Indigenous Perceptions of the End of the World: Creating a Cosmopolitics of Change (Palgrave Studies in Anthropology of Sustainability)

This edited volume constructs a 'cosmopolitics' of climate change, consulting small-scale sustainable communities on whether the world is ending and why, and how we can take action to prevent it. By comparing scientific and indigenous accounts of the same phenomenon, contributors seek to broaden Western understandings of what climate change constitutes. In this context, existing cosmologies are challenged, opening spaces for hegemonic narratives to enter into conversation with the non-modern and construct 'worlds otherwise'-situations of world change and renewal through climate change. Bold brings together perspectives from Central America, Mexico, the Amazon, and the Andes to converse with scientific narratives of climate change and create cracks that bring new worlds into being for readers. The chapter "Fragile Time: The Redemptive Force of the Urarina Apocalypse" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 Notes on Contributors 10 List of Figures 13 Introduction: Creating a Cosmopolitics of Climate Change 15 Reciprocal Subsistence 20 Moral Crisis 21 Climate 25 Past Crises 27 Moment of Crisis 29 Hope 31 Cosmopolitical Negotiations 34 References 39 Broken Pillars of the Sky: Masewal Actions and Reflections on Modernity, Spirits, and a Damaged World 42 Remembrance and Forgetfulness 44 Historically Living in a Broken World 45 An Inclusive Town 49 Mines, Mountains, and Local Resistance 53 References 61 Fragile Time: The Redemptive Force of the Urarina Apocalypse 63 Introduction 63 Times of Fragility and Decay 65 Life in a Fluid Cosmos 69 Moral Decline as Climatic Disintegration 71 Repair and Redemption 76 Conclusion 78 References 81 The End of Days: Climate Change, Mythistory, and Cosmological Notions of Regeneration 82 Introduction 82 The Mythistory of the Five Creations 86 The Tzuultaq’a 88 Existential Reciprocity 92 Changes in the Climate, the Weather, and the Environment 94 Cosmology and Mythistories of Renewal 96 References 99 Contamination, Climate Change, and Cosmopolitical Resonance in Kaata, Bolivia 102 The Neighbor and the Wind 104 Idelfonso’s Climate Change Workshops: Tracing the Discourse 105 Contaminants and the Weather 106 Ayni and the Pachakuti 108 Agricultural Chemicals and Contamination 110 Pesticides and the Fractal Landscape 112 City Foods and Ayni 114 Weaker People 115 Music and Batteries 117 Winds of Change 118 Pachakuti 119 Conclusion 121 References 122 Shifting Strategies: The Myth of Wanamei and the Amazon Indigenous REDD+ Programme in Madre de Dios, Peru 125 Introduction 125 Ethnographic Context 129 REDD+ in Peru and the Emergence of the Amazon Indigenous REDD+ Programme 130 Amarakaeri Communal Reserve 133 The Myth of Wanamei 135 Discussion of the Myth as a Particular Way of Viewing the World 137 Shifting Strategies Based on Different Worldviews 142 References 146 A Territory to Sustain the World(s): From Local Awareness and Practice to the Global Crisis 150 Introduction 150 The History of a Territory Under Threat and Change 154 The Land Is Secure, But the Climate Is Changing 156 Contemporary Thought 158 Critique of “Science” 159 Importance of Reciprocity and Collaboration 160 Establishing Institutions to Bridge the Gaps Between Worlds 162 Making a Strategic Movement and Building Collective Planning Tools 163 Reversing the Destruction of Their Land and Building Collaborations 164 Sharing Experiences and Joining Forces 165 Conclusion 166 References 167 Relational Ecologists Facing “the End of a World”: Inner Transition, Ecospirituality, and the Ontological Debate 169 An Informal Network of “Relational Ecology” 170 The End of a World and the Transition 171 From Systemic Approaches of Collapse to Holistic–Monistic Views and Ecospirituality 172 Western Esotericism, Universal Correspondences, and the Ontology of Analogy 175 The Ontological Debate 178 Conclusion 184 References 186 This Mess Is a “World”! Environmental Diplomats in the Mud of Anthropology 190 Recognizing Difference 192 Environmental Diplomacy 195 Eliciting a (Different) Common Ground 197 Diplomatic Betrayal 201 Coda: The Shaman’s Shaman 203 References 207 Epilogue: Indigenous Worlds and Planetary Futures 210 References 215 Index 217 Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Introduction: Creating a Cosmopolitics of Climate Change (Rosalyn Bold)....Pages 1-27 Broken Pillars of the Sky: Masewal Actions and Reflections on Modernity, Spirits, and a Damaged World (Alessandro Questa)....Pages 29-49 Fragile Time: The Redemptive Force of the Urarina Apocalypse (Harry Walker)....Pages 51-69 The End of Days: Climate Change, Mythistory, and Cosmological Notions of Regeneration (Stefan Permanto)....Pages 71-90 Contamination, Climate Change, and Cosmopolitical Resonance in Kaata, Bolivia (Rosalyn Bold)....Pages 91-113 Shifting Strategies: The Myth of Wanamei and the Amazon Indigenous REDD+ Programme in Madre de Dios, Peru (Chantelle Murtagh)....Pages 115-139 A Territory to Sustain the World(s): From Local Awareness and Practice to the Global Crisis (Carolina Comandulli)....Pages 141-159 Relational Ecologists Facing “the End of a World”: Inner Transition, Ecospirituality, and the Ontological Debate (Jean Chamel)....Pages 161-181 This Mess Is a “World”! Environmental Diplomats in the Mud of Anthropology (Aníbal G. Arregui)....Pages 183-202 Epilogue: Indigenous Worlds and Planetary Futures (Bronislaw Szerszynski)....Pages 203-209 Back Matter ....Pages 211-216 This edited volume constructs a 'cosmopolitics' of climate change, consulting small-scale sustainable communities on whether the world is ending and why, and how we can take action to prevent it. By comparing scientific and indigenous accounts of the same phenomenon, contributors seek to broaden Western understandings of what climate change constitutes. In this context, existing cosmologies are challenged, opening spaces for hegemonic narratives to enter into conversation with the non-modern and construct 'worlds otherwise'-- situations of world change and renewal through climate change. Bold brings together perspectives from Central America, Mexico, the Amazon, and the Andes to converse with scientific narratives of climate change and create cracks that bring new worlds into being for readers.-- Provided by publisher 4e de couverture: This edited volume constructs a 'cosmopolitics' of climate change, consulting small-scale sustainable communities on whether the world is ending and why, and how we can take action to prevent it. By comparing scientific and indigenous accounts of the same phenomenon, contributors seek to broaden Western understandings of what climate change constitutes. In this context, existing cosmologies are challenged, opening spaces for hegemonic narratives to enter into conversation with the non-modern and construct 'worlds otherwise'-- situations of world change and renewal through climate change. Bold brings together perspectives from Central America, Mexico, the Amazon, and the Andes to converse with scientific narratives of climate change and create cracks that bring new worlds into being for readers