The liturgical challenge to historical temporality: from St. Dominic’s Ways Of Prayer to the contemporary Ikoots mipoch dios (‘God’s Words’) of San Mateo del Mar (Oaxaca, Mexico)

In this work, I argue that the texts of Ikoots (Huave) orations (mipoch dios, “God’s words”), performed in Ombeayiüts (‘our mouth’) in the religious and political rituals of San Mateo del Mar (Oaxaca, Mexico), share a particular “monosemic attitude”, as they are prescriptive and detailed, especially as regards gestures and the sequence of acts that must be fulfilled. Each ritual therefore assumes an intrinsic position towards both a macro and a micro temporal context – respectively, history, and the ritual itself – since they must confront and control their temporalities. The “monosemic attitude” is a way to resist and struggle against history, the temporality of everyday life, and the arbitrariness which puts at risk the specific conventions established by each ritual.