Search

Copyright of Revista Ciência & Saúde Coletiva is the property of Associacao Brasileira de Pos-Graduacao em Saude Coletiva and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cadernos de Saude Publica is the property of Escola Nacional de Saude Publica Sergio Arouca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article develops an anthropological explanation of the ritual masks of the Chané indians of Argentina. The masked dancers appear during the annual arete celebration. The cultural meaning of these masks, however, must be pursued beyond their ritual performance, relating it to several symbolic contexts, as a) the ritual practices involving the sacred nature of the materials in which masks are made; b) the beliefs concerning the native notions of "death," "soul," and "person"; and c) the relation between the cosmological myths, the peculiar behaviour of the masked dancers, the mask destruction, and the social representation of "time." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]