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[ xxiii ] Sullivan [33: v ] has distinguished two systematic tendencies in Native South American soul beliefs: (1) physiological, which affirms that the soul is a spiritual element situated in specific body parts, coterminous with the functioning of bodily organs and defined by ‘animal’ appetites (food, sex); often, such souls extend to animals, who are the doubles of human soul-elements; (2) epistemological, in which spiritual elements are associated with specific human faculties (thought, memory). Here, the human being is affirmed as a self-contained and autonomous being set apart from the object of its perceptions. In some cultures, souls are linked in a network extending back to the primordium; in others, the soul is associated with ceremonial groups based on names, residence or types of ritual performance. Frequently, multiple souls gained throughout a lifetime comprise the person, each of which is transformed at the moment of death. Dream-souls and dream interpretation are particularly important in numerous cultures. Sonic imagery – in naming ceremonies, sacred music and song – is everywhere constitutive of the person. Articulated to the notion of the person is a rich symbolism of corporality through which South American cultures express fundamental values used to understand spaces constitutive of human life. [2] ... log in or subscribe to read full text