God and Production in a Guatemalan Town (Texas Pan American Series)

By Sheldon Annis

Book Overview

Since the late 1970s, Protestantism has emerged as a major force in the political and economic life of rural Guatemala. Indeed, as Sheldon Annis argues in this book, Protestantism may have helped tip Guatemala's guerrilla war in behalf of the army during the early 1980s.But what is it about Protestantism--and about Indians-- that has led to massive religious conversion throughout the highlands? And in villages today, what are the dynamics that underlie the competition between Protestants and Catholics?Sheldon Annis addresses these questions from the perspective of San Antonio Aguas Calieutes, an Indian village in the highlands of midwestern Guatemala. Annis skillfully blends economic and cultural analysis to show why Protestantism has taken root. The key "character" in his drama is the village Indian's tiny plot of corn and beans, the milpa, which Annis analyzes as an "idea" as well as an agronomic productive system. By exploring "milpa logic," Annis shows how the economic, environmental, and social shifts of the twentieth century have acted to undercut "the colonial creation of Indianness" and, in doing so, have laid the basis for new cultural identities.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0292727364
• ISBN13: 9780292727366
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Intriguing and educational

I read this once for an undergraduate Anthropology class, and never forgot it. It delineates the difference in work ethic and cultural values between the Protestants and Catholics in one South American town, and how they are divided in every aspect. Nothing came down to actual issues of faith, but more on concepts stemming from the religions themselves. For instance, in weaving blankets, the Protestants made lovely, organized patterns which utilized logical color arrangements for aesthetic efficiency. The Catholics used a riot of color in their weaving, producing a beautiful and unique work with each one. In short, this book was interesting even as to a lay person.