Bodies of Water. Indigenous Perspectives on Aquatic Territories and Their Entities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18800/kawsaypacha.202601.D000Keywords:
Bodies of Water, Indigenous Peoples, Native American Cosmologies, Climate Crises, Relational OntologiesAbstract
The planet’s climate and environmental crises are closely linked to changes in the states of water (i.e., its scarcity, excess, pollution, waste, etc.). The aim of this dossier is to broaden our perspective on addressing «water» crises by focusing on the possibilities offered by its ontological diversity. In many Amerindian mythologies, for example, the emergence of watercourses shapes primordial landscapes, just as downpours or floods mark moments of rupture and crisis. Furthermore, in these cosmologies, water serves as a connector in the relationships between humans and among other beings and entities that inhabit the world. Thus, water-related challenges are addressed not only as a problem concerning a precious resource requiring effective technical solutions but, above all, as a relational issue. Beings and guardians of bodies of water (rivers, lagoons, springs, etc.), often conceptualized as persons with the capacity for thought, action, and communication, may temporarily disappear, fall ill, become lethargic, or become upset in response to the actions of humans or even other beings. This dossier proposes to bring together ethnographic research to discuss: What is the ontological status of water considered, at the same time, as a resource and as an agent? Under what circumstances or within what networks of relationships do the agentive potentials of water and the entities inhabiting water bodies reveal themselves? What forms does their agency take? How do the networks of relationships involve water function? Which agents do they involve, and how do they interact to produce, define, and innovate solutions to «water crises»? Finally, we will discuss how, drawing on indigenous knowledge related to water and the non-human entities associated with different aquatic ecosystems, it is possible to imagine not only new research methodologies but also a different scientific culture and new forms of epistemic justice, which allow for innovation and unprecedented ways of thinking about the notions and practices of conservation, ecological restoration, resource management, and environmental studies.
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