Indigenous Cosmologies in Light of New Epistemological and Political Trends of the Global South

The essential difference between indigenous religions and world religions is in the understanding of the “man-Nature” relationship. While the former perceive man as an equal actor in the establishment of cosmic harmony, placing him alongside all other living and non-living beings of creation, the latter place him in the centre of the world. The Christian religious tradition on the one side, and the Cartesian ontological dualism and methodological empiricism on the other, have strongly influenced the development of Western scientific thought. Over the past decades, the social sciences and humanities have made a great step forward: contributing to new interpretations of global economic and social laws, as well as of the hybridisation of ethnic identities, and starting to cooperate more closely with empirical sciences. The problem arises when self-indulgent introspection disqualifies any other type of knowledge as “non-scientific,” “local,” “romantic,” imperfect. At the beginning of the 21st century, the indigenous cosmology entered the political discourse and ideology of numerous social movements of the Global South. Based on a comparative analysis of three concrete indigenous cosmological and religious models (man vs. Nature relationship), this article seeks to draw attention to the need for a pluralism of mental concepts and social practices.

The Conquest of Española as a “Structure of Conjuncture”

This article delves into the conquest and early years of colonization of Española from the perspective of the “structure of the conjuncture.” By doing so it prioritizes the Indigenous perspective of conquest, particularly that of the cacique Guacanagarí, who formed the first alliance with the Spaniards in 1492. The article follows the development of the historic alliance, digging beneath the surface of historical chronicles to reveal Indigenous cosmology and agency throughout the skirmishes and intrigue of colonization. In so doing it shows that during the first years of Caribbean colonization, the Spaniards were not in control as all actors were engaging in a novel environment, the structure of the conjuncture. The situation did change by the early 1500s, but the imprint of the structure of the conjuncture was felt for decades to come.

Bolivian textile crafts and the subversion of institutionalized sustainability

This article describes the tensions between institutionalized and grassroots forms of sustainability and their subsequent effects on textile artisans in La Paz, Bolivia. Principles of the indigenous cosmology Suma Qamaña are applied to the twenty-first-century challenge of environmental degradation and governmental corruption in the description of craft practices at two artisan collectives in La Paz. Suma Qamaña is an expression of the harmonious and respectful coexistence of humans with nature, which entails communal values and reciprocal resource management principles. The study highlights grassroots, practical solutions that encourage economic and environmental sustainability for textile cooperatives in Bolivia. Through extensive participant observation and in-depth interviews, this study seeks to understand how the lives of artisans are affected by the Bolivian government’s appropriation of the Suma Qamaña cosmology. The current political party, the Movimiento al Socialismo, has gained popular support in Bolivia partly by institutionalizing the inherent rights of nature in the national constitution. Despite this, the government continues to pursue extractive natural resource policies. To counter this, Bolivian textile artisans practise their own version of bottom-up sustainability, which does not rely on government institutions to enforce change. The artisans’ situated practices, traditional knowledge base and the inherently sustainable characteristics of craft production ‐ flexible, small-scale, localized and resilient ‐ reflect potential trends and alternatives for apparel production.

Slow Food, Shared Values, and Indigenous Empowerment in an Alternative Commodity Chain Linking Brazil and Europe

This article explores governance and power relations within the guaraná (Paullinia cupana) global commodity chain (GCC) of the Sateré-Mawé, an Indigenous group of the Lower Amazon, Brazil. The paper draws on ethnographic work and joint field research in Pará, Brazil and pursues an interdisciplinary approach combining economic geography and anthropological interest in ontological diversity. It describes the guaraná value chain in commodity chain terms, and discusses issues of narrative, transformation, and power in the community of values associated with the chain. Guaraná is a ritual beverage of central importance to Indigenous cosmology and is now a commodity traded within the global Fair Trade network. We found that the commodity chain is the result of not only economically, but also politically motivated Indigenous and European actors. It has a simple organization and is based on inter-personal business relations, with neither retailers nor producers controlling the chain. In this context, diverse actors, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous agents, cooperate in a joint project despite their, at times, differing values. These values are discernable in the narratives and discourses braided around the chain. This paper identifies the values at work and the tensions and dissonances produced as they rub against each other. It argues that, far from making the chain unmanageable, the tensions are creative and help the chain’s participants to bridge between Brazil and Europe.

“Stay Strong, Stay Sexy, Stay Native”: Storying Indigenous youth HIV prevention activism

BackgroundTaking Action II is a community-based participatory action research project that adopted a strengths-based approach to thinking about Indigenous youth HIV prevention activism. Eighteen diverse Indigenous youth leaders produced digital stories about Indigenizing HIV prevention during the summer of 2012 at a week-long retreat. Youth were interviewed twice: right after they created their stories and again after community screenings. In the summer of 2013, youth reunited to collaboratively analyze the themes and meanings of their stories. Seven overlapping themes emerged that demonstrated how youth see HIV in the context of their lives' and community. The stories make connections between HIV and structural violence, culture and relationships. In particular, in the context of HIV prevention, they focus on (1) the role of family and elders, (2) traditional sacred notions of sexuality, (3) the importance of education, (4) reclaiming history, (5) focusing on strength, (6) Indigenous cosmology and (7) overcoming addictions. In contrast to conventional public health messaging, youth produced stories rarely focused on individual harm reduction strategies. Instead, ideas of Indigeneity and decolonization were foregrounded as key strategies for health promotion work.

Victims and Warriors

This chapter brings together several strands of the book's argument that memories of violence are not only about establishing a sense of mutual experience and kinship but are also the basis of alterity and revenge. Located at the intersection of indigenous cosmology, intercultural relations, and ongoing social transformations, these memories construe the relationships between past and present in ways that challenge dominant ideas about tradition, modernity, and indigenous peoples as historical objects. Just as shamans, kowori outsiders, and “uncontacted” people become targets of violence, so too are they remembered in certain contexts as kin. For many Waorani, violence not only leads to feelings of loss and anger but also to a certain “mutuality of being” with people whose kin become victims of violence. This chapter also considers recent events that have important consequences for the future of Waorani communities, such as changes in Ecuadorian national politics, proposals to halt oil development in the Yasuní National Park, and the escalation of violence between Waorani and Taromenani people.

Fruit in the Soil of Magic

This study aims to accentuate the effect of social realities that influence indigenous horticultural practices. The purpose of which is to help with the understanding of the formation of Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE’s), fertile anthropogenic soil patches that are widespread across Amazonia. A tentative operational chain is proposed, delineating the processes that go into the formation of a garden (swidden), using data collected on the Kayapó and Ka’apor Indians, in order to demonstrate that the choices of technique and technology involved in horticulture are socially conditioned. Combining pedological, biological and geographical approaches with anthropological ethnographies explaining indigenous cosmology helps to elucidate the processes that go into the creation of Amazonia as anthropogenic.