Abstract

DEL CAIRO, CARLOS. ETHNIC HIERARCHIES AND STATE MULTICULTURAL RHETORIC IN SAN JOSÉ DEL GUAVIARE. Rev. colomb. antropol. [online]. 2011, vol.47, n.2, pp.123-149. ISSN 0486-6525.

This article examines the tensions between the ethnic hierarchies in San José del Guaviare and the positive valuation of cultural diversity introduced by the State rhetoric of multiculturalism. Specifically, it analyzes the differential positions that the Jiw, Tucano and Nukak communities occupy according to the hierarchies conceived by "white" people in San José, the Tucano indigenous communities, and state officials. The characteristics of those hierarchies serve to discuss three reductionist moves constitutive of State multiculturalism in Colombia: the assumption of unity in ethnic diversity, the essentialization of cultural difference, and the reification of a community. The article also highlights the importance of analyzing the perceptions of cultural difference in processes that go beyond the multicultural formality exulted by official institutions.

Keywords : multiculturalism; ethnicity; ethnic hierarchies; Guaviare; Amazon region.

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