Jean de Léry Flashcards
at the time of writing JDL
was the protestant minister of France
names of the massacres in France that rendered the narrative of JDL somewhat ore melancholic
the St Bartholomew day attacks
Dual purpose of the Histoire
it was to stand up for Protestants and their cause and destrouy the credibility of Thevet
what personal purpose does his story of Brazil serve?
It allows him to escape the violence taking place in Europe at the time
Symbolism of the nakedness of the women
damnation and stubbornness of the women
wars of religion
1562-1598
difference between looking at a native naked body and a naked european one
he says that they have an intrinsic beauty on which man can look without sinn
They fight for…
vengeance, not the spoils and land that the Europeans do
What makes the cannibalism tolerable
the fact that it is part of a human ritual that is socially interpretable
the flesh, once cooked, was shared among the clan, entailing allegiance.
Tupi cannibalism keeps states of friend and enemy stable- there is a logic behind it- it makes possible trust to be established.
examples of strange decorations they dress themselves in
the stones that are pierced through their tongues or some even through the cheeks
they dies their legs in the juice of a fruit commonly found there
The women adorn themselves differently
paint their eyebrows and also draw circles on their faces
they do not however paint themselves nearly as much as the men do nor do they wear feathers or anything else that grows in the land
By does he not contest the idea of walking around naked?
To contest it further would be to do so in vain and you would gain nothing by it
What term does he use to describe the naked women?
He calls them creatures who take delight in their nakedness
How do the prisoners respond to being taken into war?
They boast about their prowess- citing all the people from the tribe where he finds himself, that he himself has eaten
the ritual of killing the prisoners
they are killed using a club which strikes them just above the ear on the side of the head as not to release too much blood
