This paper focuses on the gustatory perception of the Incas that will help reveal and contribute to the knowledge on their spiritual (rituals, religious hierarchy, and pursuit for transcendence), social, political and economic dimensions such as ideas on civilization, food distribution, and procreation. These scopes of interest are apparently manifested as well in their mythology and cosmology.
REFLECTING THE MIND OF NATURE IN HINDU AND AMAZONIAN (TUKANO) MYTHOLOGYecoj journal
Mythmaking presents us with an idiosyncratic fusion of language and metaphysics so as to simply convey meaning as language does, and also communicate an entire metaphysics at a level of meaning beyond language and image. Claiming so, is to attest to the relevance of myths in the operationalization of ecological worldviews. In this paper, I will assume such an operational relationship between myths and ecological worldviews. First and foremost, our worldviews act as ‘first principles’ in establishing our interaction with our environment. At a time when anthropogenic ecocide presents a grave threat to the balance of life on earth, this fundamental notion is of great relevance. Specifically, this paper will study how myths mediated human interaction with nature in the past and continue to do so today. By comparing sets of myths of the Tukano Indians of the Amazon and Hindus of India, I will identify two functions of myth as mediator between man and nature.
Dependencia química / Ibogaina
Tratamento de drogas
O atual momento da ibogaína merece uma tomada de consciência e um grande senso de responsabilidade das pessoas... Estão aparecendo a cada dia novas pseudo-clínicas, todas alardeando uma experiência e um conhecimento que não possuem, buscando atrair os incautos pacientes e familiares que, desesperados, tentam qualquer coisa sem pensar direito no que estão fazendo.
Como sempre dizemos, o tratamento com ibogaína é um procedimento que não é isento de riscos, deve ser feito em ambiente médico-hospitalar, com o paciente internado, para ser protegido e monitorado. O paciente deve estar limpo de drogas e de remédios por um tempo variável, de acordo com cada situação individual, e deve ser submetido a uma bateria de exames antes do procedimento. E a medicação utilizada, deve ser GMP, ou seja, fabricada segundo as boas práticas farmacêuticas.
Não confie em locais que usam, como diferencial para fazer propaganda, o argumento de que não é necessária internação, nem exames e nem abstinência prévia. Pelo menos 60 dias de internação são necessárias sim, para inclusive proteger o paciente de qualquer evento adverso .
Não confie em locais e sites que dão a entender que a ibogaína é a "cura" da dependência química, isso é simplificar demais um problema sério.
Desde que se descobriram os efeitos anti-dependência da ibogaína, em 1962, ocorreram cerca de 20.000 tratamentos em todo o mundo. Nestes 20.000 tratamentos, ocorreram 19 mortes, todas relacionadas a problemas de saúde prévios ( que teriam sido detectados se o paciente tivesse feito um check-up antes do procedimento) e também a uso de drogas muito perto do uso da ibogaína ( o que teria sido evitado se o paciente estivesse sob vigilância especializada).
Então, não confie em pessoas que menosprezam o poder da substância, que não entendem do assunto e visam apenas lucro.
Não confie tambem em locais que indicam a ibogaína como uma panacéia, que cura tudo, desde a dependência até queda de cabelo. Claramente, isso é uma tentativa de angariar mais pacientes e aumentar os lucros.
Mesmo sendo derivada de uma planta, certos cuidados devem ser tomados. Não é toda medicação derivada de plantas que é "tranquila" ou "fraquinha", quem fala isso demonstra que não entende do assunto.
A ibogaína é muito eficiente, principalmente se comparada aos outros tratamentos disponíveis, mas para atingir bons resultados, é necessária uma expertise que alguns locais que fazem propaganda disseminada não possuem.
Apenas a título de informação, aqui está o link para um trabalho científico comentando essas mortes às quais me referi. Observe como no texto é dito que esses casos todos foram de pacientes com problemas de saúde prévios, usando medicação de origem desconhecida.
REFLECTING THE MIND OF NATURE IN HINDU AND AMAZONIAN (TUKANO) MYTHOLOGYecoj journal
Mythmaking presents us with an idiosyncratic fusion of language and metaphysics so as to simply convey meaning as language does, and also communicate an entire metaphysics at a level of meaning beyond language and image. Claiming so, is to attest to the relevance of myths in the operationalization of ecological worldviews. In this paper, I will assume such an operational relationship between myths and ecological worldviews. First and foremost, our worldviews act as ‘first principles’ in establishing our interaction with our environment. At a time when anthropogenic ecocide presents a grave threat to the balance of life on earth, this fundamental notion is of great relevance. Specifically, this paper will study how myths mediated human interaction with nature in the past and continue to do so today. By comparing sets of myths of the Tukano Indians of the Amazon and Hindus of India, I will identify two functions of myth as mediator between man and nature.
Dependencia química / Ibogaina
Tratamento de drogas
O atual momento da ibogaína merece uma tomada de consciência e um grande senso de responsabilidade das pessoas... Estão aparecendo a cada dia novas pseudo-clínicas, todas alardeando uma experiência e um conhecimento que não possuem, buscando atrair os incautos pacientes e familiares que, desesperados, tentam qualquer coisa sem pensar direito no que estão fazendo.
Como sempre dizemos, o tratamento com ibogaína é um procedimento que não é isento de riscos, deve ser feito em ambiente médico-hospitalar, com o paciente internado, para ser protegido e monitorado. O paciente deve estar limpo de drogas e de remédios por um tempo variável, de acordo com cada situação individual, e deve ser submetido a uma bateria de exames antes do procedimento. E a medicação utilizada, deve ser GMP, ou seja, fabricada segundo as boas práticas farmacêuticas.
Não confie em locais que usam, como diferencial para fazer propaganda, o argumento de que não é necessária internação, nem exames e nem abstinência prévia. Pelo menos 60 dias de internação são necessárias sim, para inclusive proteger o paciente de qualquer evento adverso .
Não confie em locais e sites que dão a entender que a ibogaína é a "cura" da dependência química, isso é simplificar demais um problema sério.
Desde que se descobriram os efeitos anti-dependência da ibogaína, em 1962, ocorreram cerca de 20.000 tratamentos em todo o mundo. Nestes 20.000 tratamentos, ocorreram 19 mortes, todas relacionadas a problemas de saúde prévios ( que teriam sido detectados se o paciente tivesse feito um check-up antes do procedimento) e também a uso de drogas muito perto do uso da ibogaína ( o que teria sido evitado se o paciente estivesse sob vigilância especializada).
Então, não confie em pessoas que menosprezam o poder da substância, que não entendem do assunto e visam apenas lucro.
Não confie tambem em locais que indicam a ibogaína como uma panacéia, que cura tudo, desde a dependência até queda de cabelo. Claramente, isso é uma tentativa de angariar mais pacientes e aumentar os lucros.
Mesmo sendo derivada de uma planta, certos cuidados devem ser tomados. Não é toda medicação derivada de plantas que é "tranquila" ou "fraquinha", quem fala isso demonstra que não entende do assunto.
A ibogaína é muito eficiente, principalmente se comparada aos outros tratamentos disponíveis, mas para atingir bons resultados, é necessária uma expertise que alguns locais que fazem propaganda disseminada não possuem.
Apenas a título de informação, aqui está o link para um trabalho científico comentando essas mortes às quais me referi. Observe como no texto é dito que esses casos todos foram de pacientes com problemas de saúde prévios, usando medicação de origem desconhecida.
We've shown our vision about Content Mangement at the Symfony User Group in Munich. The Slides are a little bit about our vision, the setup and the implementation!
This power point file prepared by Dr. Greg Acciaioli, an anthropologist from the University of Western Australia in "Regionalism in State and non-State Perspective" seminar on Seminar Week Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, September 10th 2014. He shared his findings from ethnography research in Sulu Zone, the area termed by James Francis Warren. In this presentation, Acciaioli was showing to the audience how social exclusion happen in stateless local community in the area Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Southern Philippines. This presentation are showing to the audience about autocritic while the countries in Southeast Asia have campaign to build ASEAN Community 2015.
Ipad Apps for Meeting & Events presentation with voting resultsStefania Conti-Vecchi
This is the presentation I made for the workshop Exploring iPad Apps for Meeting and Events, at The Fresh Conference (www.thefreshconference.com) held in Copenhagen last January 2012 and contains interesting results of the polls we made using the voting system with the attendees.
Enjoy!
We've shown our vision about Content Mangement at the Symfony User Group in Munich. The Slides are a little bit about our vision, the setup and the implementation!
This power point file prepared by Dr. Greg Acciaioli, an anthropologist from the University of Western Australia in "Regionalism in State and non-State Perspective" seminar on Seminar Week Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, September 10th 2014. He shared his findings from ethnography research in Sulu Zone, the area termed by James Francis Warren. In this presentation, Acciaioli was showing to the audience how social exclusion happen in stateless local community in the area Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Southern Philippines. This presentation are showing to the audience about autocritic while the countries in Southeast Asia have campaign to build ASEAN Community 2015.
Ipad Apps for Meeting & Events presentation with voting resultsStefania Conti-Vecchi
This is the presentation I made for the workshop Exploring iPad Apps for Meeting and Events, at The Fresh Conference (www.thefreshconference.com) held in Copenhagen last January 2012 and contains interesting results of the polls we made using the voting system with the attendees.
Enjoy!
1
Lecture Outline
Chapter 2
1
Independent
Ethnic
Land-bounded
Individuals negotiate their identity in both modern countries and native groups
Help to understand early religions
2
Chapter 2
Religion’s origins
100,000 years ago
Artifacts from hunter–gatherer societies
Stories
Axis mundi
Shamanism
Central to understanding origins of religion
View of time as circular
Physiology, biology, and intelligence same in humans now as 30,000 years ago
3
Chapter 2
3
Homo religiosus
Religion always been at center of human culture
Past 100,000 years, increasing mastery of tools and development of language
Highly bonded groups of 50
Division of labor
Indigenous peoples rational and highly skilled
By 30,000 BCE humans performing ceremonial burials, indicating belief in afterlife
4
Chapter 2
4
Indigenous religious traditions
Group part of everlasting cycle of nature
Group eternal; part of the never-ending group; “collective” identity (not individual identity)
Soul belief
Spiritual bond with each other, animals, plants, the dead
Religion expressed in an embodied engagement with world
World’s ecosystem alive and fertile; part of larger, ordered cosmos
Religion sung, danced, fasted, and tranced by collective group experience
Spirit beings ultimate reality
Ancestors still connected with the living
Dreams and visions represent reality
5
Chapter 2
5
Believed that a nonmaterial component lived on after body perished
Function of burial to open a gateway to afterlife
Group symbol, or totem, used for identity, to maintain solidarity in group, to regulate relations with outsiders
Émile Durkheim—“sacred totem”
6
Chapter 2
6
Around 30,000 BCE humans acquired capacity to think symbolically; start asking “What if?” questions
Venus figurines related to concerns about birth and survival of children
Female power behind mystery of conception and birth and the miracle of breastfeeding was revered
After 15,000 BCE dead buried in mounds or graves in fetal position, suggesting earth a womb from which resurrection was expected
7
Chapter 2
7
Shamanism
Roles far back as 30,000 years ago included healing, dealing with death, traveling to realm of dead
Binds community together in face of crisis
Brings harmony to group when discord
Uses altered state of consciousness or trance to communicate with unseen spirits, gain insight into a situation, intervene on behalf of afflicted party
8
Chapter 2
8
Spirits coexist with humans in a layered cosmos
Role universally regarded as mortally dangerous
Train through long apprenticeships
Universal reliance on drumming, dancing, chanting, and fasting to induce trance
Still pivotal figures in societies around world
9
Chapter 2
9
Indigenous religions today
Expansion of the West into indigenous cultures
Brought disease, plundering, enslavement
Destroyed and changed ancient religious traditions
No indigenous groups remain today that have not been exposed to outsiders
Some groups successful in assimi.
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
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June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
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Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
1. [INCA GUSTATORY PERCEPTION] JEWEL MERCADER, MR-I
Page1
INCA GUSTATORY PERCEPTION
The Andean People, specifically the Incas have their core values rooted in Aesthetics
(sensory perception) and Ascetism (discipline). The aesthetic superiority with which the Incas
invested themselves was matched by ascetic superiority (Classen, 1990). Being able to control
and regulate sensory indulgences conform to the balance of nature wherein opposites need to
be maintained for society and cosmos to remain stable. As mentioned by Classen and Howes
(1996), every culture molds its own idea of different values and emphases to different sensory
perceptions. This paper focuses on the gustatory perception of the Incas that will help reveal
and contribute to the knowledge on their spiritual (rituals, religious hierarchy, and pursuit for
transcendence), social, political and economical dimensions such as ideas on civilization, food
distribution, and procreation. These scopes of interest are apparently manifested as well in
their mythology and cosmology.
Before proceeding to the above discussions, it will be helpful to establish the process as
to how sense perception, gustatory experience for this matter, translates and relates to
cognition – as we aim to extract knowledge that corresponds to a variety of contexts. Through a
gustatory experience we become aware of ourselves and, most importantly, it can become a
modality of communicating with the “other,” of a union between two subjects (Albertson,
2008) – as in the sense of connection generated between an individual and the divine. Through
the process of ingestion and digestion, ecstasy, a mystical experience leading to cognition can
be reached through experimenting with flavors. This experience is uttered in Italo Calvino’s
second short story entitled Under the Jaguar Sun- “Just as colonial baroque set no limits on the
profusion of ornament and display, in which God’s presence was identified in a closely
2. [INCA GUSTATORY PERCEPTION] JEWEL MERCADER, MR-I
Page2
calculated delirium of brimming, excessive sensations, so the curing of the hundred or more
native varieties of hot peppers carefully selected for each dish opened vistas of flaming
ecstacy” (7). Taste is therefore not just a matter of pleasure but also intersects with knowledge,
between oral and intellectual.
On Relation to Mythology and Cosmology
As stated above, Inca Mythology bears encompassing information on the people’s
holistic culture through understanding its symbolic implications. As in Inca practices and
involvement of the senses (although highlighting the most valued sense, sight) Gary Urton
wrote:
It is important to note that the divisions and passage of time are related to different
crops and activities, and that these in turn are related to the different senses. Since the
astronomical reckoning of time depends primarily on vision, the total perception of time
and space will involve the union of all sensual perceptions of change in the environment
(At the Crossroads of the Earth and the Sky, p. 32).
Levi-Strauss has convincingly shown that for many peoples of the Amazonian region,
cooking represents a transformation from nature to culture (The Raw and the Cooked, 1973).
This correlates at some point in the case of Andeans, for instance, considering similarities
between Amazonian creation myth and the Viracocha cosmogony, this suggests that the use
and control of condiments was one of the characteristics of civilization for the Inca (Classen,
1990).
Pertaining to condiments, the use of salt and pepper consequently forms an important
part of the “culture” of the Incas imparted to their subjects in the Myth. In the story of their
origin, the appearance of Cache and Ucho (literally salt and pepper) represented the
introduction of these two condiments into the world and a re-enactment of transition from pre-
Inca to the Age of Inca. However, it’s not only the use of these which was vital to the Incas, but
also the practice of abstaining from it. This abstention was in fact, the primary elements of the
ritual feasts which were an essential prelude to most Inca ceremonies. This is perhaps
symbolized in the myth by the walling up of salt in the cave, and the petrifaction of the pepper
(Classen, 1990).
3. [INCA GUSTATORY PERCEPTION] JEWEL MERCADER, MR-I
Page3
On Religious Pursuit for Transcendence
The fundamental urge of our species is transcendence (Firnhaber). This holds truth for
the Inca as observed in their values on Aesthetics and Ascetism. Sensory experience accords
marker of status and a conduit to supernatural. As earlier mentioned, in most Inca ceremonies,
reflect a custom of intensive discipline and then followed by exquisite sensation practices. In
Inca male puberty rite, fasting is also observed.
Ritual forms such as practiced sensory deprivation (darkness, silence, isolation, water,
food, sleep, immobility, and sexual abstinence, for example) and sensory overload (audio
driving, pain, fear, hyperactivity, sungazing, extreme temperature etc.) have its roots from
shamanic practices (journey into the ethereal to have an encounter with the divine). These
cultural actions which are viewed are viewed as purposeful and often become involved in the
attempts to for example, “achieve trans states in order to perceive and contact the
supernatural world” (Firnhaber).
With the abstention from salt and pepper and fasting of the Inca before rituals, it
however emphasizes and gives importance to restraint from flavour (satisfaction and pleasure)
apart from simply veering away from food or starvation. These special sensory powers are
ascribed to the diviners and other religious officers, hence, having a high spiritual status. Inca
priests for instance are required to long periods of fasting and abstention from sexual relations;
while religious trainers who are about to assume position, undergoes a more severe case, for
they are even forbidden to touch the body with their hands. (Arriaga, 1968). This kind of
ascetism would leave the body receptive to sensory expressions of ritual and of the sacred. This
will serve as a protection from strong and intrusive physical sensations. Like the acllas, the
chosen women who practice ascetism for life – they wore no clothes, ate roots and take fruits
along their travels to sustain themselves with odours. (Murua, 1946) This whole idea of
deprivation makes sense in their belief, apart from spiritual transcendence, that to receive a
desired thing, one must deprive oneself of certain things. They are then not allowed to partake
in any mundane sensuality to be more attentive to the manifestations of the sacred. Acllas are
technically out of social order, but as sacred conduits, they help uphold the social order.
4. [INCA GUSTATORY PERCEPTION] JEWEL MERCADER, MR-I
Page4
Gustatory indulgence, as another value of Inca sensory experience, has its own
contribution to the cultivation of their culture. Examples are drinking of Chicha and eating of
yahuar sanco. The ritual drinking of chichi is performed in order to confirm a relationship of
reciprocity; while eating of yahuar sanco (balls of corn mixed with the blood of sacrificed
llamas) is done following the swearing of an oath to allegiance to the Inca (Classen, 1990). The
incorporation of the ritual substance and the concepts associated with it into the body would
seem to be more important than the food’s flavour in this case.
While the Incas considered it necessary to stimulate and interrelate the senses in rituals,
these had to be done in ways they were able to control (Classen, 1990).
On Procreation, Food Distribution, and Ideas on Civilization (Social, Political, and Economic
Dimensions)
The relationship between food and social or political variables is a multifaceted one and,
“the political structure of the group (Inca) Is highly integrated with subsistence patterns in a
complex feedback relationship” (Curet & Pestle, 2009).
One of the larger avenues of political and social knowledge is to provide implications on
ideas of civilization. When the Inca Empire was colonized by the Spaniards, minding the values
of Aesthetic and Ascetism, the latter were actually perceived as “savages” by the former. “The
uncontrolled sensuality of the Spanish occasioned both fear and ridicule in the part of the
Andeans” (Titu cusi Yupanqui, pp. 17-18). At times, the Spanish appeared to suffer from a
complete perversion of the sensorium: all they could see, hear, touch, taste or smell was gold
and silver(Classen, 1990, pp. 243-244). Apart from the Spaniards, Andeans in general, continue
to regard themselves as civilized in contrast to the Indians of the lowland (Aesthetics and
Ascetism in Inca Religion, 1990). The non Incas lack sensory refinement – they wore no clothes
and they cannot regulate sexuality through marriage. The Incas continue to pride themselves of
being highly civilized due to ability to both cultivate and control their senses.
Other Inca rituals which take into account ingestion and indulgence would be the use of
Aphrodisiacs as a function to human perpetuation and procreation. Some foods known to have
5. [INCA GUSTATORY PERCEPTION] JEWEL MERCADER, MR-I
Page5
aphrodisiac property become highly valuable. Instead of botanical aphrodisiacs, the Inca use
animals and insects with that property since these are more potent and longer lasting. For
example is the flesh of the back of the alcaltetepon (lizard which resembled crocodile) (Blake,
2013). In Aztec and Inca culture, aphrodisiacs were used to modulate to modulate sexuality
and at the same time, they used food to get closer to high powers that would grant them the
ability to reproduce. (ibid.)
Lastly, to take into account economic factors of gustatory perception of the Incas, we
talk about food distribution. Remember that political and economic faces governing Inca state
are intertwined in so many ways – at least referring to reciprocity and mutual beneficial system
between the state and society. Maize for example, is an ideal staple finance food among
Andeans state societies since it is productive and an excellent stable resource that is compact
and very transportable. Maize however was differentially distributed by the Inca state between
males and females, resulting in differing bone chemistry (Gumerman, 1997). This is because
males usually work for the state which occurred an increase in their maize consumption,
including maize beer, through feasting (ibid.). Food distribution was crucial in sustaining
political, hierarchical, and gender relationships within the state.
Conclusion
Throughout the discussion, we have established that Aesthetics and Ascetism formed a
part of religious system of the Inca which is central to civilization and at the same time, plays as
a fundamental means of establishing communion with the divine. Their mythology on
cosmology however bears the integral body of both of the above dimensions (religion and
civilization). Apparently, the gustatory perception of the Inca provided knowledge beyond
notions of sensory experiences, which extended to economic, political, and gender
relationships within the community.
6. [INCA GUSTATORY PERCEPTION] JEWEL MERCADER, MR-I
Page6
Primary Sources:
Albertson, H. (2008). From Perception to Cognition: the Five Senses and the Search for Meaning
in Italo Calvino's Last Short Stories. Language and the Scientific Imagination (pp. 7-8).
Finland: HELDA.
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