The Life and Times of Grandfather Alonso: Culture and History in the Upper Amazon (Hegemony and Experience) [Paperback]

Blanca Muratorio (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813516854 | ISBN-13: 978-0813516851 | Publication Date: October 1, 1991 | Edition: First edition.

Blanca Muratorio introduces us to Rucuyaya Alonso, a Quichua elder from the Upper Ecuadorian Amazon. Grandfather Alonso's story spans a century, as his narrative incoporates oral tradition learned from both his father and grandfather. The book alternates between chapters of Alonso's life history, and chapters analyzing the history of the world around him--the domination of the missionaries and the state, the white settlers' expropriation of land, the debt-peonage system during the rubber boom, the world-wide crisis of the 1930s, and the booms and busts of the iternational oil market. Muratorio explains the larger social, economic, and ideological bases of white domination over native peoples in Amazonia. Her analysis of Quichua culture shows how through everyday practices of accommodation and resistance, and through expressions of humor, irony, and anger, the Quichua Indians were able to protect their cultural identity, their ethnic dignity, and their symbolic systems against the hegemonic forces of a white-dominated world.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press; First edition. edition (October 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813516854
• ISBN-13: 978-0813516851
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Ecuador

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for any student of Ecuador's upper Napo region., March 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Life and Times of Grandfather Alonso: Culture and History in the Upper Amazon (Hegemony and Experience) (Paperback)

Dr. Muratorio does an excellent job at combining first person oral narratives with a well-researched historical discussion and critique of the Pano Runa of Ecuador's upper Napo region. Employing James Scott's model of resistance, Muratorio demonstrates how the Runa have employed diverse strategies to struggle against hegemonic forces from missionaries and rubber barons, to the assimilationist state apparatus. The book highlights the cultural value of the Rucuyaya or grandfather, and laments the disaggregation of traditional family structures under the constraints of new economic arrangements. The book was originally published in Spanish under the title "Rucuyaya Alonso."