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Cosmology as Indigenous Land Conservation Strategy: Wildlife Consumption Taboos and Social Norms Along the Papuri River (Vaupes, Colombia)

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Indigenous Amazonia, Regional Development and Territorial Dynamics

Part of the book series: The Latin American Studies Book Series ((LASBS))

Abstract

A better understanding of the cosmology of Indigenous communities, in multiethnic countries like Colombia, reinforce and enhance the appropriate practices needed for the successful management of international and national programs aimed at biodiversity conservation. This chapter presents a brief approach to the traditional ecological knowledge of East Tukano cultures from the Papuri River in Colombian Vaupes. The research focused on the description of community ceremonial practices associated with cultural beliefs that regulate the use of wildlife. These local practices are based on the knowledge of interdependence among sky constellations, rain cycles, weather, and their relationship with plants, animals, and humans sharing the same territory. The Kumu, is the local wise man in charge of providing care to the territory and its inhabitants by interpreting and teaching appropriate practices. The ethnographic register obtained was based on participant observation, gathering information during 6 months living within the community (February–July, 2015), in Yapu, Papuri River region of Colombian Amazon. Workshops with local hunters and daily talks with cultural leaders (Kumua Yoamra), and active participation in traditional ceremonies held in the community ceremonial house, added further data to the study. The use of a traditional ecological calendar is described. The main components establishing traditional guidance to the community act on one or more categories of analysis included in the study (users, species, spaces). The introduction of external practices and institutions is considered as one of the drivers of change in traditional regulations, together with inner conflicts about leadership and community cohesion. The tendency to disregard the local community approach to territory conservation is a disadvantage for the integral conservation of biodiversity in the Amazon region.

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Acknowledgements

First, the authors wish to thank the Indigenous community living in the ASATRIZY territory that contributed in all the facets of their fieldwork during the years 2012 and 2015. Invaluable learning was obtained from Bua-Baya–Candido Muñoz, Horacio Ataide, Gregorio Gomez, and other members of the Kumua Yomata and shared with 10th- and 11th-grade students and community members Maximiliano Correa, Augusto Gomez, and the local school director Marcelo Muñoz. This study is part of the requirements to obtain the Master’s degree in Conservation and Use of Biodiversity in the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. As such, the author received patient and intelligent directions from Elcy Corrales Roa, and regular reviews and comments from Luis Miguel Renjifo, Sebastian Restrepo, Mauricio Caviedes, and Carlos Alberto Rodriguez. Special thanks to Luis Rogelio Hernandez for his special editing contributions.

This project was partially sponsored by the Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Legal Lider of the Community, Marcelo Muñoz, Asociación de Autoridades Tradicionales Indigena de la Zona de Yapu y Consejo de Sabedores Yapu, Vaupes, Colombia

    Asatrizy-Kumua Yoamara

  2. Independent Investigator, Merit Degree in Conservation & Biodiversity Use, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

    Carlos A. Hernández Vélez

  3. Department of Rural and Regional Development, School of Rural and Environmental Studies, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

    Sebastián Restrepo Calle

  4. Investigator and Emeritus Professor at Pontificia, Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

    Elcy Corrales Roa

Authors
  1. Asatrizy-Kumua Yoamara
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  2. Carlos A. Hernández Vélez
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  3. Sebastián Restrepo Calle
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  4. Elcy Corrales Roa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asatrizy-Kumua Yoamara .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Brunei Darussalam

    Victor T. King

  3. State University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Brazil

    Ismar Borges de Lima

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Yoamara, AK., Hernández Vélez, C.A., Calle, S.R., Roa, E.C. (2020). Cosmology as Indigenous Land Conservation Strategy: Wildlife Consumption Taboos and Social Norms Along the Papuri River (Vaupes, Colombia). In: Leal Filho, W., King, V., Borges de Lima, I. (eds) Indigenous Amazonia, Regional Development and Territorial Dynamics. The Latin American Studies Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29153-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29153-2_13

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