I, Rigoberta Menchu
I, Rigoberta Menchu is probably one of my favourites of the term so far. I believe it's the first (and only?) non-fictional text of the term - although this is partially debated a la Jon's lecture - because it's not a novel, but a testimonial about life as an Indigenous K'iche' Maya woman and her family in Guatemala during the civil war. The subject matter of this book was not completely foreign to me; having read and studied some of the impacts of colonialism and its impacts on Indigenous people, past and present, I think I came in to reading the story with a fairly good sense of what to expect. That said, I'd never read anything specifically about the case in Guatemala, so there was definitely much to be learned there. I can't say that I was completely surprised by what I read in the book, because I was already primed to expect absolutely horrible brutality. Nonetheless, I found the reading experience tough and sometimes found myself skimming over the most saddening bits to get through them quicker. For the most part I tried to stay somewhat stoic and read through the whole account because it would have felt wrong to simply skip the difficult bits, but there were a couple instances when I just wasn't up for it.
Anyway, I always find it quite striking when Indigenous people still feel connected to their ancestors' culture and spirituality after all that has been done to take it away from them. Hearing that Rigoberta kept both the Catholic Church and her ancestral spirituality close to her was very interesting to me. Based on what I've read and heard, there definitely seems to be a wide array of Indigenous peoples' opinions of Christianity, and especially of the Catholic Church; some are deeply devoted to it, some reject it fervently as an institution of colonialism. Rigoberta seems to be somewhere in the middle, by seeing it as a medium of expression within the group.
I listened to Jon's lecture partway through reading this book, and I started noticing the elements of secrecy more and more. And I want to say that I absolutely love the way she plays with secrecy, insisting that there's more about her culture that she's not telling us, that nobody will tell us, that we'll never find out. I can just imagine her saying that with a taunting look on her face while listening to the anthropologists crying from a far distance. I'm partially joking, but honestly I kinda think "good for her!" After everything that has been taken from them over the years, don't they deserve some information of their own?
The question(s) I pose for you all is how much do you think matters that all the details are true, given the genre of the book? Do you think it should be disclosed if some parts are stretched from the truth? Would that undermine the whole narrative?
"I can just imagine her saying that with a taunting look on her face while listening to the anthropologists crying from a far distance"
ReplyDeleteYes, I like this as well... which is part of what I was trying to say in suggesting that Menchú might be "playing games" with us.
"the first (and only?) non-fictional text"
Yes, though of course many of the books we're reading deal with historical events, and often with traumatic events. Cartucho is probably the closest to testimonio what we have read so far, but it is also very different. I wonder what we get from a novel such as (I dunno) The Underdogs or The Kingdom of This World, compared to what we get (and don't get!) from a testimonio such as Menchú's.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your thoughts on Rigoberta Menchú. I thought your analysis of her experience and discussion of Christianity and the catholic church was very interesting. I would agree she seems to balance somewhere in the middle of what we often view as contrasting ideals. And this element of secrecy is one that adds to her choice to keep somethings to herself. And in terms of your question, I do not know how many elements of this text are true, although I dont think that she is obligated to disclose exactly which parts are or are not, in fact in think that is an element of the secrecy she plays with.
Thank you!
Hi Deeba, I enjoyed reading your blog and I too was fascinated by the theme of secrecy and how Menchú was able to use it as part of her tactics in captivating the reader. In response to your question, I think that it doesn't matter too much that some of the parts of the story aren't told exactly how they went, but they do have some truth to them and represent what indigenous communities haven been facing.
ReplyDeleteI also was interested in Rigoberta Menchu's reasoning behind practicing both Christian faith and indigenous spirituality. She didn't reject christianity completely, but rather used the best advice from it, and balanced that by not delving too deeply into her own indigenous religion. To answer your question, I don't think all the details have to be true, but rather based on truth. If she was writing an autobiography, then accuracy would be more important, but between using this book as a tool to spread awareness of the oppressive nature of ladino culture and the guatemalan government, and the fact that it was written as a translated oral testimonial, it is fair to have a few embellishments and inaccuracies
ReplyDelete