Marcelo Moura Silva
Grant Type
Dissertation Fieldwork GrantInstitutional Affiliation
Museu Nacional, Rio de JaneiroGrant number
Gr. 10232Approve Date
October 7, 2021Project Title
Moura Silva, Marcelo (Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro) "Translating politics: the agency and efficacy of words among the Yanomami"Indigenous societies have advanced across the political terrain of States in an increasingly decisive way, impressing their practices in the quest for self-determination and the struggle to secure their rights. This research examines the political relationship between the Yanomami and the Brazilian State. Through ethnographic description, I investigate the tools used by indigenous people as part of a continual translation of practices and concepts within this context. My aim is to observe the transition between these two patterns of political activity ‘ that of States and that of Stateless societies ‘ setting out from an analysis of the indigenous political environment and tracing its transformations in the direction of politics with the State. Focusing mainly on Yanomami discursive practices, I seek to comprehend how they develop agency in this performative space and how they condition their words to speak effectively among whites and their institutions.