cosmology as ecological analysis

8/13/2019 Cosmology as Ecological Analysis

1/13

Cosmology as Ecological Analysis: A View from the Rain Forest

Author(s): G. Reichel-DolmatoffReviewed work(s):Source: Man, New Series, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Sep., 1976), pp. 307-318Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2800273.

Accessed: 03/07/2012 18:22

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at.http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Irelandis collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve

and extend access toMan.

http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=raihttp://www.jstor.org/stable/2800273?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/2800273?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=rai


2/13

COSMOLOGY AS ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS:A VIEW FROM THE RAIN FOREST*G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFF

UniversityfCalifornia,osAngelesAmong heTukano ndians f theColombianNorthwest mazon, arryingapacitysdefmed ainlyntermsf he onservationfproteinesourcesuch s game, ish nd ertainwildfruits.n order omaintainnequilibriumndto avoidfrequentelocationfsettle-

ments, he ndians avedeveloped setof highlydaptive ehaviouraluleswhich ontrolpopulationrowth,heexploitationf thenaturalnvironment,nd nterpersonalggres-sion.Thebeliefhat he piritsf game nimalsause llnessestrictsverhuntingnd, imi-larly, large odyofbeliefshat egulateex ndfoodhabitsry oadjust hebirth-ratendto counterbalanceociallyisruptiveehaviour.hamanismhus ecomes powerfulorcenthe ontrolndmanagementfnaturalesources,ndhallucinatoryisionsnducedynativenarcotic rugs ecome n importantool ofshamanisticower. n many spects ukanoconceptsf cosmologyepresentblueprintor cologicaldaptationndthe ndians cuteawarenessftheneedfor daptive ormsanbe compared ithmodern ystemsnalysis.

IUntilrelativelyecent imes heculturalmageofthe ndian ribes f tropicalAmericahas beenthat f a groupof rather rimitivendhostile eopleswhosecontributionohuman hought adbeennegligiblendwhose evelof ocial om-plexity ad remainedar elowthat f most boriginalocietiesftheOld World.Infact, nly hehigher ivilisationsf America-the ncientMexicans,Mayas ndPeruvians-were ccasionallyredited ithhaving reated airlylaborateocial,politicalnd religiousnstitutions,uteven n their aseseldomhasthere eenex-plicitdiscussionf nativephilosophicalystems,r somethingpproachingnintegratedorld-view.ometimesne wasalmosted to believe hat hetropicalforestndianswere fossil ocieties; ocietieswhich, n a sense,were ncomplete;whichhad not evolved ndhadnothingo teachus. Theywere out of themain-stream omepeoplesaid, nd those f us who madethese ocietieshe ubject ftheirtudies,truggledgainsthe tigma fworkingomewhatout of themain-stream.In themorerecent ast,however, hismagehas undergone notable hange.Ethnological esearchmongthesurvivingribes f the tropical ainforest asbeguntoreach depth ndbreadthf nquiryhatwereformerlynthoughtf,andthesenewlygained nsightsrebeginningo shed n entirelyew ight ponthe ntellectualchievementsf theaboriginal eoplesof theAmazonBasin, heOrinocoPlains ndmany ther egionsftheAmerican ropics, vast reacover-ing morethan ix million quarekilometres.t seems hat heold stereotypesredisappearingt ast; nd nstead earepresented ith new mage:the ndian, ot* Huxley Memorial Lecture, 1975.Man N.S.) xx, 307-3I8.


3/13

308 G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFFonly s a highly ragmatichinkerndan individual ith sound ense f reality,but lso, he ndian s an abstract hilosopher,builder f ntricateosmicmodels,and plannerf weepingmoral esigns. lso t the ameperiod, n viewofcurrentinterestnnatural esources, any cientistsndtechnologistshohave urned heirattentionothe ropical ain orestreas ftheworld, avebecome oncerned iththemany roblemsfecological daptation hich raditionalocieties avehadtosolve nthese nvironments.nthe aseof theAmazonBasin t takes healthy ndenergetic ociety o cope with the rigorous limatic onditionsnd with themanagementfeasily epleted atural esources, society hatwould developnotonly set fhighlydaptive ehavioural ules or urvival-framed ithin ffectiveinstitutionalodies-but,more mportanttill, societywitha coherent eliefsystem, ith foundationf trongly otivatingalueswhichwould make ndur-able theproblemsf man s xistencenan unpredictable orld.Inthis ecturet s mypurpose o describend examine ome spects f adaptivebehaviour s havebeen bleto observet nthe ourse fmy ontacts ith everalIndiangroupsntheColombian owlands. should dd here hat y adaptivemeananythinghat ncreasesheprobabilityf survival fthe ndividual r thegroup. n thefollowing shallmainly efer o theTukano ndians f theNorth-westAmazon, speciallyheDesana Eastern ukano), ndmychief oncernwillbe totrace omeconnexionshat xist etween he osmologicalonceptsftheseIndians,ndthe ealitiesfadaptationoa given hysical nvironment.ndoing oI shall ry o demonstratehat boriginalosmologiesnd mythtructures,ogetherwith the ritualbehaviour erivedfromthem, epresentn all respects setofecological rinciplesnd that hese ormulate system f ocial nd economic ulesthathave highlydaptive alue n the ontinuousndeavouro maintain viableequilibrium etween heresourcesfthe nvironmentnd thedemands f society.

IIThe Tukano ndians ccupy large rea nthe entral ortion f thenorthwestAmazon,mainly n theVaupesRiver,a major affluentf theRio Negro.Al-

thoughmostofthe countrys flat nd densely orested, transitionalerrainfhilly plandsies nthewestern ringe, hile owards henorth heforestssome-times rokenby stretchesfgrassy, ree-strewnavanna ountry. lthough hisrainforest rea hasoften een describeds a rather omogeneous egion,manyenvironmentalifferencesxistwhichhave considerable earing pontherangeandsuccess fhuman daptive esponses. ame animals, mphibiansndreptiles,ediblefruits,uts nd insects,ndsuitable orticulturalands renotevenly is-tributednd considerable esource luctuationan be said to existwithin ndamong ubregions.The Tukano rebound o their ain orestabitat y a number fcircumstances.In thefirst lace, ccording o myth ndtradition,he and nhabitedythem tpresent as originallyeopledby their orefathersn ancient, eroic imes,ndwashanded n to their escendantss a solemnnvestituren a perpetualrust. hesetribalncestors hosenames nd deeds rerememberedn mythsnd genealogicalrecitals ad givenproper esignationsotherivers nd thehills, herocks ndtherapids nd to all othernotablenatural eatures. his, then, ontinueso be their


4/13

G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFF 309country,hehomelandfthe ncients.t sof nterestoobserve ere hat,lthoughtheTukanohabitatan,toa largedegree, e describeds a trulynatural nviron-ment , hey hemselveserceive tas a man-made nvironment,ransformedndstructurednthepastnotsomuchbyanyexploitativectivitiesftheirncestors,butbyhavingbeen mbuedby themwithsymbolicmeaning. here s,then,time-perspectiveo their nderstandingfthe nvironment.In the econd lace,Tukanoterritoryssurroundedy ands ccupiedbyotherpeople,be they ribalndians r be theyColombian rBrazilian ettlers,ndboththeseneighbouringroups re quiteunwilling o accept mmigrants, uch essinvaders. he Tukano, hen,must fnecessityxistwithin he imitationsftheirgiven nvironmentndmustmakethebest f t.Theyhavetorelyutterlypontheirocalresourcesndupontheirwntraditionalkills or xploitinghem.The traditionalettlementatternonsistsfwidely catteredargeandwell-builtcommunalhouses, ccupiedby extended amilieswhosemembers erivemuchof theirbasic food supplyfromcultivatingmaniocgardens.However,seasonal unting,ishingndgatheringlayan importantart ntheir conomicandsocial ife.Tukanosocietysdividedntomore han wenty amed xogamicgroups; escentspatrilinealndresidencespatrilocal, ith ross-cousin arriagesaidtobepreferred.arriage etween hese ifferentnitsmplies rigidlytruc-tured elationshiphich s expressednmany ormsfreciprocityndexchange.Most of these ctivities,othsocialand economic, re closely onnectedwithceremoniesirectedythe hamanwhoalsoofficiatesttheritualsfthe ife ycleand sactive s a healer f llness.Warfaresnot nstitutionalised.Here s a briefummaryfhowtheTukano magine heorigin ndstructureftheuniversendtheelementaryorceshat nimate t.The creatorwas theSun-Father, n anthropomorphicodwho designed three-layeredosmos onsistingof a flat arth, celestial ault, nd a placeofbliss ituatednder he arth. e thenpeopled he and ndcreatednimalsndplants, iving o each pecies set frulesaccording o whichtheywereto live and multiply. owever,theSun-Fathercreatednly limited umber fanimalsndplants, lacing oth ategoriesndertheconstantareof specificpirit-beingsho were to guard nd protect hemagainstventualbuses.What smore,heassignedohiscreationnly restricted,roughlyircular,tretchf and, imited n all sidesbypermanentandmarks.notherwords, hecreation f theTukanouniversewas notconceived s an all-embracingrexpandingystem,utwas a limited, ell-definedroposition ithfinitendrestrictedesources. or was itaccomplisheds a single ct imitedntime: t still ontinuesninterruptedlyecause, versince ts nitiation,heSun-Fatherxercisesfertilisingction pon t. t sthe nergyfthe un,magined ytheTukano nterms fseminalight ndheat, hat auses lants ogrow ndfruitto ripen, hatmakesmankindnd animals eproduce,nd that s thoughto becreative otonly n a germinal,iological ense, utalsoin the ense fspiritualilluminationnd theattainmentfesotericwisdom.The essence fthisforce simagineds a masculineowerthat ertilisesfemininelementhat s thisworld.InTukanothought,hebiosphere asbothmale ndfemale spects,ut een n tstotality,t has primarily feminineharacterverwhichthe sun exercises ispower.Theseminalnergyfthe un sthought o constitutehuge ircuitnwhich he


5/13

310 G. REICHELDOLMATOFFentireosmos articipates.his circuitsimaginedshaving limited uantityfprocreativenergy hat flows ontinuouslyetweenman and animal,betweensocietyndnature. ince he uantityf nergysrestricted,anmay emovewhathe needsonlyunder ertain onditions nd must onvert is quantum f bor-rowed energynto an essence hancan be reincorporatedntothe circuit. orexample,whenan animal s killed r when a crop s harvestedheenergy f thelocalfauna ndflorare houghto bediminished; owever,ssoon asthegameorfruitreconvertedntonourishment,he nergys conserved,ow on the evelofsociety,ecause heconsumersf thefoodhavenowacquired reproductiveifeforce hat reviouslyelonged o an animal rplant.

IIIThe strikingoint bout hese deas s that his ears remarkableesemblanceomodernystemsnalysis.n terms fecological heory,heTukanothus onceivetheworld s a systemn which he mount fenergy utputsdirectlyelated otheamount f input hesystem eceives.According o theTukano,thesystemhandles hesenputsn twoways: sexual nergywhichhas beenrepressedn theindividual,eturnsirectlyo thecapital ftotal nergynwhich hebiotic om-ponentsfthe ystem articipates; ere ealth ndwell-being,esultingromon-trolled oodconsumption,epresentn nputwhich nergiseslso the biotic om-ponents f the ystem,or xample, hemovementsf the tars rmeteorologicalphenomena. he individual houldnever ause disturbancenthis eneral qui-librium,hats,he shouldnever seenergywithout estoringtassoonaspossible.The entire ystems largely erived rom he model of sexualphysiology. heTukano concept f solarenergyncludes large number f things o whichaseminal ymbolisms attributedecauseoftheir olour, hape, exture r othercharacteristics;hilea number fother hingsreassociatedwith female on-ceptoffecunditynd gestation. he associations f images nd symbols re in-terpretedytheTukano on variousevels fabstractionndeventuallyissociatethemselvesartherndfartherrom atural ndphysiologicalacts ntil,ta highercognitiveevel, hey ome to constitutesystemsheoryfbalanced, initenergyflow.Thiscosmologicalmodel f system hich onstantlyequiresebalancingntheform f nputs fenergyetrievedy ndividualffort,onstitutesreligious ro-positionwhich s ntimatelyonnected ith he ocial nd economic rganisationof thegroup. n thisway, thegeneral alance f energy lowbecomes religiousobjectivenwhichnative cological oncepts lay dominantrganisationalole.To understandhe tructurend functioningf the cosystemecomes hereforevital ask otheTukano. tfollows hat he ndian s thnobiologicalnowledge fthenaturalnvironments not casual nd snot something e assimilateshroughgraduallyncreasing amiliaritynd repeatedense xperience;t is a structured,disciplinednowledgewhich sbasedupona long traditionf enquiry nd whichisacquired fnecessitys part f his ntellectualquipment orbiological nd cul-tural urvival.Among he ndians heresusuallyittlenterestn new knowledgehatmight eusedfor xploitinghe nvironment ore ffectivelynd theres ittle oncern or


6/13

G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFF 3IImaximisinghort-termains rfor btainingmorefoodor raw-materialshan reactually eeded.But there s always great ealof nterestn accumulating orefactual nowledgeboutbiological eality nd, bove all, aboutwhat hephysicalworldrequires romman.This knowledge, he ndiansbelieve, s essential orsurvivalbecauseman mustbringhimselfnto conformity ithnature f hewants o exist spart fnature s nity,nd must ithisdemands o nature svail-abilities.Animal ehaviours ofgreatestnteresto the ndians ecause t oftenonstitutesa modelforwhat spossiblen termsfsuccessfuldaptation. n theonehand, heIndians ave detailed nowledgef uch spectss easonal ariationndmicrodis-tributionsf he nimal ndplant pecies f heir abitat. hey have a goodunder-standing f ecologicalcommunities,f thebehaviour f social nsects, f birdflocks,heorganisationf fish chools, hepatternsf fish uns, ndother ormsfcollectiveehaviour.uchphenomenas parasitism,ymbiosis,ommensalismndother elationshipsetween o-occurringpecies avebeenwell observed ythemandarepointed utaspossiblemodels f daptation. n the ther and,mythsndtales boundwith ccounts f visits o theanimalworld,of peopleturningntoanimalsnorder o earnmore bout heir abits,rof animals eachingmenhowtomake use of certain esources. hamanistic isdomoften ontains etailed e-scriptionsf such contactsnd exchanges,ndmany hamans laimto haveac-quired art ftheirpecificnowledge romnimalswhich evealedothem omeunexpectedoodresource, curefor n illness,r a practical rocedurensolvingsome verydayroblem. omeofthiswisdommay hen econsideredsotericndsecret,emaininghe rivate ropertyf shaman, utoften nough his pecialisedknowledge f animalbehaviour ecomespartofprescribedatternsfhumanaction nd nteractionecause f ts bvious daptive alue.Moreover,mythologyemphaticallyellsof animal pecieswhichhave becomeextinct r whichwerepunished r degraded ornot beying ertain rescribedules f adaptive ignifi-cance.Thus,gluttony,mprovidence,ggressivenessnd all forms f overindul-gencearepunished y thesuperior orces,o serve s examplesnotonlyto theanimal ommunity,utalso to human ociety.Animals,hen, remetaphorsorsurvival. y analysingnimal ehaviourhe ndians ry odiscovernordern thephysicalworld, world-orderowhichhumanctivitiesan then e adjusted.InTukano ulture,he ndividualersons conscioushat e formsart f com-plexnetwork finteractionshich ncludenotonlysociety ut theentire ni-verse.Within his ontext fan essentialnterrelatednessf all things, person asto fulfilmany unctionshat o far eyond isor her ocial oles nd that reextra-societal xtensionsf a setofadaptive orms. heserules r norms, hen, uideperson s elationshipsotonlywith ther eople-pastorpresent,inorally-butalsowith nimals, lants, s a matter ffactwith ll biotic ndnon-bioticom-ponentsfthe nvironment.he rules he ndividual astofollow efer,boveall,to cooperative ehaviour imedat theconservationfecologicalbalance s theultimatelyesirableuality. hus therelationshipetweenmanandhis environ-ment s beingformulatedotonlyon a cognitiveevel,butclearlyt also con-stitutesnaffectiveersonal elationshipnwhichndividualnimalsndplantsretreated ithrespectnd caution.TheTukano requite ware fthe act hat,n order omaintain stable alance


7/13

312 G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFFof nput ndoutput, number fregulatory echanismsaveto be institutednd,what smore, avetobe fully espected y allmembers fthe ociety. hese ocialcontrols fnecessity ossessmarked daptivemplicationsnd mustbe enforcedprimarilynthose spects fexistence hich, o a largedegree, etermineurvival.I shallmention ere:population rowth, he xploitationfthephysicalnviron-ment, ndaggressionn nterpersonalelations.t s quite lear o theTukanothat,inorder o ensurendividualnd collectiveurvival ndwell-being,daptive uleshave to be establishedo adjust hebirth-rate,heharvest-rate,nd to counter-balance ll socially isruptiveehaviour.

IVI shallfirst urn o theproblem fpopulation rowth nd regulations.womechanismsre used by the ndians o control hebirth-rate:ralcontraceptivesand sexual ontinence. ukanowomenuseherbal oncoctions hich, nvaryingconcentrations,ausetemporaryterility,ndby thismeans heymanage o spacetheir ffspringver everal earsnsuch waythatwhen womanhasher econdchild hefirstsalreadyufficientlyndependentotto be a bother. he number fchildrenskept ow and coupleswithmany hildrenrecriticiseduiteopenly ssocially rresponsible.t maybe addedhere hat heold and nfirm,s soon astheyceaseto collaboratenthefoodquestoftheir ousehold roup, re eliminatedy

being bandoned ntheforest ron an sland ntheriver.The secondmechanismsabstention.exual bstinencendsexual epressionrepractised n manyoccasions nd are amongthe most mportantrerequisitesomanyritual ctivities.t is importanto pointout herethat, nTukanothought,foodandsex areclosely elated ndaresymbolicallyquivalent. his deaofre-lationship etween aloric nd sexualappetites expressedn manyways; on ametaphoricalevel exual ntercoursend eating reequated, nd nritual xchangecertainoodstuffsometorepresenthe xchange fwomen.Since trictxogamicrules onstitutehemainorganisingrinciplen Tukanosociety,he onsumptionoravoidance fcertainoods regeared o the oncept fexogamyn such waythatdietaryestrictionsome to stand or exualrestrictions.he selective seofcertainoodsmaythus e said to be subject othe awsofexophagy,hichdeter-mine thepermissibilityfcertain oods underdiverse ircumstances.here aremale and female foods nd foodpreparations,ndthese ules efer otonly oanimal-derivedoods, utalsotovegetable oods.These spects rebestllustratedythe deas hat uide he ctivitiesf hehunter.All game animals re subject o the Master fAnimals, dwarf-likepirit-beingwithmarked hallic ttributes.hissupernaturalamekeeperealously uards isflock onsistingfdeer, apir, eccary, gouti, aca, monkeysnd allother nimalspecies hat rea common oodresourcefthe ndians. he Master f Animals sdirectlyheir rotectorndprocreatorndthey lllive nside teep ockyhills rin deep pools in the river, othdwelling-placeseing magined s largestore-houses eemingwithgameandfish.n order o obtain he upernaturalaster spermissionokill gameanimal, heprospectiveuntermust ndergo rigorouspreparationhich onsistsfsexual ontinence,oodrestrictions,ndpurificationrites nsuringleansinghebody by bathingnd emetics. or somedaysbefore


8/13

G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFF 313going na huntingxcursion,heman hould efrainrom ll sexual elationsnd,what smore, e should othavehad nydreamswith n erotic ontent. oreover,it s necessaryhatnone of thewomenwholive nhishouseholds menstruating.Anothermechanismhat estrictsverhuntings this:According o cosmologicalmythsll game nimals reassociated ith ertain onstellations,s definedy theTukano.However, species anonlybe huntedfterts onstellationasrisen verthehorizon,nd t ssaid hat he nimals ry nd weepwith earwhen hey ealisethat heir ime sapproaching.tmaybementionedere lsothat hehunt tselfsmore han mere oodquest n thatt s maginedsa courtshipn which hepreyhastobe seduced o submito thehunter.Whenever ame s scarce, heshamanmustvisit he Master f Animalsn anarcoticrancend try o obtain rom imtherelease f someof hischarges. ewillnot skforndividualnimals utratherorherds r for good huntingeasonand nreturne promiseso send o theMaster sbodethe ouls fpersons ho,attheir eath,must eturno thisgreat tore-houseoreplenishheenergy fthoseanimals he upernaturalamekeeperives o thehunters.heMaster f Animalsand hisnumerous ersonificationsre thus onceived s administratorsfusufructrights;incegameresourcesre imited,estrictiveightso their se are nstitutedby these pirit-beings,nd t falls o the haman o become hemediator.Fromtheexamples have mentionedtis obvious hat hecombinationfallthese rerequisitesepresentsn tself bodyofhighlydaptive uleswhichnotablyrestricthe ctivitiesfany bunter r fisherman. person annotgo huntingrfishingimplynytimehe needs ood,butonly fter aving ndergone more rless nxiety-chargederiod f preparation,hepurpose f which s toavoid over-hunting.llness r misfortunenhuntingre lmost lways ttributedoneglect fanyofthenumerousules hunter as toobserve.Food restrictionsrenot onlyobservedn connexionwith conomic ctivities,but area standardractice n mostritual ccasions nd nmanyother verydaycircumstances.or example, man whosewife s expecting childshould atneitherapir, eccary ormonkeymeatbecause hismight ffecthegood healthofhis yet unborn ffspring. man whosehunting r fishing earhasbecomepolluted rom eing asually ouched y a woman,must bserve liquiddietforseveral ays.When fish unto spawn, hosepresentn one sstretchftherivershould otbe eaten, or rebirds ggs ver ollectedor ood, ndthe leshf omereptiless avoidedduring heir reedingeason.Allthese nterdictionsreverbal-isedby the ndiansn terms f dangers o theconsumer s ealth. speciallytrictprohibitionseeppeoplefrom ating ormally hile ngagednthe cquisitionfesoteric nowledge nd,similarly,ll rituals f the ndividualifecycle nvolvetemporary ietary estrictions.n summary, uringpregnancy,hildbirthndmenstruation;uringmourningeriods, rwhilegathering edicinal erbs; ur-ing he ouvade r while ngaged pon he reparationfpoisons, arcoticsr ovepotions, eoplecarefullyontrol heir ood ntake nd,as a general ule,refrainfrom ating hemeatofgame animals.Similar rohibitionsestricthegatheringfwildfruitsndnuts, fhoney ndofedible nsects. ven theextractionfraw-materialssed n technological anu-facturess controlledyritual estrictions.he gatheringf thatch or roof, fclayfor otterymaking, rof scarcewoodsor fibresor number f specificnd


9/13

314 G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFFproducts,resubject o permits hichhave to be obtained rom he pirit-ownersoftherespectiveesources.

Thiscomplex fdietaryndsexual estrictionss closely elated o the ontrol faggressive ttitudes. he principalmechanism hich checks ociallydisruptivebehaviourstheorganisationntoexogamicgroupswhich re inked yalliancesand stand n a relationshipfreciprocal xchange. esidesexchanging omen,these omplementarynitswillgive nd receive oods, aw-materialsrmanufac-turedgoods,andon these eriodic ccasionswhich onstituteighly ormalisedrituals, hedances, ongs ndceremonial ialogues mphasisever nd over gainthepaired inkageshat niteTukanosociety.It appears rom heforegoinghat he Tukano definitionfwhat constitutescarryingapacity,efersmainly oa certain alance fprotein-richoodresourcessuch sgame,fish nd wild fruits.nvironmentalegradations nterpretedot nterms f soilexhaustion,ut n terms fthe eventual epletion fgameand ofincreasedwalking ime.Becauseofthe relativecarcityfprotein esources e-strictiveightsotheir se haveto beestablishedn order oavoidfrequenteloca-tion f ettlements.ropitiousonditionsorhorticulturalctivitiesreperhaps otplentiful,ut and forproductive arden lots s available.However, henutrientcontentfpracticallyllvegetable oods ftherain orestsveryowandcarryingcapacitys thereforeeterminedythe xistencefprotein esources,ndpopula-tion ize nddensityre functionshereof.The three spects havementioned-populationrowth, he xploitationfthephysicalnvironmentnd the ontrol faggression-can e reduced oone singleproblem,hats,themaintenancef a balanced cosystem. he Indians nowthattheir aily xistenceepends pontheproper unctioningfthese daptive nter-actions. hequestion rises, ow cana peoplebe made o follow hese rescriptionsandregulations hich mpose uch evere estrictionspontheirocialbehaviourandtheir iological eeds?

VThemechanismshich,n thenative roups amconcerned ithhere, nforcetherules reclosely elatedo the boriginal heoryfdisease. o beginwith, hespecific odilyormental onditions hich, ccording o theTukano, constituteillnessnd whichmanifesthemselveshrough largenumber fsigns ndsymp-toms, realways houghto be causedbyanagent xternal o thebody.Thepos-siblepathogenicgencies all nto hreeategoriesi) therevenge fgame nimals;(2) the ll-will fother eople, nd 3) themalevolencefsupernaturaleings uchas theMaster fAnimals rother pirit-beings.Thismalevolence fpeopleand animals s not an arbitraryorce hatblindlystrikestsunsuspectingictim.On thecontrary,llnesss always nterpreteds aquitenaturalonsequencef a person s reach rneglect f cultural orms.Apartfrom tsbeing ociallyndemotionallyisturbing,llnesss, ntheTukanoview,nothing uta reactiono theecologicallynadequate ehaviour fthepatient, ohismaladaptive erformance.t is thepatientwho causes hedisease, y makinghimselfulnerable o it.The diagnosishe shaman stablishesas,therefore,wodifferentspects: ne referso thepatient somplaints,othe ymptomse hasde-veloped;theother spect efersothequestionwhy heperson ecame victim f


10/13

G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFF 315thedisease. ndherewe can recognise nothermportantspect f the shaman sfunction,n aspect hat s closely elatedo theproblem fecological daptation.

In shamanisticracticellnesss taken o be theconsequence f a person s p-setting certainspect f theecological alance.Overhuntings a common auseand so areharvestingctivitiesnwhich omerelativelycarce atural esource asbeenwasted.The delicate alanceexistingwithin he natural nvironment,e-tween aturend society,ndwithinocietytself,onstitutesseries f systemsnwhich nydisturbance,owever light,sbound oaffecthewhole.Forexample,meddling ith ertain omenwho shouldbe avoided s the amekindof affrontas eating ertainish hat houldnotbe eaten;whilekilling oo many nimals facertain peciesmust lwaysbe avoided.These are offenceshe consequence fwhichs ikely obean llness.nthediagnosticrocess, hichsoftenccompaniedbydivinatoryractices,he hamans nterestedn thepatient sllness ot omuchasa functionf biology, utrathersa symptomf a disordern the nergy low.His mainconcerns abouttherelationshipetween ocietynd thesupernaturalMasters fgame,fish ndwildfruits,nwhomdepend uccessnharvestingndwho commandmanypathogenicgents.To theshaman t is thereforef theessence o diagnose orrectlyhe auses f the llness,o identifyheexactqualityof the nadequate elationshipbe it adultery,verhunting,r anyotherover-indulgencer waste), ndthen oredresshebalancebycommunicatingith hespiritsnd byestablishingeconciliatoryontacts ith hegame nimals. o men-tionustoneexample f how a diagnosiss established: manwhohaskilled oomany nimals f a certainpecies,will appear n theshaman s reamor trancestatesnthe hape f that nimal ndthe magewill be accompanied ya certainluminosity,certain egree f ight.t s quiteremarkablehat ifferencesnhighor low light ntensityre recognisedo be very mportantn theflowof solarenergy,s understoody theTukano, ndthat hamans illmentionn theirpellsand ncantationsp toseven hades f yellow ight that nergisehebiosphere.Insummarisinghis spect want oemphasisehat he haman sa healer f ll-nessdoesnot o much nterferen the ndividualevel,butoperatesn the evelofthose upra-individualtructureshathavebeendisturbedy theperson.To beeffective,e has to applyhistreatmento thedisturbedartoftheecosystem.tmight e saidthen hat Tukanoshaman oesnothave ndividual atients; istask s to cure a socialmalfunctioning.he diseased rganism fthepatientssecondaryn importancend will be treated ventually,othempiricallyndritually,utwhatreally ountss there-establishmentf therules hatwillavoidoverhunting,hedepletion f certain lantresources,ndunchecked opulationincrease. he shamanbecomesthusa truly owerful orce n thecontrol ndmanagementf resources.The shaman hen nterferesuitedirectly ithhunting,ishing,atheringndmost ther arvestingctivities.or example, shamanwillpersonallyontrolhequantityndconcentrationffish-poisonobeusedona certaintretchfriver; ewill determinehenumber fanimals o be killedwhena herdofpeccarys re-ported,ndhe willdecide n a suitable arvestingtrategyor hegatheringfwildfruits. e willdetermine hichish avetobe thrown ack nto hewater fterhaulhasbeenmade, ndoccasionallyeevenmightompletelyrohibithekillingofcertainnimalsn a restrictedreaoftheforest. e willalsocontroluch echno-


11/13

3I6 G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFFlogical ctivitiess the onstructionf a communalouse, hemanufacturefacanoe, rthe peningf trail. llthese ctivitiesbviouslyffecthe aturaln-vironmentince rees ave obe felledndmany lants ave o be destroyedrused n theprocess,ndthe haman sole s a protectorf game ndplant-lifeexplains hynimalsndplantsigureo prominentlyshis pirit-helpers.ll his,I shouldike o point uthere,s not peculation;he ndiansre uite xplicitnthesemattersnd xplainhathe pirit-ownersfnature ust ot e angeredndthatt sthe haman sasko reconcilehem.The very arge enotativeocabularyf shamanxpressesisgreat oncernwith stablishinghe ompletenventoryfthe cosystem.n order o beable oadministerhis reat tore-house,ehas oknow, ame nd ategorisell ts on-tents. hisknowledgeventuallyrovidesimwith he riteriaor cologicalplanningnd his,f ourse,sproblem-solvingy nticipation.hefact hatmanydaily ctivitiesuchshunting,ishing,athering,he learingf new ieldr hecuringfa diseasere ubjectodivinatoryracticesnorder o ocate hemostpropitiouspot rtime,rtofindhemostffectiverocedurencoping ithhisor that redicament,ives he hamanmple pportunityoprotect ild-lifeyrandomchedulingfhuntingxcursionsheneverethinkshat certainpeciesisendangered,rtochannelny therxploitativectivityndirectionsebelievestobebest.know f everalaseswherehamansnitiatedimited igratoryove-mentsy sking eople o abandonheir omesn ordero avoid napproachingepidemicr he resencef vil pirits,oth alamitieseingevealedndivinatorytrance.he true eason, owever,eems ohavebeen he dvancedepletionfproteinesources.nview f he bservationf numberfrelatedases,t eemsnotunlikelyhat hamanisticivinatoryracticesperate ithmodelsnd hat,nthismanner, any daptivehangesrebeingntroducedy hamans.One mightskhere:how farsa shamanctuallyonsciousf hisrole s anecologicalroker?oeshe lwaysct uite ationallyndwith n dequate nder-standingfecologicalrinciples?There xist,f ourse, ifferences.ome hamans,otablyheyoungernd essexperiencednes, end o verbaliseheironceptionsnquite implisticermsysayinghatverhuntingnd verharvestingre ound o nnoyoth he piritsndthe ame nimals,nd hatllness illbe the unishment.heywill eadilyointoutchangesnprey bundancendwill ttributehebioticmpoverishmentfcertainestrictedreas o hectionfvengefulpirits.thersoweverill otmakeuseofthesemysticalnterpretationsutwillblame reednd gnoranceor hedepletionfproteinesources.heywillattributeome ifnotall)diseasesonutritionaleficienciesndwill tate uite lainlyhat roteinesourcesre carceandhave o beprotected.To be sure, hefact hatmost conomicctivitiesre ccompaniedy ritualsdoesnotmean hathe hamanimplysks he upernaturalorcesor bundance,for lenty,or maximummount fwhat he nvironmentanproduce,utratherhat ccasionsrebeing rovidedor tock-taking,orweighingosts ndbenefits,ndfor he ventuale-distributionfresources.t thesemomentsheshaman sook-keepinghows hegeneralystemnputsndoutputs.npoint ffact,most hamanisticctivitiesuch scuring ituals,ain-making,heperiodicreaffirmationf alliancesr food xchangeetweenxogamic roupsmighte


12/13

G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFF 317viewedsritualsoncerned ith esource anagementnd ecologicalalance.This act as ometimeseen bscuredy tendencyo describeativehamansntermsfmerewitchdoctorsr religiousanatics.

VITheTukano ndmany ther olombianribeselievehat he ntireniversessteadilyeteriorating.hus t is thoughthat ormerlyeoplewerehealthier,strongerndmorentelligenthan hey re tpresent;hat nimalsndfruitserelargerndthatheyweremore bundanthan ow.The ndians illpoint utstretchesf forest,iversr agoons aying hat nformerimes nimalifewasplentifulhere.t s true hat,tpresent,his eelingf mpendingoom s partlyjustified;nmanyartsheworld f he ain orestndiansson thewane. ut heIndian sense fentropy,f the endencyoward isorderndchaos, oesnotseem o be a consequencefhispresentlight,ut atherepresentsn existentialanxietyhat ormsart fnativeosmologynd hilosophy,nd hatsbased ponthe lose nddaily bservationf he iologicalycles fgrowthnddecline. heimportantoint sthat hisdea f ncreasingisorders always ollowed y theinstitutionalisedesolutiono recreateheworld ndto re-establishtsorderndpurposes tatedn osmologicalradition.his ontinuousycle f itualreation,destructionndre-creationan be foundn manyropicalorestocietiesnd sindeedn mportantechanismf ulturalndbiologicalurvival.Inthe ourse fthese eremonialccasions, hen heuniversend ll ts om-ponentsrebeingenewed,negoalbecomesf entralmportance:he eaffirma-tion f inks ith ast ndfutureenerations,ogetherith he xpressionf on-cern bout hefuture ell-beingf society. heemphasisf therituals uponunifyinghe ocial roup, pon ontinuity,pon he lose onds f dentityhatuniteociety ith he ast ndmake tthe oundationf he uture.tseemshatthis ense funion rovides eeplymotivatingalues nd strongncentivesoraecologicalesponsibility.he engthyenealogicalecitalsndthe itualialogueshave powerfulohesiveunction,nd n many f hese itualsnimal ndplant-spiritsre houghtoparticipate,xpressingy heirresenceheirnterrelatednessand nterdependency.t must e pointedutherehat he itual e-creationf heuniversesgenerallyccompaniedy he ollectivese fnarcoticsfplant rigin.During heserug-inducedrancetates,rother ormsf dissociatehenomena,the articipantsstablishontact ithhemythicalast,nfact,heyee hemselvesreturno the ime fdivine reationnd hus ake artn t. t sclearhat, ereagain, he fficiatinghamanan daptivelyrienthenterpretationsf he isionspeople roject pon he ivid ackgroundf heir allucinations.Duringmost r llofthese itualshich anbesaid o beessentiallyoncernedwithcologicalalance,he ecitalfmythsndgenealogiessofgreatmportance.Thesemythsxplainman s aturend raceman s estinyromirthnd nfancythrough aturityodeclinenddeath; romhe in f ncestochaos ndnear-destruction,ndhence oa neworder nd he stablishmentf aw.Thesemythsand ales, shouldike o emphasiseere,renotmereliterature ;hey epresenta truly emarkableffortt intellectualnterpretation,tproviding cognitivematrixorife. hey re guide or urvivalecauseheystablishules f onduct,


13/13

3I8 G. REICHEL-DOLMATOFFnotonly or itual ccasionsutfor verydayife; factwhich ometimesoesunnoticeds ong sonehasnotdiscoveredhemetaphoricalode nwhich hemythsre ransmitted.Thecosmological yths hich xpresshe ukanoworld-viewo notdescribeMan sPlace nNaturentermsfdominion,fmasteryver subordinaten-vironment,ordotheynanyway xpresshenotion fwhat ome fusmightcall sensef harmonyith ature. ature,ntheiriew,snot physicalntityapart rommannd, herefore,e annotonfronttoropposet rharmoniseithit s separatentity.ccasionallyan an nbalancetbyhis ersonal alfunction-ing sacomponent,uthenevertandspartromt.Man stakenobeapart fset fsupra-individualystemshich-be hey iologicalrcultural-transcendour ndividualives ndwithin hich urvivalndthemaintenancef a certainquality f ife repossiblenly f llotherife ormsooare llowed oevolveaccordingo theirpecificeeds,s statedncosmological ythsnd raditions.Inclosing,shouldike o note he ollowing.ntil uite ecentlythnologistsandarchaeologistsave ttemptedo explainulturalvolutionndchangentermsf inear ause-and-effectodels nd this pproachs still sedbymostspecialistsnthese ields. regoryateson asthe irstthnographerosenseheneed or systemsheory odel o account or is thnographicalata, lthoughhisnowclassicmonographn NewGuineawas writtenongbeforehe ormalaspectsf ystemsheoryadbeen eveloped.Archaeologistsavebeen articularlyrone odependencencause-and-effectexplanationsndmodels onstructednthe rinciplesf inearausality,nd hesetrendsavebeen mphasisednthe ntellectualovementalled New Archae-ology . t sonly ecentlyhat lanneryasnotedhatwovery ifferentinds fexplanatoryodelsreused ythe New Archaeology.neofthesechoolssexplicitn ts dherenceo inearausality.lanneryas ppliedhe ermlaw-and-order rchaeologyothis chool. heotheress opularrend asbeen n pplica-tion f ystemsheoryoaccountor ulturalhange,ttributingtsdynamicsoverylowdeviationshichriginatenapart f he ystemnd hen evelopntomajormodifications.t seemshathispproachsfarmoreikely oproduceig-

nificant odels hans law-and-orderrchaeology.It isstrikinghen hatnthe astdecade thnographersndarchaeologistsrecoming o accept s theonlykind fexplanatoryodelwhich an be used ohandle cological elationshipshekindofoverall ystems odelwhichwasadopted y primitivendiansveryong ime go.NOTESI am deeply onscious f thegreat onour fhaving eenasked o givethe 975 HuxleyMemorial ecture.ammost ratefulotheBritish ouncil ndto theRoyalAnthropologicalInstitute,speciallyheEsperanzaund, or heir enerousssistance.alsowish o expressmysincereersonal ratitudeoDonald Lathrap,MartinMoynihan, lga Linares e Moynihan

andJ. Wilbert, orhaving eenkind nough oread draftfthis ecture; heiruggestionshaveproved o be very timulatingnd helpful.

cosmology as ecological analysis

Documents