I, Rigoberta Menchú is a 1984 autobiography narrated by Rigoberta Menchú and recorded by Elizabeth Burgos. The autobiography tells Menchú's story as a member of the indigenous K'iche' tribe, from childhood through adulthood in the midst of the Guatemalan Civil War. Menchú describes the book as a "story of a people" rather than her personal story. It has been praised and credited for raising awareness of the indigenous people during the Guatemalan Civil War and for bringing Menchú into the spotlight as a human rights activist ^[1] After its initial publication I, Rigoberta Menchú became the focus of criticism by David Stoll, who stated that the autobiography was fictitious. ^[2]

Story

The novel chronicles Menchú's life from childhood through adulthood. Menchú describes K'iche' culture and aspects of their everyday life. She begins by describing her home El Quiche as "pratically a paradise." ^[3] As a child Menchú works as cheap labor picking coffee beans. She says that she never had a childhood and question how she grew up with lack of food to grow. She describes the internalize colonism that she went through including having to learn Spanish to survive. ^[4]

Menchú tells how her friend was killed for refusing to become a mistress to a land owner and how these crimes were common. Increased military activity would lead to Menchú's family increasing their role in protests which led to the death of her brother, and father. Menchú's mother was raped, tortured, and left for dead. ^[5]

Reception

Menchú was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples with I, Rigoberta Menchú credited for helping. ^[6]

In his review David E. Wishnat praised Menchú's description of K'iche' culture and for it's descriptive telling of Menchú's life, stating that "It reveals and dramatize in an especially powerful way the inescapable interpenetration of the personal, cultural, and political, dimension of the human experience." ^[5]

Linda Larson praised the book saying "This is a must-read for anyone interested in feminist politics; women's cultural roles; the status of the Indian community in Guatemala today; and the incredible power of language to separate people--or to bring them together." She particularly parised how Menchú talks about her culture and her optimism. ^[7]

In a review in The New York Times, reviewer Shirley Christian called the autobiography compelling but did critized if Menchú belief in the gurrielas was shared with other Indian Gutemalans. She says that evidence has shown that Indians trust neither the Government nor the gurriellas. ^[8]

Controversy

In 1998 anthropologist David Stroll published in the New York Times Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans that claimed that Menchú's testimony were fabricated. Stoll claims that Menchú was well off and that parts of her story like watching her brother die were fabricated. ^[9] Stolls says his purpose to researching this not to dismiss the victimization of indigenous Guatemalans but to show they were victimized by both the government and the guerrillas.

Menchú has not directly adressed the claims from Stoll but did say in response to her critics "That they are trying to do is erase the historical memory of all of the victims and the blood of all the Guatemalans. None of my accusers was (there) to see the suffering through which we passed." ^[10]

References