The insufficiency of the lyrical I

an ontological debate based on Marubo songs, translated by Pedro Cesarino

Abstract

In this article, I propose to discuss the limits of the “lyrical I” category, by carrying out a critical reading of an Amerindian poetic, the shamanic songs of the Marubo, translated by the anthropologist Pedro Cesarino (2011; 2013). Bearing in mind the importance of the pragmatic dimension to the debate, initially the relation between the Marubo worldview and ayahuasca will be presented, also in order to introduce the notion of the person concerned. Afterwards, resuming some systematizations around the lyrical self in modernity (Hamburguer, 1975), the comparative perspective will be mobilized, reflecting on the ontological distinctions and their enunciative developments, considering the subject and object relation. During the analysis, two fragments of Marubo songs will be focused on, one from a mythical narrative (saiti) and one from iniki, a poetic genre determined by being someone else's speech. At the end, as a way of lining up the discussion, the following points will be revisited: the presence of ayahuasca in the Marubo sociocosm, the importance of understanding the differences and encounters at stake and, finally, the possibility of other readings of the category of lyrical I, from an ontological perspective.