Sunday, November 7, 2010

Why Anthropophagous?

I mean, could pick a harder name?

But it's full of symbolism. It's a reference to the 1928 Anthropophagous Manifesto. According to Wikipedia:

"Its argument is that Brazil's history of 'cannibalizing' other cultures is its greatest strength, while playing on the modernists' primitivist interest in cannibalism as an alleged tribal rite. Cannibalism becomes a way for Brazil to assert itself against European post-colonial cultural domination. The Manifesto's iconic line is 'Tupi or not Tupi: that is the question.' The line is simultaneously a celebration of the Tupi, who practiced certain forms of ritual cannibalism (as detailed in the 16th century writings of André Thévet, Hans Staden, and Jean de Léry), and a metaphorical instance of cannibalism: it eats Shakespeare."

Here you can find the complete Manifesto in English.

Among other names that I can't remember, I also thought of Palmtrees, a reference to the Quilombo of Palmares, but I liked Anthropophagous better.

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