category_str_mv |
"Bolivia", "hyperinflation", "economic crisis", "Bolivia", "hiperinflación", "crisis económica"
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| collection | OJS |
| description | The labeling of fellow humans as “cannibals” is a trope employed by people across the globe, often in an effort to cast doubt on the humanity of others. In this study I am interested in alimentation, in particular anthropophagy, not only as a signal of belonging and exclusion, but also as a site of rationalized, intentional actions through which individuals demonstrate their humanity and so become human. Specifically, personhood is intertwined in much of Africa with actions and sentiments that express sociality, compassion, and circulation. These orientations are not, however, automatic. Very familiar human anti-social sentiments—such as envy, jealousy, spite, indignation, contempt, and selfishness—can be very personally gratifying. At the same time, however, they are destructive, insulating, and excessive, and therefore grotesque. Behaviors such as gluttony, incest, greed, and, of primary interest here, the eating of human flesh—acts that prioritize unbridled self-interest and callous accumulation of vitality for personal benefit and individuated wellbeing—are often associated in Africa with witches and sorcerers. Human personhood is about controlling or repressing (or, at least appearing to control and repress) these tendencies in favor of collaboration, porosity, and sympathy most of the time. This makes the project of being and becoming human a perpetual act, and there exists a necessity to continuously craft and maintain personhood through everyday behaviors. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in which I conducted a year-long dietary survey, participated in community activities, and engaged 20 principle informants in regular, unstructured conversation in their local language, and then used emergent ideas to guide informal discussions with a wide substrate of additional townspeople, I argue that avoiding acts that can be conceived as anthropophagous offers opportunities for individuals to prove their commitment to pro-sociality, and so to socially become human. My special focus is on a series of prohibitions that regard not only to cannibalism (as all societies have), but also on eating animals that resemble human beings in physical, emotional, and spiritual form. While the forbidden meats are rarely even an option to consume, articulating the taboos and exhibiting repugnance at the thought of eating these animals are significant for their contributions toward an active performance of the moral underpinning of social living and constructing humanity. What I am proposing, then, is that the avoidance of cannibalism and pseudo-cannibalism are not just symbolic statements, gustatory preferences, or an assertion of benevolence to counter European misconceptions—they also constitute the self. The language and rationale that my informants used to describe their dietary proscriptions suggests that values on sociality, porosity, and circulation were not only grafted onto food taboos, but were also intimately enacted and embodied through them. People are doing things with food prohibitions, not just following them out of routine. While taboos on cannibalism are thus significant as one of the few customs that are universally accepted, which seems to suggest a biological basis, it is clear that there is also much more on the construction of disgust at the consumption of human flesh that is culturally specific. |
| format | Online |
| id | oai:oai.estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx:article-2046 |
| index_str_mv | CONAHCYT LATINDEX PKP Index DOAJ DORA Redalyc Scielo México CLASE Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) JSTOR Dialnet Sociological Abstracts EBSCO Host HELA Scopus Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory CIRC CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts Google Scholar Historical Abstracts MLA Biblat Current Abstracts Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek Frei zugängliche Emerging Sources Citation Index de Web of Science Scielo Citation Index (Web of Science) Gale OneFile: Informe Académico Journal Scholar Metrics (EC3 Research Group: Evaluación de la Ciencia y la Comunicación Científica. Universidad de Granada) Article First CARHUS Plus de la Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) Index Islamicus InfoTracCustom Matriu d’Infomació per l’Avaluació de Revistas (MIAR) Open access digital library. Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries Political Science Complete PubMed SocINDEX SocINDEX with Full Text TOC Premier Fondo Aleph. Biblioteca Virtual de Ciencias Sociales HEAL-Link Hellenic Academic Libraries Link Índice bibliográfico Publindex LatinREV. Red latinoamericana de revistas LINGMEX. Bibliografía lingüística de México desde 1970 Portal de Periódicos de la Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/MEC) SCImago Journal & Country Rank BACON (Base de Connaissance Nationale) Bibliography of Asian Studies (Online) Latin America & Iberia Database Social Science Database Social Science Premium Collection Sistema integrado de Bibliotecas (USP) ProQuest Central ProQuest Central Student Poetry & Short Story Reference Center MLA Directory of Periodicals MLA International Bibliography |
| journal | Estudios de Asia y África |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | El Colegio de México |
| record_format | ojs |
| Terms_governing_use_and_reproduction_note | Derechos de autor 2015 Estudios de Asia y África |
| data_source_entry/ISSN | Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, No. 3 (158), September-December, 2015; 721 - 748 Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, núm. 3 (158), septiembre-diciembre, 2015; 721 - 748 2448-654X 0185-0164 |
| spelling | oai:oai.estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx:article-20462025-11-04T18:29:41Z What is Human?: Food Taboo and Anthropophagy in Northwest Mozambique ¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique Huhn, Arianna food canibalism Africa sorcery/witchcraft personhood comida canibalismo África hechicería/brujería persona The labeling of fellow humans as “cannibals” is a trope employed by people across the globe, often in an effort to cast doubt on the humanity of others. In this study I am interested in alimentation, in particular anthropophagy, not only as a signal of belonging and exclusion, but also as a site of rationalized, intentional actions through which individuals demonstrate their humanity and so become human. Specifically, personhood is intertwined in much of Africa with actions and sentiments that express sociality, compassion, and circulation. These orientations are not, however, automatic. Very familiar human anti-social sentiments—such as envy, jealousy, spite, indignation, contempt, and selfishness—can be very personally gratifying. At the same time, however, they are destructive, insulating, and excessive, and therefore grotesque. Behaviors such as gluttony, incest, greed, and, of primary interest here, the eating of human flesh—acts that prioritize unbridled self-interest and callous accumulation of vitality for personal benefit and individuated wellbeing—are often associated in Africa with witches and sorcerers. Human personhood is about controlling or repressing (or, at least appearing to control and repress) these tendencies in favor of collaboration, porosity, and sympathy most of the time. This makes the project of being and becoming human a perpetual act, and there exists a necessity to continuously craft and maintain personhood through everyday behaviors. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in which I conducted a year-long dietary survey, participated in community activities, and engaged 20 principle informants in regular, unstructured conversation in their local language, and then used emergent ideas to guide informal discussions with a wide substrate of additional townspeople, I argue that avoiding acts that can be conceived as anthropophagous offers opportunities for individuals to prove their commitment to pro-sociality, and so to socially become human. My special focus is on a series of prohibitions that regard not only to cannibalism (as all societies have), but also on eating animals that resemble human beings in physical, emotional, and spiritual form. While the forbidden meats are rarely even an option to consume, articulating the taboos and exhibiting repugnance at the thought of eating these animals are significant for their contributions toward an active performance of the moral underpinning of social living and constructing humanity. What I am proposing, then, is that the avoidance of cannibalism and pseudo-cannibalism are not just symbolic statements, gustatory preferences, or an assertion of benevolence to counter European misconceptions—they also constitute the self. The language and rationale that my informants used to describe their dietary proscriptions suggests that values on sociality, porosity, and circulation were not only grafted onto food taboos, but were also intimately enacted and embodied through them. People are doing things with food prohibitions, not just following them out of routine. While taboos on cannibalism are thus significant as one of the few customs that are universally accepted, which seems to suggest a biological basis, it is clear that there is also much more on the construction of disgust at the consumption of human flesh that is culturally specific. Calificar a otros seres humanos como “caníbales” es un tropo empleado en todo el mundo, a menudo como parte de un esfuerzo por poner en duda la humanidad del otro. En este estudio me interesa el tema de la alimentación, específicamente la antropofagia, no sólo como una señal de pertenencia y exclusión, sino también como un lugar de acciones racionalizadas e intencionales a través de las cuales las personas demuestran su humanidad y devienen así socialmente humanos. En concreto, la condición de persona está íntimamente ligada en gran parte de África con las acciones y los sentimientos que expresan socialidad, compasión y circulación. Estas orientaciones, sin embargo, no son automáticas. Sentimientos antisociales muy familiares tales como la envidia, los celos, el despecho, la indignación, el desprecio y el egoísmo pueden ser muy gratificantes personalmente; al mismo tiempo, no obstante, son destructivos, aislantes, excesivos y, por lo tanto, grotescos. Los comportamientos como la gula, el incesto, la codicia y, de principal interés aquí, el consumo de carne humana —actos desenfrenados que priorizan intereses particulares y cruel acumulación de vitalidad para beneficio personal y bienestar individuado— son a menudo asociados en África con las brujas y los hechiceros. Cuando se habla de persona humana se habla de controlar o reprimir (o, por lo menos, parece que controla y reprime) estas tendencias en favor de la colaboración, la porosidad y la simpatía, generalmente; esto hace que el proyecto de ser y convertirse en humano sea un acto perpetuo, y existe una necesidad de confeccionar y mantener continuamente esa cualidad de persona con conductas cotidianas. Con base en un trabajo de campo etnográfico de 15 meses en el que llevé a cabo una encuesta de un año sobre alimentación, participé en las actividades de la comunidad y me entrevisté con 20 informantes clave en conversaciones cotidianas, no estructuradas y en su propia lengua, utilizando enseguida ideas emergentes para orientar las discusiones informales con un amplio sustrato de habitantes vecinos, sostengo que el hecho de evitar actos que puedan ser concebidos como antropófagos ofrece oportunidades a las personas para demostrar su compromiso en pro dela sociabilidad, y de esa forma convertirse socialmente en humanos. En síntesis, me centro en una serie de prohibiciones no sólo sobre el canibalismo (como todas las sociedades tienen), sino también sobre el consumo humano de animales que se nos parecen física, emocional y espiritualmente. Mientras que las carnes prohibidas como alimento raramente son una opción para consumir, tanto la expresión de los tabús como la demostración de repugnancia ante la idea de comer estos animales son importantes porque contribuyen a apoyar activamente la base moral de la vida social y construyen humanidad. Lo que estoy proponiendo, entonces, es que el rechazo del canibalismo y el pseudocanibalismo no es solamente una declaración simbólica, una preferencia gustativa o una afirmación de benevolencia para argumentar las equivocadas ideas europeas, sino que también constituye el ser mismo. El lenguaje y el razonamiento utilizados por mis informantes para describir sus prohibiciones dietéticas sugieren que los valores de sociabilidad, porosidad y circulación fueron no sólo trasplantados a tabús alimentarios, sino también íntimamente promulgados y consagrados a través de ellos. Las personas están haciendo cosas con las prohibiciones alimentarias, no siguiéndolas solamente fuera de la rutina. Mientras que los tabús sobre el canibalismo son, por lo tanto, importantes como una de las pocas costumbres universalmente aceptadas, lo que parece sugerir un fundamento biológico, está claro que también hay mucho más de construcción de la indignación por el consumo de carne humana que es culturalmente específico. El Colegio de México 2015-09-01 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf application/xml https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2046 10.24201/eaa.v50i3.2046 Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, No. 3 (158), September-December, 2015; 721 - 748 Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, núm. 3 (158), septiembre-diciembre, 2015; 721 - 748 2448-654X 0185-0164 spa https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2046/2046 https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2046/2280 Derechos de autor 2015 Estudios de Asia y África |
| spellingShingle | food canibalism Africa sorcery/witchcraft personhood comida canibalismo África hechicería/brujería persona Huhn, Arianna ¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique |
| title | ¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique |
| title_alt | What is Human?: Food Taboo and Anthropophagy in Northwest Mozambique |
| title_full | ¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique |
| title_fullStr | ¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique |
| title_full_unstemmed | ¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique |
| title_short | ¿Qué es humano? Tabús alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de Mozambique |
| title_sort | que es humano tabus alimentarios y antropofagia en el noroeste de mozambique |
| topic | food canibalism Africa sorcery/witchcraft personhood comida canibalismo África hechicería/brujería persona |
| topic_facet | food canibalism Africa sorcery/witchcraft personhood comida canibalismo África hechicería/brujería persona |
| url | https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2046 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT huhnarianna whatishumanfoodtabooandanthropophagyinnorthwestmozambique AT huhnarianna queeshumanotabusalimentariosyantropofagiaenelnoroestedemozambique |