Será que la suerte lo sigue a él : relaciones niñas/os-hacienda en las tierras altas argentinas

Abstract

Este artículo constituye un acercamiento preliminar a la noción de “suerte” utilizada por pobladores del Departamento de Molinos (Salta) para referirse a interacciones y prácticas vinculadas a la cría de ganado. Se trata de una población rural que habita valles de altura en la que se practican actividades de agricultura y cría de animales, combinadas con trabajo asalariado y artesanal. Los datos provienen de una investigación etnográfica en curso, donde se aplicaron técnicas cualitativas. Presentamos los resultados de una primera etapa basada en el análisis discursivo de entrevistas semiestructuradas, según los cuales la “suerte” se atribuye a una característica, propiedad o condición intrínseca de la persona y del animal, aunque también que puede ser propiciada ritualmente. Nuestro análisis se enfoca en las implicancias de la “suerte” en las interacciones entre niñas/os y animales, en su cuidado, reproducción y perpetuación, así como su rol en las experiencias tempranas de aprendizaje de modos de interacción humanos/no-humanos culturalmente específicos.

In this article we propose a preliminary approach to the emergent notion of suerte (luck) that residents of the Molinos District (Salta) use to refer to the interactions and practices related to livestock raising. The study was conducted in a rural population living in high-altitude valleys where agriculture and animal husbandry practices are combined with wage and artisan labor. Derived from an ongoing ethnographic research where we applied qualitative techniques, in this article, we present data from semi-structured interviews and qualitative discourse analysis. Results indicate that “luck” is attributed to a characteristic, property, or intrinsic condition of the person and the animal, although it can also be ritually propitiated. Our analysis focuses on the implications of “luck” in the interactions between children and animals, their care, their reproduction and perpetuation, and their role in early learning experiences of culturally specific human/non-human modes of interaction.

In this article we propose a preliminary approach to the emergent notion of suerte (luck) that residents of the Molinos District (Salta) use to refer to the interactions and practices related to livestock raising. The study was conducted in a rural population living in high-altitude valleys where agriculture and animal husbandry practices are combined with wage and artisan labor. Derived from an ongoing ethnographic research where we applied qualitative techniques, in this article, we present data from semi-structured interviews and qualitative discourse analysis. Results indicate that “luck” is attributed to a characteristic, property, or intrinsic condition of the person and the animal, although it can also be ritually propitiated. Our analysis focuses on the implications of “luck” in the interactions between children and animals, their care, their reproduction and perpetuation, and their role in early learning experiences of culturally specific human/non-human modes of interaction.