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Hierarchy, symmetry, and the xavante spiritual life cycle

2010; UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL; Volume: 16; Issue: 34 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0104-71832010000200011

1806-9983

James R. Welch,

Cultural Differences and Values

Xavante society, well-known for its dual structural aspects, provides the best documented example of a formal age-group system in South America. Although the basic features of the Xavante secular age-group system were previously described, a second age-group system in the spiritual domain is presented here for the first time. In this paper, I describe the Xavante spiritual life cycle, including a structural dynamic whereby age sets pass through age grades in alternate fashion, allocating them between two moieties. That basic morphology is shared with the secular age-group system and attests to a Xavante logic of hierarchy and symmetry as mutually constructed and non-contradictory. Interactions between the spiritual and secular age-group systems manifest in the daily experience of spiritual participants in ways that suggest plurality and contingency are essential features of Xavante social organization.