Walking with one heart: Human rights and the Catholic Church among the Maya of highland Chiapas.
Item
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Title
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Walking with one heart: Human rights and the Catholic Church among the Maya of highland Chiapas.
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Identifier
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AAI9732937
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identifier
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9732937
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Creator
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Kovic, Christine Marie.
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Contributor
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Adviser: June Nash
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Date
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1997
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Cultural | Religion, General | Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
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Abstract
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This thesis examines propositions about universal human rights and how they are interpreted in Chiapas where thousands of Mayan peoples have been violently exiled from their native communities. Many argue that the exile of indigenous peoples violates basic human rights guaranteed in the Mexican Constitution and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The objectives of this thesis are: (1) to analyze how Western-European notions of human rights articulate with understandings of rights in indigenous communities with distinctive cultural, religious, and political traditions; (2) to explore the impact of the pastoral work of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas on indigenous understandings and awareness of human rights, and in turn how indigenous views have affected the pastoral workers; and (3) to examine what concrete actions are being taken locally in order to defend such rights, and how these have been influenced by indigenous mobilization in Mexico, including the recent Zapatista uprising.;The methodological approach includes participant observation and structured interviews conducted over a thirty month period (1993-1996) in the highlands of Chiapas. I focused on a community of post Vatican II Tzotzil (Mayan) Catholics who were violently exiled from their communities of origin for political, economic, and religious reasons. A description of the formation of this community, the history of exile in Chiapas, and indigenous understandings of human rights are presented in order to examine the complex relationship between religion, politics, culture, and rights.;This thesis demonstrates that culture excludes some while it includes others, and is often manipulated to promote the political-economic power of an elite group and to maintain the status quo. In fact, the promotion of indigenous culture can be linked to human rights abuses, including the violent exile of those who do not conform to local custom as defined by traditional indigenous leaders. The issue of defining human rights is taking on increasing significance as indigenous peoples in Mexico and elsewhere are demanding cultural and economic autonomy, and as governments are being forced to consider policies to protect the autonomy of indigenous groups within the boundaries of the nation-state.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
