
Tambo
Life in an Andean Village
Julia Meyerson(Author)
University of Texas Press
Published on 1. March 1990
Book
Paperback/Softback
297 pages
978-0-292-78078-1 (ISBN)
Description
Perhaps the best way to sharpen one's power's of observation is to be a stranger in a strange land. Julia Meyerson was one such stranger during a year in the village of 'Tambo, Peru, where her husband was conducting anthropological fieldwork. Though sometimes overwhelmed by the differences between Quechua and North American culture, she still sought eagerly to understand the lifeways of 'Tambo and to find her place in the village. Her vivid observations, recorded in this field journal, admirably follow Henry James's advice: "Try to be one of the people upon whom nothing is lost."
With an artist's eye, Meyerson records the daily life of 'Tambo-the cycles of planting and harvest, the round of religious and cultural festivals, her tentative beginnings of friendship and understanding with the Tambinos. The journal charts her progress from tolerated outsider to accepted friend as she and her husband learn and earn, the roles of daughter and son in their adopted family.
With its wealth of ethnographic detail, especially concerning the lives of Andean women, 'Tambo will have great value for students of Latin American anthropology. In addition, scholars preparing to do fieldwork anywhere will find it a realistic account of both the hardships and the rewards of such study.
With an artist's eye, Meyerson records the daily life of 'Tambo-the cycles of planting and harvest, the round of religious and cultural festivals, her tentative beginnings of friendship and understanding with the Tambinos. The journal charts her progress from tolerated outsider to accepted friend as she and her husband learn and earn, the roles of daughter and son in their adopted family.
With its wealth of ethnographic detail, especially concerning the lives of Andean women, 'Tambo will have great value for students of Latin American anthropology. In addition, scholars preparing to do fieldwork anywhere will find it a realistic account of both the hardships and the rewards of such study.
Reviews / Votes
"Meyerson, an artist by training, has delightfully and unexpectedly provided the single best description of what actual ethnographic fieldwork is like." Choice "I recommend this book to professionals, who rarely capture the essence and emotions of their subjects in their writings; to graduate and undergraduate anthropology students, for the lessons it gives in writing for a general audience; and, to that general audience, who will learn not only about life in 'Tambo, but how anthropology is practiced." Science Books and FilmsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
496 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-292-78078-1 (9780292780781)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Julia Meyerson is an artist who lives in Earlville, New York.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The beginning
2. Natividad
3. Corn planting
4. San Miguel and the anniversary of the district
5. Todos Santos
6. Corn planting
7. My birthday
8. San AndrEs, barley planting
9. Virgen Concebidayoq
Interlude
10. Return to 'Tambo
11. Cleaning the wheat field
12. Carnaval
13. Puna yapuy
14. Teresa comes to Cusco
15. Easter
16. Harvesting early potatoes
17. Cruz Velakuy
18. Potato and barley harvests
19. Cornharvest
20. Weaving
21. San Juan, threshing
22. San Pedro, weaving
23. Gary's birthday, the Fiestas Patrias, Hugo's house
24. Mamacha Asunta
25. The brewery
26. Sonqo
27. Natividad again
Epilogue: 1988
Glossary
Introduction
1. The beginning
2. Natividad
3. Corn planting
4. San Miguel and the anniversary of the district
5. Todos Santos
6. Corn planting
7. My birthday
8. San AndrEs, barley planting
9. Virgen Concebidayoq
Interlude
10. Return to 'Tambo
11. Cleaning the wheat field
12. Carnaval
13. Puna yapuy
14. Teresa comes to Cusco
15. Easter
16. Harvesting early potatoes
17. Cruz Velakuy
18. Potato and barley harvests
19. Cornharvest
20. Weaving
21. San Juan, threshing
22. San Pedro, weaving
23. Gary's birthday, the Fiestas Patrias, Hugo's house
24. Mamacha Asunta
25. The brewery
26. Sonqo
27. Natividad again
Epilogue: 1988
Glossary