What do you think?
Rate this book
The Myths of the Opossum: Pathways of Mesoamerican Mythology
Published in 1990 under the title Los mitos del tlacuache, this is the first major theoretical study of Mesoamerican mythology by one of the foremost scholars of Aztec ideology. Using the myth cycle of the opossum and the theft of fire from the gods as a touchstone, Lopez Austin constructs a definition of myth that pertains to all of Mesoamerican culture, challenging the notion that to be relevant such studies must occur within a specific culture.
Shown here is that much of modern mythology has ancient roots, despite syncretism with Christianity, and can be used to elucidate the pre-Columbian world view. Analysis of pre-Columbian myths can also be used to understand current indigenous myths. Subtopics include the hero and his place in the Mesoamerican pantheon, divine space and human space, mythic event clusters, myth as truth, and the fusion of myth and history.
This book presents a unique description of the Mesoamerican world view for students of comparative religion, history of religion, folklore, ethnology, and anthropology.
Shown here is that much of modern mythology has ancient roots, despite syncretism with Christianity, and can be used to elucidate the pre-Columbian world view. Analysis of pre-Columbian myths can also be used to understand current indigenous myths. Subtopics include the hero and his place in the Mesoamerican pantheon, divine space and human space, mythic event clusters, myth as truth, and the fusion of myth and history.
This book presents a unique description of the Mesoamerican world view for students of comparative religion, history of religion, folklore, ethnology, and anthropology.
- GenresMythology
421 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
7 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 26, 2020
Muy denso de verdad.
Es bastante interesante y aquellos interesados en la historia, el mito mesoamericano y el mito en sí, cuestiones de categorías semánticas,cosmovisiones y formas de explicar y ver la realidad, etc, disfrutaran el libro estoy segura.
Es bastante interesante y aquellos interesados en la historia, el mito mesoamericano y el mito en sí, cuestiones de categorías semánticas,cosmovisiones y formas de explicar y ver la realidad, etc, disfrutaran el libro estoy segura.
March 8, 2021
Excelente lectura para poder comprender la complejidad de las sociedades prehispánicas en función de sus mitos. Es altamente especializado y por lo puede costar trabajo a la mayoría. Pero si eres amante de estos temas será de mucha utilidad para entenderlos mejor.
Read
September 28, 20182017-05 – The Myths of the Opossum: Pathways of Mesoamerican Mythology. Alfredo Lopez Austin (Author) 1993. 421 Pages
This is the fourth book in my first directed yearlong study of Nahua thought and belief. This book is an exploration of myth. Its origins in human history, its role in human history, and what it becomes through history. The book is broad in that it starts with generalities applicable to all human cultures and experiences. It then builds from the broad base to investigate the role of myth in Mesoamerica and among the Nahua specifically. To provide a guide into mythology and through time the author has chosen the Mesoamerican Prometheus …the Opossum. The opossum is a marsupial and marsupials are native only to Australia and the Americas. Its existence and biology came as a shock to the Europeans. But really the opossum is a conduit to the terms, boundaries and functions of myth and mythology. The author has a habit in his writing of laying out a thesis and looking at it from different sides … he sometimes defends it, changes it, or just uses it as a springboard. Ultimately though he builds you a wide lensed foundation from which to make up your own mind … i.e. if you want the truth you must first compare the lies. What I find interesting is he does not draw the direct line from an existent myth to a religious system or belief. This is a foundational text to build off of. An orientation and introduction if you will. I wish this would have been included in seminary as a base line text.
This is the fourth book in my first directed yearlong study of Nahua thought and belief. This book is an exploration of myth. Its origins in human history, its role in human history, and what it becomes through history. The book is broad in that it starts with generalities applicable to all human cultures and experiences. It then builds from the broad base to investigate the role of myth in Mesoamerica and among the Nahua specifically. To provide a guide into mythology and through time the author has chosen the Mesoamerican Prometheus …the Opossum. The opossum is a marsupial and marsupials are native only to Australia and the Americas. Its existence and biology came as a shock to the Europeans. But really the opossum is a conduit to the terms, boundaries and functions of myth and mythology. The author has a habit in his writing of laying out a thesis and looking at it from different sides … he sometimes defends it, changes it, or just uses it as a springboard. Ultimately though he builds you a wide lensed foundation from which to make up your own mind … i.e. if you want the truth you must first compare the lies. What I find interesting is he does not draw the direct line from an existent myth to a religious system or belief. This is a foundational text to build off of. An orientation and introduction if you will. I wish this would have been included in seminary as a base line text.
January 21, 2009
good mths and their relationships
February 10, 2011
a beautiful journey through the history of mesoamerican possum lore!
Read
May 3, 2019299.72 L8642 1993
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews