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4 - "ALLTHINGS MADE" TIDI'UMA While the Yekuana, like many tribal peoples, have no fixed category corresponding to the Western concept of "art," they do distinguish between objects manufactured within the guidelines of traditional design and those that simply arrive without any culturaltransformation or intent. Tidi'uma, from the verb tidi, "to make," are the collective artifacts of the culture, the sum total of everything one must learn to make in order to be considered a Yekuana.These are the essential items, from canoes and graters to houses and baskets, the things that not only distinguish the Yekuana as a society but incorporate the symbols that allow them to survive. Mesoma, on the other hand, is simply "stuff," the undifferentiated mass of goods that the Yekuana have acquired through either trade or chance. Often referred to by the Spanish term coroto, these objects, such as tin cans and plastic buckets, have none of the magical power or symbolic meaning associated with tidi'uma. And though a person may occasionally try to disguise a commercially manufactured object with a layer of skillfully applied ayawa, mesoma remains a synonym for any insipid or alien object. For the Yekuana, the distinction between tidi'uma and mesoma is an important one, as it recognizes culture as something to be made. Unlike the prefabricated mesoma that arrives from the outside lacking either significance or resonance, the objects classified under the term tidi'uma are all handmade. They represent not only the collective resources of the culture but also a conviction that culture is something to be created daily by every member. Through the complex arrangement of symbolic elements incorporated into the manufacture, design, and 69 70 "ALL THINGS MADE" use of each one of these objects, tidi'uma are able to take on a metaphoric significance that far outweighs their functional value. The semiotic content of even-" artifact demands that the maker participate in a metaphysical dialogue, often articulated with no more than his hands. Implicit in the growth of every individual as a useful member of society, therefore, is the development of his intellectualcapacity.For in learning how to make the various objects required for survival, one is simultaneously initiated into the arrangements underlying the organization of the society as a whole. Just as ritual actions may be said to necessarily accompany all material ones, the symbols incorporated into the manufacture of all tidi'uma require that every functional design participate in a greater cosmic one. Hence, to become a mature Yekuana is not only to develop the physical skills demanded of one's gender, but also the spiritual awareness that the preparation of these goods imparts. In a society that has no special category for a work of "art," there can be no object that is not one. Or, put another way, to become a true Yekuana is to become anartist. As if to acknowledge the close relation between technical and esoteric skills, the Yekuana often speak of the development of manual expertise as analogically indicative of other more intangible qualities. The fact that those who create the most skillfull}7 crafted objects are also the most ritually knowledgeable members of the community is a truism every Yekuana recognizes.1 In order to manufacture even the simplest objects of everyday use, the maker will need to be familiar with the symbolic arrangements necessary to their completion. As these objects become more complicated, so too must the esoteric knowledge incorporated into their design. Of all the artifacts the Yekuanamanufacture, no other demonstrates this simultaneously incremental development of technical and ritual competence as does basketry. The most pervasive of all Yekuana art forms, basketry may not only be used to chart the growtli of an individual but of an entire community as well. A shibboleth of tribal identity, the Yekuana state that "a person who does not make baskets is just like a criollo," and emphasize that the authenticity or "Yekuananess" of other villages may be judged by the quality of their weavings. Of all the material activities required of a Yekuana,there is almost none that, in one way or another, does not demand the use of a basket. Whether it be simply to fan a fire or to carry a piece of game, all actions carried out by both men and women in some way incorporate an object woven from a cane, palm, vine, or twig. The largest number of these [18.117.182.179] Project MUSE (2024-04-23 12:55 GMT...

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