Entre viajar e morar: narrativas sobre a territorialidade Kulina

Abstract

This is an ethnography of the Kulina—indigenous people who speak a language belonging to the Arawa family—who live in the lower Jurua River area in the Amazon region. It focuses on the processes of territorialization, with emphasis on their concepts of territory, policy, and ethnicity. The descriptions and analysis focus on the narratives, events, and relationships among the Kulina themselves, with other indigenous people in the Amazon region, and with Brazilian society as a whole. The interpretation key is the concept of territory as a place of knowledge and of both human and extra-human habitats. This study points out that the Kulina way of life does not have fixed locations or levels to distinguish between humans and extra-humans. It identifies the narratives and processes through which the Kulina reinterpret and recreate traditions to face the challenges in their relationship with a globalized Brazilian society. The research also identifies the ways in which their narratives access memories to construct space, time, and meaning to their current struggles. Their memories are both individual and collective, but different from the official memories of the State and its agents. In this sense, this ethnography contributes to the debates regarding the relationship between ethnic groups and national societies, as well as public policies based on indigenous rights.