Decoding Andean Mythology

by Margarita Marín-Dale

Decoding Andean Mythology is a comprehensive analysis of Native Andean oral tradition spanning five centuries. Based on twenty years of research and a wide range of scholarship, this book departs from the Cuzco-centered focus of many published Andean narratives and includes myths, stories, and folktales from diverse regions and ethnic groups. Among them are full translations of thirty-two ancient and modern Native Andean stories. Colorful illustrations and a comprehensive glossary of Quechua, Aymara, and Spanish loan words supplement the text.
     In an accessible and engaging discussion suitable for students, the author explores a number of recurring themes and characters in Andean stories. These include shape-shifting animals, the inversion of time-space (pachacuti), anthropomorphic and supernatural beings, and conflicting attitudes toward sexuality. The text also presents a fresh perspective on traditional, non-Western concepts such as huacas (sacred objects and places), suggesting some act as portals or mediating spaces between the natural and supernatural worlds. Of particular significance for current events is a lengthy chapter on social protest, explaining the rise of indigenous movements in the Andes and highlighting the contemporary use of Native Andean folktales as an avenue for social and political dissent. 

Winner of the 2018 Wayland D. Hand Prize by the American Folklore Society.

480 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2016

Reviews

[melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part of an effort to decolonize my mind, and it was an amazing start. As a person who was born and (mostly) raised in the Andes, it is sad to see how much of the indigenous culture has been destroyed since colonization, and continues to be. It is an unmeasurable loss. This beautiful book on Andean mythology sheds some light at what was actually was lost, and what remains and needs to be protected. This should be a mandatory read for anyone that lives here. The author is unbelievably knowledgeable, eloquent and makes interdisciplinary ties with mythology, psychoanalysis, politics, history and other discipline and it adds so much value to the book. Highly recommended.

[Andrew Pixton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a mythology collection, this is less about the Andean gods than folklore of the region. It's got some god-related stories but focuses more on stories of animal-human interactions, and other creatures. I'm not sure if that's a particular focus of the author or if Andean mythology in general has few stories of the gods and more of the latter. It's also got a ton of Jungian and Freudian takes on the stories. Each story is followed by a literary analysis, and those were baffling to me. Especially Freud, am I the only one here that doesn't secretly want to bang his parents? Both Jung and Freud have such nebulous theories that anything and everything can fit the bill. That's why Popper criticized them, by explaining everything they actually don't explain anything. That being said, the context and analysis was very helpful and the stories endearing and informative.

[Vladimir Pakhomov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who else but author born in Andes could tell Andean Mythology? Gorgeous book. I use this book to help me do the research that I need to do.