Music and the Poetics of Production in the Bolivian AndesMusic and the Poetics of Production in the Bolivian Andes is a musical ethnography of a Quechua-speaking community of northern Potosi, in the Bolivian Andes. Based on extensive fieldwork, it explores how music permeates the lives of this group of herders and agriculturalists, and how it is deeply interwoven with agricultural and social (re)production. In this harsh highland environment, persuading the earth to bear fruit is a perpetual challenge, and music emerges as an especially critical and dynamic medium; one that provides rich insights into broader social processes and values. Music and dance orchestrate the seasonal transformation of the landscape, coordinate processes of life and death, and articulate relations with outside social groups and the spirit realm. Through rich and evocative ethnography, the book delves into the powerful meanings ascribed to sound; charts unfamiliar aesthetic territories; suggests how modernity can contribute to indigeneity; and reveals remarkable musical perspectives on Ilama husbandry and potato cultivation. ways, fragile community, a seasonally shifting array of musical instruments, genres, dances and tunings is introduced. The book is accompanied by an audio CD, photographs, musical transcriptions and explanatory diagrams. |
Common terms and phrases
agricultural Andean animals animu Asencio asintu associated ayllu ayllu Macha Aymara Beltrán Bolivia calendrical Carnival CD track ceremony Chapter charango charka chay cholo connected context contrast Copacabana corn beer corral crops cruz cultural dance dancers despatch devil don Adrian dry season ensemble evoke example expression feast Figure flowers genres growing season guitar Harris harvest highlights human identity instruments invoked JAYMA julajula panpipes kacharpaya Kalankira karaju karnawal Killakas kitarra Laymis llama Macha machu male mestizo metaphor mountain Northern Potosí paired panti Paulino peasant performance Peru pinkillu flutes pitches plant played players Pocoata potatoes production pujllay qhata Quechua quena rains rainy season refer relations rinuwa ritual runa Saints salaki Sallnow san pedro siku panpipes singing sirinus social song souls sound Spanish Stobart strings strumming suggests tata Thomas Solomon timpu tinku tuning verses wayli wayñu wayñu melodies wayñu music whilst wirjin yiya young zapateo