Abstract

PAEZ, María Cecilia; ALE MARINANGELI, Gimena; MAIDANA, Carolina  and  PLASTINE PUJADAS, Ignacio. Pachamama, memories of a past time and current rituals in the Northern Calchaquí Valley (Salta, Argentina). Runa [online]. 2023, vol.44, n.1, pp.91-107.  Epub Jan 18, 2023. ISSN 1851-9628.  http://dx.doi.org/10.34096/runa.v44i1.11324.

The Pachamama represents one of the most valid indigenous beliefs in the contemporary Andean world, based on the image of a tutelary entity that guarantees biological and social reproduction. In this paper we propose to problematize the central elements that underlie the belief and the ritual processes linked to it in different localities of the department of Cachi, through an ethnographic methodology. We will focus on the diversity of manifestations or performances, their symbolic and material aspects, on the one hand, and the way in which these practices are challenged by the interests and actors that emerge in the current context, on the other. The observations made indicate that tourism is an important conditioning factor in the configuration of rituals, together with other actors that emerge in the modern scene. By virtue of this, a distinction is made between public space rituals, open to the demands of the market, and private rituals, sustained on local identity and memories.

Keywords : Indigenous beliefs; Cachi; Memory; Commoditization; Public and privat.

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