Lorna Hadlock

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Vesperi, Maria

Keywords

Peru, Amazon, Ethnography, Matses, Belonging, Assimilation, Intermarriages, Encounters

Area of Concentration

Anthropology

Abstract

This thesis is based on seven months of ethnographic fieldwork in two annexes of the Communidad Nativa Matsés (CONAMA) in the Peruvian Amazon. Focusing on narratives and observations of encounters between Matsés and non-Matsés, I dissect belonging, processes of assimilation, and changing morality. I begin with historical information about rubber-boom era altercations, stolen women, and ambiguous relations with non-Matsés prior to "pacified contact" in 1969. Then, I examine glorified stories of the moment of "contact" and relations with Christian missionaries who initiated "contact." Continuing into the present day, I present observations and interviews to document modern interactions and intermarriages between Matsés and non-Matsés. I hypothesize that cultural confrontations, changes, and transplantations alter perceptions of morality because the emotional process of cultural contact disrupts boundaries of self and community and thus boundaries of morality may become disrupted. I found that Matsés conceptions of morality are intimately tied to their decisions about and interactions with outsiders; visitors themselves experienced moral confusion and adaptation as they struggled to cultivate a sense of belonging. In addition, relationships with outsiders are closely interrelated with the cultural divergence of two annexes of the CONAMA.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida Libraries, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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