Becoming an Ancestor: The Isthmus Zapotec Way of Death

by Anya Peterson Royce

Powerful and beautifully written, this is the story of the Isthmus Zapotecs of southern Mexico and their unbroken chain of ancestors and collective memory over the generations. Mortuary beliefs and actions are collective and pervasive in ways not seen in the United States, a resonant deep structure across many domains of Zapotec culture. Anthropologist Anya Peterson Royce draws upon forty years of participant research in the city of Juchitán to offer a finely textured portrait of the vibrant and enduring power of death in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec of Mexico. Focusing especially on the lives of Zapotec women, Becoming an Ancestor highlights the aesthetic sensibility and durability of mortuary traditions in the past and present. An intricate blending of Roman Catholicism and indigenous spiritual tradition, death through beliefs and practices expresses a collective solidarity that connects families, binds the living and dead, and blurs the past and present. A model of ethnographic research and presentation, Becoming an Ancestor not only reveals the luminescent heart of Zapotec culture but also provides important clues about the cultural power and potential of mortuary traditions for all societies.

Genres: School

262 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Raymundo VR · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a nice trip into memories and at the same time a strange confrontation with seeing the culture of my native region as the subject of anthropological discernment from deep within. Also a very nice refresher of my limited Zapotec language knowledge.

[York · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite works of anthropology. By living with and engaging in the rituals of the Zapotec people not as an observer but as a fellow mourner Royce has gained a sensitivity and appreciation of ritual that few observers I think have ever managed. Her lovingly detailed description of the funerary rites, of the elaborate constructions made with natural materials. Even if someone has no academic specialization or prior knowledge of indigenous Mexican people this book is a delight to read. A favorite I often return to.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many lovely details in this book. I'm not sure how much it would appeal to readers who have not had the chance to visit the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, or to come to know Isthmus Zapotec culture elsewhere, but for me it was a lovely return, and offered a deeper understanding, of the place. (And it's so lovely to see the names of poets, friends, and poet-friends within its pages.)