THE CULTURAL LOGIC OF HIERARCHY IN THE TARASCAN STATE

Abstract

Abstract This paper seeks to broaden our understanding of the Tarascan state by analyzing the cultural logic of hierarchy as revealed in theRelación de Michoacán. Following the insights of Dumont (1980) and Sahlins (1985), it is proposed that the historical narrative contained within that document is concerned with legitimizing the rule of the Tarascan royal dynasty through a conception of hierarchy based on the logic of encompassment. This analysis interprets the characters of the narrative as instantiations of “elementary categories,” and the interactions between these characters serve to define and ultimately transform those categories. The most important transformation is the encompassing of the “Islander” category by the “Chichimec” category. It is through this encompassment that the royal dynasty symbolized a socio-cosmic totality and therefore possessed legitimate authority. Furthermore, I outline a model of elite interaction and the development of the Tarascan state in which the royal dynasty sought to monopolize foreign trade goods, thus materially constructing its own identity as a possessor of legitimate authority and, therefore, as Chichimecs, according to one connotation of that term. At the same time, a class of status markers was created that could be shared with the lesser nobility, conferring legitimacy on them while preserving the wealth and identity of the royal dynasty.

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