Title: The play of mirrors
First published: 1997
Description: Focusing on the Bororo people of west-central Brazil, this book addresses the construction of self-identity through interethnic interaction. By presenting the images the Bororo have of themselves as well as the images of others who have interacted with them, Brazilian anthropologist Sylvia Caluby Novaes argues convincingly that Bororo self-images are constructed with the aid of a peculiar looking-glass - it is in the images of others that they see themselves.

Incorporating contributions from psychology, psychoanalysis, linguistics, and semiotics, The Play of Mirrors focuses on symbols, images, discourse, and meanings rather than solely on the problem of acculturation. It thus reflects the thinking of a new generation of Brazilian anthropologists who have shifted their focus from native communities as isolated entities to an examination of their embeddedness within broader national and international arenas.
Subjects: Bororo Indians, Ethnic identity, Identity (Psychology), Missions, Psychology, Salesians, Self-perception, Social conditions, Conditions sociales, Identite (Psychologie), Perception de soi, Modeles semiotiques, Bororo (Indiens), Identite ethnique, Identite collective, Culture, Psychologie, Salesiens, Self, Semiotic models
Places: Brazil, Mato Grosso (State)
LC classification: F2520.1.B75 N6513 1997