Abstract

ARAIZA HERNANDEZ, Elizabeth. A Living Text. Forms and Interactions of the Christmas play script (Ihuatzio and Comachuén, Michoacán). Trace (Méx. DF) [online]. 2019, n.76, pp.48-73.  Epub Mar 27, 2021. ISSN 2007-2392.

Based on the analysis of two exemplary cases and on field observations in different Purépecha villages, we examine the anthropological value, interactions and peculiar uses of the Christmas play script. This script is related to three ancient manuscripts in Tarascan language, and to those used in other dances and Indian rituals, in which the written word -and not only the spoken word or the word represented in images, as established in classic studies- is important for the development, sense, and significance of the ritual. The corollary is a reflection on the power of an object -script- to challenge binary distinctions: object-subject, material-immaterial, and to prompt us to rethink what has been established as efficacy, causes or effects of the ritual as anthropological problems.

Keywords : Christmas play; Purépecha villages; ritual efficacy; script; agency..