The aesthetics of 'time-reckoning': a Guna chromatic history

Fortis, P

doi:10.1111/1467-9655.13077

The aesthetics of 'time-reckoning': a Guna chromatic history

Fortis, P

Authors

Dr Paolo Fortis paolo.fortis@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Abstract

This is a study of time and aesthetics through an ethnographic analysis of an indigenous visual system. Looking at historical changes in women's clothing and village patterns among Guna people (Panama), the article shows that images and artefacts are key to shedding light on indigenous historicities. Core visual and material processes encapsulate and manifest biographical and group time. By the same token, such processes provide a privileged perspective to consider how present‐day social relations are the product of long‐term historical transformations. The analysis draws on the relatively overlooked notion of ‘chromatism’ developed by Lévi‐Strauss and subsequently elaborated by Lima as ‘chromatic sociality’. It proposes that ‘chromatism’ is an indigenous category that allows for reckoning with the passing of time and the shifting circumstances of history.

Citation

Fortis, P. (2019). The aesthetics of 'time-reckoning': a Guna chromatic history. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 25(3), 441-466. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.13077

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Apr 9, 2019
Online Publication Date	Jun 21, 2019
Publication Date	Aug 2, 2019
Deposit Date	Apr 18, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Jun 21, 2021
Journal	Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Print ISSN	1359-0987
Electronic ISSN	1467-9655
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	25
Issue	3
Pages	441-466
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.13077

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Fortis, P (2019). The aesthetics of 'time-reckoning': a Guna chromatic history. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (incorporating Man) 25(3): 441-466, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.13077. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.