Singing for the Dead

by Faudree, Paja

• ISBN13: 9780822354314
• ISBN10: 0822354314
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-05-29
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

Singing for the Deadchronicles ethnic revival in Oaxaca, Mexico, where new forms of singing and writing in the local Mazatec indigenous language are producing powerful, transformative political effects. Faudree argues for the inclusion of singing as a necessary component in the polarized debates about indigenous orality and literacy and considers how the coupling of literacy and song has allowed people from the region to create texts of enduring social resonance. She examines how local young people are learning to read and write in Mazatec as a result of the region's new Day of the Dead song contest. Faudree also studies how tourist interest in local psychedelic mushrooms has led to their commodification, producing both opportunities and challenges for songwriters and others who represent Mazatec culture. She situates these revival movements within the contexts of Mexico and Latin America, as well as the broad, hemisphere-wide movement to create indigenous literatures. Singing for the Deadprovides a new way to think about the politics of ethnicity, the success of social movements, and the limits of national belonging.