La Tierra sin Mal: Historia de un mito

The Apapocúva-Guarani myth of the " Land without Evil " appears in Americanist literature as penned by Curt Unkel Nimuendajú in 1914. In his book that goes on to deeply influence contemporary studies of the Guarani, Nimuendajú suggests that the " migration " of Guarani groups in the nineteenth century from the Mato Grosso eastward were explained based on the search of the lost paradise of the " Land without Evil ". He then suggested that the same explanation could be applied to many others Tupi-Guarani " migrations " in colonial or precolonial times. The suggestion was taken literally by Alfred Metraux and after him by many researchers. The " Land Without Evil " has become the mainstay of the Guarani religiosity and an unavoidable anthropological literature theme. It was only during the past two decades that strong criticism has emerged, protesting against the use, deemed abusive, of a single myth to interpret different religiosities or " migrations " occurring over several centuries. These critiques, however, left intact the basis of Nimuendaju hypothesis and have not taken the issue of " migration " of the nineteenth century. This article aims to examine this founding framework of Gua-rani studies. Far from taking sides in the debate, it strives to situate the myth and the Apapocúva migration in their historical context. Replace on the one hand the " migrations " of the nineteenth century in their historical context, particularly indigenist policies of the moment; rebuild on the other hand approach and the circumstances that enabled Ni-muendaju, sixty years after the " migration " to issue his hypothesis. This work does not only allow for a new reading of the " Land without Evil " ;