Beauty and the Feast
In November 2010 Dr. Renzo Duin was awarded a Veni grant by NWO. The NWO-VENI project "Beauty and the Feast" examines the role of feasting for regional cohesion in non-complex societies. Archaeologists and anthropologists often regard the villages of the indigenous peoples of the Guiana Highlands as autonomous units. As a result, historical and regional processes of socio-political cohesion remain underexposed.
Beauty and the Feast: Social Landscapes in Greater Amazonia and the Caribbean Materialized Through Ritual Performance.
Dr. Renzo Duin
NWO Veni Research
This project is grounded in the current archaeological debate on: (1) the dynamics of socio-political organization and social landscapes in Greater Amazonia and the Caribbean, and (2) the exchange and ownership of material and immaterial valuables, particularly exclusive ritual objects, accumulating artifact biographies.
Wayana drawing of dancers (tuwahamo), Courtesy of Ronnie Tïkaime (2000)
Socio-political relations in the region are articulated through ritual objects (e.g., feathered costumes and flutes) exhibited during elaborate public performances. As supravillage organization becomes manifest in ritual performance, it is hypothesized that host villages have a stronger claim to a higher rank by manipulating the flow of ritual objects and thus managing the socio-political process. An in-depth study of the settlement patterning and biographies of ritual objects within an indigenous society is expected to shed light on the dynamics and central role of ritual gatherings in the sociopolitical arena.
Wayana dancers, Courtesy of Daryl P. Miller (1973)
Ethno-archaeological fieldwork will be conducted among the Cariban-speaking Wayana of the Upper Maroni Basin (French Guiana and Suriname; part of Greater Amazonia), distinguished by elaborate feasts in the recent past, to demonstrate how ritual performances and their material dimension determine the distribution and movement of people and ritual objects in the broader social landscape. The dataset will consist of ethnographic descriptions and photographs of past performances and documentation of Wayana ritual objects in museum collections in Europe and the Americas. This dataset will be contextualized topographically by means of discussions with the Wayana. Judging from ethnographic and historic sources, a time-depth of about 130 years is to be expected.
Engraving by Hildebrand of Wayana preparing headdresses (illustrating the 1877 expedition by Jules Crevaux)
Cultural and societal relevance of the research is considerable as the Wayana are an endangered society. This project contributes to their awareness and appreciation of their precious cultural heritage. It aims to further an understanding of social relations and processes, perishable materials, and immaterial valuables into which archaeological studies have provided a mere glimpse and that are rapidly disappearing.