L ry and the Tupi Culture
In 1556 Jean de Léry, a young Protestant pastor, accompanied a group of ministers to Brazil to tend to Nicolas Durand de Villegagnons settlers. ... In the book, he presents a detailed description of the culture and customs of a tribe of sympathetic but shockingly cannibalistic native Indians. Emerged in a culture that is drastically different from that of his own, Léry —through careful observations—gives an impartial account of the Tupi civilization, simply noting the disparities rather than condemning them. Though Léry bares no feelings of superiority and evaluates the Tupi culture in a fair and equal light, he does not take part but rather remain outside of the Tupi culture as a curious and sympathizing foreign observer. In his narrative, Léry is noted for his relative open-mindedness and willingness to meet the Tupi on equal terms. ... For example, Léry went through an extensive description of the appearances of the Tupinambas. ... Just as when Léry describes the Tupinamba custom of piercing the lower lip just above the chin to wear certain well-polished bones or stones, he notes that: Sometimes when the adornments are removed, the Tupinamba amuse themselves by sticking their tongues through that slip in the lip, giving the impression to the onlooker that they have two mouths (58). ... Whenever he did insert personal views, they are mild criticisms of aspects of his own culture in the light of some commendable rudiments of the Tupi culture. It seems as if Léry felt that because he was foreign to the Tupi culture, he had no right to judge, no right to say their view of beauty is grotesque and disgusting. ... However, when it comes to aspects of his own culture that he disliked, he expresses his opinions much more liberally, as if he felt he had the right to criticize because the culture was his own and he was much more familiar with it.