Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the discourse(s) of “ignorance”-or rather partial awareness- as used by Navajo individuals when discussing aspects which shape their cultural knowledge.

Paper long abstract:

Anthropological analyses has long focused on "ignorance" throughout the period of fieldwork and data collection; namely, there has been a -well founded- focus on "ignorance" of the researcher which can generate knowledge through the reflexive awareness of difficulties and biases in the field. Much less work has been done on looking at "ignorance" as a social phenomenon that may extend to (certain) research participants and on how this can be approached as a tool for analyzing shifts in conceptualization(s) of culture and tradition(s). Drawing from my ongoing fieldwork on disability perceptions among the Navajo, I present some of the factors that have produced and sustained cultural unawareness. In addition, I place particular emphasis on partial cultural awareness as a signifier of cultural appropriateness: language and knowledge carry with them very real power and not everyone can-or should- be privy to specialized cultural knowledge (as with some healing practices, for example). This (conscious) unawareness of particular aspects of knowledge extends not only to those who do not share common tribal affiliation, but may also be true for persons within Navajo culture. Acquisition of specialized cultural knowledge, or the lack of it, can be attributed not only to social roles and functions (healing practitioners/patients), but also to personal, family, religious background. "Not knowing", therefore, not only safeguards individuals against unwelcome consequences, for example imbalance, that can manifest in illness of the self or others; it also frames and ensures the continuation of particular social roles and cultural performances.