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Southern Anthropologist

Abstract

Genealogical amnesia is a widespread phenom-enon among Lowland South American Indians. It is generally explained in terms of alliance theory in that a shallow depth of recall of forebears facilitates the manipulation of kin relationships to increase potential marriage or sexual partners. For the Guaja Indians of the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, reclassification of kin relationships is clearly important in understanding the significance of genealogical amnesia, but it is not a complete explanation. Genealogical amnesia is also fundamental in understanding Guaja religion. Remembering dead ancestors is not a mundane activity, but rather a sacred activity which takes place in ritual contexts. The objective of this paper is to describe the importance of genealogical amnesia in alliance formation, to demonstrate the integration of genealogical amnesia into the religious life of the Guaja people, and to explore the implications of the Guaja evidence for other groups with genealogical amnesia.

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