La Vida Y La Cultura De Los Shuar : Cazadores De Cabezas Del

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

La Vida Y La Cultura De Los Shuar : Cazadores De Cabezas Del LAVIDA Y LA CULTURA DE LOS SHUAR Rafael Karsten LAVIDA Y LA CULTURA DE LOS SHUAR CAZADORES DE CABEZAS DEL AMAZONAS OCCIDENTAL LA VIDA Y LA CULTURA DE LOS JÍBAROS DEL ESTE DEL ECUADOR Segunda Edición en español Ediciones Abya-Yala 2000 LA VIDA Y LA CULTURA DE LOS SHUAR Rafael Karsten Título original: The Head Hunters of Western Amazonas. The life and Culture of the Jívaro Indians of Eastern Ecua- dor and Perú Societas Scientiarum Fennica Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum. VII. 1. Helsingfors, 1935 1ra. edición: Ediciones Abya-Yala en Español Quito-Ecuador 1988 Banco Central del Ecuador Museo Antropológico-Guayaquil 2da. Edición: Ediciones Abya-Yala 2000 Casilla 17-12-719 Telf.: 562-633 / 504-247 Fax: 506-255 / 506-267 E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] wwwabyayala.org Quito-Ecuador Autoedición: Martha Vinueza M. ISBN: 9978-04-602-X Impresión: Producciones digitales UPS Quito-Ecuador Traducción: María Clara Montaño; Jenny Iglesias y Héctor Dueñas Impreso en Quito-Ecuador, Mayo del 2000 INDICE INTRODUCCION. 17 Primera parte MIS VIAJES EN EL OESTE DEL AMAZONAS Capítulo I Mi expedición al Bobonaza y Pastaza . 35 Capítulo II Canelos y sus habitantes. 39 Capítulo III Mi expedición a los Achuaras . 43 Capítulo IV Expedición al río Upano, río Santiago y al alto río Pastaza . 53 Capítulo V Una fiesta india de cazadores de cabezas . 61 Capítulo VI Mi expedición a los Aguaruna . 70 Segunda parte CULTURA MATERIAL Capítulo I Aspecto físico, vestido y ornamento . 85 Capítulo II La casa (hea, huasi) . 91 Capítulo III Artefactos . 97 Capítulo IV Alimentos . 105 Capítulo V Agricultura . 111 Capítulo VI La cacería . 123 Capítulo VII La pesca . 145 6 RAFAEL KARSTEN Tercera parte VIDA SOCIAL Capítulo I Organización social . 151 Capítulo II Compromiso y matrimonio . 153 Capítulo III La fiesta femenina del tabaco (Noa Tsangu) . 157 Capítulo IV Costumbres matrimoniales de los indios Canelos . 167 Capítulo V Vida sexual . 171 Capítulo VI Costumbres en el nacimiento . 179 Capítulo VII Educación de los niños; ceremonias de la pubertad . 185 Capítulo VIII La vida diaria, las visitas, el comercio . 191 Capítulo IX Moral social. Posición de la mujer . 197 Cuarta parte LAS GUERRAS Y LAS FIESTAS DE LA VICTORIA Notas generales . 203 Capítulo I Medios de defensa . 205 Capítulo II Jefes y guerras . 209 Capítulo III Causas de la guerra . 211 Capítulo IV Cómo se llevan a cabo las venganzas y guerras . 217 Capítulo V La cabeza trofeo (Tsantsa) y su preparación . 225 Capítulo VI El lavado de la sangre (Numbuimartinyu) . 231 Capítulo VII La fiesta de la pintura con Genipa sua (Suamartinyu) . 237 Capítulo VIII La fiesta final de la victoria (Einsupani) . 241 Capítulo IX La danza wimchi . 243 LA VIDAYLACULTURA DE LOS SHUAR 7 Capítulo X La preparación de la chicha de yuca y del vino de yuca . 247 Capítulo XI El primer día de la fiesta. Inauguración (Utsandowai) . 251 Capítulo XII El segundo día de la fiesta. Beber el natema (Umartinyu) . 259 Capítulo XIII El tercer día de la fiesta. Lavado de la tsantsa (Nihantsa nihartinyu) . 261 Capítulo XIV El sacrificio de los cerdos. (Cuchi ahiktahei matinyu) . 269 Capítulo XV El último día de la fiesta. Conclusión (Nambera shiakma) . 271 Capítulo XVI Ultimas observaciones sobre la fiesta de la tsantsa . 275 Quinta parte RELIGION - ARTE - CIENCIA Capítulo I Ideas religiosas de los Jívaros . 279 Capítulo II Las ideas religiosas de los Canelos . 289 Capítulo III Ideas sobre la enfermedad y la muerte . 293 Capítulo IV El curandero y su iniciación . 297 Capítulo V El curandero como brujo . 301 Capítulo VI El curandero como sanador . 305 Capítulo VII Ceremonias y ritos religiosos . 311 Capítulo VIII Bebidas narcóticas. Divinación . 317 Capítulo IX Supersticiones varias. 329 Capítulo X La vida futura - Costumbres funerarias y de duelo . 331 Capítulo XI Costumbres funerarias y de duelo entre los indios Canelos . 337 Capítulo XII El juego huayru de los quichuas . 345 Capítulo XIII Arte . ..
Recommended publications
  • Rahm Uaf 0006E 10262.Pdf
    Deconstructing the western worldview: toward the repatriation and indigenization of wellness Item Type Thesis Authors Rahm, Jacqueline Marie Download date 23/09/2021 13:22:54 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4821 DECONSTRUCTING THE WESTERN WORLDVIEW: TOWARD THE REPATRIATION AND INDIGENIZATION OF WELLNESS A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Jacqueline Marie Rahm, B.A., M.A. Fairbanks, Alaska December 2014 Abstract As Indigenous peoples and scholars advance Native histories, cultures, and languages, there is a critical need to support these efforts by deconstructing the western worldview in a concerted effort to learn from indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing for humanity’s future wellbeing. Toward that imperative, this research brings together and examines pieces of the western story as they intersect with Indigenous peoples of the lands that now comprise the United States of America. Through indigenous frameworks and methodologies, it explores a forgotten epistemology of the pre-Socratic and Pythagorean Archaic and Classical Greek eras that is far more similar to indigenous worldviews than it is to the western paradigm today. It traces how the West left behind this timeless wisdom for the “new learning” and the European colonial settlers arrived in the old “New World” with a fragmented, materialistic, and dualistic worldview that was the antithesis to those of Indigenous peoples. An imbalanced and privileged worldview not only justified an unacknowledged genocide in world history, it is characteristic of a psycho-spiritual disease that plays out across our global society.
    [Show full text]
  • The Position of Indigenous Peoples in the Management of Tropical Forests
    THE POSITION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TROPICAL FORESTS Gerard A. Persoon Tessa Minter Barbara Slee Clara van der Hammen Tropenbos International Wageningen, the Netherlands 2004 Gerard A. Persoon, Tessa Minter, Barbara Slee and Clara van der Hammen The Position of Indigenous Peoples in the Management of Tropical Forests (Tropenbos Series 23) Cover: Baduy (West-Java) planting rice ISBN 90-5113-073-2 ISSN 1383-6811 © 2004 Tropenbos International The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Tropenbos International. No part of this publication, apart from bibliographic data and brief quotations in critical reviews, may be reproduced, re-recorded or published in any form including print photocopy, microfilm, and electromagnetic record without prior written permission. Photos: Gerard A. Persoon (cover and Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7), Carlos Rodríguez and Clara van der Hammen (Chapter 5) and Barbara Slee (Chapter 6) Layout: Blanca Méndez CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 1. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND NATURAL RESOURCE 3 MANAGEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL POLICY GUIDELINES 1.1 The International Labour Organization 3 1.1.1 Definitions 4 1.1.2 Indigenous peoples’ position in relation to natural resource 5 management 1.1.3 Resettlement 5 1.1.4 Free and prior informed consent 5 1.2 World Bank 6 1.2.1 Definitions 7 1.2.2 Indigenous Peoples’ position in relation to natural resource 7 management 1.2.3 Indigenous Peoples’ Development Plan and resettlement 8 1.3 UN Draft Declaration on the
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous and Tribal People's Rights Over Their Ancestral Lands
    INTER‐AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 56/09 30 December 2009 Original: Spanish INDIGENOUS AND TRIBAL PEOPLES’ RIGHTS OVER THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES Norms and Jurisprudence of the Inter‐American Human Rights System 2010 Internet: http://www.cidh.org E‐mail: [email protected] OAS Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data Derechos de los pueblos indígenas y tribales sobre sus tierras ancestrales y recursos naturales: Normas y jurisprudencia del sistema interamericano de derechos humanos = Indigenous and tribal people’s rights over their ancestral lands and natural resources: Norms and jurisprudence of the Inter‐American human rights system / [Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights.] p. ; cm. (OEA documentos oficiales ; OEA/Ser.L)(OAS official records ; OEA/Ser.L) ISBN 978‐0‐8270‐5580‐3 1. Human rights‐‐America. 2. Indigenous peoples‐‐Civil rights‐‐America. 3. Indigenous peoples‐‐Land tenure‐‐America. 4. Indigenous peoples‐‐Legal status, laws, etc.‐‐America. 5. Natural resources‐‐Law and legislation‐‐America. I. Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights. II Series. III. Series. OAS official records ; OEA/Ser.L. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.56/09 Document published thanks to the financial support of Denmark and Spain Positions herein expressed are those of the Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights and do not reflect the views of Denmark or Spain Approved by the Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights on December 30, 2009 INTER‐AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS MEMBERS Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero Víctor E. Abramovich Felipe González Sir Clare Kamau Roberts Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro Florentín Meléndez Paolo G. Carozza ****** Executive Secretary: Santiago A.
    [Show full text]
  • Modes of Dispossession of Indigenous Lands and Territories in Africa
    Modes of Dispossession of Indigenous Lands and Territories in Africa Elifuraha I. Laltaika1 and Kelly M. Askew2 I. Background and context3 The 2003 Report of Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities (WGIP) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) recognized the existence of multiple indigenous peoples in Africa primarily consisting of pastoralists (e.g., Pokot, Maasai, Barbaig, Karamajong, Samburu, Turkana, Afar, Borana, Tuareg, and Fulani) and hunter-gatherers (e.g., Batwa, Hadzabe, Ogiek and San). These peoples require access to land and water resources in their ancestral territories to pursue their legally protected ways of life per the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). However, powerful transnational corporations and conservation organizations—both typically aligned with local political and economic elites—were already identified in the 2003 WGIP report as a threat to indigenous lands, resources and livelihoods: Dispossession of land and natural resources is a major human rights problem for indigenous peoples. They have in so many cases been pushed out of their traditional areas to give way for the economic interests of other more dominant groups and to large scale development initiatives that tend to destroy their lives and cultures rather than improve their situation. Establishment of protected areas and national parks have impoverished indigenous pastoralist and hunter-gatherer communities, made them vulnerable and unable to cope with environmental uncertainty and in many cases even displaced them. Large-scale extraction of natural resources such as logging, mining, dam construction, oil drilling and pipeline construction have had very negative impacts on the livelihoods of indigenous pastoralist and hunter-gatherer communities in Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • Territorios A'i Cofan1, Siekóya Pâi2 , Siona3, Shuar4 Y Kichwa5 Zona Baja De La Reserva De Producción Faunística Cuyabeno
    TERRITORIOS A’I COFAN1, SIEKÓYA PÂI2 , SIONA3, SHUAR4 Y KICHWA5 ZONA BAJA DE LA RESERVA DE PRODUCCIÓN FAUNÍSTICA CUYABENO Sucumbíos y Orellana, Ecuador INFORME DEL PROYECTO “DISCUSIONES SOBRE ÁREAS COMUNITARIAS PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN” Paulina Ormaza6, Fernando Bajaña7 1 El Pueblo cofán se autodenomina A’I que significa “gente de verdad” en la lengua a’inagae utilizada por el Pueblo Cofán. 2 Los Secoya se autodenominan siekóya pâi, “gente del Río rayas” de lengua pai’coca 3 Los siona eran referidos como san’niwu pai o gente del río arriba 4 Autodenominación que en Shuar chichan significa “gente” 5 Kichwa del oriente se autodenomina Runa que en Quichua (runa shimi) significa “gente”, existe diferencias con los Kichwas de la Sierra. 6 Responsable del trabajo ante CENESTA. 7 Coordinador (Natura- Ecolex) del Proyecto Cuyabeno Amaznor, Programa de Desarrollo Sostenible de la Frontera Amazónica Norte del Ecuador, Amaznor, (actualmente Plan Ecuador) ACRÓNIMOS ACOINCO Asociación de Comunidades Indígenas de la Nacionalidad Cofán ACCi Área de Conservación Comunitaria Indígena CAN Comunidad Andina de Naciones CDB Convenio de Diversidad Biológica CODENPE Consejo de Nacionalidades y Pueblos del Ecuador COICA Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica CONAIE Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador CONFENIAE Confederación de Nacionalidades Amazónicas del Ecuador ECORAE Instituto para el Ecodesarrollo Regional Amazónico FCUNAE Federación de Comunas Unión de Nativos de la Amazonía Ecuatoriana FEINCE Federación de la
    [Show full text]
  • Funding Indigenous Peoples Strategies for Support
    PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR FUNDERS FUNDING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORT in partnership with grantcraft.org @grantcraft In Funding Indigenous Peoples: Strategies for Support, we look at how funders collaborate with and bring support to indigenous communities around the world. Through examples from a diverse range of foundations, we will explore how grantmakers work with indigenous peoples, the approaches they take, and the practices they find effective. This guide relies on information from over 25 interviews, a GrantCraft survey, and existing resources. A definitions page offers explanation of key terms in the report. Information derived from historic events or other published work is compiled in the closing section. This guide was developed in collaboration with International Funders for Look for this icon in the guide to give you ideas Indigenous Peoples (IFIP). It was written by Jenn Tierney and edited by for what you can do next: Jen Bokoff. Special thanks to Evelyn Arce, who infused the guide with vision and leadership. Additional support was provided by Lourdes Inga, Luminita Cuna, Erin Nylen-Wysocki, Yumi Sera, Davis Winslow, and Anayana White. Design by Christine Innamorato. Action step Funding for this guide was generously provided by the Christensen Fund, Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Ford Foundation, HBH Fund, LUSH Cosmetics Charity Pot, and Oak Foundation. To access this guide and other resources, please visit grantcraft.org or internationalfunders.org. You are welcome to excerpt, copy, or quote from GrantCraft materials, with attribution to GrantCraft and inclusion of the copyright. GrantCraft is a service of Foundation Center. For further information, please e-mail [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • An Inconceivable Indigeneity: the Historical, Cultural, and Interactional Dimensions of Puerto Rican Taíno Activism
    An Inconceivable Indigeneity: The Historical, Cultural, and Interactional Dimensions of Puerto Rican Taíno Activism by Sherina Feliciano-Santos A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in the University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Barbra A. Meek, Chair Professor Bruce Mannheim Professor Judith T. Irvine Professor Ruth Behar Associate Professor Lawrence M. La Fountain-Stokes © Sherina Feliciano-Santos 2011 DEDICATION Para Mami y Daddy Por el apoyo incondicional y por siempre creer en mi, aún cuando a mi misma se me hacía díficil. Por ser modelos de humanidad e integridad. Por ser mis padres, los quiero. También a Abuelito, Porque fuiste ejemplo y siempre te llevaré conmigo. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Five years ago, in a meeting to talk about my final paper proposal on Jibaridad in Puerto Rico, Tom Trautmann asked if there were any indigenous movements in the Island. After a responding with a resolute ―NO,‖ I thought about it and remembered that the prior summer I had read an article in a newspaper about a group of people claiming to be Taíno protesting the management of the Caguana ceremonial site in Utuado, PR. It was this question and my own response to it, which led to the questions that would ultimately inform this dissertation project. For asking that initial question, I want to thank Tom Trautmann. Barb Meek has been an exceptional teacher, mentor, advisor, and friend. During my many years at Michigan, Barb guided me in thinking about language, indigeneity, field methods, and analysis. I feel deeply fortunate to have had her exceptional input and her unwavering support throughout my graduate student career.
    [Show full text]
  • Languages of the Middle Andes in Areal-Typological Perspective: Emphasis on Quechuan and Aymaran
    Languages of the Middle Andes in areal-typological perspective: Emphasis on Quechuan and Aymaran Willem F.H. Adelaar 1. Introduction1 Among the indigenous languages of the Andean region of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and northern Argentina, Quechuan and Aymaran have traditionally occupied a dominant position. Both Quechuan and Aymaran are language families of several million speakers each. Quechuan consists of a conglomerate of geo- graphically defined varieties, traditionally referred to as Quechua “dialects”, not- withstanding the fact that mutual intelligibility is often lacking. Present-day Ayma- ran consists of two distinct languages that are not normally referred to as “dialects”. The absence of a demonstrable genetic relationship between the Quechuan and Aymaran language families, accompanied by a lack of recognizable external gen- etic connections, suggests a long period of independent development, which may hark back to a period of incipient subsistence agriculture roughly dated between 8000 and 5000 BP (Torero 2002: 123–124), long before the Andean civilization at- tained its highest stages of complexity. Quechuan and Aymaran feature a great amount of detailed structural, phono- logical and lexical similarities and thus exemplify one of the most intriguing and intense cases of language contact to be found in the entire world. Often treated as a product of long-term convergence, the similarities between the Quechuan and Ay- maran families can best be understood as the result of an intense period of social and cultural intertwinement, which must have pre-dated the stage of the proto-lan- guages and was in turn followed by a protracted process of incidental and locally confined diffusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Pan-Amazon Region
    OAS/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 176 29 September 2019 Original: Spanish INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Situation of Human Rights of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Pan-Amazon Region 2019 iachr.org OAS Cataloging-in-Publication Data Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Situation of human rights of the indigenous and tribal peoples of the Pan-Amazon region : Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on September 29, 2019. p. ; cm. (OAS. Official records ; OEA/Ser.L/V/II) ISBN 978-0-8270-6931-2 1. Indigenous peoples--Civil rights--Amazon River Region. 2. Indigenous peoples-- Legal status, laws, etc.--Amazon River Region. 3. Human rights--Amazon River Region. I. Title. II. Series. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.176/19 INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Members Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño Joel Hernández García Antonia Urrejola Margarette May Macaulay Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva Flávia Piovesan Executive Secretary Paulo Abrão Assistant Executive Secretary for Monitoring, Promotion and Technical Cooperation María Claudia Pulido Assistant Executive Secretary for the Case, Petition and Precautionary Measure System Marisol Blanchard a.i. Chief of Staff of the Executive Secretariat of the IACHR Fernanda Dos Anjos In collaboration with: Soledad García Muñoz, Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (ESCER) Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on September 29, 2019 INDEX EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 INTRODUCTION 19 CHAPTER 1 | INTER-AMERICAN STANDARDS ON INDIGENOUS AND TRIBAL PEOPLES APPLICABLE TO THE PAN-AMAZON REGION 27 A. Inter-American Standards Applicable to Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in the Pan-Amazon Region 29 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Unraveling the Mystery of the Origin of Ayahuasca by Gayle Highpine1
    ______________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info Unraveling the Mystery of the Origin of Ayahuasca by Gayle Highpine1 ABSTRACT For decades, researchers have puzzled over the mystery of the origin of Ayahuasca, especially the question of how the synergy was discovered between the the two components of the brew: the vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) with a monoamine oxidase inhibiting (MAOI) action and the leaf (Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana), which requires that MAOI action to make their dimethyltryptamine (DMT) orally active. Drawing from two years of fieldwork among Napo Runa Indian shamans, cross-dialect studies of Quechua, and the record of anthropological data, I contend that the botanical origin of B. caapi was on the Napo River; that the original form of Ayahuasca shamanism employed the vine Banisteriopsis caapi alone; that the shamanic use of Banisteriopsis caapi alone spread and diffused before the DMT-containing admixtures were discovered; that the synergy between B. caapi and Psychotria viridis was discovered in the region of present-day Iquitos, the synergy between B. caapi and Diplopterys cabrerana was discovered around the upper Putumayo River, and that each combination diffused from there; and that the discoveries of these synergies came about because of the traditional practice of mixing other medicinal plants with Ayahuasca brew. Among the Napo Runa, the Ayahuasca vine is considered “the mother of all plants” and a mediator and translator between the human and plant worlds, helping humans and plants to communicate with each other. 1 The author has a BA in Applied Linguistics and an MA in Educational Policy, Foundations, and Administration from Portland State University.
    [Show full text]
  • Misappropriation of Shuar Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Trade Secrets: a Case Study on Biopiracy in the Amazon Winston P
    University of Florida Levin College of Law UF Law Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications Faculty Scholarship 2010 Misappropriation of Shuar Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Trade Secrets: A Case Study on Biopiracy in the Amazon Winston P. Nagan University of Florida Levin College of Law, [email protected] Eduardo J. Mordujovich Judit K. Otvos Jason Taylor Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/facultypub Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Winston P. Nagan, Eduardo J. Mordujovich, Judit K. Otvos, & Jason Taylor, Misappropriation of Shuar Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Trade Secrets: A Case Study on Biopiracy in the Amazon, 15 J. Tech. L. & Pol'y 9 (2010), available at http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/ facultypub/458 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at UF Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UF Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ARTICLES MISAPPROPRIATION OF SHUAR TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE (TK) AND TRADE SECRETS: A CASE STUDY ON BIOPIRACY IN THE AMAZON Winston P. Nagan* with EduardoJ. Mordujovich, JuditK. Otvos, & Jason Taylor* I. INTRODUCTION ......................................... 10 II. BIOPROSPECTING TURNED BIoPIRAcY IN THE SHUAR NATION ..... 15 A. The Lure of the Shuar Heritage ............... ..... 15 B. Bioprospectingfor the Ostensible Preservationof Biodiversity ......... ............. 21 C. How the Model of Bioprospecting Works ... .............. 23 D. Misappropriationof Shuar TK: A Case Summary of Biopiracy.......... ................. 26 VII. Is TK PROPERTY? . 27 A. Propertyin Indigenous Communities ........... ..... 27 B. Propertyand Legal Theory. .................. ..... 29 C. TK as Property. ...................... ......... 31 VIII.
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous Peoples and State Formation in Modern Ecuador
    1 Indigenous Peoples and State Formation in Modern Ecuador A. KIM CLARK AND MARC BECKER The formal political system is in crisis in Ecuador: the twentieth century ended with a four-year period that saw six different governments. Indeed, between 1997 and 2005, four of nine presidents in Latin America who were removed through irregular procedures were in Ecuador.1 Sociologist Leon Zamosc calls Ecuador “one of the most, if not the most, unstable country in Latin America.”2 At the same time, the Ecuadorian Indian movement made important gains in the last decade of the twentieth century, and for at least some sectors of society, at the turn of the twenty-first century had more pres- tige than traditional politicians did. The fact that Ecuador has a national-level indigenous organization sets it apart from other Latin American countries. National and international attention was drawn to this movement in June 1990, when an impressive indigenous uprising paralyzed the country for sev- eral weeks. Grassroots members of the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (CONAIE, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) marched on provincial capitals and on Quito, kept their agricul- tural produce off the market, and blocked the Pan-American Highway, the country’s main north-south artery. The mobilization was organized to draw attention to land disputes in the Ecuadorian Amazon (Oriente) and highlands (Sierra), and ended when the government agreed to negotiate a 16-point agenda presented by CONAIE.3 Since 1990, Ecuadorian Indians have become increasingly involved in national politics, not just through “uprising politics,” but also through 1 © 2007 University of Pittsburgh Press.
    [Show full text]