Epidermal changes and existential transitions. The development of the human body within the framework of plant life among the Nahuas, Mexico.
Abstract
Within Mesoamerican studies and academic interests on Nahua peoples in particular, the human body has been studied in an attempt to identify its organic components and psychic anatomy; but, in addition, the life cycle of said body has been framed in a social construction through various stages. Considering that the human body contains different parts and that these are socially modeled in various episodes, the preparation of the tamale –through the application of various culinary techniques– will be used as a speculative instrument to establish the possible analogy it has with the human body. In this regard, two questions arise: what are the implications raised by the analogy between the modeling of a tamale with the human body? and what is the importance of the shell/skin during the human life cycle analogous to the vegetable? This essay aims to answer these questions based on an ethnography among the Nahua communities of the municipality of Pahuatlán, Puebla (Mexico).
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