In the introduction to the MayX class, Performing Memory in Latin America, we looked at the articles “Funes de Memorious” by Jorge Luis Borges and “Communicative and Cultural Memory” by Jan Assman. In the “Funes de Memorious,” the narrator discusses a man named Funes and his special gift. The narrator, originally from Argentina, meets Funes when he is growing up with him in Fray Bentos, Uruguay during the late 1880s. Funes had an accident that left him paralyzed and bed ridden. He is left with the ability to remember everything. This included the names of constellations and the ability to learn many languages. Funes has even come up with his own number system. The problem with this number system is that it uses words that are already associated with specific things in the english language. He is not truly creating a new language. The community already recognizes these words. No one can understand his language because he is the only one who knows how it works. The narrator realizes towards the end of the story that Funes is never able to process thought and truly think on his own anymore. He will always be distracted with the facts. As a result of this realization, the narrator feels bad for Funes.
Jan Assman uncovers the how to distinguish the difference between cultural and communicative memory, how to discover the individual with memory, and the different types of memory. According to the author, cultural memory is an item, image, or something similar that represents a certain group of people or has significance for that group. For example, Americans identifies with the Statue of Liberty. Another example would be the Notre Dame in Paris, France. When it was ruined by the fire, the French came together and stood around it praying and singing. French billionaires raised money to fix the old church because of the significance to the French culture. Like cultural memory, communicative memory is also a form of collective memory. However, communicative memory is limited by who is alive and passing down the item, song, or story. A family heirloom or song may be passed down for a couple generations but then is lost over a long period of time. It does not have significance for the younger generations, is not celebrated by a big group, has not been passed through a learning institution, and does not have a tradition. The article also pursues the idea of an inner level and social level of memory. The inner level is focusing on one’s self and individual. The social memory focuses on the outside self and interaction with other people.
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