Keywords
ethnography
mimetic desire
anthropology
field studies
How to Cite
Abstract
This lecture aims to illuminate the girardian theory of imitation from a critical perspective of a recent ethnographic research on the mayas Tsotsiles Chamula, from Chiapas, México. Girardian hypothesis of “mimetic desire” presents many possibilities to explain social and cultural conflicts, especially those arising in an “intra-ethnic” way. It also offers opportunities to better understand rites or rituals developments, or customs and traditions as relevant mimetic expressions developed to control the power or the generative force of mimesis when communitarian conflicts increase. However, Girard's theory raises strong criticism from a scientific anthropology, against major theories attempting to explain almost everything; and from the academic space of socio-cultural anthropology as well. From this framework, this paper warns about what is needed in current field studies: first, how to document empirically relevant indicators of interactive power of mimesis and, second, how to test Girard's hypothesis, namely: what be the elusive but very influential variable of “mimetic desire”.
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