In the Age of the Fifth Sun: Jacques Soustelle's Studies of Aztec Religion
Author(s): Aleksandar Bošković
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Anthropos, Bd. 87, H. 4./6. (1992), pp. 533-537
Published by: Anthropos Institute
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undKommentare
Berichte
533
whichaimsat an essentially
different
i.e., Heidegger,M.
reality,
1980 El sery el tiempo.México:F. C. Ε.
"theotherness."
The qualifications
and attributes
are manifes- Holmberg,Α.
tationsof the experienceswhichare expressed 1950 Nomadsof the Long Bow. The Sirionoof Eastern
Bolivia.Washington:
Smithsonian
Inst.
of
through
languageso thatthecultural
meanings
thetheophanic
beingmaybe revealed.In thecase Keim,Η.
derSiriono.In: Hermann
Trimborn
ofthemoon,we havenotedthatitis a beingwhich 1961 Der Morgengesang
zum60tenGeburtstag;
42-64.Braunschweig:
Albert
pp.
can be perceived
witha look
bytheeye,although
LimbachVerlag.
whichshowsits different
profiles.The recalling 1967/68O cantomatinaldosSirionó.RevistadeAntropologia
de Sao Paulo 16-17: 111-132.
of pastand presentevents,thekinesthesia
of the
Frankin thecelestialre- 1983 GejagteJäger;Teil2: Die Mbiain Ostbolivien.
and themovements
brightness
furt
am Main:MuseumfürVölkerkunde.
of
gionsare singularimagesupona background
co-references
whichreferto theflowofsubjectiv- Kelsen,H.
1953 Societáe natura.
Torino.
ity(Landgrebe1968:64).
The estimations
are also co-references
thatfo- Landgrebe,L.
1968 El caminode la fenomenologia.
BuenosAires:Ed.
cus on the theophanic
from
a
being
time-space
Sudamericana.
in
the
of
the
means
perspective:
past,by
qualificationssurrounding
them,amongwhichcourage Pages Larraya,F.
de la locuraentrelos Moro-Ayocomplejocultural
in the present,theyare what is 1973 El
predominates;
reos.ActaPsiquiátrica
Latina
yPsicológicadeAmérica
or
perceivedvisually,in the way of phenomena
(BuenosAires)19: 253-264.
becausetheymakepartofthefeeling 1977 Entrelos últimosSirionódei Orientede Bolivia.Acta
experiences,
as a structure
ofbeing-in-the-world
andmakethe
Psiquiátrica
y Psicológicade AméricaLatina(Buenos
Aires)23: 247-266.
because
moralintellection
possible;in thefuture,
theydriveforward,
by virtueof the duty-to-beRuyer,R.
dei valor.México:F. C. E.
whicharisesfromtheaxioticpowerofthe"other- 1969 La filosofia
ness."The spaceaspectis thebeing"there"inthe Scheler,M.
Revistade Occidente
(BuenosAires)
Argentina
presence. 1948 Ética.
paradigmatic
nightskyandtheconstant
ι
2.
y
elevatesthe
The setof assessingco-references
de Ia Libertad.
BuenosAires:Ed. NOVA.
I960 Metafísica
in its exemplaryaspect,thus 1961 El santo,el génio,el héroe.BuenosAires:Ed. NOVA.
ethicaltheophany
it as a referential
prototype
qualitative
presenting
A.
dimen- Schermair,
an ontological-existential
with
provided
Sirionó-Castellano.
Innsbruck:
Universität.
1957 Vocabulário
sion.Wecan assertthatwiththemoontheSiriono 1963 Sirionó-Texte.
Innsbruck:
Universität.
"haschosenitsownhero"(Heidegger
cosmovision
Wegner,R. Ν.
1980:416).
Darmstadt:
durchaltes Indianerland.
1936 Zum Sonnentor
L. C. Wittich.
Cited
References
Bórmida,M.
Ideas acercade unaher1976 Ethnología
y Fenomenologia.
BuenosAires:Ed. Cermenêutica
del extranamiento.
vantes.
1984 Como una culturaarcaicaconcibesu propiomundo.
(BuenosAires)8: 13-161.
ScriptaEthnologica
Califano,M.
1976/77El mitode Ia lunade los Sirionóde Boliviaoriental.
4/2:101-127.
ScriptaEthnologica
sirionó(parteI);
1986/87Fuenteshistóricas
y bibliográficas
de los Sirionó(parteII). ScriptaEthnologica
Etnografia
11: 11-40,41-73.
In theAge oftheFifthSun
JacquesSoustelle'sStudiesofAztec
Religion
Aleksandar
Boskovic
Introduction
CoimbraSanz, G.
1980 MitologiaSirionó.Santa Cruz de Ia Sierra,Bolivia:
"GabrielRenéMoreno."
Universidad
Historyof the studyof
ancientMesoamerican
civilizations
was alwaysmarkedby thepresence
Hanke,W.
of exceptionalscholars.Rightalong withtheir
1942 Los Sirionóde BoliviaOriental.
Arquivosdo Museu
2: 87-94.
research,
Paranaense(Curitiba)
theyalso includedmaterialsrelatedto
87.1992
Anthropos
534
Berichte
undKommentare
themethodological
theirpersonalviews cains(Représentation
du mondeet de l'espace),"
problems,
and opinions,and everysinglecontribution
is by whichwas publisheda yearlater.
itselfand withinitselfalso a history
of thetime
engagedin
DuringWorldWarII hewasactively
when
research
has
been
conducted.
de
in
he
became
Gen.
Gaulle's
1945
Résistance;
period
We can relatein a similarwaytheworkofthe minister
of information,
and afterwards
minister
But,
greatFrenchethnologist
JacquesSoustelle(19Π- of the coloniesin the Frenchgovernment.
Ι 990),buthisworkshouldalso be putina broader whileall thiswitnesses
his enormous
energyand
context.
By theendofthe19thandthebeginning the need to speak up his opinion,it is only a
of the20thcentury,
theGermanscholarEduard shortbreakin hisscholarly
career.Maybestillthe
Seier was alreadyconducting
extensiveresearch mostinfluential
bookontheAztecs,
single-volume
relatedto theancientculturesof Pre-Columbian"La vie quotidienne
des Aztèquesà la veillede
Mexico. Two magnificent
volumesby the Nor- la conquêteespagnole,"was publishedin 1955.
CarlLumholtzon the Variousarticleson thecertainaspectsof theAzwegiandoctorandexplorer
of
northern
Mexico
werepublished
in tec religionappearedin 1953 (Respectaux dieux
ethnography
1902and 1903.Initialarchaeological
excavations morts),1961(L'Etatmexicainetla religion),
1966
wereconductedin theValleyof Mexico by the (Dieux terrestres
et dieuxcélestesdansl'antiquité
Mexicanarchaeologists,
withLeopoldo mexicaine),
and1974(AztecReligion)."La pensée
beginning
. . ." andall thesearticleswerepubBatrés,and,in the1920s,ManuelGamio(always cosmologique
of
his
ahead
was
his
in thesinglevolume,"L'Univers
lished
in
1979
time)
way
publishing magnum
"Poblacióndel valle de des Aztèques."Naturally,
Soustellewas in charge
opus,the multi-volume
The politicalaspectsof indigenis- of the entrieson Mesoamerican
Teotihuacán."
religionsin the
mo in Mexicanadministration
contributed
to the "Dictionnaire
des religions"
underthedirection
of
sources Rev. Paul Poupardin 1984.
publicationof numerousethnohistorical
fromtheColonialperiod.The movement
did not
Evenfromthisbriefintroduction,
itis obvious
lastverylong,butit permanently
influenced
peo- thatstudiesdealingwiththeAztecreligionform
ple like Angel Ma. GaribayK., AlfonsoCaso, significant
partof Soustelle'swork.Thatis why
his
IgnacioBernai,PedroArmillas,and, a littlebit I will concentrate
onlyon thispart,ignoring
In France,meetings linguistic
workson theartinthe60s,
later,MiguelLeón-Portilla.
contribution,
of theSociétédes Americanistes
havegrowninto andmorerecentvolumeson theOlmec(1979) and
theInternational
of
andits theMaya (1982).
Congress Americanists,
Journal
de
la
Société
des
Americanispublication,
tes,has becomeone of the leadingpublications
in thefield.The ethnology
ofancientMexicowas 2. TheRoleand Function
ofReligion
dominated
scholarslikePaul Rivet.
byeminent
In theearly30s Soustelle
's researchwas ori- For Soustelle,religionprimarily
has to do with
entedprimarily
towards
andlinguistics,cosmology.Both the structure
and the titleof
ethnology
influenced
worksupportthis
profoundly
by his alreadysolid aca- his firstmajorethnographical
demicbackground
(at the age of 20 he became view."La penséecosmologique. . ." beginswith
a professor
ofphilosophy).
From1932to 1934he thedescription
of thebirthof thepresentworld,
totheColonialperiodmanuscript,
"Hisspentmostofthetimeinthefield,andthisresearch according
resultedin the monumental
workon the Otomi toriade los Mexicanospor sus pinturas."
This
fromcentralMexico,an essayon theLacandons is followedby themythof thefoursunsof the
fromChiapas,and a lecture"Mexique,terrein- Aztecworld,according
to another
Colonialperiod
dienne."This lecturewas givenin conjunction text,"Analesde Cuauhtitlán."
Thencomesa brief
withtheexhibition
in theEthnographical
Muse- description
oftheseveralimportant
deities(Quetum in Paris.The exhibition
drewattention
of his zalcóatl,Cihuateteo,
Huehueteotl,
Tlaloc),as well
fouryearsoldercolleague,Claude Lévi-Strauss, as themyth
ofbirth
oftheMexicaAztectribalgod,
andpermanently
diverted
his focusto Latin(esp. Huitzilopochtli.
Thereare a lotof etymology
and
ritual-influenced
as
South)America.
shown
involved,
explanations
AlongwithPaul Rivet,Soustellebecameone in thefollowing
paragraph:
of thefounders
of thenew Musée de l'Homme,
Le sortnormal
d'unguerrier,
c'estd'offrir
desvictimes
aux
wherehe becameco-director.
In 1939, he gave
de
tomber
lui-même
sur
la
à
Il
sacrifices.
dieux,
puis
pierre
a lecturesponsoredby the Collège de France
devient
de soleil:Sahagun
alors,dansles cieux,uncompagnon
Fondation
Lou- écrivait,sous la dictéede ses informateurs
(Chaired'Antiquités
américaines,
indigènes:«Le
des anciensMexi- coeurdu prisonnier,
bat),"La penséecosmologique
ils l'appellent
de l'aigle
précieuse<tuna>
87.1992
Anthropos
Berichte
undKommentare
Ils l'élèventversle soleil,princede turquoise
(quauhnochtli).
de feu),aiglequi monte;ils le luioffrent,
ils l'en
(c'est-à-dire:
alimentent.
ils le placentdansla calebasse
Et,aprèsl'offrande,
de l'aigle (quauhxicalli):et, les prisonniers
ils les
sacrifiés,
les gensde l'aigle.»Devenuscompagnons
de soleil,
appellent
les guerriers
sacrifiés
le suiventdans la première
moitiéde
sa course,depuisl'Est jusqu'au Zénith,chantant
et agitant
leursarmes.Au boutde quatreans, ils se transforment
en
et reviennent
surla terre.On comprend,
dès
oiseux-mouches,
«l'oiseau-mouche
de la gauche»,
lors,pourquoiUitzilopochtli,
c'est-à-dire
du Sud,està la foisun dieusolaireet la divinité
guerrière
parexcellence(Soustelle1979a: 101-102).'
535
andvalkeepingthesocialfeelingsor sentiments
ues. Lessa and Vogtgo a littlebit further
when
andtheexpression
of
theyperceivetheexplanation
ultimate
valuesof societyas theprimary
function
of religion.For Durkheim,
theultimate
function
of religionand its "collectiverepresentations"
is
theestablishment
of the social solidarity
among
the membersof the community,
in such a way
the deities
that,in some sense,by worshipping
It
itself.
is
not
a
mere
coincidence
societyworships
thatone findsnumerous
references
to Durkheim
in Soustelle'swritings.
It is onlythrough
underthesocietyitselfthatwe can understand
standing
theAztecreligion.Or,as putat thebeginning
of
his articlefortheEncyclopaedia
Britannica:
"La
religionaztèqueest constituée
parla mythologie,
les croyances
et les pratiques
du peuplede l'em(Soustelle
pireaztèquedu Mexiquepré-cortésien"
1979a: 37).
A significant
partof his workis also dedicated to therepresentations
of days and colors,as
wellas thesymbolism
connected
withthespecific
cardinalpoints.Emphasison thetimeand space
as thetwo fundamental
partsthatdelimithuman
creativeand symbolicactivity
is also present.It
is interesting
to notethatthereare also a great
dealofcomparisons,
bothwithin
Mesoamerica
and
inthetableofcolorsandcardinal
cross-culturally;
points,the examplesare takenfromthe Maya
fromYucatan,Zuni, Tewa, China,and Aztecs.
willmuchlaterlead 3. The Principle(s)of Duality
(Thispassionforcomparisons
Soustelleto postulatetheexistenceof theAztec
itis notdifficult
to concludethatSouson the Relief 1 from Therefore,
goddessChalchihuitlicue,
telle
does
not
a
definition
of theAztecreligive
2000 yearsbeforethe rise of the
Chalcatzingo,
- he is muchmoreinterested
in itsfunction
gion
Aztecstate[197%: 183]!)
within
the
in
the
rituals
connected
with
society,
Bothin his mostfamouswork,"La vie quotiof
cults3
the
various
and
the
human
effort
deities,
diennedes Aztèques"(see ChapterIII, especially
to systematize
the wholeworldof symbolsthat
part"Une religionimpériale"[1955: 189-194]), surrounds
her/him.
and in the articleswritten
duringthe 60s (esOn the cover of "L'Universdes Aztèques,"
pecially"L'Etatmexicainet la religion"[1979a: thereis a scene fromthe "Codex Borbonicus"
21-36]), thereis a considerable
emphasison the
of religion.Religionis always (p. 22), showingQuetzalcóatlin theritualdance
social component
to the16thcentury
According
withinthesocietyitself, withTezcatlipoca.4
perceivedas something
de
(Histoyre Mexique),thesetwogods
thatinfluences
thatsocietyin a manuscript
and something
in
two
theancientearthgoddessCoatlicue
split
of ways.
variety
another
mother
of Huitzilopochtli),
and
myth,
con- (in
This is connectedwiththephilosophical
create
the
world
from
the
of
her
(for
parts
body
cept of the humanbeing as a practicalbeing, the elaborate
of the whole event,
interpretation
whosesymbolicactivitychangesand re-models
QuetzalWe are whatwe do.2 see BonifazNuno1986).The opposition
theworldaroundhim/her.
of
is a characteristic
Sincelivinginthecommunity
to further
underall humanbeings,it is necessary
andsociety. 3 I use theword"ritual"fortheactionsthat,performed
between
standtherelationship
in
religion
of the
For Durkheim,
functioning
religionis an extensivesymbolic therightway,ensuretheharmonious
for
familyor thegroupof people.Afterit is performed
and
systemthatenablessocial lifeby expressing
the firsttime,thepurposeof theritualis in its eternal
Within
thebroader
(stateorsociety),
repetition.
community
thissmooth
is ensured
functioning
bythe"cult."Therefore,
1 For thesake of convenience,
all theworkspublishedin
the maindifference
betweenthe two is in the level of
iftheritual
is supposed
"L'Universdes Aztèques"arequotedfromthatsinglevoltoensurea goodhargeneralization;
thefunctioning
ofthewholeuniverse.
ume.
vest,thecultensures
Forthedefinitions
2 Anditis easiertounderstand
andmodelsrelated
toMesoamerica,
see
whySoustellealwaysinsisted
- even if it
to one's own principles
on livingaccording
Brundage1985:4 ff.
two26-years
meantspending
theyrepresent
yearsin an exile(1961-1968)[forfurther 4 Actually,
periods(of365 days
see Duverger1991].His beliefsare
references,
each), and theyare bothdepictedas the "Lordsof the
biographic
in the collectionof essayson the ancient
to thisscene,see Nowotnyin
night."For thereference
incorporated
"CodexBorbonicus"
Mexico(Soustelle1967).
1974: 18-19.
87.1992
Anthropos
536
Berichte
undKommentare
is sometimes
cóatl/Tezcatlipoca
perceivedas one ciple fromthe followinglines fromvol. VIII,
of the fundamental
oppositionsof ancientMe- fol.175,ofthe"Textosde los Informantes
Indígesoamerica.A singlelordof duality,Ometeotl,
is nas":
consideredby Carrascoto be "the fundamentalY sabíanlos toltecas
divinepowerin centralMesoamerican
religion" que muchossonlos cielos,
(Hinnels1984: 241). Dual creatorgods thatalso decianque sondocedivisionessuperpuestas.
diosy su comparte.
standfortheoppositeforcesofnature(light/dark-Alla viveel verdadero
El dioscelestialse llamaSenorde la dualidad,Ometecuhtli,
areknownfroma variety
of reli- su
ness;earth/sky)
se llamaSenorade la dualidad,Omecihuatl,
comparte
and in theValleyof Mexicothis y
gioustraditions,
Senoraceleste;
dualismis especiallystrengthened
bythefactthat quieredecir:
therewas a dual shrineon thetop of theAztec sobrelos docecieloses rey,es senor
1971:485).
(León-Portilla
TemploMayor- therewas a templededicated
to the solar (sky) god, Huitzilopochtli,
and one However,thephrase"el verdadero
dios" is very
dedicatedto thewater(earth)god,Tlaloc.
indicative
ofthetimewhentheselineswerewritIt is notclearwhether
thisconstitutes
theactual ten down- it was alreadya timeof the "true
of
the
of
in
dualism
Pre-Columproof
importance
god" and "truereligion."To whatextentis this
bian Mesoamerica,
or theresearchers
entertheir conceptinfluenced
and the need
by Christianity
own distinctions
(sincefromtheearlychildhood to "rationalize"
thedeitiesand presentthemin a
we are taughtto thinkand perceivetheclear-cut waythattheforeigners
(Spaniards)canunderstand
and distinctive
categories).In his articleon the themremainsopento debate.As Soustellewould
earthand skygods of ancientMexico,Soustelle pointout,understanding
Aztec religionwas the
wrote:
theAztecsthemselves.
keyto understanding
Toutphénomène
humainest singulier.
Il n'est donc pas
de déduire
desfaitsmexicains
desloisgénérales
question
appliat the
cablesà d'autrestempset à d'autreslieux.Mais la succession This is a revisedversionof a paperpresented
in New
des événements
dans cettepartiedu mondeoffreune riche 47th International
Congressof Americanists
to Professor
matière
à la réflexion
de l'ethnologie
et mêmedu philosophe, Orleans,on July10, 1991.It is dedicated
d'étudier
commeenlaboratoire
les actions Esad Cimic,deanofreligious
studiesin Yugoslavia,
on
parcequ'ellepermet
et réactions
de sociétésqui correspondent
à deux theoccasionofhis 60thbirthday.
réciproques
modesde vie fondamentaux
de l'humanité:
celuides nomades
chasseurset collecteurs
et celui des cultivateurs
sédentaires
(Soustelle1979a:83).
References
Cited
But theoppositions
and it seemsunmultiply
Nuno,Ruben
thedifferentBonifaz
clear,forexample,how to interpret
1986 Imágende Tlaloc: Hipótesisiconográfica
y textual.
(whois boththeMorning
aspectsof Quetzalcóatl
México:UNAM.
StarandtheEveningStar,butalso Merchant
God,
BurrCartwright
WindGod, and connectedwiththe UnderworldBrundage,
1985 TheJadeSteps:A RitualLifeoftheAztecs.SaltLake
as Yoalli Ehecatl).Thereare differences
even in
of UtahPress.
City:University
theinterpretations
of thewell-known
such
myths,
Carrasco,David
as theone of theslayingof Coyolxauhqui;
some 1987 Coatlicue.In: MirceaEliade (ed.): Encyclopediaof
authors
1979;León-Portilla
(Hultkrantz
1987)sugReligion;vol.3: 51. New York:Macmillan.
(thatis to say, CodexBorbonicus
gestthatshewas slainaccidentally
shewasonherwaytowarnHuitzilopochtli);
while 1974 Codex Borbonicus.Bibliothèque
de l'AssembléeNationale- Paris(Y 120). Vollständige
AusFaksimileothers(Carrasco1987) "read"themythas it was
des
im
Codex
Kommentar
von
gabe
Originalformat.
written
her
as
the
leader
and
down,describing
KarlAntonNowotny
undJacqueline
de Durand-Forest.
of
the
400
in
Southerners
their
to
inspirer
attempt
Graz: Akademische
Druck-und Verlagsanstalt.
(Cokill Huitzilopochtli.
The oppositesare also presdicesSelecti,44)
entin therepresentation
of Huitzilopochtli'
s and
Emile[EmilDirkem]
Durkheim,
s mother,
Coatlicue,in theMuseo 1981 [1912] Elementarni
Coyolxauhqui'
oblicireligijskog
zivota.Prev.AlNacionalde Antropologia
in Mexico,described
josa Mimica.Beograd:Prosveta.
as "diosa de la tierra,del nacimiento
y de la Duverger,Christian
vejez, mistériodel origeny del fin,antigüedad 1991 JacquesSoustelle1912-1990.In: Encyclopaedia
UniFernandezin León-Portilla
versalis;pp.625-626.Paris.
(Justino
y feminidad"
1971:575).
Hinnels,JohnR. (ed.)
ofthisprin- 1984 Dictionary
of Religions.
Harmonds
worth:
Finally,thereis a clearexpression
Penguin.
87.1992
Anthropos
Berichte
undKommentare
537
thata comprehensive
andsystematic
interpretation
of Hopi religiondoes in factexist. And it is
written
I am referring
to
by an anthropologist!
Richard
M.
Bradfield's
"A
work
NaturalHistoLeón-Portilla,
Miguel
1971 De Teotihuacán
a los aztecas:Antologiade fuentes
e
(London1973),whichLoftin
ryof Associations"
históricas.
México:UNAM.
interpretaciones
knows
since
he
refers
to itofteninhisbook.
well,
1987 Mesoamerican
Religions.In: M. Eliade (ed.): EnLoftin's
claim
is
to
ofreligions
peculiar historians
cyclopediaof Religion;vol.9: 392^06. New York:
influenced
the
school
and
the
Macmillan.
by Chicago
recently
deceased,worldfamousMirceaEliade.Eliadewas
Lessa, WilliamΑ., andEvon Z. Vogt(eds.)
cannotbe adequately
1979 Readerin Comparative
Religion:An Anthropologicalof theopinionthatreligion
New York:Harper& Row. [4thed.]
whathe considered
to be the
Approach.
interpreted
through
reductionisms
of
the
social
sciences.
must
Paul
Religion
(dir.)
Poupard,
1984 Dictionnaire
des religions.
Paris:PUF.
be studiedwiththehelpofa specialtranshistorical
of religionsare
empathywhichonly historians
Soustelle,Jacques
and theresultsof their
1940 La penséecosmologique
des anciensmexicains:Re- capableof experiencing,
du mondeet de l'espace.Paris:Hermann studiesmustcontribute
présentation
to a typeof humanistic
& Cie.
revivalism
whichEliade believedis essentialto
1955 La vie quotidienne
des Aztèquesà la veillede la conthesalvationof modernhumanity
fromits exisquêteespagnole.Paris:Hachette.
tential
malaise.
This
basic
is
d'un ethno1967 Les quatresoleils:Souvenirs
et réflexions
position evidencedin
a largenumberof studiesinspiredby or directly
logueau Mexique.Paris:Pion.
1979a L'Universdes Aztèques.Paris:Hermann.
influenced
byEliade andhis closestpupils.
1979bLes
La
anciennecivilisation
du MeÄke
Hultkrantz,
1979 TheReligions
oftheAmerican
Indians.Trans,byMonica Setterwall.
ofCalifornia
Press.
Berkeley:
University
Olmèques: plus
xique.Paris:Arthaud.
1. ArchaicOntology
How do Eliadeansstudyreligion?Theyproceed
froma seriesofa prioriassumptions
ofwhichtwo
are particularly
essential.Firstof all, thereis the
conceptof thedialecticsof thesacred.To be huThe ArchaicOntologyoftheHopi
manis to be religious.
Homosapiensis HomoreIndians
humans
livetheirlivesinterms
ligiosus.Religious
of
transcendent
models,wheretheinexemplary
ofHopi
On JohnLoftin'sInterpretation
ofthe
evitabletensionbetweenthehistoricization
Religion
ofthehistorical
are
sacredandtheremythicization
forms»
Eliade
in
out
dramatic,
many,mostly
played
ArminW. Geertz
conceivedof thesefactorsin reifiedterms.For
and transhishim,the Sacredis a "metacultural
withhumannacoextensive
of JohnD. Loftin's"Re- torical"phenomenon
The recentpublication
is
notall religiousexperience
Century" ture,and,therefore,
ligionand Hopi Life in the Twentieth
"essential
determined.
1991
Indiana
Thus,
Press,
religious
historically
University
(Bloomington:
as havingbeen
cannotbe demonstrated
xxi + 168pp., price:$ 19.95) calls fora more structures"
review createdby certainsocietiesat certainhistorical
carefulanddetailedanalysisthana shorter
These societieshave simplyprovided
wouldallow.JohnLoftinis a lawyerand teaches moments.
of formsof
forthemanifestation
ofReligiousStudiesat theUni- theopportunity
at theDepartment
of
of NorthCarolina,ChapelHill. His book the Sacred.Eliade's well-known
morphology
versity
for
these
the
written
Sacred
dissertation
is partlybased on a doctoral
providescategories studying
Eliade was awareof thehistorical
of fieldwork
in 1983 and on six summers
among manifestations.
buthe neverresorted
to
theHopls.The authorclaimsthatno comprehen-natureof thedocuments,
social
historical
and
factors
the
of
siveandsystematic
interpretationHopireligion explaining specific
in
This lack stemsin part, ofthedialecticbecausehe was moreinterested
existsin the literature.
nature
of
non-historical
structures
the
"that
the
the
fact
to
from
Hopi delineating
according Loftin,
theirhistorical
manifestations.
thanin explaining
havebeeninvestigated
mostlyby anthropologists,
JohnSaliba pointedout,
theHopi religious Thus,as anthropologist
who have tendedto interpret
model"whichdeand Eliade's modelis a "descending
as it relatesto social structure
orientation
ofreligion
is letesthehumandimension
of thematter
culture"(xiv). The truth
material
(1976: 140).
87.1992
Anthropos