The Mataco
George T. Crafts (gtc@poe.acc.virginia.edu)
Fri, 27 Mar 1992 08:33:42 -0500
I read a number of upsetting things on NativeNet, but the posting
concerning the Mataco people of Argentina had a special meaning
for me. The report stated that the government and media of
Argentina are suggesting that the Mataco are responsible for
introducing cholera into the country. One more example of one
group portraying another as less than human! I was particularly
disturbed by these events taking place half a world away because
I have read some of the oral literature of the Mataco. My point
is to recommend the book I read to other interested NativeNet
readers:
FOLK LITERATURE OF THE MATACO INDIANS. Johannes Wilbert and Karin
Simoneau, editors. UCLA Latin American Center Publications,
1982. 507 p.
This book is part of a great series, "Folk literature of South
American Indians." Yes, the stories are distorted by translation
and the fact that most of the people who recorded them are not
Mataco, but I still find them a very valuable glimpse of the life
of another people.
George
gtc@virginia.bitnet
gtc@virginia.edu