José Antonio Kelly

Until now, anthropological writing on Amazonian peoples has been divided between “traditional” topics (e.g., kinship, cosmology, and ritual) and struggles with the nation-state. In this ethnography, José Antonio Kelly challenges that dichotomy, placing the study of culture and cosmology within the context of the modern nation-state and its institutions. He explores Indian-white relations through the operation of a state-run health system among the indigenous Yanomami of southern Venezuela.

With theoretical foundations in medical and Amazonian anthropology, Kelly shows how Amerindian cosmology shapes concepts of the state at the community level. His symmetrical anthropology treats white and Amerindian perceptions of each other within a single theoretical framework, thus expanding our understanding of the groups and their mutual influences. This book will be valuable to scholars and students of Amazonian peoples, medical anthropology, development, and Latin American studies.