Winds of Ixtepeji: World View and Society in a Zapotec Town

Dr. Michael Kearney (1937–2009) focused his life's work on the study of class, ethnicity, migration, and the theory and ethnography of transnational communities and processes.

The Winds of Ixtepeji, his first major publication, is a sociopsychological exploration into the world view and social organization of a Zapotec mountain town called Ixtepeji in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The main topic is how the Ixtepejanos perceive reality as potentially dangerous: perilous beings abiding in the air and friends and family possessed by envy pose constant threats to self-esteem and interpersonal relationships. Such perceptions affect, and in turn are affected by, the conduct of village life—a life that centers on hard work and a struggle to survive in a harsh environment.

Ixtepejanos, who believe they are abandoned to their existence, are also aware of an idealized vision of another world, glimpsed in magazines, movies, and trips to the city. This other world—forever unattainable—is one of unlimited wealth and power, of security and happiness. In an attempt to adjust to their own deficient world, Ixtepejanos repress their desire for better conditions, drink to create a more ideal environment, and disparage themselves—acts that only intensify a barely tolerable existence. Although world view is the prevailing focus of Kearney's cognitive study, other salient features of the cultural and social systems are effectively dealt with and interrelated, including politics, economics, and religion.

Title of related interest from Waveland Press: Chinas, La Zandunga: Of Fieldwork and Friendship in Southern Mexico (ISBN 9780881336801).