From the religion and culture desk

The last post - though months old - was a prescient one. Shortly after finding the "sentimental things" box on the sidewalk, my apartment building was sold. Having lived there for seven (?!) years I was no longer on a lease, and the new rent made it impossible to stay. So, I packed up my own boxes of fragile sentimental things and relocated to a new place in the same neighborhood.

As I sorted and sifted through years of accumulated stuff, I found a few things to share on the cupcake. Today's theme is "Holy Crap."

This is from the weekly bulletin of the Catholic church down the street from about a year ago (I'm pretty sure M&D were visiting... really I'm not a churchie... I mean, I didn't inhale... Okay, so I took communion... Busted, I go to church sometimes.). For those of you not familiar with this type of publication, it's generally a 4-6 page leaflet with mass intentions for the coming week, lists of events (raffles, retreats, fundraisers, etc.), a directory of local businesses that donate money to the church, and an op/ed piece from a regional clergy member. The last of these is often either an insipid "true" story about faith (...and after meeting that child who lost his limbs/eyesight/parents in ____ [fill in blank disaster] I knew it was the work of God because said child filled all he met with hope/purpose/faith in the Lord...) or it is a call to arms for Catholics to live right/fight sin.


So... I was very pleasantly surprised to open up the bulletin to find the following. Am I reading this right? Is this what pro-choice Catholicism looks like?


Okay, so perhaps not pro-choice, but it is nice to see someone in the church willing to engage in the real struggles between accepting a particular doctrine but at the same time giving a crap about religious freedom. Also not so clear if the "freedom of belief and practice" includes the right to dis-believe, but this is a start.

I think this really interests me because it is an attempt to take on ambivalence without the need to resolve it. It's not the narrowly defined and broadly applied rhetoric usually heard from the church; the stance that somehow calls abortion a sin but allows for killing doctors who perform them. He is exploring the space where the ideal of religious freedom and a particular Catholic belief bump into each other without diminishing either. This is rare, and I think all too often we are looking for the correct answer - for resolution - rather than allowing for real inquiries into seemingly conflicting beliefs.

More than once I have had students ask me if they could believe in God and be an anthropologist. It's the cultural relativism - allowing that others have different truths - and that Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. are historical and cultural thought systems that get them hung up. Is it possible to understand and accept this and still believe?

But it is not just religious belief that appears to preclude the possibility of others' truths. Science is a culturally situated doctrinal knowledge system as well, and whereas we academics may be comfortable talking about an Objective Truth when multiple independent lines of evidence come together to prove a hypothesis, the important thing is to keep questioning. This includes consideration of different knowledge systems and breaking down some of these Cartesian/Durkheimian bifurcations that polarize the positions of scientist and believer. Nowhere has this been illustrated more clearly for me than in the repatriation of Native American human remains and artifacts. If there is to be a post-colonial, anti-imperial anthropology, there has to be space for the sloppiness of coexisting and often competing knowledge claims.

*pause*

This blog post is turning out a little differently than I anticipated. I guess I am a bit wrapped up in dissertation arguing mode and I somehow jumped from some random church bulletin to post-coloniality. Talk about indoctrination.

Where were we? Oh yes, holy crap found while moving. The following images are from my tenure in the book preservation/conservation department at the library. A copy of Cantigas de Santa Maria came in for repairs and I could not resist copying a few.


The devil and the courtesans were displeased because Holy Mary reformed the lustful knight...


And The devil tempted the seamstress to sew on Saturday, Holy Mary's day...


Soon to come, a look inside some boxes of fragile, sentimental things. Good to see you again, cupcakes.

FRAGILE: Sentimental Things

Found discarded by the side of the road today

Stressy McDissertation Pants

It's been Christmas on the cupcake for a while now.... as most of the folks who stop by here know, I am back from Peru and I am wading through my data as I start writing my dissertation. Hence very little posting. As friends have been bailing on their blogs (production maven, siobhlog, blueberry pie, bestitched) my energy for updating has waned as well. But I'm not ready to let go of it just yet. So, in an effort to keep this up, I'm going to try shorter, photo-based posts.

To illustrate my academic industriousness, I give you an image of a custom-made retablo.



It's an artform traditional to Ayacucho, and intially depicted religious themes (still do) but have branched out to depict daily life. Skeletons are not a tradional representation of people; it's a response to the market an the popularity of Mexican day of the dead bric a brac. I commissioned this one of an archaeological dig.

When I am not working on my dissertation, I am still knitting. Here is a recent one off the stix for a friend's little girl:





I've gotta go write now.

Feliz Navidad and further Andean Adventures

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and all that! This is my attempt at holiday decorating here in Peru. The big thing here is making epic nativity scenes that take up an entire corner of a room, with paper mountains and valleys, a million little toy animals and up to 5 baby Jesus' in any given diorama. I was feeling slightly less ambitious, but the lights do blink.

As promised, the continuing adventures of me and S during his November visit...

We all loaded up into a rented car (driver included - no way would I try to drive here) and wound our way along the mountain roads outside of Ayacucho to the archaeological site of Wari (where some of my dissertation material comes from).























I didn't abandon work completely that week...



But the atmosphere in the lab/house was very lighthearted:

O and P offer a puppet show while I try to photograph specimens

O and ceramic accessories

We rounded out the week here with drinks at local restaurants,




Strolls around town,



Falling for mangy street dogs,



And a visit to that zoo I told you all about a while back:



This time a monkey escaped:



And rather than being concerned, the zookeepers looked on as people alternately taunted and fed it:



And since he was such a hit last time, here's our elephant friend again.




After a week of showing S around my adoptive city, we took off for Cusco; seat of the Inca Empire and the tourist capital of Peru. Ayacucho is at about 9000 ft above sea level, but we still had some trouble adjusting to the 11000 ft of Cusco. So, coca leaf tea was on the menu for the first few days. It's mild stimulant effect helps with altitude sickness:



Cusco is really beautiful and a sprawling nightmare of tourist traps at the same time. It's a love/hate I have for this place. 10 years ago, I lived there for a month and have visited it twice since, and each time I become more ambivalent. There are really amazing sites there, and the place itself is something altogether unique, but it is just these qualities that attract swarms of people from around the world. What's worse than the crowds is the desperation engendered in the locals to get you to buy something.






From day 1, S was apalled at how you really can't go see anything without getting swept up in the tourism machine that runs the whole valley. There is one road to the major sites and EVERYONE is going there. After being one of approximately 8 foreigners in Ayacucho, it was a bit of a shock:



Can you see that diappointment on his face? The sag in his shoulders? WTF?

But as I said, it is really beautiful and an incredible place to be despite the churning mill of travelers.








To escape the bus crowd, we decided to rent some horses and ride around the ruins just outside the city:








In the cave of the Temple of the Moon

There is considerably more nightlife in Cusco than Ayacucho,



Which may include having "friend" guinea pig for dinner. On the same menu, "papa rellena" was translated as "pope filled." ("papa" depending on where you put the accent means either "potato" or "Pope," head of the Roman Catholic Church. People, online translators don't really work!)





By the way, I made that kick-ass scarf for S. It's Noro Silk garden, inspired by Brooklyn Tweed's scarf. S loved it, and the cold weather. He doesn't have much occasion to wear it in Hawaii.


Okay, I suppose it's time for the money shot:



Ahhh, Machu Picchu. "Discovered" by Hiram Bingham in 1911 (lots of people knew about it before, but he was the one to fund huge expeditions, for which Yale University is still embroiled in lawsuits with the Peruvian government). Last year it was named one of the seven wonders of the modern world which has caused the tourist "low season" to look like this:



Herded from room to room in groups of 25+ people with the next group waiting outside the door. Nightmare. I totally became "that girl," and I am sorry, S. I was the annoying asshole who opined that things were better in the old days; "if you had been here in the 90's..." I maybe even said that MP was "dead to me."

Blessedly, the tour ended quickly and we were taking the night train back to Cusco, so we had hours to wander on our own during which the crowd thinned to nothing. S, set his camera to sepia, and we forgot all about the insults and injuries of the morning.







We of course took a crapload of pictures, and if you want to see more, some are on flickr.

After a week of Inca-land and evening cocktails (during which I was spuriously accused of teetotaling) it was time to take our leave of Cusco.



To the smoggy, congested streets of Lima. We spent lots of time at a standstill in traffic in the back of a cab, so we amused ourselves with self portraits. This is my fucking favorite:



Who knew he could channel rage so well?

We purposefully planned very little time in the nation's capital, but we did get some sights in,



And some drinks in,



And some tears for S returning to the states,






Bon Voyage! Thanks for coming! You rock!


And we're back to the more-or-less present, where I am spending a Sunday afternoon drinking beer and blogging, and a bit incredulous that 3 1/2 months have already passed. Peru is the best, and that's not just the suds talking. I knew I'd have a great time here, but I had some anxiety about being here for the holidays; you know, the normal maudlin thoughts you get when in the field for a stretch, but intensified. The people here are incredible, and they really don't give you the opportunity to be sad. Christmas was spent setting off firecrackers at midnight in the street with G and her family (and the entire city), and on the 23rd my guys - my beloved research team - gave me these:




Okay, that's pretty wonderful and thoughtful in itself, but they were hand-made by one of them. In addition to being an archaeology student at the local university, P is a metalsmith. They all chipped in for the silver and pearls, and P made me some traditional Huamanguina earrings.


Me in skanky work clothes with skanky work hair, in love with this thougtful gift.

We still have a few weeks, so let's not think of goodbye just yet. Happy New Year/ Prospero Ano Nuevo/ Sunqu Hunta Mosoyhuata!

Still here!

Hi.

Yes, still here in Ayacucho, and terribly remiss in posting. Thank you all for going to vote for the entire month of November, the first half of December, and still checking back in. The good news is that instead of posting, I've been traveling, working hard, and getting a crapload accomplished.

Here in the 'cuch, November means a special bread called "wawa." It means "baby" in Quechua (preschools are called "wawa wasis" here - baby houses), and the bread is kinda baby shaped if you squint.




It's a lightly sweetened bread with candies/raisins for buttons and eyes and such. You buy them just outside of the central market...



Where you get your piping hot bowl of corn porridge for breakfast....



And tear off hunks of wawa to soak up the corny goodness...



But wait! Who's that across the table?




Chimp Champ! On November 1st, my BFF (dutifuly wearing that tacky shell bracelet I got him in Hawaii) came for a 2-week Andean extravaganza.

He really got into the whole spirit of the wawa, and "adopted" one we took home.



It was one of many culinary adventures. I introduced him to the local ice cream that they make on weekends in the plaza. It's a peanut/milk/sugar mixture that ladies wearing gigantic hats spin around in pots that rest on ice. Awe-some.



And we went to a "gran truchada." Truchadas are fundraising events where they serve plates of trout (trucha). It's pretty damn delicious with the ubiquitous potatoes and spicy highland sauces.



Who doesn't love potatoes?



The perfect accompaniment? Beer mixed with Coca Cola. A local favorite, and you can just take your nose out of the air until you try it. It's delicious and sweet.




Of course, a trip to the Andes would be incomplete without trying cuy. This is how you handle a food animal:



Okay, this next one is pretty bad, but I just had to post it. A sink full of "peeled" (pelado) cuys:



And all plated up, again with potatoes and spicy sauces (aji). Provecho!



Paired with Chicha de jora:



A traditional fermented corn beverage that kind of tastes like stomach acid, but get you buzzed pretty quickly.

After getting his fill of corn, potatoes and animals with heads still attached on his plate, Chimp Champ and I took in the sights around town...



Catching up on the local news in the Plaza Mayor....





Visiting colonial era houses....



And cooling off in the shade with our respective Kolas...



For the Day of the Dead we went to the local cemetery with my friend G. Her father is buried there, so we bought some flowers to place at his grave.



Unlike most cemeteries in the States, this one consists of rows and rows of niched walls where bodies are laid to rest:



Instead of headstones, the chambers are capped with plaster that are then painted:





If you can't pay the yearly rent, they remove your loved one's body and dump it - casket and all - in this grotto. Every few months when they accumulate enough, they set the remains on fire:



We were there between burnings, and it was a little ghastly to look in there. Caskets, shoes, and you can imagine what else, just laying open to the elements. People treat this area as a grave site as well, bringing flowers and mourning at the open door.



Okay, time for a pisco sour.



Chimp Champ is a forensic anthropologist, so of special interest to him was all of the human rights work going on here. Ayacucho was ground zero for the Sendero Luminoso guerilla war in the 1980's and 1990's. I took him to see the museum set up by the families of the disappeared/tortured:





One of the things I've been busy with this month has been translating their materials for English-speaking visitors.

And a visit here would be incomplete without checking out the weavers shops...



This textile made its way back to Hawaii...



And that's just the first 4 days of November. Coming next... hiking around archaeological sites! A trip to Cusco! Llamas and Machu Picchu! I promise it won't take another month.

GO VOTE!!!

It's your civic duty!

Hey, Where did October go?

That went by quick for me, how about you? I am preparing for a visit from Chimp Champ in a few days, and realized I should post some of these pictures before I go on vacation.

Earlier this month I went to the local Zoo with G and K. It's located in a valley just at the edge of the city:






Notice how much greener it is at the bottom than the top. Most of Ayacucho is arid, dusty, and fairly brown. Cactus are abundant; with months of no rain, it really is a highland desert landscape:



But in the valleys where water flows...





It's a beautiful oasis and a respite from what a fellow archaeologist dubbed the "blasted lands." But it is an odd spot for a zoo, perched on the steep valley walls. All enclosures and pathways are vertically placed on switchbacks...



So, zoos are kind of sad to begin with, and ones with few resources are even sadder. But I thought this blog could use some monkeys.



At this zoo, there seem to be no rules about touching, feeding, or otherwise molesting the animals.



G. just used sweet noises and her waggling finger to get the monkey's attention, but I saw more than one person throw rocks (wtf?)







Here's an odd monkey island surrounded by a moat. People were throwing all kinds of food into the enclosure. This one scored a bag of chips:



Although I'm only showing monkeys, there are pumas, coatamundis, condors, parrots, llamas, alpacas, etc. And then there was this:



The story goes that a circus came to town and the elephant died and it seemed like a great opportunity for taxidermy. I am sure it looked better in bygone years, and it's not exactly in an ideal environment for conservation/preservation... but damn, don't kids get nightmares from this? It's like an elephant extra from a zombie flick. I think it wants brains.

After that, I think we need a picture of a monkey eating a lollipop.




I've done a little knitting in the last month as well. CH is in the family way, and since I missed her baby shower, I sent along these:



This is "alpandina" yarn; an alpaca acrylic mix. It's really hard to find nice yarn here. And coffee. Two exports Peru is famous for, and you just can't get the good stuff here. I even resorted to knitting with 100% acrylic:



CH, I hope the washability and cute mushroom buttons make up for the plastic-y feel of the sweater!




Things are going well in my lab/living room as well...



We've reconstructed quite a few large vessels, and I am running out of space to put things:



Chimp Champ, this is the bed you will be staying in. Hope you don't mind sharing it. I had to start closing the door to this room in the evenings, after waking up one night to pee and having the bejeezus (and almost pee) scared out of me thinking there was a person in the bed. You can see it through the courtyard window too:



Kinda creepy.


There are quite literally tons of ceramics in my house. This month we've worked on a little over 13,000 individual potsherds that total 423 kilograms (930ish pounds).

But everyone is chipping in to get it done. Even G sits down to play with pieces every once in a while:



We've also had some puppies in the lab:







I made a deal with G and O that dogs can hang out here as long as I don't have to clean up any shit. It's kind of the perfect arrangement.

And they help break up the tedium of the task at hand:










Rock on the reconstruction!



So how was your month?

Arco Iris

Tonight from the roof deck....






A double rainbow and some moody clouds and mountains

Happy Spring!

No, this isn't a 6-month old post just showing up now. Since I'm south of the equator in Peru, the seasons are opposite (although the toilet flushing/water draining counter-or-clockwise thing seems bunk). I'm not sure yet if it feels like I have extra time (a repeat of the spring and summer I just had) or whether it's a net loss (skip over fall and winter to the next spring). But either way, it means fresh local produce:






It also means my birthday, which is usually the first day of autumn, but here it is dia de joventud or youth day. This sounds pretty good as I escalate through my 30's. My sweet, sweet knitting pals in NY were super thoughtful and with advance planning sent me a birthday card that arrived exactly on the 22nd:



Thanks CH, LC, SH, and bloggless MO!


I'm all settled into my apartment that I'm renting from a friend (thanks BW) and thought I'd give you all a little tour.

Here is the front of the house:


Complete with mototaxi!

I have the second floor and the roof deck.

Here are some snaps of the kitchen:






And my bedroom which looks like it's straight out of a 1980's porn movie:




In my defense, I did not know that this elaborate bed was in the room (I expected little more than a raised mattress) when I purchased the tiger blanket in Lima. I thought it would punch up my living space in a tacky way, but I didn't realize how tacky.

But if you're going to do something, do it well. So I purchased a fug new lamp for the room as well:




It's Wild Kingdom in here.

But the best part of the house is my lab space. It used to be the living/dining room:





And now is my lab...



And as for the roof deck, we use it for laundry (as is the custom here)




And for lounging and watching the sun and clouds play over the mountains:



Keep checking back for more adventures around town. And even if you don't normally comment (and you know who you are) you should because I am far away and it makes me feel loved!

Late Summer in Vermont

Although I am blogging from Peru, here are some pictures from my brief stay in the States between West Africa and South America. I just bought a new camera for my research project, and this was its first outing on a sunny afternoon around Lake Champlain

The Green Mountains - Camel's Hump in the background

The Adirondacks across Lake Champlain




Obligatory covered bridge

One of my favorite things to do when I visit home is to have breakfast at Shelburne Farms; a sprawling estate that was once the summer home of the Vanderbilt/Webb family that is now a working farm and non-profit inn. My dad does all of their upholstery, and I used to work in housekeeping when I was in high school. The dining room has french doors that open out onto the gardens and the lake:

Such a lovely day, we decided to take the ferry across the Lake to the hamlet of Essex, New York. This is what you do when you want to be on the water but have no boat.

Essex, NY is a sweet little town that sadly has had a bit of trouble keeping businesses open. I love going over there to stroll the main street. Right when you get off the ferry, you are greeted by the little stone library:

There are little plastic tubs filled with books and a coffee can for donations out front when the library is closed.


How cute is this post office?

Then there are the stately old mansions along the waterfront:

And hidden gardens...

I also finished up two knitting projects while I was home. First, the Icarus shawl from Interweave:

I knit it in a worsted weight yarn - Wool in the Woods Cyclone, in the grappa colorway. Because of the increased size of the pattern with the yarn weight, I did fewer repeats before starting the lace edging. It's weighty and satisfying. Mom is testing it out this fall while I am out of the country. We'll see if I get it back.

The bigger ongoing project was another mitered square blanket, this time in wool instead of cotton. I knit it in Classic Elite Desert, a thick and thin self-striping yarn. Here are a few images of the back side while it was blocking in the sun:

I absolutely LOVE how this came out. Everything about it is perfect - good size, nice weight, snuggly warm, not itchy. And I can only describe the colors as protective. When you're all wrapped up in it, it feels like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. This knit was fun and made even more brilliant by picking up stitches for each square. My friends, there is NO seaming in this bad-boy.

As mentioned at the beginning, I am now in Peru for the next few months, and I have internet access (?!) in my house. Stay tuned for some Andean adventures!