Connecting through wate

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
MASTER OF CULTURES AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
“Connecting through water”
The role of water in the daily life of the indigenous peoples in the
Peruvian Amazon
Promoter: Prof. Dr. C. STALLAERT
MASTER THESIS
Second reader: Prof. Dr. S. VAN WOLPUTTE submitted to obtain
the degree of
Master of Cultures
and Development
Studies
by
Anke LEFLERE
Academic year 2010-2011
This cover should be printed on paperboard (min. 120 gr.)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many people who supported and accompanied me during
the realization of this study, and I take this opportunity to thank some
of them.
Thank you to all the people who checked (parts of) my Masterpaper,
in particular Alberto Chirif who has been supporting me with
valuable insights and without him this Masterpaper would never be
what it is now. He provided me with relevant sources and at any
moment I could bother him with questions and present my analysis
for comments. Thank you! In addition, I would like to thank Ellen
Desmet, and others: Joke Lannoye, Felien De Smedt, Teresa
Novoa, Jutta Smolander, Juan Javier Rivera Andía and Frederik
Van Den Bril who took the time to have a look at my work and
share their comments.
In addition, I want to thank all the members of the Asociación
Putumayo Perú/ Bélgica, who gave me the opportunity to conduct
my research and collaborate in their organization. In particular I want
to thank Heleen Huysentruyt, Sarah Kerremans and Sixto
Shapiama del Castillo, who accompanied me on this amazing
experience and gave me the support and feedback to conduct a
successful internship and have a great time in Peru.
Thank you to all my informants, but in particular Lucia Lizeth
Reategui Silvano and Pedro Reategui Trigoso. They let me stay in
their tiny house together with them and both accompanied me to
learn from such a different reality and introduce me to informants.
My gratitude also goes to the Biblioteca Amazónica in Iquitos for
taking so many copies, so that I could take home the valuable
material.
And finally, I want to thank the CADES program and my promoter
Christiane Stallaert, without their support I would never have been
confident enough to conduct this research and go through this
valuable learning experience. Thank you!
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ABSTRACT
This study addresses the issue of the relationship between
Amazonian peoples and water and assesses the impact of oil
contamination and the related social conflict. In the Amazonian
reality, the river is a central element. Despite the degeneration of the
environment, fishing is an important subsistence activity related to
specific knowledge of the Amazonian environment. Water from the
river is perceived as clean and consummated by the local population
and the river is the place for physical and spiritual purification. The
people perform rituals that are related to fishing and purification,
since they believe in a multidimensional world where other beings
live, such as the water people and the mothers or spirits. The river
shapes a space for exchange, trade, contact with others, travel…
Nonetheless, it is also a space of connection in a negative sense.
Through accidental oil spills and the drainage of brackish water, the
rivers are contaminated. The fish population diminishes and changes
in features, people’s health is affected and the contamination causes
serious long-term illnesses. The hypothesis is formulated that their
habits related to the specific knowledge and identity are impacted,
since the relationship with water and the environment is central to
the construction of their reality. Moreover, the pollution creates a
social conflict between the petroleum companies, the Peruvian state
and the Amazonian peoples, where not only the right on consultation
such as established by the Convention 169 of the OIT is violated. But
at the heart of the conflict lies a different perception of environment
and development.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements…………………..……………………………..3
Abstract……………………………………………………..………4
Table of contents.……………………………………………..…….5
Abbreviations…………………………………………………..…...8
1. Introduction…………………………………………………......9
2. Research design……………………………………………...…11
Objectives and research questions………………………………....11
Methodology………………………………………………….……12
Situating the discussion……………………………………………16
AMAZONIAN PEOPLES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP
WITH WATER
3. Amazonian peoples in Peru: “Así vivimos”…………………19
Who are they?.................................................................................19
Amazonian peoples in this Masterpaper.........................................24
4. Imagining Water.......................................................................28
“We are the earth”...........................................................................28
The Airo-Pai and the other side......................................................30
“It is another world, it’s not like before”........................................32
5. “The world is alive because it has a mother”..........................33
6. Yacuruna – The water people...................................................36
7. Water and myths.......................................................................38
8. Purification................................................................................41
9. Fishing Techniques...................................................................43
Gathering fish..................................................................................46
Fishing with toxic materials - “Washing the river”........................47
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Harpoons and arrows........................................................................48
Fishing hook – Anzuelar...................................................................49
Trap...................................................................................................49
10. Cultivation.................................................................................50
11. Exchanging through the river..................................................53
PETROLEUM AND DEVELOPMENT
12. Petroleum in Peru.....................................................................57
Petroleum contamination..................................................................57
Consequences of petroleum contamination......................................61
Water..............................................................................................61
Aquatic and non-aquatic animals...................................................62
Cultivation......................................................................................65
The people......................................................................................65
13. Petroleum – Development or Poverty?....................................69
Social Conflict...................................................................................69
The dog in the manger.......................................................................72
Living well........................................................................................76
14. Conclusion: Connection through water..................................80
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APPENDICES
Appendix I: Map Peru
Appendix II: Peruvian Rainforest – Highlands – Desert Coast
Appendix III: Ethno-linguistic map of Peru
Appendix IV: Non-structured interviews with Kukama and KichwaRuna commoners and indigenous leaders - Questions
Appendix V: Song of an Airo-Pai shaman
Appendix VI: “La boa y la laguna”
Appendix VII: Kukama song to fish
Appendix VIII: Social conflicts in Peru
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ABREVIATIONS
ACODECOSPAT: Asociación por la Defensa del rio Marañón
APP: Asociación Putumayo Perú
APB: Asociación Putumayo Bélgica
CAAAP: Centro Amazónico de Atropología y Aplicación Práctica
FARC: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia
IBC: Instituto del Bien Común
IIAP: Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana
ILO: International Labour Organization
INDEPA: Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo de Pueblos Andinos,
Amazónicos y Afroperuanos
INEI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática
MEM: Ministerio de Energía y Minas
SERNANP: Servicio Nacional de Áreas Protegidas por el Estado
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1. Introduction
In this century of global warming, scarcity of water and
contamination by transnational companies are important issues. The
tropical rainforests of the Peruvian Amazon, fourth largest rainforest
worldwide, has emerged as a flashpoint for the oil industry in Latin
America in the last five years and a second oil boom is taking place.
The increase of social-environmental conflicts is associated with the
fact that oil concessions overlap with more than half of the
indigenous territories. In many of today’s newspapers and magazines
this contemporary tendency and the related conflict is portrayed as a
conflict between the Green Avatar and the diabolical oil company. I
decided to choose this subject for my research in order to tackle this
issue from another perspective. This study begins with exploring the
relationship that Amazonian peoples have with water. In the second
phase I describe how this relationship is affected by oil
contamination. The study portrays the dynamics underpinning the
social conflict. The Peruvian state denies the right to consultation as
established by ILO and endangers people's health and their way of
life by allowing petroleum extraction without severe sanctions for
contamination. Finally, this study illustrates that different
perceptions of environment and development lie at the heart of the
conflict.
In the first part, I present the relationship that Amazonian peoples
have with water. The omnipresence of water is a crucial element of
their reality. In the first section, I clarify the structure of my research,
the research questions and objectives, the methodology and denoted
disadvantages. In the setting of the discussion, I address how I define
the concept of community and people in this research. I sketch out
who the Amazonian peoples are and why address them as a whole.
Then the analysis moves to the concept of water. Contrary to the
occidental perspective, the Amazonian peoples perceive their reality
as multidimensional and one can engage in a social relationship with
beings living in specific spaces and places. For example, the water
people live under the surface of the river. Many animals can be
related to the water world and play a role in protecting the fish
population; they are called spirits or mothers. After exploring myths
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and rituals related to the river and the cosmological meaning of the
water/river, I illustrate how Amazonian peoples use water in their
daily life: physical and spiritual purification, fishing techniques,
cultivation and exchange. I conclude that water is not just a natural
resource, but additionally can be defined as a cultural one.
In part two, I describe the threats endangering the rivers, the daily
life and culture of indigenous people. I focus on the oil
contamination, since it is such a contested issue. Contamination on
the short and long term affects people’s health, the fish populations
and the water they drink, cook with, play in and bathe in. By one
informant this oil contamination is even called a new genocide.
Additionally, in many cases a social conflict arises between different
indigenous peoples on the one hand and the state and the oil
companies on the other. More than resources, also perceptions of
development and reality are at stake. According to the current head
of state, Alan García, development equates the extraction of natural
resources, to obtain profit and economical growth. The concept that
the Amazonian peoples have for development is different. Several
authors illustrate that the development concept within Amazonian
peoples is similar to the idea of living well (vivir bien). This concept
highlights the "no intrusion" and the search for harmonious
relationships with beings in the environment and people of the
community. It entails another perspective on poverty, which is far
more circumstantial. I wrap up this study by formulating a
conclusion in which I describe how water and the river shape spaces
of encounter and connection, but not always in a positive sense...
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2. Research design
In the next section I present the objectives of this study and the
research questions, followed by the methodology used to conduct
this research. Furthermore, I address the setting of the discussion, in
order to avoid the usual pitfalls and highlight the heterogeneity of the
different actors I describe in my research.
2.1 Objectives and research questions
The overall aim of this research is the analysis of the role of water in
the daily life of the indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon, in
attempt to fill an existing gap in today’s literature. Many studies
address the conflict caused by natural degradation between the
Peruvian state on the one hand and the indigenous populations on the
other. However, few articles take into account the wider framework
of encounter between actors with diverse meanings of reality. In my
opinion, at the heart of the conflict does not only lie the power over
natural resources, the right to life and the right to consultation as
established by the ILO. Moreover, it is a conflict between totally
different perceptions on the environment, natural resources and
development. My study attempts to address in which sense people
perceive their environment differently, in particular water and
explores the underpinning dynamics of the social conflict caused by
petroleum contamination. Finally, this study tries to be a
counterbalance against the articles that focus on the “loss” and do not
emphasize the agency and richness in/ of Amazonian reality.
Clearly, this study does not pretend to be an in-depth research of all
these different aspects, since the extent of a Masterpaper and denoted
internship are too limited. Nonetheless, it could contain an onset to
further research. This study represents my personal learning process.
It has been an enriching experience, constantly challenging my own
perceptions. In my opinion, the product has become a balanced
document between my political science background, the interest in
the Peruvian – indigenous peoples’ relationship, and the CADES
cultural sensitive perspective and development focus.
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Below I state the two main objectives. I examine the research
question through the information gathered during my fieldtrip and
relevant literature.
I.
To analyse the relationship Amazonian peoples have
with water:
• What do they use water from the river for in their
daily lives?
• What use does the river have in their daily life? Are
there evolutions, changes compared to the past?
• Do they have stories related to the river? What is the
cosmological meaning of water/the river?
II.
To analyse the effects of the oil contamination:
• When the river is contaminated by petroleum,
does/would this affect them? What impact has/would
oil exploitation have on the use/conception of the
water/river?
• Does the contamination affect the cosmological
meaning of water/the river?
• How do Amazonian peoples feel about oil
extraction? Is extraction part of their perception of
development?
• How is the relationship Peruvian state-Amazonian
peoples impacted by oil contamination?
2.2 Methodology
This study is the product of a four month stay in the Peruvian
Amazon in 2010. In the framework of the CADES-program, I
conducted a research internship in the Belgian/Peruvian organization
Asociación Putumayo Perú (APP). They support indigenous
communities in the North of Peru, living along the Putumayo River,
natural border with Colombia. Initially, I wanted to focus on the
social conflict over petroleum. However, these peoples are not yet
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affected by petroleum exploitation, although the Peruvian
Ombudsman Office defines their relationship with petroleum actors
as a latent conflict. Therefore, I decided to focus upon the close
relationship Amazonian peoples have with water, a perspective
which is missing in various studies on oil contamination. The
internship consisted in the support to APP logistically in Iquitos,
with little direct contact with the indigenous communities.
Nonetheless, the Biblioteca Amazónica has a large collection with
sources on all Amazonian peoples. In Iquitos, all organizations that
support indigenous peoples and working in the Amazon area are
present, so I had the opportunity to conduct interviews with experts
and indigenous leaders. In September, I went with APP to the
Congresses of the Kichwa Runa (in the community Urcu Miraño)
and of the Airo-Pai communities (in the community Zanbelín de
Yaricaya), and was able to live among them during several weeks
and conduct some interviews with informants.
Source: Map Putumayo APP/APB
At the time of my arrival in Peru, the oil spill in the Marañón River
of July 2010 was omnipresent in the news. By October 2010, the
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indigenous communities closed down the Amazon River near the
city of Nauta to protest against the constant oil spills. I decided to
visit the Comunidad de Grau, a Kukama community, to investigate
the oil contamination and the conflict. The community Grau lies in
between Nauta and Iquitos, at the confluence of the Ucayali River
and the Marañón River, where the Amazon originates. My study of
the oil contamination draws on the case in the lower Marañón River
region, which is impacted by the activities in block 8E.
Source: Okamoto, 2011: p.1
Block 8E is located at the banks of the Marañón River, inside the
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve and includes some of the oldest
wells in the Peruvian Amazon, operating for more than 40 years. The
communities living downstream are affected. The Marañón oil
conflict is well documented by Okamoto (2011).
The Amazonian peoples have a lot in common, in particular in their
relationship with water, although they are different from each other
and have a different level of integration on national level and as such
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a different relationship with the Peruvian state. (Chirif, 1977)
Therefore the study focuses on the Amazonian people in general, but
complements information with the in-depth research on the Kichwa
Runa, Airo-Pai and Kukama. Focusing on these cases entails a
challenge for the limited generalizations that can be derived. But
gives the opportunity to tackle certain aspects more in depth.
Taking part of daily life situations allowed me to apply a multitude
of qualitative methods. I observed interactions, was attentive to
conversations and kept field notes with daily experiences; I
collaborated with the activities of APP. I conducted several nonstructured interviews (Appendix IV) with experts and commoners.
All interviews were recorded. In this Masterpaper, no clear
distinction is be made between the literature and my own experience,
since during my research the literature study and interviews
complemented each other constantly and quite naturally. It were
clues to read more or ask other questions, and this is how my study is
presented. Additionally, in November 2010, I participated in a three
day Conference during which researches on the topic of water and
development in the Amazon were presented.
The principal challenge during my research was the doubts to which
extent I could generalize what I observed. In particular Alberto
Chirif has been of great help: an anthropologist who has dedicated a
lifetime studying the indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon
and has supported me at every phase of this Masterpaper. Secondly,
it was challenging to conduct research in an environment so different
from my own. An illustration: during my stay in the Kukama
community, I overheard people complain that I did not have any
present with me. Apparently they expected one to bring something,
for example some money or food. The fact that I did not, made me
feel uncomfortable about doing more interviews. Furthermore, being
there so short, just gives a snapshot of the situation, and does not
give any information on what happened before or may happen after.
For example, during my interviews a lot of people mentioned that
“lead” in the water was a consequence of the petroleum
contamination. I found this remarkable since this is not something I
would suppose people to know. This is quite specific knowledge on
the contamination. Additionally, they referred several times to: "That
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is what they told us". I did not know who were their sources of
information, which makes it more difficult to analyse the interviews.
As in any research, the line between what they think one wants to
hear and their own opinion is sometimes difficult to draw. But in an
encounter with another culture, this is even more difficult.
Over time, other researchers experienced similar challenges to
conduct research in an environment other than their own. I give an
illustration from the research of Mercier, and although the context
and his perspective diverge greatly from mine, he also finds it
challenging to make generalizations and understand what people
mean: “Talking about the cosmology of the Shipibos is difficult. The
indigenous peoples, in contact with a missionary, are very reserved
when talking about their beliefs and habits; they lie to the white men.
Migrations and living together with other tribes, changed their
habits and mixed their mythology with that of other tribes and led to
the abandonment of certain beliefs”. (Mercier, 1974: p. 16)
2.3 Situating the discussion
Conventionally a community is associated with a "homogenous
group of like-minded people", namely a spatial unit where members
have similar perspectives and interests. (Okamoto, 2011) The
community is depicted as harmonious on the inside and threat is
coming from the outside. Agrawal and Gibson (2001: p.1) point out:
"communities are complex entities containing individuals
differentiated by status, political and economic power, religion and
social prestige, and intentions. Although some may operate
harmoniously, others do not. Some see nature or the environment as
something to be protected; others care only for nature’s short term
use. Some have effective traditional norms; others have few. Some
community members seek refuge from the government and market;
others quickly embrace both". My study focuses on Amazonian
peoples. The Peruvian Constitution recognizes indigenous
communities (comunidades nativas) and not indigenous peoples,
although peoples do recognize themselves as a nation/people. A
people consists of different communities and clearly they are not
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homogenous. An illustration: in some Kichwa Runa communities the
use of the Kichwa language is common, in others it is not.
I intend to highlight the heterogeneity of my actors. As indicated by
Agrawal and Gibson, there are diverging visions within the
indigenous movements and communities. But also the state is a
heterogeneous and contradictory actor, for example, the Peruvian
Ombudsman’s Office, a state organism, has marked a different
position than the executive branch. (Okamoto, 2011) In my opinion,
the social conflict is frequently presented as between the diabolical
oil company and the Green Avatar. Reality is approximate to the
depicted image, but is no excuse for avoiding the heterogeneous
picture of the Amazon reality.
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Part I
Amazonian peoples
and their relationship with water
18
3. Amazonian peoples in Peru: "Así vivimos"1
This Masterpaper portrays the Amazonian peoples in Peru and their
relationship with water, through the presentation of several case
studies. In the next section, I discuss general characteristics as
abstracted by different authors and sketch the case studies used to
understand the relationship Amazonian peoples have with water. I
name this chapter “Así vivimos” which can be translated as: “this is
how we live”, a phrase used by many of my informants.
3.1 Who are they?
In Peru, several indigenous peoples2 (44 peoples - Chirif, 2009c - or
60 distinct groups of indigenous peoples - INEI, 2008 & INDEPA,
2009 - and 65 peoples in the whole of Peru according to the
Dirección de Educación Secundaria, 2007)3 cohabit in a multicultural
society. The population of the Peruvian Amazon comprises several
societies: indigenous peoples, river dwellers (ribereños or mestizos),
andinos, European and Asian migrants… In the Amazon area also
live several indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, but this
Masterpaper will not address them. In reality, the different identities
are not that clear-cut and groups are flexible. The Peruvian
Constitution does not recognize indigenous peoples but only
communities and distinguishes indigenous communities from the
Andes region and from the Amazon. Through formal regulation a
different statute is attributed to them: the indigenous communities
from the Andes are considered to be farmers (campesinos) and as
such recognized as farmer communities (comunidad campesina). In
the jungle they are regarded as indigenous communities and instead
they are formally recognized (although not automatically) as native
1
Interview with informant C8.
Appendix III.
3
The variation in numbers cannot just be explained by the distinction
Amazon/ Peru: The Dirección de Educación Secundaria counts indigenous
peoples in another way. They add up “peoples” which are considered in
reality variations of the same people.
2
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communities (comunidad nativa) as indicated in the law for Native
Communities of 1974. (Desmet, 2010a) Several authors (Chirif –
interview B11; Gasché, 2010a; Landolt, 2000) attempt to abstract
some general characteristics of Amazonian peoples:
•
Societies that are less stratified and without political
authority. The authority is based on kinship and on a moral
ground, for instance: a good hunter, fisherman, having good
visions with ayahuasca (psychoactive drug: Banisteriopsis
caapi), being able to perform discourse (Jívaros – Taylor,
2011)… However, no power over other people in the
community is given through this prestige and all people have
to perform the same tasks: hunting, building houses,
cultivating on the fields… Many indigenous peoples have a
chief, but in most cases the chief does not have political
authority and for the Airo-Pai (cfr. Infra) for example the
function contains the giving of advice to search for a
consensus between the community members. (Desmet, 2004)
In times of war against external forces emerged a leader
capable of coordinating the defence. Nevertheless, when the
danger had passed, the leader took up normal community life
again. Missionaries also introduced a kind of structure in the
missionary settlements (reducciones). Cipoletti (2000) points
out that the presence of a chief was a factor determining the
success of the reducciones. Also the state prefers to be
working with a chief (cacique).
•
The community is based on domestic units and kinship. In
the past in Airo-Pai communities (cfr. Infra) the extended
family lived together in malocas, for example two brothers
with their wife, married and single children and
grandchildren. Most Airo-Pai communities just had three
malocas. (Casanova Velásquez, all sources) This way of
living together was common among Amazonian peoples4. At
the present time, most families live together just with their
4
Not all of them: for example the Ashanikas lived also in past times in onefamily housing.
20
children in smaller houses and once married the girls go and
live with their husband. The family has the freedom to make
its own decisions; they cannot be forced by any outside
authority. That is why Gasché (2010a) also describes these
societies as with anarchic tendencies.
•
Central to the community are the reciprocity relationships
with the other people and with their environment.
Nevertheless, contrary to what many people think, in most
cases these relationships are not communal but only among
the extended family and kinship based. A community exists
of several solidarity groups. This means that food is divided;
they cooperate in subsistence activities (minga) and celebrate
together. Not taking part in these reciprocity relations leads
to social repercussions. A Kukama informant (C12) signals
the significance of generosity: "Before people were good,
when they caught paiche (Arapaima gigas), they gave you;
today they do not give you anything, also because the paiche
does not have a lot of meat anymore, mostly bone, that is
why I say people are different now". And a Kukama
informant (C3) indicates that: "Things change, it was a way
of thinking of them [the elderly] and they thought there
would be always abundance". In addition, this reciprocity is
applied in the relationships with beings in the environment.
Therefore the territory is not just a resource to consume, it is
a sacred place based on social relationships. As Belaunde
(1994) argues, rather than the attempt of the societies
defining the group, the society is oriented towards the
production of the individual and the body. They are not
collectivists. (Chirif, 2009c; Surrallés, 2005)
•
They practise slash and burn agriculture and manioc is the
main component in daily consumption, complemented with
other subsistence activities such as gathering, hunting and
fishing. In addition, men generate income by sporadic
employment in for instance cattle breeding, plantations or
forestry companies.
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In the Amazon, there also live non-indigenous populations. Gasché
(2010a) denies this distinction and argues that we can abstract
characteristics for the Amazonian society in general, including
indigenous peoples and mestizos… According to him there exists an
Amazonian society, different from the urban and national dominant
society and the characteristics described above can be applied to
people in the Amazon in general. Chirif (2009c) indicates on the
other hand that indigenous peoples strongly influence the mestizo
Amazonian identity, for example the Spanish language used in the
Amazonian areas has strong contributions of the indigenous
languages, the world of representations, indigenous values, cooking
recipes… But he emphasizes that there is a distinction between the
mestizo and indigenous identity. These identities are not fixed.
According to De la Cadena (2003) identity is not based on race as
would be in Europe but there exists a more hybrid and fluid identity
and in the end people do not make a either/or choice but have the
possibility to be both at the same time. As the informants explain
themselves in her interviews: “Some mestizos are also indigenous,
some mestizos are just mestizo”. Being indigenous and/or mestizo is
derived from interactions rather than from fixed features. For
example, the Comunidad de Grau5 is registered as a native
community; although they named themselves the native farmer
community. During my fieldtrip they were discussing changing the
name in native Kukama community since they hoped to get more
funding from NGOs by choosing to emphasize strategically this
identity. Taylor (2011) points out that language is an indicator for
identity, although in the case of the Kukama, few still speak their
language. The rules about inclusion or exclusion are kinship-based.
To conclude, Starn (1991) emphasizes the importance of recognizing
the indigenous background, but keeping in mind that indigenous
peoples have in addition many other identities that they can employ
strategically. As an outsider generalizations are quickly made. In this
paper I attempt to sketch this indigenous background, keeping in
mind the constant transformation and heterogeneity, and as such I am
able to analyse a tiny part of their reality.
5
A Kukama community I visited during my fieldtrip: Located close to
Iquitos and Nauta, in Loreto.
22
A typology designed by Betty Meggers categorizes Amazonian
peoples as: living on the mainland (terra firme) or on the floodplains
(varzea). Not all authors (Rivas Panduro, 2010; Stocks, 1981) agree
with this distinction because they do not believe you can make such a
categorization based on ecology. The general idea was that the
Amazon environment did not offer sufficient resources to sustain
large populations and in addition, caused the degradation of the
social conditions. Therefore, former inhabitants would not differ a lot
from the contemporary inhabitants. But this categorization
overestimates the influence of ecology and underestimates the
consequences of the European colonization. However, I will employ
this distinction since the ecology and the categorization influence the
subsistence activities. Most Amazonian peoples live from a
combination of agriculture, hunting, fishing and gathering.
According to this distinction, certain subsistence activities are more
relevant in a specific environment, for example: peoples living on the
floodplains attach greater significance to fishing. Nonetheless, also
this categorization is not that clear-cut. Vickers (1983) illustrates
how in a Siona-Secoya6 community fishing surpasses the hunting in
the area because of the year-round availability of many fish species,
although they are categorized as terra firme. In general, most
Amazonian peoples can be called foragers horticulturalists or forest
dwellers (bosquesinos according to Gasché). In the past they were
categorized as the tropical forest culture. (Gasché, 2010a; Rivas
Panduro, 2010)
Other characteristics are attributed according to the distinction
between peoples living on the mainland or on the floodplains. Girard
(1958) states in his book that people from the terra firme are less
advanced, defined by him as having a less Western way of life.
Furthermore, Vickers (1976) describes how more warlike peoples
were settled along the main rivers. Therefore they dispelled less
warlike peoples deeper into the jungle (terra firme). Peoples living
along those rivers seem to be larger. Such a distinction is however
contradicted by recent research which proofs the existence of large
6
Secoya is another name for the Airo-Pai. The Siona is a people from
Ecuador.
23
settlements on the main land, especially on tierra negra which is
fertile soil. Missionaries preferred to found their mission posts on
riversides. Nevertheless one can wonder: are people from the varzea
living there because of the missionaries or were they confronted with
missionaries because they lived alongside the river? Both are the
case. (San Ramon, 1975; Torrejón Mori, 2002) To conclude, many
authors attempt attributing characteristics according to the distinction
floodplain/main land, but in general this attribution is a too complex
exercise since so many factors besides the ecology constitute the
Amazonian reality.
3.2 Amazonian peoples in this Masterpaper
To explore the relationship Amazonian peoples have with water, I
will make use of the research on three Amazonian peoples in
particular, complemented with other sources. The name I use to
denominate these peoples is the name used by them. Nonetheless,
many more names are employed, changing over time and depending
on the actor who is defining them. The auto-denomination is a recent
process, since indigenous peoples did not identify themselves as such
towards outsiders. In addition, different names exist for different
nucleus of a people.
Airo-Pai
The Airo-Pai live in the Alto-Putumayo, on the border7 with
Colombia and with Ecuador and are part of the linguistic group:
Occidental Tucano. They call themselves Airo-Pai which means
People from the forest, hence representing their close relationship
with nature. They live in between the rivers and therefore could be
categorized as terra firme. According to a Kichwa Runa informant
(B5) the communities are “más adentro” (deeper into the jungle).
Another informant (Kichwa Runa informant, D3) indicates: “Our
brothers the Secoya8 are raised in the jungle (han criado en el
7
8
The river Putumayo shapes the border between Colombia and Peru.
Other name for Airo-Pai.
24
monte), only recently they got civilized9”. Literature on the Airo-Pai
from the beginning of the 20th century focuses on the missionaries
and the Spanish in contact with the Encabellados. This name was
used to nominate them because of the care they took for their hair. In
1635 the Franciscans Pedro Pescador and Juan Palacios encountered
some 8.000 Encabellados in the region where the Airo-Pai have
currently settled. The Encabellados are known to have opposed
strongly against the missionaries. In general they only have known
some forty years of missionary settlements, called reducciones,
periods which often ended in a violent way. Therefore they
remember little about this subject. The establishment of reducciones
was not successful because the Airo-Pai did not want to live with
other people, not even with those who spoke the same language, in
particular because of the fear for spells by powerful shamans.
According to Cipoletti (2000) also the lack of a political structure
and their semi-nomadic way of life were an obstacle to establish
reducciones. At the present time there are only some 700 Airo-Pai in
Peru left because of the negative consequences of epidemics. (Chirif,
2007) Until some forty years ago the Airo-Pai constituted a seminomad society. They moved every five to ten years. Recently they
have adopted a sedentary way of life since the Law for the Native
Communities established medical posts and primary schools and
because of the link with the fluvial market. All the Airo-Pai
communities are recognized10 and have land assigned by the
government (titled). Cultivation of the fields is their principal
subsistence activity. The Airo-Pai can express themselves better in
their own language than in Spanish and not everybody speaks
Spanish. The Airo-Pai elderly and men still wear the cushma, a piece
of clothing down to the knee in bright colours. (Belaunde, 2001;
Bolivar, 2004; Casanova Velásquez, all sources; Chirif, 1977;
Cipoletti, 1988 & 2000; Desmet, 2010)
9
Probably indicating the transformation from a semi-nomad to a sedentary
people.
10
Except the Manoco Daripe community.
25
Kichwa Runa
The Kichwa Runa, also called Quichua Naporuna, originate in
Ecuador but during the rubber boom11 they travelled to the areas
along the Napo and Putumayo River in Peru because of the demand
for labourers. They speak Quechua which was introduced by the
Jesuit missionaries in Ecuador. Runa in Quechua means human
beings or people. They located themselves in the Putumayo region at
the big riversides in contrast to the Airo-Pai who live in the internal
areas in-between the rivers. They have a friendly relationship with
them, but undoubtedly separated territories. A Kichwa Runa
informant (D3) signals when comparing the peoples: “The Kichwa
Runa were normal from the beginning”, which probably alludes to
the sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, an informant (D7) signals that
the Airo-Pai have the shamans that are the best in enchanting
individuals, so other peoples are scared of them. The Airo-Pai are
reproducing habits of the Kichwa Runa, and as such they are
integrating in national Peruvian society. Belaunde (2001) calls this
process “quichuanización”. For example, the Airo-Pai also make
masato12, have festivities in the way the Kichwa Runa have and use
the same building methods. (Belaunde, 2001; Chaumeil, 1990;
Mercier, 1978) The subsistence is based on manioc agriculture,
hunting, fishing and gathering, although agriculture seems to be the
main activity. The Kichwa Runa are 32.000 people. Many young
people do not converse in the Kichwa language anymore, although a
Kichwa Runa respondent (D3) points out that in many communities
this language is still commonly used. Furthermore, they do not use
any traditional piece of clothing. (Chirif, 2009c; Uzendoski, 2004)
The invisible natives13: Kukama
The Kukama belong to the Tupí-Guaraní family. The Tupí-Guaraní
arrived about 200 or 300 years before the Spanish conquest in the
Peruvian jungle and were known as great warriors. They live at the
11
In the first decades of the 20th century.
Popular manioc drink.
13
Stocks - 1981
12
26
shores of the major rivers and depend on the varzea. According to
Steward (1963), they rely to an “unusual” extent upon turtles, turtle
eggs, large fish and manatees. Nowadays those big fish are often in
extinction, but still fishing is their most important subsistence
activity. They carry out cultivation activities on large floodplains and
beaches, which make them less dependent on eating meat. They were
for the first time reported in literature (“discovered”) in 1559 and
were feared as river pirates. They are still known for their skills
related to water. In 1963 most of them spoke or understood Quechua
and Spanish in addition to their own language. During my fieldtrip
almost none of the inhabitants in the Comunidad de Grau spoke
Cocama anymore. Until recently, the Kukama did not consider
themselves indigenous; instead they call themselves river dwellers,
although their family organization and communities are different
from other river dweller communities. They look down on the
indigenous identity: "We are Kukama - What does that mean? - We
are cholito - What does that mean? - That we do not know a high
society". (No conocemos alta sociedad) (Kukama informant, C9)
River dwellers are rural pioneers in the jungle area whose culture is
more Western occidental oriented. However, in Peru, indigenous
peoples are mistakenly categorized as river dwellers since they
appear to have “lost”14 their culture, because they do not use their
own language, but Spanish instead, they do not wear different
clothing… There exists thus a group of indigenous peoples called by
Stocks (1981) the Invisible Natives who are in many aspects
acculturated to the white-mestizo society, but in reality do employ
social practices that can be linked to their indigenous culture, as is
the case for the Kukama and their fishing techniques. (Stocks, 1981)
The community leader (Awajún informant, C14) describes: “They
[the Kukama] feel uncomfortable saying: I am Kukama. They say:
We are civilised now, we do not want to speak the language”. This
fear or shame to call themselves indigenous changed over the last
years. There are more or less 50.000 Kukama. The amount of
Kukama augmented a lot since more people acknowledge their
identity. (Aguëro, 1994; Chirif, 1977 & 2009; Landolt, 2000)
14
Defined as a transformation of the visible attributes such as clothing and
language.
27
4. Imagining water
In the next section I describe the cosmological relation of the
Amazonian people with water. In the firths place I explore the
meaning of water. Indigenous people say: “we are the earth” to
underpin they see the world differently. I illustrate how they view the
difference between them and certain plants and animals as a
difference in degree rather than in kind and how this impacts their
reality and the relationship with water in particular. Moreover, I
focus on the case of the Airo-Pai and their perspective on a
multidimensional world. And finally, this study indicates how the
giving of meaning and identity are processes in constant change.
4.1 “We are the earth”15
As water does not have the same meaning to all of us; the
contextualization of this resource is important to understand and
answer the research question. I will try to grasp this understanding
through sketching the relationship Amazonian peoples in Peru have
with nature in general. It differs from the Western image on nature.
Westerners perceive water as a natural resource and the environment
in general as something one can use and consume, in an economical
sense and as disconnected from culture. During my research this
different contextualization became clear: during my first interviews I
noticed that my questions about water were not entirely clear and
that the interviewees preferred talking about the river as a whole, or
about the aquatic world rather than water as an object. The Western
reality is characterized by an objectification of nature. In contrast, for
the Amazonian peoples this dual relationship between culture and
nature does not exist. De Castro (in Surrallés, 2005) introduces the
concept of multinaturalism in opposition with the term
multiculturalism. This last concept is based on the universality of
nature and the diversity of culture. Multinaturalism however is based
on the cosmology of Amerindians that believe in a universal spirit in
different bodies. He also calls this perspectivism, which means that
15
Mercier - 1991
28
different beings (humans, animals, plants) perceive nature from a
different point of view. In this sense, humans and non-humans have
the same interiority, but different bodies and the physicality
determines a different perspective on reality. Amazonian peoples
believe in a social continuum and do not make such a radical
distinction between humans and a large part of animals and
vegetation. Humans and non-humans are considered as different but
above all in degree rather than in kind. Therefore social relations can
be established with animals and plants. According to Chirif (2008)
the word natural resource should therefore be replaced by cultural
resource. Amazonian peoples in addition feel, hear, smell and see
much more than a westerner does. This sensorial perception of
hearing and seeing influences how one perceives and shapes reality.
(Gossuin, 2009; Heise, 2001; Surrallés, 2005; Toupal, 2001)
To understand the indigenous way of living, one has to understand
the meaning and representation of the environment. People have a
social relation with their environment because of the owners
(dueños) and the madres of the animals and vegetation. They interact
through dialogue, donation, visions or an offer (tobacco).
(Campanera, 2009) For example, for hunting, there is a triangular
relationship between animals, hunters and the intermediaries such as
the guardians of the game. And through these social relations,
supernatural powers are manipulated and dominated. (Regan, 1993)
“We ask the spirit: please, give (regalanos) us an animal. And then,
after ten metres, we find an animal”. “Other people, they play with
the animals, and then it starts raining and thundering. Therefore, if
we go to the forest, we don’t laugh, you have to show respect”.
(Kicwha Runa informant, D3) A Kichwa Runa informant (B5)
informs me that when his grandfather arrived in the Putumayo area,
the spirit did not allow him (no le dejaba entrar). There was a lake
with many animals but they behaved fiercely. It started raining hard,
since the intruders were bothering (molestando) the guardian. Such
stories are common, Ortiz de Villalba (1976) tells the story of two
men who wanted to enter a lagoon, but from the inside of the lagoon,
they heard síííí…and sticks and rocks started to fall down.
29
In general for the territory this signifies:
“The resources are integrated in the social, economical and
emotional world. They are fundamental for the physical and
spiritual wellbeing. They are also a source of identity and
the link with the future and the past on which new
generations are based”. (Film: Chumpi’s Adventure – the
Achuar territory)
4.2 The Airo-Pai and the other side
“When we open our eyes, we see this side. When we close
our eyes, we see the other side.” (Belaunde, 2001: p. 73)
In the case of the Airo-Pai this separation means the distinction in
their multidimensional reality between “this side” and the invisible
“other side” (el otro lado), which you can only enter under certain
conditions. With this side they mean the place/area/environment
where daily activities take place for men, women and children: the
community, the fields, the nearby jungle and the surface of the rivers.
The other side is only accessible through dreams or the use of
psychoactive products such as yajé (Ayahuasca: Banisteriopsis
caapi). On the other side live beings that are invisible to us in a
normal state of mind. It is located at the bottom of the rivers and in
the heart of the forest. Entering the other side one becomes visible
for the beings living there. They will see you as one of their kind and
the other way around. For example, if you dream about a death
person, probably hunting will be with a positive result since it means
you saw a death wild boar. (Belaunde, 2001 & 2008; Steward, 1963)
The way they talk about this side is different from how they treat the
animals on the other side. This is explained by the myth that Nañe16
stole from the animals their cultural techniques and just made them
hunting objects. On the other side they still live in their human form
with related habits. (Belaunde, 2001)
16
God of the Airo-Pai.
30
For the Airo-Pai, perceived from the other side, the world under the
surface of the river, and especially that of the small fish, is seen as a
world with vegetables. Añapëquë is the owner (dueña) of the aquatic
world and she looks like a mix between a boa and a caiman.
Shaman17 songs (Appendix V) describe her house under the surface
of the river and the shaman describes how in the river there is
another world with more rivers. There he distinguishes the house of
Añapëquë and this house is full with corn. With her tale she splashes
the corn around on the floor. In reality with this activity she allows
the shaman to take fish for its people. So she offers the corn to the
shaman, which in reality is the fish. The small fish are the corn of a
supernatural being who cultivates corn on her aquatic fields, like
people cultivate corn on their fields. (Belaunde, 2001)
Myths are often related to contemporary place names and as such a
cultural cartography can be drawn wherein different landmarks in the
forest have significance. This way of thinking is not necessarily lend
to mapping in the Western sense. Peoples conception of space is
concentric, expands outward, becoming more undefined further from
the centre. (Davis, 1994) The Airo-Pai map demonstrates how the
environment is perceived in a different sense. On the map not only
communities and hunting zones are indicated, but also sacred places
or lakes, prohibited zones… For example the bewitched lakes
(cochas encantadas): “If one goes there, even if it is one o’clock in
the afternoon, it will become dark, there will be flashes of lightening
and it will rain, one cannot walk there”. (Desmet, 2010: p. 498) And
as such those places constitute culturally protected areas, in
particular since people believe strong spirits are present.
17
The amount of shamans in Amazonian society is decreasing, although
informants indicate they still visit shamans, for example when they are
bewitched.
31
Source: The Field Museum Chicago, USA
4.3 "It is another world, it is not like before"18
The above represented worldview portrays ideas and beliefs about
the world, ways to perceive and explain reality. According to a
Kukama informant: “Those who lived in the city, they don’t know.
Those who were raised in the jungle, they know everything”. “They
are no longer strong believers”. (Campanera, 2009: p. 39) Or: “We
changed, we don’t think like them [the ancestors]”. (Kichwa Runa
informant, D6 & D3) This illustrates how through contact and other
lifestyles this perception is in transformation, which is often
18
Interview with Kukama informant C12.
32
perceived by the older community members or outsiders as a loss.
The Kukama live close to the city of Iquitos, the biggest jungle town
in Peru and transformation seems to be triggered by the strong
difference with city life. People complain about the big difference:
"We cannot get used to the city, I prefer living like this [in the
community], and it is good, I am always happy to return". (Kukama
informant, C8) But a similar process is taking place with the AiroPai. For the Airo-Pai menstrual reclusion traditionally was an
important habit. In the period of menstruation, women cannot be in
contact with other community members, especially men and cannot
perform daily activities. Especially the elderly are hesitant towards
change. They have their doubts about how the children are raised by
younger couples. Belaunde (2001) argues that in Airo-Pai
communities you can almost never hear a child cry, since this would
bring destruction to the community. In their belief, a screaming child
causes anger with the parents and therefore should be avoided (cfr.
Infra). For the Kichwa Runa however, a crying child is less of a
problem and no anti-conception is used. So the Airo-Pai are anxious
of what they call: ‘a change of heart’. “When women start serving
food if they are menstruating, if couples are going to have a lot of
children, we will become Kichwa, we will have the Airo-Pai body but
another heart we will have”. As such, the transformation is not only
induced by a nearby city and mestizo/western culture but as well by
the difference with the Kichwa Runa communities. (Belaunde, 2001:
p.239; Desmet, 2010) As demonstrated, indigenous communities are
in constant transformation, triggered by encounter such as with
another religion, the city, other peoples… and those transformations
are not necessarily negative; it depends on the perception of the
people from inside or outside the community. For example: “I know
more than them [grandparents]”. (Kichwa Runa informant, B7)
5. “The world is alive because it has a mother”19
The indigenous realities are multiple and contain several spaces such
as water, land and air. All these spaces have their own guardian. Two
19
Interview Vicariato Apostólico de Aguarico - 1990
33
important figures are related to water: the guardian and the water
people. The symbolical meaning other animals may have, diverges
depending on their presence in that specific environment, for
example the otter is only represented in some cosmologies (e.g.;
Achuar, Shipibo). These animals live both on mainland and in the
river, such as the boa, the tiger, the otter… and are able to relate
people with the world of water since they interact with the two
worlds. As pointed out above (p. 30) the Airo-Pai perceive fish as
corn and do not attribute a spirit to them. The Kukama in addition
ask the guardian Boa to “give her louses with pity”. None of the
Amazonian peoples I researched believed fish had a spirit. But they
are not objects either, since they can choose to be caught. A Kichwa
Runa informant (D3) signals that fish do have a spirit, namely the
yacumama. As such, also the notion of having a spirit should be
understood differently and not necessarily in a Western sense.
Lagoons and rivers are protected by spirits, named guardians
(dueños), mothers or spirits. The Kichwa Runa call the guardian of
the water yacumama, which has a twofold signification: the aquatic
boa in general or the water spirit which is a huge black boa with
supernatural powers. According to Landolt (2000) in most cases the
guardian of the river is represented by the boa. The boa is not
necessarily a good animal, quite the opposite: People are scared of
her. “Yes, there are spirits in the river, there is the boa, and she is
bad because she makes people disappear in the river”. (Kichwa
Runa informant B5) “The boa is a wild animal (una fiera)”. (Kichwa
Runa informant, B7 & D6) Many myths concern the topic of the boa
letting people disappear. In the Kichwa Runa story “the boa and the
lagoon” the boa attempts to take a man into the river. But when the
boa is killed, the lagoon dries out and the fish disappear. (Appendix
VI) In the belief of some populations such as the Kichwa Runa, the
boa causes the flood and as such she also maintains the fish
populations. (Uzendoski, 2004) Plenty of stories go around, also in
the cities, about huge and dangerous boas. According to the Airo-Pai
and the Kukama, there lives a tiger in the aquatic world that stops the
boa from getting out of the water and doing more harm. According to
Kukama belief, Muiwatsu is a huge boa which is a bad spirit, who
tries to kill anybody. Therefore Kémari (Kukama God) punished her
and put her away in the lagoons or below the water. When she nods,
34
the water trembles. (Descola, 1989; Landolt, 2000; Regan, 2003;
Vickers, 1976)
However, these beliefs are not necessarily shared by the whole
community and many of the community members have a different
degree of believing. Campanera (2009) indicates how the community
members test these stories and beliefs themselves and make up their
mind if they should or should not believe. There are people who do
not believe:
“The water does not have a spirit”. - (Vicariato Apostólico
de Aguarico, 1990)
But in general, some kind of dialogue with the guardians is
undertaken by the community members. The visions generated by
the consumption of Ayahuasca, smoking cigars and singing are
means to communicate. In songs shamans ask the guardian to make
the fishing more productive. (Appendix VII) Or he visits the water
world in dreams or visions. He will try to connect with the strongest
water spirit. Such kind of rituals is employed to combat the
uncertainty, but is more common with hunting than with fishing:
“You do not have to ask the boa, fishing is free. But when the boa is
gone, there is no more fish”. (Kichwa Runa informant, D3) In
addition, magical plants such as the piripiri (Cyperus piripiri spp.)
are used to attract the fish. The plant is rubbed on the instrument and
the hands. This product functions as a “perfume” to trick the fish.
Smell is important in the world of water. Also common among the
indigenous peoples is the use of amulets. The Kukama use little
stones found in the stomach of the fish. The stones are called the
heart of the fish. Teeth of the dolphin or flakes of the paiche
(Arapaima gigas) constitute other symbolical objects for amulets.
Women and children should not see these amulets because then they
would lose their power. (Rivas Ruiz, 2004; Stocks, 1983) Descola
(1989: p. 381) shares the opinion that the “world of the river is an
intermediary between the world of hunting and of the field, where a
domestic peace rules according to pragmatic ambitions”.
35
6. Yacuruna – The water people
The yacuruna is a Quechua word which means “People – runa - of
the water – yacu-”. This word is used in general among the
Amazonian peoples. In Pai Cocua20 these people of water have two
names: tsiaya (river) kë and okomé (oko = water). Surrallés signals
that this belief in the water people is shared among all Amazonian
peoples. "We know that the yacuruna exists, although we never saw
him". (Kukama informant, C12) (Landolt, 2000) The yacuruna are
beautiful people who live in the water and flirt with men and women
and take them back to the water. They live at the bottom of the river
in big cities. Their hammocks are boas and their banks are turtles.
Some say that persons with antisocial behaviour after their death are
turned into them. Inside the water they are good. (Mercier, 1974) In
many stories the yacuruna becomes a white man and therefore he is
linked to petroleum exploration and other migratory labours. (Regan,
2003) In all the stories I read and heard, sexual contact is present and
often the girl gets pregnant. These contacts are ambiguous because
they are possible and at the same time they are not. For a while these
couples can live in the world of humans, but then something
happens. And only in case the woman goes and lives in the world of
water, the couple breaks up. Most victims are girls on parties or
women staying home alone, when the man is out fishing or hunting.
If men are victims, they are often lonely men, for example soldiers or
those who have a subaltern position. (Regan, 1993) Regularly, when
engaged in a relationship with the water people, something occurs to
the genitals of the men. They lose their genitals or they are
transformed through the contact. (I refer to el hombre pescador in
Ahuanari Tamani, 2002) In general, when travelling on the river,
people are scared to disturb the water spirits since they can harm
them and you better keep the relationships with them secret. The
water people not necessarily have a bad spirit and are sometimes like
the “police” (cfr. Infra: Sacred Friday). In El bufeo sargento y el
pescador (Ahuanari Tamani, 2002) the informant explains how one
day a man harmed a dolphin with a harpoon that was bothering him.
The police arrested him, but to the man’s surprise they introduced
20
The language of the Airo-Pai.
36
him in the world of water. The dolphin was in that world a police
man guarding the fish population and apparently the men had been
catching manatees and paiches (Arapaima gigas) in abundance,
despite the fact that one should only fish to feed his family. The man
corroborates and from then on, he respects his “friends the fish”. It is
through love or conflict relations that the contact with the world of
water is achieved. In the world of water time goes much slower than
on mainland. When people, living in the water, return to the
mainland, their relatives aged faster than them. (Gossuin, 2009)
The pink dolphin is according to many a yacuruna and is a bad spirit:
“The dolphin has a bad spirit, he can take you away”. (Kichwa Runa
informant, B6) None of the indigenous peoples eat dolphin. In some
cases they do kill the animal to use the teeth as amulets for good luck
in love affairs. (Cipoletti, 1988) During my fieldtrip a Kichwa Runa
informant informed me about a dream in which he and his wife were
travelling by canoe. Suddenly a dolphin jumped up and slapped his
tail against the belly of his pregnant wife. Also in reality the
pregnancy ended badly. It is believed that women should not bathe
while menstruating in order not to attract the male dolphin. In
addition, the dolphin may hurt children.
“The dolphin hurts people, he gives stomach-ache. When a
woman is menstruating and she is going to wash her clothing
at the river, he gets really jealous. He can get out of the
water. He is a demon, not Christianized21 like us”. (R171 –
Regan, 1993: p. 164)
During my fieldtrip one of the respondents indicated that she did not
know the yacuruna anymore because she believed in Jesus.
However, in general people do not forget these figures if they join a
religion. They just experience them in another way.
“They say that a man did not believe in Holy Friday22. He
went fishing on that day. He just fished a jaw of a horse, a
21
22
The word Christian is in the Amazonian context used to indicate humans.
On this Friday in the Holy Week one cannot perform any activity.
37
bone, but still the man insisted God does not exist. That is
when the Yacuruna appeared. The man concluded:
Everything goes wrong. God does exist. You have to consider
him. And the next year he did not go anywhere”. (Regan,
1993: p. 7 – informant R9)
7. Water and myths
Amazonian peoples have a predominantly oral culture. In particular
in the past story-telling was a way to pass on a certain approach to
cope with the world and attempt to understand the contradictions.
Gasché (2010a) argues that myths are just one face of the reality and
many of the researchers focusing on myths forget the daily life. Starn
points out that during the terrorist period in Peru, anthropologists
were so busy researching myths and different cultures, that Sendero
Luminoso came like a complete shock to them. Nonetheless, as
Landolt (2000) signals: “A Myth is a condensation of symbolical
representations” and is therefore valuable to this research. During
my fieldtrip a Kichwa Runa informant pointed out that they do not
tell each other this kind of myths23 anymore (nevertheless, the telling
of tales/stories is still common). Furthermore Desmet (2010) argues
that also in the Airo-Pai communities the habit of children gathering
in one house to listen to the stories of the grandparents is fallen into
disuse. The relationship with water is highly present in the myths.
Myths are never told in the same way; variations exist. (Gossuin,
2010)
The Kukama believe they originate from the boa which demonstrates
the importance of the boa in their worldview: “One day, Kémari, the
Kukama God, made a big boa pregnant. […] When the boa gave
birth, the little boa went to the different lagoons, but got lost. The
little boa started shouting for its mother, but only other boas arrived.
When the mother finally arrived, the little boa was already changed
in a person. His mother said to him: My son, since you are
23
According to Mercier in 1978 the sharing of myths was still quite
common.
38
transformed in a person, you will live on the land and work; and
because you stepped out of a lagoon named Cocoa; that will be your
name. The boy did not really like this name, so he changed it in
Kukama”. (Quiroz Niño, 2003: p. 12)
Another myth common among the Amazonian peoples is about water
bringing harmony again. “The possessed were dancing, dancing with
their sisters, their brothers, their godfathers, they did as they felt
like. Then God sent his ‘judge’”. These myths describe how God
destroys the world and few people survive. The Kichwa Runa call
these moments the “judgements of water”. Afterwards, when
everything is mud, a crab forms the river. (Kichwa Runa informant,
B1; Mercier, 1979) Among the Kukama there are many of these
myths present especially since the cycle of the rivers has such a
strong influence on their life. Kukama communities regularly have to
relocate because of flooding. The flooding in the myths is attributed
to moral disharmony and can have serious consequences, such as the
scarcity of manioc. (Agüero, 1994; Mercier, 1974)
“Events in nature happen when men forget nature. Therefore
it is necessary to perfect yourself and to progress like a
human being and in science. It is the job of the shaman to see
these events coming”. (Ochoa Abaurre, 2003: p. 55)
A last myth I want to share is one of the Airo-Pai, to indicate how
people, animals and vegetation are different in degree rather than in
kind. A Kichwa Runa informant told me the same story, but in his
case it was not Nañe that created the fish, but Christ. God makes fish
out of vegetation and those fish are then changed for people: “So
Nañe goes to the forest. There he goes, there he goes, the God. In the
stream there are just worms. That’s no good. God starts thinking: “A
lot of fish in the stream”. He searches for an old branch with
mushrooms. He takes a lot of them. From those he will make fish. He
throws the mushrooms in the water, saying all the names of the fish:
“This one is mawaji! This one is toatido! This one is kantiwan! This
one is sábalo! This one is katopa!” The wife of Nañe says: “Look,
39
they have eyes, they have a mouth…” […]Wen’kë24: “But those are
not fish, those are people!”
Nañe: “Those are not people. It is real fish, ñankotsada. It is good to
eat”. (Cipoletti, 1988; Mercier, 1990: p. 20)
24
Wild boar.
40
8. Purification
I use a text from the Kichwa Runa wherein they describe why they
cannot live without water, to demonstrate how they categorize the
use of water. (Mercier, 1991: p.12)
“On our land pass rivers and streams
We also have lagoons
Our ancestors appreciated the rivers
In the river the native bathes and washes”
In the first place, the river is the essential source for water to drink.
Some communities do have a water tank, for example the school as
indicated by informant B5. Opinions diverge on how potable this
water is. The people in the communities are confident that the water
is clean. Outsiders (Researchers in conference on water and
development & informant D4) say its not.
The water of the river is used to bathe, do dishes, play and to wash
clothes. According to Descola (1989) the world of the river
represents both the separation and conjunction of gender. It is the
task of the women (young and old) to do the dishes and wash the
clothes of the family. This activity is performed individually
(Kichwa Runa informant, B7), although younger girls often go and
wash together. Getting water from the river is an activity performed
by both sexes, although during my stay with a Kukama family, it was
in the first place the son who was assigned this task. Regularly men
and women bathe together and boys and girls play together. (Kichwa
Runa informant, B5) In general, people are in contact with the water
at least one hour a day but up to four hours, depending on the
roughness of the river. In particular the children spend a lot of time
in the water, above all playing, for an Achuar community up to six
hours a day in summer. (Amazon watch, 2009)
Furthermore, water serves a spiritual purification through bathing in
the river. For the Airo-Pai, every morning when the sun comes up,
the chief of the community calls to everyone: “We are going to wake
up and we are going to bathe! Another day arrived!” The chief is the
41
first one, followed by the other men, to jump in the water with their
arms wide splashing the water around. The women in contrary go
into the water slowly and silently, often with their little children.
They go under quickly and come out. The children play happily”25.
(Belaunde, 2001: p55) Men and women bathe several times a day
and this ritual has a moral value. Bathing is a way to renew
physically and mentally. It is a way to shake of laziness: “If you do
not bath, you will get lazy”. (Belaunde, 2001: p. 59) This positive
attitude helps them to live well (vivir bien).
The Kukama (Stocks, 1981) have a ritual to integrate a sick person in
society again, in particular for persons bitten by a snake. Those bites
are considered to have supernatural effects. Once the sick individual
is cured, he/she can have social relations again. This process is
initiated through a party and a water ritual. After the party, before
sunrise, the person is brought in procession to the river or lagoon to
bathe. All the participants go into the water and with blows on the
water surface they kill a model of a snake.
A final illustration: in previous times, when twins were born, they
were perceived as an evil omen. One of the twins was ceremonially
brought to the river in a painted basket and set adrift. Afterwards,
during a ceremony, the women broke their pots, cleaned their
fireplaces, washed their clothes and bathed themselves to clean away
the bad spirits. (Steward, 1963)
25
Ellen Desmet indicates that during her stay this ritual did not take place,
nor did I observe this ritual during my fieldtrip.
42
9. Fishing techniques
“In the river he takes water to drink
In the river he takes fish, good to eat
We fish tucunari, yaraki, piraña, boquichico,
sábalo, zúngaro, paco, bujurqui, carachama, shiruy, shuyo
We catch paiche, turtle, and taricaya
We fish with nets,
With harpoons, catapults, with fishing lines
Also with traps and sometimes with barbasco”
The Kukama are known for their fishing techniques. They live in the
varzea, so fishing is for them more important than hunting. It is a
principal source of proteins. In general similar instruments and
techniques can be identified among Amazonian peoples. In the
Amazon 2.500 fish species are registered and in the Peruvian
Amazon (province of Loreto and Ucayali) up to 600. Scientists
estimate that the capture and consummation of fish is yearly about
80.000 tons. (Álvarez Alonso, 2010) The fishing techniques vary
according to the fisherman, the ecosystem, the moment of the day,
the fish, gender, the people and the water fluctuations
(creciente/vaciante). The dry and the raining season cause the
increase and decrease of the rivers and as such determine the fish
populations and the daily life of the Kukama. “This year the increase
of the river was not in November like it should be, and therefore we
will not have much fish and the indigenous peoples will be hungry.
The fish were fed up waiting and the water did not arrive. They laid
their eggs when the river was low and therefore there will be scarcity
of fish”. (Álvarez Alonso, 2009: p. 2) The indigenous peoples have a
great deal of knowledge on the cycle of the water which determines
the Amazon rhythm and the cycle is a paramount in understanding
the life of people living at the river banks. (Álvarez Alonso, 2010)
43
Source: Rivas Ruiz, 2004: p. 53
There are not only rivers, but also lagoons (lagunas or cochas26),
tipiskas27 and affluents (quebradas or caños) to feed the rivers and
26
27
Ponds created in low river tides.
Lagoon formed by the change in the course of the river.
44
lagoons. According to the Kukama the lagoons die during the dry
season. Flood usually takes place from November until April for the
Kukama. (Rivas Ruiz, 2004) But varies according to the region.
There is abundance of fish, when the river starts to grow, since the
fish at that moment procreate. (Álvarez Alonso, 2010; Kichwa Runa
informant, D3 & D6) In this season many fishes enter the lagoons,
but when the forest is flooded (called tahuampa), catching the fish is
difficult. In dry season, the fishes emigrate and it is highly
recommendable to fish in the canals. In the beginning of the raining
or dry season, hundreds or thousands of fish migrate to habitats to
reproduce and in the early stage of the flooding to engordar (get fat),
called mijanos. For some fish those mijanos do not occur anymore,
for example for the zúngaro (type of catfish). In addition, other
aquatic animals are in extinction, such as the manatee and the
charapa (type of aquatic turtle: Podocnemis expansa) and there are
only few paiches (Arapaima gigas) left in the Putumayo River. In
general, people in the Amazon area complain about diminishing fish
populations. One reason is the pressure by overfishing for the
market. Therefore, development projects are designed that install
ponds for the cultivation of fish in communities. (Expert Sernanp,
D4)
Not all water animals are eaten, for example, almost nobody eats the
boa, the ray, the dolphin, the frog or the eel. This is of course related
to the myths and world vision as described above. (Regan, 1993)
Additionally, hunting is related to the river in the sense that animals
such as the tapir, are frequently found close to the river, since that is
where they drink. (Kicwha Runa informant, D6)
Fishing is, like hunting, ideologically considered a male activity.
Male instruments are those that require more force, entail more risk,
and are used to catch fish throughout the night; likewise when the
activity concerns catching a large animal, being away from home or
catching fish to trade on the market. The fishing lines, toxic materials
and gathering the fish are techniques predominantly employed by
women. In addition, fishing is in most cases an individual activity,
except for the fishing with barbasco (Lonchocarpus nicou). All these
different fishing techniques are highly sophisticated knowledge
45
passed on in the community and are in constant transformation and
reinforced or forgotten over time. (Chirif, 2009) This knowledge is
related to the specific jungle setting: "I find it difficult to live in the
city, but others cannot live in the jungle". (Informant, B10)
Another factor influencing the water is the difference between white
and black water (agua blanca and agua negra). The black water has
few nutrients and is more acid; it is poor in aquatic resources. The
white water descends from the Andes and transports millions of tons
of highly nutritive sediments. Therefore white rivers have more fish,
both in number as in density. (Álvarez Alonso, 2010) Rivas Panduro
(2010) points out that especially earlier in history; this could have an
impact on the distribution of populations.
Ipurakari – In the Kukama language this term means: Great
fisherman, hunter or warrior. The varzea where the Kukama live is
rich of fish. Fishing in this area is important for two reasons: the
search for proteins and the connection with the market. Furthermore,
fishing has a strong symbolical value: a day without fish is
considered a day of scarcity. The Kukama have specialized in
fishing, which is more appreciated than hunting. If a woman spends
too much time fishing, she diminishes the prestige for her husband.
Also children from 8 years old know how to fish, by observing their
parents, and leave by canoe to go and fish on their own. (Campanera,
2009) A 20 year old Kichwa Runa boy (B7) indicates: “Sometimes I
go alone, sometimes with my brother, sometimes with my father”.
9.1 Gathering fish
During the dry season little streams dry up and so small pools are
formed, and people gather fish by hand. This activity is not
considered fishing. In little pools the activity takes place
individually; in larger ones with men, women and children. In this
case, people row by canoe to a further away area. They start
splashing in the water so the oxygen disappears, and the fish have to
come to the surface. The fish are caught by hand, with little baskets
or arrows. Also eggs from aquatic animals such as the turtle or
carachama are collected by hand. The carachama fish digs a hole to
46
hide his eggs and these eggs are collected when the sun ‘hurts’ or ‘is
angry’ to resist the cold water. (Rivas Ruiz, 2004) Recollection is
mostly an activity of women and children. During the dry season
they also catch aquatic turtles and their eggs. The historical
information about this activity is really extensive. And even today
the charapa (Podocnemis expansa) is one of the most exploited
animals of the Amazon.
9.2 Fishing with toxic materials - “Washing the river”
The best known toxic material used by several Amazonian peoples is
barbasco (Lonchocarpus nicou). The activity is also called “washing
the river”. Afterwards the fish can be eaten without any problem
since the poison only reduces the oxygen. In general the Kukama use
four different toxic materials. To make sure the toxic material
functions effectively, it is forbidden for pregnant women to
participate in the fishing, since it diminishes the "force" of the
poison. Neither the girls who are menstruating participate, nor can
anybody urinate in the river since this neutralises the effect of the
poison. The same restrictions are taken among different Amazonian
peoples in different degrees. This kind of fishing is conducted in
stagnant water at dawn, when there is naturally little oxygen. After
ten minutes when the toxic product is released in the river, the fish
feel suffocated and emerge on the surface. Afterwards they start
swimming in an abnormal way trying to jump out of the water.
Finally, after fifteen to twenty minutes, the fish die. The functioning
of the toxic product depends on the size of the fish and its
environment, in other rivers it can take around an hour. (Descola,
1989)
This fishing method is considered female. If a man employs this
technique regularly, his prestige shrinks. This way of fishing is not
used that often and above all in the dry season. It is a collective task
in which the whole community participates. When the fish appear at
the surface, the children and women catch the fish with baskets and
kill them with machetes. The men use other instruments such as
arrows and harpoons. Fishing with those toxic materials is forbidden
47
by the Peruvian state although several indigenous peoples do not
consider this technique as damaging.
Nor the Kichwa Runa, nor the Airo-Pai use barbasco (Lonchocarpus
urucu) anymore. They believe this technique is a cause for the
diminishing fish population. “We do not fish with poison that
frequently, if we go back afterwards, we do not find any fish
anymore”. (Kichwa Runa informant, D3) The Airo-Pai are not
convinced this technique is adequate for a sedentary lifestyle.
9.3 Harpoons and arrows
The introduction of iron by the missionaries meant change. Whereas
the harpoons and arrows in the past were made by bones of animals
or sharp pieces of plants, they are now made in metal, but still the
same instruments are used. The introduction of the nylon nets had a
larger impact. The harpoon is used to catch big animals such as
paiche (Arapaima gigas), zúngaro (type of catfish) or manatee. Most
prestige is gained by a man using this instrument to fish. Arrows are
used to fish medium and small fishes. There is a special harpoon to
catch paiche (arpón paichero) and one for manatee (arpón
vacamarinero). Nowadays, the manatee is threatened with extinction
and in the Putumayo area the capture of paiche (Arapaima gigas) is
not allowed anymore.
The word "arrow” (flecha) is used for an instrument employed by
hand without a bow. However, in the past a bow was used and still
exists in the collective memory. The Kukama use seven kinds of
arrows, with different ends varying according to the aquatic animal.
For example, there is a special kind of arrow to catch the ray (raya)
which has an end with three points. The Kukama develop a hearing
and observing capacity to identify fish just by the noise of the water.
It is difficult to catch fish during the day because the fish are all over
the place looking for food. Neither do they fish when there is too
much moon. They go fishing when the fish are sleeping at the
surface. A flashlight is used (linternear/lampareando), attached to
their head.
48
9.4 Fishing hook - Anzuelar
I observed above all people fishing with a fishing line since this
activity is performed during the day. In the past, hooks were made
from spines or bones from fish or plants but at the present time it is
made from iron, bought from the traders or in past times from
missionaries. This technique is used by men and women. Currently it
is the most important fishing method, although in symbolical sense
the instruments to catch big aquatic animals are more important.
During the beginning of the rain season, fishing lines are not used.
This method is used from a canoe or from the riverside. In areas
where the river is rough and transport by canoe is difficult during the
raining season, fishing is less relevant and the fishing line is a
common instrument. (Casanova, all sources; Rivas Ruiz, 2000;
Vickers, 1976)
9.5 Trap
One of the conditions for the existence of the trap is the
domestication of plants, because only that way the peoples had fibres
to fabricate nets. Since the half of the 20th century those fibres are no
longer necessary because nets of nylon are used and are replacing the
use of harpoons and arrows. A Kichwa Runa informant (D3)
indicates, they still use nets from natural fibres, but the same
tendency is signalled: “Before they only fished with arrows and
without nets and now, we only fish with nets (pura maya)”. (Kichwa
Runa informant, B7) Different kinds of nets and traps exist and vary
among the Amazonian peoples. According to Rivas Ruiz (2000) the
net meant a real revolution for the fishing activity and is used
regularly among Amazonian peoples, in particular the Kukama.
“Around six in the afternoon begins normally the fishing
task. They put fishing nets in the mouths of the little streams
where you have an abundance of fish. After three hours one
takes the nets away. This can take some days if they want to
sell the fish”. (R31 – Regan, 1993: p. 93)
49
10. Cultivation
For the Kukama the principal cultivation areas are on the floodplains.
Two types of riversides can be categorized: the sandy ones where
water runs fast (playa) and the other ones where water runs slowly
and as such leaves behind sediments that enhance the cultivation of
rice, beans, melons and nuts (barreales). In the barreales mostly
commercial crops are produced, such as rice and chiclayo (kind of
beans). In some communities the inhabitants produce for the market,
in others just for subsistence. Rice and bananas are the main products
for selling. The other lands that are cultivated and suffer from
periodical inundation are the bajiales where banana, corn and yucca
are produced. The bajiales and the restingas are higher up and
cultivated with slash and burn agriculture. Only seven percent of the
Amazonian jungle is varzea and has this kind of floodplains, which
means that 93% of the soil in the Amazonian jungle is low in
fertility. (Gasché, 2010) Thus, the water cycle is important most of
all for people living in the varzea such as the Kukama. The fields
high up in the forest (monte) are less fertile, since there are not
creciente that leaves behind fertile minerals as on the floodplains.
(Agüero, 1994; Álvarez Alonso, 2009a; Rivas Ruiz, 2003)
Additionally, for peoples of the terra firme, the river is very relevant
in the framework of cultivation. Vickers (1983) signals that
regardless to the soil quality, people make their fields close to
navigable streams, to reduce the transportation cost.
Do you have fields (chacras) closer to the river?” “Yes, but
now they are flooded; we are waiting for the dry season”.
(Kukama informant: Campanera, 2009: p.34)
“The flood is good because the earth is like new again”.
(Kukama informant: Campanera, 2009: p. 101)
The Kukama learned how to recognize climatological conditions
from signals in the environment. For example, when the tihuamburo
(bird without identification in English) does fiu fiu, it means they
have to attach their canoes because the water is coming. When the
rainbow (soul of a big snake) appears downstream, the water will
50
begin to disappear. The rain season is also the scarcity period. (Rivas
Ruiz, 2000) The vital rhythms in the Amazon are not determined by
variation in temperature, but by water. (Álvarez Alonso, 2010) For
example the Airo-Pai consider many more seasons, related to the
flood and the moon cycle that condition when they should clean their
fields, plant etc.
Source: Chirif, 1979: p. 44
The flooding does not only deposit nutritive sediments, it is part of
the Kukama culture: “The cemeteries and fields of manioc and
banana, houses in which they live are usually located on the
riversides, islands or beaches, all low areas. And although through
experience that during the flood they don’t have fields and sometimes
51
no house anymore, they still do not have their cemeteries in the high
lands, saying that the home of their ancestors always has been the
Big River (Rio Grande). Living is walking continually in rivers and
lagoons, fishing and rowing, in which they are better than any
nation”. (Samuel Fritz – 1690 in Campanera, 2009: p. 97)
52
11. Exchanging through the river
“The river is also our road
The people go up and down the river
They are going from here to there
Before they only had canoes, rafts and peddles
Today we also use boats and motors
But we do not forget what our grandparents taught us”
In the Amazon area in Peru, particularly in the province of Loreto,
roads are almost non-existent. The fastest way to travel between
communities is by canoe and peque-peque (canoe with an outboard
motor). For those used to roads, it is difficult to imagine that the
jungle is not isolated, but the water streams are an excellent
alternative. It makes distances much larger, but travelling on water is
less intrusive. (Shoobridge, 2007) On the Putumayo river (border
with Colombia) where the Kichwa Runa and the Airo-Pai live
transport is taken care of by the Colombian commercial boats. On
smaller rivers travelling is possible by canoes and little boats (pequepeques). There is no infrastructure for vehicles so on foot you have
to use the little pathways through the forest that go from community
to community. (Shoobridge, 2007) A Kichwa Runa told me how they
everyday go to school by canoe (a remo – with oars) and sometimes
the river is dry and then they go on foot. Closer to the big cities such
as Iquitos, there are more transport alternatives because of
commercial potential such as the lancha.
Consequently, as I was able to experience, in the Amazon region
people orient themselves by saying “up” and “down”, what alludes to
the direction of the river. Also Rivas Ruiz (2000) points out how the
river shapes an essential orientation axe: the Kukama say “uni
yayakati-rupi” which means “up” (agua arriba), and “uni ats+r+karupe” which means “down” (agua abajo). In addition, distance is
measured according to the river, for example: “30 minutes up by
canoe”. (Kichwa Runa informant, B3) An illustration: to know
where the contamination has taken place, the researcher asks: “how
53
many hours by boat from the mouth of the river?” In addition,
distance is frequently measured by turns in the river.
There is a myth (Kichwa Runa, Shipibo) on how in the past the river
ran in two directions: one half of the river ran upstream and the other
half downstream, as such the travel time was shortened. But because
of recklessness of one of the community members (in case of the
Shipibo: a menstruating woman) the river now only goes one way.
(Gossuin, 2009; Mercier, 1990)
Canoes are constructed by the men, just as are the oars. According to
some authors, the canoe was introduced by the missionaries,
although there does not exist real evidence for this statement.
(Vickers, 1981) It seems probable that for some indigenous peoples
from terra firme such as the Airo-Pai, this is the case. However for
the large indigenous peoples living alongside the rivers already for
some centuries, such as the Kukama, they knew how to produce a
canoe before the missionaries arrived.
Landolt (2000) describes how, especially before the existence of the
radiophone, most of the communication and interaction passes
through the rivers. This is why many habits, stories and instruments
are similar among Amazonian peoples. Lowie confirms this: “the
distribution of characteristics is related to navigation. Groups with
canoes were able to travel easily in flooded zones and share their
arts and habits along big distances. The combination of
technological conditions with ecological limitations caused a
similarity between Amazon peoples. (In Rivas Panduro, 2010: p. 58 )
Gossuin (2009: p. 11) says of the missionary settlements: “le réseau
fluvial devenait une espèce d’autoroute de la civilisation”.
Travelling by canoe on the river, people of the Amazonia visit each
other, get to know each other, exchange goods and experiences,
make friendships, fall in love... In the Amazonia, the river and life
are one”. (Surrallés in Gossuin, 2009: p. 20)
Commercial exchange is relatively limited for the Kichwa Runa and
Airo-Pai since they are relatively self-sufficient and goods are
expensive. However, because of the degradation of the environment,
54
the self-sufficiency is a problem for other Amazonian peoples such
as the Kichwa from the Pastaza river (informant B9) or the Achuar.
(Earthrights International, 2006) To live in a community, money is
not needed in principle since natural resources are available to
anybody. Nonetheless in the present time to some extent money is
necessary and sought after to buy clothing, kerosene, cooking
equipment, bullets, salt, soap, fishing hooks, plates, a radio,
medicines, school materials… To generate income the Airo-Pai sell
or exchange manioc, corn, bananas, crafts and in the past also animal
skins. The Kukama sell fish or agricultural products in the nearby
cities. Contact with other cultures or urban centres often increases
necessities and therefore the need to generate income through the
extraction of the natural resources. (Campanera, 2009) The
commercial activity passes mostly through the river. Peoples living
close to urban centres travel there themselves. But if they live farther
away, such as the Kichwa Runa and Airo-Pai in the Putumayo
region, they depend on the regatones28 to buy products. These are
traders that travel up and down the river to different communities
selling basic products such as soap, food products, often exchanged
for chicken, fish, wood… Because of the monopoly of these traders,
the prices are high. “The traders buy cheap”. (Kichwa Runa
informant, D3) (Regan, 1993; San Ramon, 1975)
28
Also called cacharrero in the Putumayo, which is a Colombian term.
55
Part II
Petroleum and development
56
12. Petroleum and development
In this chapter, I will discuss how petroleum contamination affects
the role of water in the daily life of the indigenous peoples. In
addition, I will sketch the social conflict between the Peruvian state
and some indigenous peoples caused by petroleum contamination.
This is not just a conflict over resources and the consequences of
contamination. Diverging definitions of reality and development are
at stake. I draw upon the dog in the manger syndrome: a key issue to
the representation of the indigenous peoples by the current29
government and upon Belaunde's (2001) and Viteri's (2006) concept
of “living well”: how do the indigenous peoples delineate
development?
I focus on the petroleum contamination since it is the most contested
and most dangerous form of contamination according to Gómez
(1995). In the Putumayo area where the Kichwa Runa and Airo-Pai
are residing, the petroleum companies are not yet exploiting
petroleum; the enterprises execute a third exploration round. (APP,
2010) For the Kukama, however, several oil spills have taken place
in 2010 and for other indigenous peoples such as the Kichwa from
the Pastaza or the Achuar; the pollution is already a reality for more
than thirty years. I will in addition use their testimonies to describe
consequences of long term contamination.
12.1 Petroleum contamination
996.3 million barrels of crude oil have been extracted since 1939 and
the exploration activities peaked in the 1980s. Currently, 48.6%
(peak in 2007) of the Peruvian Amazon has been given into
concession to petroleum companies, all foreign, and 72% has been
zoned for hydrocarbon activities30. In 2003 this was only 7.1%. The
concessions overlap with 17.1% of the protected areas and over half
29
In 2011 presidential elections were held.
Concessions plus technical evaluation agreements and proposed
concessions.
30
57
of the titled indigenous lands. Finer (2010) signals that in 2010 more
of the Peruvian Amazon had been leased than any time before and he
calls this the second hydrocarbon exploration boom31 and as such the
region may be on the verge of a second exploitation boom.
(Benavides, 2010)
Petroleum blocks – February 2011 - Source: IBC
31
The first hydrocarbon exploration boom occurred in the early to mid1970s.
58
The causes of pollution in the Peruvian Amazon are multiple but the
highest degree of contamination is produced by the petroleum
activities, the extraction of gold, the urban centres and cocaine
production. These causes are linked to encounter in the sense that
these extraction and production activities are focused on foreign
markets and therefore involve actors from outside the Amazon, who
are alien to the indigenous reality. Only the urban centres constitute
another category: the problem comprises the non-treatment of
polluted water which goes straight into the river. The pollution is
caused by the urban industries but also by the navigation on the
rivers. (Interview Álvarez Alonso; Gómez, 1995) A Kichwa Runa
informant (B5) assures me that in the majority of the communities
the waste is buried instead of thrown in the river. Nonetheless, one
expert (SERNANP) indicates that all the batteries used for
flashlights, are thrown with the waste in the river or end up in the
soil close to waterways.
I focus on the petroleum contamination since the extraction of
petroleum is one of the principal economic activities in the jungle
area and because in its short time existence has created conflictual
relations between the foreign actors and the Peruvian state on the one
hand and the indigenous populations on the other. Actors do benefit
from the extraction activity since a flow of money is produced.
Nonetheless, the petroleum activity entails the opening of new routes
and infrastructure through the destruction of the forest. In total, 679
exploratory and production wells have been constructed and in 2009
there were 266 wells producing oil. (Fines, 2010) During the
production, pollution occurs by brackish32 water and accidental oil
spills. For one barrel of petroleum, two or three barrels of brackish
water are produced which flows back to the river and has three
characteristics: it contains heavy metals, has a higher temperature
and a high salinity degree. Consequently the structure of the habitat
(e.g., chemical composition, temperature, PH, colour…) is changed
and therefore influences the migratory flows of the fish populations.
32
Water with a higher salinity degree than fresh water: almost two times as
salty as sea water, and additionally, the brackish water has a temperature of
80°C.
59
The brackish water affects the amount of oxygen in the water which
is an important factor for the quantity of living creatures in this
environment. Sometimes benzene and toluene components are
identified. These are highly contaminating products causing the
death of the fish. A total separation between contaminating
components and water is almost impossible so heavy metals can turn
up in the river and even really low doses can have lethal
consequences. In addition, accidental oil spills occur. (Gómez
García, 1995)33 During my field trip (2010) there were three oil spills
in the Marañón River, tributary of the Amazon.
The pollution cannot just be attributed to accidents but also to
negligence. For example, the waste pits in the Corrientes watershed
area, used to store contaminating elements do not meet the same
standards as in the USA, for the reason that these conditions are not
required by Peruvian law. Therefore, ConocoPhillips employs more
porous waste storage pits. When it rains heavily or by flooding, the
contaminating components flow to the river, which is used for
hygiene and potable water by local populations. (E-tech
international, 2009) When E-tech International (2009) was
investigating the petroleum contamination (in concession 1AB and 8,
Corrientes River), they found crude oil in several places. A
representative of the petroleum company admitted to be aware of the
frequent oil spills, but no countermeasures were taken. In addition,
the actions executed to rehabilitate the contaminated soil were not
according to strict conditions. E-tech International concluded that the
level of pollutants was too high for the standards set by the Peruvian
government (mercury, chromo, cadmium…). The norms used by the
petroleum company would not even be legal in the USA, where
standards are much stricter. In Peru the standards imply a huge risk,
considering the proximity of the local communities. Once in the
water, oil contamination is much more difficult to counter. A
Kukama informant (C14) indicates: “People believe that water
cleans everything, but that is not true, it brings a lot of waste”.
33
Last investigation carried out IIAP (Instituto de la Investigación de la
Amazonía Peruana) on the Amazon as a whole.
60
12.2 Consequences of petroleum contamination
In 2009, there were 266 wells producing oil. (Fines, 2010) But since
the rivers are polluted, consequences are widespread. The principal
impact is on the river water, drunk by the indigenous peoples and
local communities, and on the fish population, which for most
Amazonian peoples is an important source of food. Moreover, there
are negative consequences for agricultural fields and people
themselves. The impacts have been well-documented in the
Corrientes River region. In most investigations (Amazon Watch –
Achuar; Earth Rights – Shipibo; Acodecospat - Kukama) people
complain about similar effects.
“The contamination is in the fish, where we live, in what we
eat to survive”.
(Achuar respondent: Amazon Watch, 2009: p.14)
12.2.1 Water
“I said to him: this water is not good, since those fish smell
badly. And when we cooked with this water, it looked like
water from the well. It looked like more reddish, like how the
banana plant affects the water”. (Kukama informant, E8)
After long term contamination, water is not drinkable at all anymore:
“Before, we could drink from the river, we could drink from many
streams, but now it is not like that anymore. Today we have to walk
four or five days to find fresh water. We knew that something was
wrong, because before the arrival of the companies there was plenty
of fish and animals. But now the fish are really thin. And when one
cleans them, petroleum appears”. (Achuar informant: Amazon
Watch, 2009: p.13)
As for the Kukama, people try to avoid drinking water and contact
with the river, but in such an environment and without alternatives,
this is almost impossible. This applies to most of the peoples, they
keep bathing in the river and the majority keeps drinking the water
61
and eating the fish. Children keep playing in the water. (Weemaels,
2005) There are several alternatives to clean the water, but often
these alternatives are expensive.
"We drink the same water, but we clean it with chlorine and
we cook it". (Kukama informant, C11 & C13)
"Now we buy water in Nauta which does not hurt us".
(Kukama informant, C9) “We buy water in Nauta, and if we
do not have any money, we drink water from the river”.
(Kukama informant, C14)
“We drink rain water, and if it does not rain, we drink water
from the lake”. (Kukama informant, C1)
Both on the short and the long term, the water is contaminated. As I
observed with the Kukama, people employ different strategies to
overcome the problem of non-drinkable water. The absence of large
amounts of money in a community or family makes that people have
to prioritize in their spending and not necessarily have the resources
to buy water. In addition, not all of them find it necessary if they do
not feel directly the consequences of the contamination. In general
almost all the informants were preoccupied about the cleanness of
the water, but they applied different measures to counter this
problem. In literature, little is said about the actions taken to counter
the long-term contamination.
12.2.2 Aquatic and non-aquatic animals
The consequences for the fish differ greatly, particularly since the
effects vary depending on the degree of contamination: an oil spill
has another influence than brackish water. But in general respondents
describe similar effects.
“The fish seem burned”. (Kukama informant, E8) said a
Kukama informant after the petroleum spill in July 2010.
“Not only had the small fishes died, also the manatees. We
62
found two dead manatees. […] And the fish are so thin”.
(Kukama informants, E4 & E5)
“One day your grandfather took you to Samiria. (Nature
reserve in Loreto) Well, you have been many times in
Samiria, but we are talking about the 13th of August when
you were with your grandparents at Samiria. What did you
see?”
“Zúngaros34”
“But what had happened with the zúngaros?”
“They were dying”
“Many?”
“A lot, they were lying on the beach. They were stranded
there before dying”
“Did you see anything like that before in Samiria?”
“No, it was the first time”. (Kukama informant, E6)
However, people keep eating fish, since they have no alternatives
and the contamination is not always that obvious: "Yes we can eat
fish, but there is less". (Kukama informant, C10)
About the effects on big aquatic animals, the impressions of people
diverge. “Only dolphins, zúngaros and manatees were not dead”.
(Kukama informant, F24) One informant points out that the dolphin
is not affected by the contamination since they do not have gills. “All
the animals with gills, only to the dolphin nothing will happen
because he does not have gills, everything is empty. All the fish have
gills; therefore they come to the surface when there is
contamination". (Kukama informant, E8) Another informant does
believe that big animals die: “Even the dolphins, my son saw a dead
dolphin”. (Kukama informant, F 30)
As concerns the long-term consequences, the Achuar complained
that the fish are smaller and much harder. Sometimes they have
different colours and smell of petroleum. People keep eating the fish
since they do not have alternatives. “Before you could find any
34
Type of catfish.
63
animal; now there is only little”. (Kichwa del Pastaza informant, B9)
That is something people complain about in general and cannot
necessarily be attributed to petroleum contamination. For example,
the smaller size of the fish can be explained by the pressure of
overexploitation of the fish resources. There seems to be a decrease
in aquatic animals and other animals. Despite the clean water, “The
water here is not at all polluted” (Kichwa Runa informant, D3), also
the Kichwa Runa and the Airo-Pai point out the degeneration of the
fish population. They refer to a growing population in the Putumayo
area to explain the decrease. (Kichwa Runa informant, B5 & B7) For
the Airo-Pai the scarcity is also a consequence of the transformation
from a semi-nomad to a sedentary lifestyle. (Desmet, 2010)
The Kukama use their own knowledge to understand the reality and
in different interviews the situation of the dead fish caused by
contamination is compared to the use of the drug barbasco
(Lonchocarpus nicou). For example: a manatee is not killed by
barbasco, since he swims away fast. And now they do find dead
manatees. They thus use the measure of barbasco to evaluate the
seriousness of the situation.
“Those fish seem drugged”. (Kukama informant, E7)
“Every year fish die, but they never die like this, it
resembles the effect of barbasco, but with barbasco you
cannot poison the whole river”. (Kukama informant, F 24)
Finally, also non-aquatic animals are affected: the Achuar describe
how, on the long term, larger voyages have to be undertaken for less
meat of less quality. Informants complain that animals close to
petroleum infrastructure are thinner and seem ill. Sometimes oil is
found inside them. Since the animals need salt for their daily diet,
they search for it and eat the petroleum or drink the polluted water.
(Kichwa del Pastaza informant, B9) Nonetheless, the impact on
animals in the forest is less visible since they tend to come out above
all at night to eat and their habitats are deeper into the forest.
(Amazon Watch, 2009)
64
A lot of specific knowledge is related to fishing, such as the use of
different methods, different plants, the calendar… What if the fish
population is drastically reduced by contamination and changed, how
will this affect this specific knowledge, part of the indigenous
reality? And what would be the consequences for the Kukama where
the knowledge on fishing is an important factor to distinguish them
from river dwellers? (Rivas Ruiz, 2000) More research is needed on
this topic.
12.2.3 Cultivation
As a consequence of petroleum exploitation, the fields are less
productive and fewer fields are available for cultivation. This is
especially so in the varzea, where the relation with water is even
closer. (Earth Rights International, 2006) There the soils get more
contaminated because of the seasonal flooding. As a response to the
threats/ problems caused by the petroleum activity, the Achuar
moved their fields upwards, but consequently the productivity is
lower. (Amazon Watch, 2009)
"When the water is rising, it can contaminate the soil. So we
cultivate on higher fields, but these are not that fertile".
(Kukama informant, C2)
12.2.4 The people
The principal consequences for human health are allergic reactions
of the skin and the eyes, diarrhea and fever, nauseas, vomits, cramps,
spontaneous abortions… Long-term consequences of petroleum
contamination include effects on the kidneys, the liver, the bones,
and the blood and can cause cancers… These symptoms are caused
by exposure to toxic substances or as a result of malnutrition
associated with the reduction of the animal and fish population. It is
difficult to attribute diseases directly to contamination, especially in
an area where no doctor is present and no research is conducted.
With regard to the children of the Achuar community, a high level of
65
lead was found in their blood. Many diseases and even deaths can be
related to the exposure to lead. Additionally, in a research of the
government, high levels of cadmium were found in the blood of the
commoners. (Amazon Watch, 2009)
“When we take water, it sticks to our hand, it sticks to our
skin after bathing, and in the afternoon it starts itching”.
(Amazon Watch, 2009: p. 30)
"We do not bathe in the river anymore. (Kukama informant,
C8)
“My body hurts and my feet are heavy. It is difficult to walk
and I have to walk with a stick. I am giddy and have
sensations of heat in my body. Not one doctor examined me”.
(Amazon Watch, p30)
"I have headaches, fever and diarrhea". (Kukama informant,
C5 & C11 & C9 & C12) "Above all the children suffer".
(Kukama informant, C13)
But not everybody feels affected by the oil spill: "I do not feel any
different, I feel good, strong, it depends on the person, I drink
normally, and I bathe normally". (Kukama informant, C6)
As I mentioned above, little money is available in the community
and as such there exist few alternatives for the polluted food and
water: "We do not have the resources to counter the contamination,
that is why we have to negotiate with the companies, because we
have limited economical resources. There is no work to generate
income". (Kukama informant, C8)
There is not much research available on how contamination
challenges culture, but there are some examples. According to the
Kukama, rainwater generates itching, rheumatism and goitre. Not all
the rain is dangerous, it is most dangerous when it rains slowly and a
rainbow is formed. This rain is called the “urine of the boa”.
Moreover, as an alternative for fish, the Kukama eat tuna from a tin.
66
But some believe these tins contain human flesh or pink dolphins’
meat. (Matzner, 2010) In addition, a Kukama informant emphasised
the importance of fishing for his people and the prestige connected to
it: “A person that cannot go fishing, will not find a wife, nor will he
be able to support his family”. (Audio: Hoy cerramos el río
Marañón)
Only one respondent relates the contamination to the world of water:
"The yacuruna does not come anymore, only in the past, he made
himself Christian, they are scared, that is why they do not come, the
contamination killed dolphins". (Kukama informant, C9) So one can
draw different conclusions: Or the world of water is not that present
anymore for the Kukama; or they do not want to talk about it with an
outsider; or the wrong questions were asked; or they do not believe
contamination affects the world of water?
And what would it mean for a people where the world of water is
still highly present? One respondent (Kichwa del Pastaza informant,
B10) signals: “The contamination destroys the equilibrium between
all the beings. And people lose there habits and identity”.
Nor can I draw conclusions with regard to the exchange through the
river. One could say that contamination does not have direct
consequences on exchange, but the hypothesis could be formulated
that exchange will enhance. Contamination makes the resources in
the nearby environment scarce, so trade will need to increase as well.
Nonetheless the biggest threat to exchange and trade is probably the
climate change. The Amazon rivers last year experienced some
unusual heavy droughts, which make travelling by river difficult. But
few alternatives are present in this area where roads are almost nonexistent.
The image of petroleum portrayed by the state or the companies is
one of “Anybody would have thought that it was an encounter with
paradise”. (R37 – Regan, 1993: p.95) However: “They were poorer
than before”. (R40 – Regan, 1993: p. 96) After long term petroleum
exploitation, people complain about little respect for women and the
increase of prostitution. An informant (B9) signals how people
change when oil is extracted in the region and how men feel less
67
responsible for their wife, values change. In addition, a
transformation is induced by the contamination. The community
evolves from a subsistence economy to a market economy, and they
have to buy all products in the city, as a result people lose their
sovereignty. (Kimerling, 2007; Weemaels, 2005) One of the
informant states (B10): “This is genocide”.
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13. Petroleum – Development or Poverty?
In the final section I describe how petroleum contamination causes a
social conflict and in addition, I explore the diverging perceptions of
what development should entail according to the Peruvian
government and the indigenous populations
13.1 Social conflict
"Contentious and ambiguous describe the relationship
between large-scale mining and development. Contentious
because mining has so often delivered adverse social,
environmental and economic effects for the many, but
significant gains only for the few; ambiguous because of the
abiding sense, among local populations as much as
development professionals , that just maybe mining could
contribute much more. In the coexistence of such divergent
feelings about mining and its human and environmental
impacts lie the seeds of much conflict". (Beggington, 2008:
p. 887)
The Peruvian ombudsman (Defensoría del Pueblo) defines a social
conflict (Appendix VIII) as “a complex process in which parts of
society, the State and the companies perceive their goals, interest,
values or needs are conflicting and this contradiction can lead to
violence”. (Defensoría del Pueblo, 2011: p. 68) Thereby the
ombudsman identifies both economical interests and cultural values
as factors influencing the conflict. In the case of Peru, enterprises are
explicitly mentioned since in many conflict situations they play an
important role. The power over the extraction of resources and the
territory is relevant for the course of the conflict, just as the
perception and definition of these resources and territory. Benavides
(2010) defines this conflict as a clash between two visions on
development.
69
An example: Sunday 24 October 2010, 5000 persons from the
indigenous communities35 closed the Marañón River, to make their
voices heard and ask the petroleum companies to negotiate. A
Kukama Informant (C14) indicates: “We declare the emergency. The
government has to help us”. They are sick of the contamination (Oil
spills on the 19 July and 24 September in the Marañón River). The
principal demand entails potable water and food. This is just one
example, and demonstrates how contamination is able to unify the
people. (Informant Kichwa del Pastaza, B10) The violence in Bagua
in 2009 is the best known outburst of the conflict occurring between
the indigenous communities and the state, caused by exploitation of
resources.
The ombudsman categorizes half of the social conflicts as socioenvironmental conflicts36 and in 50 percent of the conflicts at one
point violence occurred. Many of these conflicts are related to the
exploitation of petroleum. (Defensoría del Pueblo, 2011) But the
Peruvian state undervalues the recommendations made by this office.
(Intermón Oxfam, 2008) Bebbington (2009) illustrates that “such
conflicts underlain by longer-standing rivalries and differences that
mining serves to amplify”. The tensions between the petroleum
companies and the state on the one hand, and the indigenous
communities on the other arise initially because of the asymmetrical
power relation and the fact that the Peruvian government imposes the
oil concessions without consultation of the indigenous communities.
(Amazon Watch, 2009) Nonetheless, in not all cases a conflict arises.
As signalled by a informant (B10): “Now the people co-exist with the
pollution. They […] feel powerless, they do not protest. The company
has all the power”.
35
In the article the journalist only talks about indigenous communities and
not about any river dwellers, although they are also affected by the
contamination.
36
“Es un tipo de conflicto social cuya dinámica gira en torno al control, uso
y/o acceso al ambiente y sus recursos. Están presentes también
componentes políticos, económicos, sociales y culturales.” (Defensoría del
Pueblo, 2011: p. 68)
70
In report of the ombudsman, the social conflict between the Kukama
(and other) organizations and the Pluspetrol company is discussed.
The Kukama want compensations for the damage caused by the oil
spills. Furthermore, the Peruvian ombudsman considers that the
Kichwa Runa and the Airo-Pai are part of a latent conflict with the
companies Petrobras and Perupetro and the Ministry for Energy and
Mining (MEM). The indigenous peoples were not consulted about
the assignation of petroleum concessions to companies as established
by the “Convention 169 concerning the indigenous and tribal
peoples” of the International Labour Organization. (Defensoría del
pueblo, 2011)
The fact that the participation and visibility of the political discourse
of indigenous peoples is considered as a conflict, shows that
interculturality is not existent yet in Peru. The concept of
interculturality is used to reproduce a status-quo and the current
social system. The concept does not change anything to the practice
of discrimination directed towards the indigenous peoples.
Nonetheless, the concept has the asset of recognizing the different
identities and is a consequence of encounter between different
societies. (Chirif, 2007; Heise, 2001)
The local population is not necessarily against the extraction of
subsoil resources. Alan García’s policy of promoting extractive
economies has been heavily criticized for trampling the rights of
indigenous communities. They want norms about environmental
protection that are respected. A Kichwa informant (B9) and MEM
point out that the protection is already better than in the past.
"Contamination per unit of production will presumably never be as
bad as the 1970s era projects due to improved regulations and
standards, modern production sites and pipelines are still prone to
accidents, leaks and spills". (Finer, 2010) But in the 18 cases a fine
was give to an enterprise for disobeying environmental rules, and not
one this fine was paid. The communities often take action through
occupying the infrastructure of the company or by establishing a
roadblock (or obstructing the river). These actions are perceived by
the state as a “no” against modernity or development and progress
which delegitimizes the actual demand. (CIDSE, 2009)
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“The struggles are frequently over the meaning of
development rather than simply over the distribution”.
(Bebbington, 2009: p. 901)
A possible hypothesis is: if through the encounter, identity becomes
more or less important? According to Niezen (2002) threat is an
important part of indigenism and is triggered by oppression and a
feeling of illegitimate, meaninglessness and dishonourable suffering.
One could say this is the case in Peru, since the conflict is clearly
defined along the line of identity. Also non-indigenous peoples are
affected by the contamination; but nobody mentions them. In the
cases I have described, the social conflicts caused by the oil spill or
the presence of petroleum companies are clearly depicted as between
the Kukama (although this people until recently would not define
themselves as such), the Airo-Pai or the Kichwa Runa, and the
Peruvian state. According to Sundberg (2006) one should consider
that the conflict can lead to new models of individual and collective
identity; that the identity is shaped by the conflict rather than an
identity with a priori meaning.
13.2 The dog in the manger
The upheavals have been linked to the strategy of President García’s
government (2006-2011). The prevalent political discourse attempts
to equate extraction of natural resources with development.
Institutions such as the World Bank Group encourage countries to
commit to extractive industry growth as development strategy.
(Beggington, 2008) The narrative on the “dog in the manger” is the
most explicit manifestation of the current national approach.
According to García, Peru should extract its resources to obtain
profit and economic growth. This development however is being
obstructed by an indigenous population. The discourse clearly
connotes discrimination. Today, indigenous peoples are no longer
called salvajes or indios. However, authors do wonder if something
fundamentally changed and if indigenous peoples in the Amazon are
treated equally in their relationships with external actors. When
researching the history of the Peruvian Amazon, the domination of
72
indigenous peoples is a central component of every encounter.
Domination though is merely founded on technological and political
power. The creation of the image of the other as a subaltern being
and the use of media to diffuse the image is central to the
justification of the domination. (Chirif, 2010: p. 13) Of course, this
construction never leads to a homogenous image and is not a totally
conscious process, but rather dominant actors with different interests
interacting on the base of historical and contemporary events and
perceptions and as such generating a construction wherein the
interests and perception meet and action is taken upon. (Chirif, 2010:
p. 13) Below I sketch briefly the image of the indigenous peoples
and of the Amazon through history.
The conquest of South America engenders an encounter with “the
other”, namely from the Spanish point of view the indigenous
peoples. The image created by the Spanish at first is a denial of them
being human: they are salvajes (wild) and animals (bestias). The
conqueror did not recognize that these people had a spirit which was
a reason why force could be used against them. In 1531 this image is
changed through the papal bull of Pope Paulo III which confirms the
humanity of indigenous peoples. Nonetheless, the Pope emphasizes
the lack of the catholic belief. Therefore the indigenous peoples
should not be able to determine their own development. They did not
believe in the Christian God and therefore they should be saved.
Several catholic orders founded missionary settlements (reducciones)
in the Amazon. In these settlements, missionaries used the labour
force of the population to work for their own benefit. Their access to
the forest and mobility were reduced and the catholic belief was
taught to them.
During the rubber boom (época del caucho) this image was
reconstructed for a second time and is in use still today. By that time
indigenous peoples were converted into Catholics and the new
independent states had undertaken a process of laicization. The
justification for the domination was no longer valid although the
exploitative situation continued. The reconstructed image defined
indigenous peoples as ignorant and idle. Therefore, they had to
resume their responsibility and work. They had to be civilized, not
73
only through religion, but also through work and order. Patron
systems were introduced with the indigenous peoples extracting
resources for the patron and this period is still ill-famed for its
violence. In addition the Peruvian government ratified laws to
enhance landownership by foreigners and migration, in order to
“conquer the jungle” (conquistar la selva). (Chirif, 1977) Today
these three images (indigenous peoples as wild, unreligious and
ignorant/idle) still exist and are employed, although the last one is
predominant in Peruvian society. (Chirif, 2010: p. 11)
A wide spread and distorted image is the one of the Amazon forest.
The Amazon is perceived as a land almost uninhabited (myth of the
empty Amazon) and not related to any historical process of the coast
and the sierra. Indigenous peoples are represented as isolated and
culturally backwards, in the margin of great Andean and coastal
populations and the Amazon is conceived as a virgin forest.
Nevertheless, the ecology and the dispersion of animals in the
Amazon is a consequence of a large historical process of human
activity changing the natural landscape and as such animal
distribution. In addition, already for a long time there is cultural and
commercial contact between the Amazon population and the ones
from the sierra and the coast. The different populations employed
similar myths and symbols. Furthermore, the image is constructed
that the Amazon has highly fertile soils (myth of the fertility) and is a
uniform area. (Álvarez Alonso, 2009; Obispos de Amazonía
Peruana, 1997) These perceptions above all represent the lack of
knowledge and ignorance of the dominant society. In reality the
Amazon is a diverse area, with only in the varzea very fertile soils.
(Dirección de Educación Secundaria, 2007)
In 2007 the Peruvian president Alan García published an article
called “the dog in the manger syndrome” (síndrome del perro del
hortelano). He emphasizes how in the Amazon a vast amount of
resources are not being exploited and nobody is benefitting. The
reason is that indigenous peoples just own parcels in which they
cannot invert and do not want to since for them these are sacred
territories, in short: a gardener dog that does not eat and does not let
anybody else eat (que no come y ni deja comer). Consequently the
74
Peruvian government believes that the principal practice to integrate
the Amazon into Peru should be through migration and through the
privatization and extraction of resources; the indigenous peoples are
only an obstacle to development. They are blamed for their own
situation. (Álvarez Alonso, D2) Under Alan Garcia (in power from
2006 till 2011) Peru introduced a neoliberal project and a political
philosophy, trying to create national citizenship, in order to forge a
singular nation. The Amazon is represented in the official discourse
as a vast and empty frontier area awaiting penetration, civilization
and national incorporation. This demonstrates the desintrest and
ignorance of the Peruvian state. (Álvarez Alonso, informant A2) The
policy is oriented towards the urban and costal culture. (MayburyLewis, 2002)
This image differs from the perception in Western society and media.
An informant (B10) signals: “Foreigners value more the indigenous
peoples than our own Peruvian world”. Currently the Amazon is
considered as the green lung of the world and the indigenous peoples
are perceived as the botanists and pharmacologists with useful
knowledge: a Green Avatar admired for his idealized way of life in
which harmony between men and nature is conserved. Sundberg
(2006: p. 242) calls this the conservationist imaginary: “A social
group with ecological practices that appear self-evident with pregiven timeless characteristics”. It is a discourse used by the
indigenous intellectuals but not necessarily similar to the community
insights; consisting with other perceptions and discourses. (Descola,
2004; Perrault, 2001)
75
Source: La República, 20 May 2009, Peru
13.3 Living well
In this final subdivision I briefly point out the principal features of
the concept of “living well”, a concept Viteri Gualinga (2006)
equates with the western development concept. According to
Benavides (2010) it is a term not always used by the Amazonian
peoples, but highly present in their reality. I use in particular the
description of Belaunde (2001) and how she experienced the reality
of an Airo-Pai community. This development concept has a totally
different interpretation than the above described perception by the
Peruvian state, which defines development as the exploitation of
resources. I am well aware that I only abstract some features and that
neither the state nor the indigenous communities are homogenous
entities. So again, I just sketch part of the reality.
Viteri Gualinga (2006) discusses the concept of ‘alli káusai’ in
Quichua which could be translated as living well, or living
76
harmoniously. He compares living well with the Western concept of
development and argues that the concepts do not have identical
meanings. Living well is based on a permanent dialogue with the
other community members and the environment. Poverty (mútsui in
Quichua) is defined differently and is directly related to not having
the basic agricultural products, as such a more circumstantial
poverty. Poverty is linked to the knowledge of soils and the
ecological type of environment and as a consequence is frequently
caused by the inundation of the fields and is not necessarily related to
not having enough fish and meat from hunting (for the Kichwa del
Pastaza). For the Kukama scarcity signifies not having fish. Defining
being poor as scarcity in the possession of material products and in
monetary terms is relatively new.
Gasché (2010a: p. 3) describes how many community members
complain: “We are poor; the government is not supporting us…”
Therefore many outside visitors conclude these people are unhappy
and frustrated. Nevertheless, when participating in daily life, this
“unhappiness” is not observed. And if there are opportunities to earn
money, these are not always taken. The author signals that many
projects of NGOs and the state are designed to combat poverty.
However, these people are defined as poor from the urban society
point of view. They do not necessarily define themselves as poor,
although in most communities there is scarcity of money. This
discourse serves to attract funds to the community. I noticed this
discourse only with the Kukama: "We are poor but happy". (Kukama
informant, C8) At least four respondents emphasized in my
interviews they are poor. I do not totally agree with Gasché that this
discourse is always strategically employed. The Kukama respondents
naming themselves poor were those who in addition did not want to
define themselves as indigenous. I conclude that being poor is a
characteristic attributed to them by outside actors which they will use
strategically in their advantage. But it is also a feature they started
believing in themselves, closely related to the idea that the
indigenous identity is not to be proud of.
Also Chirif (2010) participates in this discussion and points out that
the wrong parameters are used: the people who live from hunting and
77
fishing say themselves they never experienced food shortage, they
live in a healthy environment and solve their own conflicts. They are
called poor because of lack of electricity, because of the water that
does not come out of tubes, because they cannot read, although they
live in an oral culture… These indicators do not necessarily take life
quality into account such as the fresh air, good food, silence, no
pollution… Poverty is measured by the indicators used and those can
diverge depending on the definition of those indicators.
Belaunde indicates how she during her stay in an Airo-Pai
community she rarely heard a child cry or people quarrelling. She
realized that this is not a self-evident condition in a community but
above all a forced situation. Since the community does not have
juridical means, cooperation is even more valuable. Heavy
disagreements can end with one of the actors migrating to another
community. Trying to avoid aggression through auto-control is
called living well or beautifully (vivir bien). The Airo-Pai believe
that everybody has an aggressive element. But aggression (rabiarse)
is a destructive force and therefore has to be controlled. “An angry
person is not a person; it is a huatí, a bad spirit”. (Belaunde, 2001)
Vickers (1976) supports this notion by arguing that the Airo-Pai try
to avoid confrontation and pointing out that the behaviour of a
community member looking for consensus is perceived as closer to
the concept of the ideal man. I as well experienced the importance of
living well for the Airo-Pai when during a workshop the youngsters
described their rights and duties as: “We have the right to live well”.
“We have to listen (hacer caso) to other persons”. “We think well
(pensamos bien)”. “We have the right to think to live well”. From
early age on children will be given advice and emphasized they have
to “think well” (pensar bien) which emphasizes the importance of
listening to the advice.
A similar situation is portrayed by Stocks about the Kukama.
Authority does not exist. Children are socialized in such a way that
confrontations are avoided. When such an open conflict appears,
people often emigrate to another community. The no-intrusion, for
example: if a child does not want to have an injection, it does not
have to receive it. (Stocks, 1981)
78
Furthermore, living well does not only affect the social relations.
Many notions of this concept consist side to side. The Kichwa Runa
asked which I asked about living well, answered to me: “Tener una
vida adecuada”, (Informant, D3, D6 & D7) which signifies for them:
being able to support your family and being healthy. Also Kukama
informants indicated similar features: health, family, education, food
and clothing. One should not portray the indigenous peoples as
Green Avatars. They do need money to consume certain necessities.
Thus, different definitions of development complement each other
and co-exist.
79
14. Conclusion: Connection through water
Writing this Masterpaper has been a challenge and a process filled
with doubts: Have I managed to demonstrate how nuanced the
situation is? Too which extent can one generalize? Have I not
depicted petroleum companies too much as diabolical actors or
stigmatized the Peruvian State? Where do I draw the line between
the local and the external? Where does the state begin and the
community end? How do I find a balance between the indigenous
peoples with economical interests and culturally different from the
dominant society? Did I stay away from the romanticised discourse
of the indigenous people as a Green Avatar? How are the indigenous
Amazonian peoples any different from the Peruvian society? …
These are the complex questions that I have asked myself throughout
my research internship and which will probably remain unanswered.
Nevertheless, I believe I have been able to highlight some principal
components of the indigenous Amazon reality and to shed more light
on the question: “What is the meaning of water for the indigenous
Amazonian peoples in Peru and how does petroleum contamination
affects this relationship?”
The answer of my informants: “Well, this is how we live” (Así
vivimos pues) demonstrates the obviousness in their perspective. But
from my point of view it was not that obvious at all. My fieldtrip was
limited in extent, so this Masterpaper draws upon interviews with
experts, indigenous commoners and leaders, and literature
complementing each other to provide an answer.
Water, from occidental Western point of view, is in the first place a
natural resource one consumes and uses. However, for the
Amazonian peoples, water is not only an object. The Amazonian
peoples believe in a multidimensional world where under the surface
of the river or under the river a parallel life is going on and where the
water people live in. The belief in the water people is one of the most
dispersed in the Amazon. For example, in Colombia he/ she is called
the mohan and related to the disappearance of people taken by the
FARC or the para-military organizations. Lagoons and rivers are
protected by spirits/owners/mothers. Many Amazonian peoples
consider that the mother of the river is a gigantic boa that protects the
80
fish. (Landolt, 2000) The behaviour of the water people and the boa
is not that clear-cut. The boa, just as the water people, looks after the
fish population but additionally both of them make people disappear.
In particular the pink dolphin is regarded as a bad spirit. These
cultural aspects are in constant transformation. Informants indicate
that in particular the encounter with the city causes change, but also
encounters with other Amazonian peoples.
It is not clear whether contamination affects the world of water. One
informant points out that the contamination destroys the balance
between all the beings, and that peoples as such lose their habits and
identity. But neither in literature, nor in the interviews there were
many clues to attribute the transformation to contamination.
Nonetheless, the question can be raised: if the direct connection with
nature is such a fundamental part of the culture, what happens if the
environment becomes a part of a reality that causes such negative
consequences? Does the pollution diminish the cultural practices
related to water or increases them? Since scarcity makes ritual
practices more frequent, maybe the threat makes the reality of water
and the related rituals more relevant?
For the Amazonian people, water and the river are extremely
important: it is a source of life. By drinking, cooking, bathing,
playing in the river, rituals… they are affected by petroleum
contamination. The river does not only provide water to drink, but in
addition it contains a multiplicity of fish species. The Amazon River
is the most abundant river on earth. Fishing instruments are relatively
similar among different Amazonian peoples. The techniques differ
depending on the fish or aquatic animal, fish habitat, season,
gender… These techniques signify a great deal of specific
knowledge proper to Amazonian peoples. The pollution affects the
fish populations and people complain that they feel sick.
Nevertheless, contamination does not directly decrease fishing.
People do not have many alternatives for their subsistence.
Furthermore, the pollution affects the fields and agricultural
products, in particular for indigenous peoples cultivating on the
floodplains. Those soils are highly fertile because of nutritive
81
sediments deposited by the river, but are also more vulnerable to
contaminated water. People then have to cultivate the primary
products higher up, where the soil is less fertile. Additionally, the
river is the principal connection to the market, and in Loreto the only
way to travel is over the river. According to several authors,
exchange along rivers is the reason why Amazonian peoples have
that much in common. Contamination does not have direct
consequences on the exchange, although it seems probable the trade
will increase since resources diminish because of the decrease of
fish, animals, food, water…
Thus, the categorization varzea/ terra firme impacts the influence of
contamination. In the first place since people from the varzea suffer
more from the contamination of their fields and secondly since they
depend in a higher degree on fish for sustention. In general, water is
highly present for all indigenous peoples and the world of water is
relevant regardless the classification as varzea or terra firme.
Water as such connects people and shapes a space for encounter,
with both positive and negative consequences. This petroleum
contamination is part of an encounter between indigenous peoples on
the one side and the Peruvian state and the petroleum companies on
the other. According to Regan (1993: p.95): "One would think it was
an encounter with paradise [the consequences of the extraction of
petroleum]". But instead, it makes the indigenous peoples poor: no
potable water, fish populations are reduced, diseases occur...
although not everybody is affected by the contamination. In general,
people attempt to take measures to overcome the restraints the
pollution puts on the use of water, but this is difficult because of
limited economical resources.
In many cases a social conflict arises, characterized by an
asymmetrical power relation. People are not necessarily against the
extraction of petroleum but highlight they want the government to
take measures and protect their environment. The conflict is not just
a conflict over resources but also a different way of defining
development and the environment. For the current government of
Alan García, the indigenous peoples are like a dog in the manger.
82
They are an obstacle for the development of the Amazon, since they
claim their territory for cultural reasons. One informant calls this
treatment part of the discrimination of the Peruvian government. The
Peruvian Constitution does recognize the interculturality of the
Peruvian society. But it merely resembles recognition of a status quo
and not necessarily an attempt to change the society.
The principal feature of development as depicted by the government
is economic growth and profit generated by the exploitation of the
natural resources. Nevertheless, for the Amazonian peoples the
concept of development diverges and in their language is best
compared with living well or beautifully. Contrary to what many
people think, being poor is not always defined in the same way.
Viteri Gualinga (2006) signals that poor is defined as circumstantial,
as a result of flooding and scarcity of resources. We should recognize
that this concept is in constant transformation through the encounter
and that different definitions complement each other. When I asked
my informants what it meant to live well, they defined it in the first
place as having a healthy environment and the amount of food,
clothes ... Nevertheless, this definition exists complement the notion
of living beautifully. According to Belaunde (2001) it entails the “no
intrusion” and the search for harmony between different beings in the
society and the environment, based on the impression that the world
is multidimensional.
83
APPENDICES
84
Appendix I: Map Peru
Source: http://www.machupicchutours.travel/mapcenter
85
Appendix II: Peruvian Rainforest – Highlands – Desert Coast
Source: http://athahualpa.wordpress.com/peru/
86
Appendix III: Ethno-linguistic map of Peru – 2010
52: Kichwa - 60: Airo-Pai37 - 63: Kukama38
Source: INDEPA - http://www.principal.indepa.gob.pe/galerias/mapas.htm
37
According to INDEPA: Aido Pai or Secoya.
According to INDEPA: Cocama-Cocamilla.
38
87
Appendix IV: Non-structured interviews with Kukama and
Kichwa-Runa commoners and indigenous leaders - Questions
Why are the rivers contaminated?
Are the rivers changing?
What is the impact of the tides? When is there abundance in the
river?
Who are the spirits of the river? Who are the yacuruna?
In which sense are the Kukama different from other Amazonian
peoples? What did you learn from the Airo-Pai?
Why is it important to be registered as a Comunidad Nativa?
How many times a week you go fishing? How?
Which animals do you relate with the river?
Do fish and animals have spirits? How do you communicate with the
mothers or spirits?
Do you use barbasco to fish?
Do you catch turtles?
What is the best time to hunt?
Can you heal people with water?
Do you speak Kichwa?
Did your life change a lot over time? Do you live very different from
your grandparents?
How does life change when the rivers are contaminated? What do
you drink? Where do you bathe? Can you still eat fish? Can you still
sell fish? How do you generate income?
Do people produce coca in this region?
Do the relations with the environment change?
Does the contamination generate tensions in the community? With
the state?
How do people react? How does the state react?
Is there any influence of the extractive industries in the region?
What are the advantages of the extraction of petroleum? Are people
pro or contra petroleum extraction?
How would you define living well?
How do you see the future?
…
88
Appendix V: Song of an Airo-Pai shaman
Dentro del río, (Dentro de los ríos hay pueblos igualitos a los de la
superficie)
Vengo a ver parado, (Es el chamán, él que describe lo que está
hacienoa y viendo)
Vengo a ver parado, el río dentro del agua. (Dentro de los ríos hay
ríos en los cuales el chamán puede pescar)
Cupucupucupcucpucupucupucupucupu (Así suena el agua cuando
corre)
Estoy mirando, derecho. Los peces nadan río arriba. (El chamán ve
a los peces de los ríos submarinos surcando)
Espacio de agua de los ríos. (Se ve como una casita vacía dentro del
agua)
Espacia acuático. Estoy parado mirando los ríos surcar. Estoy
mirando una quebradita. Mientras los peces surcan, echo mi anzuelo
al agua con un grillo en la punta. Estoy pescando en el espacio
acuático. Estoy mirando alrededor. Echo un grillo para pescar.
Pesco sentado. Espacio acuático, estoy pescando sentado. Veo los
peces cuja, surcando el río. Los peces están surcando. Pesco pau,
veo mahuanso surcando. Estoy pescando para comer. Espacio
acuático. Ven a ver pescando con anzuelo. Estoy mirando alrededor.
Corriendo, mirando alrededor.
Hay otra casita también. (Está en la casa Añapëquë)
Está aí cuando la miro. Entrando en ella, estoy parado mirando.
Una casa llena de mazorcas de maíz. (Las mazorcas están
guardadas en canastas hechas de hojas de palmera y puestas en una
repisa debajo de la cual Añapëquë está echada)
Mirando parado, Añapëquë, un palo de bamboo. (Así parece la cola
de Añapëquë)
Lo está golpeando, se está cayendo. (Añapëquë golpea las canastas
de maíz con su cola y las mazorcas se desparraran por el suelo. En
su caso el pescado parece maíz)
El maíz está por todas partes en el piso. (Este maíz son los peces que
Añapëquë le entrega al chamán para que su gente peuda pescar y
comer)
89
Añapëquë está echada en el suelo, subo sobre su cuerpo por la cola
Camino por encima y despues salto abajo. (El chamán se trepa sobre
el cuerpo de Añapëquë, camina de la cola a la cabeza y después
salta por encima de la cabeza)
Cuando salto, miro,.cuando salto miro, miro parado sus ojos
grandes en su cara. (Después de saltar, el chamán se voltea y ve la
cara y los ojos de Añapëquë. Son tan grandes que parecen espejos)
Irando dentro de sus ojos ehue ehue. (Así suenan los ojos de
Añapëquë porque parecen lámparas)
Miro mientras está echada en el sueño. Su boca grande está echada.
Paso por ahí, mirando. También subo otra. (El chamán continua
caminando y encuantra otra Añapëquë, también sube por la cola)
Tan tan tan subo. (Así suena cuando sube el cuerpo de Añapëquë)
Cuando llego a su cabeza, salto al suelo y la miro.
Voy corriendo a ver. Veo una puerta.
Paso la puerta para otra casa
También estoy mirando, parado, saliendo. Fui corriendo a ver.
Solito estoy esperando. Solito estoy mirando.
(Belaunde, 2001: p.197)
90
Appendix VI: “La boa y la laguna”
Dos hermanos marcharon a la selva, buscando un poco de carne.
Hicieron un tambo, y luego cada cual se fue por su lado. Caminaron
un poco, y de pronto a uno de ellos le cogió la boa mordiéndole en el
pie: “Ay, carajo, suelta!”
Pero la boa tenía mucha fuerza y arrastraba al hombre hacia la
laguna. “Ven, ven hermano” – gritaba él.
Al pasar junto a un árbol el hombre se agarró a él con todas sus
fuerzas. “Ven, ven hermano!”
La boa tiraba y tiraba... arrancó el árbol, y el hombre se agarró a otro.
Al fin, la boa, encogiéndose y alargándose, logró arrancar una pierna
al cazador. “Ay hermano”
El hermano oyó este grito y gritó a su vez. La laguna ya estaba muy
cerca... Llegó el hermano y cortó la cola de la boa. Entonces la boa
saltó como una goma hasta el centro de la laguna, dejando al cazador
echado en el suelo.
El hombre se echó al hombro a su hermano y se lo llevó a casa.
La cola de la boa quedó agarrada al cuerpo del hombre para siempre
y a la boa se le secó la laguano y tuvo que huír. Todos los peces se
murieron...
(Ortiz de Villalba, 1976: p. 57)
91
Appendix VII: Kukama song to fish
Vamos a cantar con cigarro
Vamos a invitarle con su poder para que venga
Aquí están las víboras
Vamos a invitar a la madre para que esté conmigo y tener su poder
Wayti, wayti, wayticitos
Víbora, peces de la víbora
Vamos a invitarle
Vamos a perfumar
A neustra red grande
De mí sale todo
Vamos a prestarle su olor
A nuestra red grande
A la víbora del pez
Con la flemita del pez
Neustro olor
A nuestra red grande
Neustro cigarro escribe y humea
Con esa palabra
Soplamos nuestra red grande
Su nombrecito red
Agua, madre del agua es
Con ellos vamos
A invitar a los peces
Aíi corre su dueño grande
Él con Kanayari
Con ellos está adentro
Guillermo Arimuya (espiritu muerto que es como un maestro para el
chaman)
Agua, madre del agua
Vamos a llamar al alma del pez
Con ellos dentro de su cuerpo
Hablamos con su dueño grande
92
A nuestros lagartitos perfumamos
Ahí suena con su víbora
Hablamos con la flema de anguila
Nuestro lagartito
En su nombre vienen
Leche del seno de su madre
Olor de su madre
Ellos van a perfumar
A nuestra red grande
Con peces
Vienen hablar
Con eso dentro de su cuerpo
Tsacampite se va (= oler, perfume)
Voy a donde el río termina, de ahí vengo con mis maestros sabiendo
mi canción
No quiero nada
Alma hedionda del cigarro
Olor, olor, olor
Se va, se va
Nuestra, nuestra red
Da olor al pez
Peces
Juegan col ellos adentro...
(Rivas Ruiz, 2000: p. 201-205)
93
Appendix VIII: Social conflicts in Peru
Source: Defensoría del Pueblo, 2011
94
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