Affective geographies of the Kukama people, Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

Contemporary Amazonian anthropology, in an interdisciplinary dialogue with archeology, ecological studies, law, genetics and geography, among other sciences, opens the way for characterizations of the Amazonian environment that move away from the naturalistic geographical discourse that guided the colonization of this region. These new perspectives are of particular interest in the context of the ecological crisis that characterizes the Anthropocene, where indigenous peoples seek to defend their territories against extractive and infrastructure projects. Through the analysis of the modes of interaction in which the Kukama, a tupiguarani indigenous people, engage with fluvial and ground spaces typical of the ecosystem of the Amazonian floodplain, we find processes of domestication and transformation of these spaces into vital territories. We consider that these interactions, based on bodily, sensory and emotional experiences, could configure an affective geography that encourages us to delve into current debates within environmental geography.