ANTHRO 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Jean Comaroff, Maya Calendar, Social Reproduction
4 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Reproduction is, symbolically marginal midway between society and the wild. Reinforces cultural values: power of science, power of god, women. Keewatin peninsula, canada: birth and risk in nunavut, 1981: neonatal deaths (=death in 1st 28 days of life) 10/1000 live births canada: risk was a number used to rank nations. Canada looked bad: preventable tragedy , birth was important for the community (social reproduction, not just biological reproduction, risk: babies dying, risk: babies being born in far, unknown communities, 2004: neonatal deaths. 4/1000 live births canada: 2012: neonatal deaths. Mayan calendar: 18 mo/20 days each. Children born here had a destiny attached to their specific day: 5 left over days (unlucky, bad things could happen) These children were born without a physical form . Navajo: their first laugh marks personhood, traditional members celebrate. Western: pushes personhood further and further back, early personhood may make miscarriage harder.
