Chronicle of the Guayaki Indians

Contrary to the above reviews, the Guayakí have not "disappeared." At present, they are rarely referred to as "guayakí" (it is offensive to them), favoring the name "Aché." Their semi-nomadic subsistence is sadly gone, but many aspects of the culture continue in the Aché communities. For a physical anthropological study of the Aché-Guayakí and a brief history of the contact, check out Kim Hill and Magdalena Hurtado's "Aché Life History." Its out-of-print and hard to find but provides an interesting, albeit academic, complement to Clastres' work.

Pierre Clastres (1934-1979) was one of the most respected and insightful anthropologists of his day. Chronicle Of The Guayaki Indians (ably translated and with a foreword by Paul Auster) is a vivid and compelling account of his first fieldwork in the early 1960s which included an encounter with a small, unique, and now vanished Paraguayan tribe -- the Guayaki. Clastres followed the Guayaki in their everyday lives, determined to record every detail of their history, ritual, myths, and culture. In doing so he had also created a monument of political anthropology which would commemorate a Native American peoples that was to swiftly pass from scene. Chronicle Of The Guayaki Indians is an important addition to any serious anthropology and Native South American studies reference collection.

an anthropological tour de force that breaks your heart as you witness firsthand the cultural and material desecration of this once proud and self-sufficient tribe. their view of life and death seems the direct opposite of our western way of thinking, and one can only hope that they are right in the end. much credit must be given to the author--and novelist/translator paul auster-- who uncovered the lost, sad truths of this forgotten world. the writing is candid, pure,lyrical, incandescent, potent and non-academic. a haunting, haunting book--it literally speaks truth and wisdon from the grave.

This is a wonderful book and as Auster's points out in the preface it's impossible not to love it. But this is also a sad story about our time. Clastres felt that, how tribes and ancient cultures are doom to dissapear. In a way this book is written with a heart full of melancholy.

I was stunned when I first read this book. No point of detail, from the first period of a tribeswoman to stories tales and legends of the Indians, is missed. Pierre Clastres takes the reader with him on a journey which took place in the early 1960's to find a people and place which have now past. His subtle evocation and immersion in a sense of place by concentrating on day to day detail of the indians life is breathtaking. It is worth noting that the translator is the writer Paul Auster, who carried out this translation in the mid seventies when he was impoverished. Due to a series of misadventures his translation was lost and if it was not for it re-emerging almost by accident then it may never have seen the light of day. Paul's illuminating and inspired telling of this aspect of the story is worth reading in itself and is a beautiful piece of writing.