In this Book
- Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World: Complementary Dualism in Modern Peru
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: University of New Mexico Press
Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World is an eloquently written autoethnography in which researcher Hillary S. Webb seeks to understand the indigenous Andean concept of yanantin or “complementary opposites.” One of the most well-known and defining characteristics of indigenous Andean thought, yanantin is an adherence to a philosophical model based on the belief that the polarities of existence (such as male/ female, dark/light, inner/outer) are interdependent and essential parts of a harmonious whole.
Webb embarks on a personal journey of understanding the yanantin worldview of complementary duality through participant observation and reflection on her individual experience. Her investigation is a thoughtful, careful, and rich analysis of the variety of ways in which cultures make meaning of the world around them, and how deeply attached we become to our own culturally imposed meaning-making strategies.
Table of Contents
- Title Page
- p. iii
- Illustrations
- pp. ix-x
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xiv
- 1: The Knower and the Known
- pp. 19-34
- 2: Mind and Body; Spirit and Flesh
- pp. 35-48
- 3: Of Time and Space
- pp. 49-62
- 4: Between Self and Other
- pp. 63-76
- 5: Chaupin
- pp. 77-91
- 6: The Lanzón
- pp. 91-104
- 7: On Good and Evil; Life and Death
- pp. 105-118
- 8: The Symbolic Versus the Actual
- pp. 119-136
- 9: Male and Female
- pp. 137-150
- 10: Perfection Versus Wholeness
- pp. 151-166
- Epilogue to the Narrative
- pp. 167-170
- References
- pp. 193-198