An epistemology of indigenous communities in Andean Ecuador countering the Anthropocene
The indigenous communities, peoples and nationalities of Ecuador located in the country’s high Andean region are still maintaining the legacy of what is called in Kichwa language Alli Kawsay, understood as the relationship of life in fullness. This epistemology and cosmogony is characterized by the interweaving of the spiritual, political, social, cultural, environmental, educational and family dimensions. Translated into Spanish as “Buen vivir”, it is linked to Latin America and decolonial studies and part of the research of southern epistemologies. In 2008 Ecuador has incorporated the concept into its constitution. Nevertheless this does not mean that it is taken into account in the political agenda. It is necessary to emphasize, however, that to interpret the Alli Kawsay simply as “good living” is constituting it as a reductive concept losing its amplitude of thought and multidimensional meaning. Since the concept is diverse, cross-sectional and dynamic, there is no clear definition and it is understood differently by the communities and even individuals.
The Alli Kawsay gives rise to socio-cultural practices that have been maintained in Latin America as practices of resistance in the more than 530 years of colonization and are still found in modernity. With the colonization of the continent, the indigenous communities were confronted with the destruction of their basis of existence. Until today indigenous culture and ecological systems are being destroyed on a global level, calling out for resistance and urgent change.
Speaking of indigenous practices as resistance, it refers to how the communities maintain their own language and justice, their traditional economy and dance as well as further aspects of their wide cultural wealth. At the center of their resistance are the spiritual and political practices that enable them to connect with nature. The defense of nature is reflected in the mobilizations-protests, which demand respect for life, culture, indigenous territories and their ancestral worldview.
The way of life and the forms of political action resulting from the Alli Kawsay are reaching far back in time since they are part of the ancestral heritage. Yet they also serve today as a path to a transformation which humanity is called to carry out in the midst of the anthropocene.
The Alli Kawsay builds upon the respect for Mother Nature, called Pachamama in Kichwa. Regarding nature‘s exploitation beginning with colonialism and finding its peak in today‘s economy, the defense of Mother Nature becomes a political commitment, which implies mobilization and raising one’s voice against those who affect nature harmfully.
The indigenous practices putting the Alli Kawsay into action are an integrative response to the marked developmentalism and progressiveness of the capitalist system, which has considerably affected the bond of respect on the part of human beings towards Mother Nature. The communities understand their practices as a defense of collective and territorial rights, since the ancestral communities are the owners of the territories. Beyond the territory they hold on to the knowledge-heritage that their grandparents have left. They acknowledge that they are part of nature itself and depend on it, even up to the point that they must give up their lives in the defense of Mother Nature.
The entry of mining and extractive multinationals and the implementation of state policies do not only harm nature but furthermore indigenous life. The communities‘ protest is thereby directed against the violation of territory as well as against the violation of human rights. For them the territoriality, the Pachamama, must be reintegrated into peaceful and pacifist mobilization.
The indigenous communities watch over the well-being-integrity of the territorial ecology, thus understanding the territory not as possession or Cartesian domain, but above all understanding the human being as part of the same territory in a web of multidimensional relations. This is accompanied by value and respect towards the other beings and radically opposes the modern paradigm. This means understanding oneself as one more being in the territory and not as a being that dominates and eliminates life in the territoriality, as it happens in the anthropocene and the dominant socioeconomic hegemonic practices.
Due to the Alli Kawsay all nature has life and is bound together in co-responsibility. The Andean cosmogony is based on the appreciation for pluriversality. This denotes respect for the diversity of life in animals, plants and other beings that cohabit in nature and that also deserve to be integrated into the scenario of political participation. Actions are guided by looking for minimum affectation-impact in the socioeconomic relations that human beings have towards nature.
The defense of the ancestral legacy as a political indigenous practice refers at the same time to the defense of life in community. Political relations in indigenous communities imply cohabitation and making society co-responsible. The political discourse builds from the multi-dialogue and not from the monological discourse of imposition and clash of forces. The collective thought is fundamental in constructing in commune. This opposes the paradigm of capitalism that implies individualism and unilateralism and which increased considerably in the anthropocene.
Since the concept of the Alli Kawsay is multi-dimensional it has correlation beyond the political and social dimensions. The political-spiritual relations are at the same level of constructive action, seeking to contribute with greater proactivity in the midst of the anthropocene and to bring about alternatives to minimize the harmful impact of the anthropocene and to stay resilient. The spiritual dimension further lays the basis for the prevalence and care of Mother Nature as well as for the search for the common good leaving aside ideas of privatization and egoism.
The capitalist economic system needs an epistemological turn in its essence. The indigenous politics and their socio-cultural practices, building on a communitarian thought and a multi-dimensional understanding of life, are an alternative to the mono-cultural discourse and development that is present in the anthropocene. The latter eliminate the construction of spirituality, participative politics and inter-generational education experienced by the Andean indigenous communities of Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia.
The epistemology of the Alli Kawsay is an alternative to the perverse and defragmenting development of modern society. It is one of so many epistemologies that emerge and are lived in the resistance-survival of indigenous peoples and nationalities and that need to be heard in the anthropocene. They bring about alternative answers, express other possible and alternative worlds of the global south. Indigenous epistemologies are the legacy and continuous voice of the grandfathers and grandmothers that survive with us since the beginning of time, and that today, urges to be heard and practiced.
Eduardo Erazo Acosta is Sociologist, Professor and researcher at the University of Nariño, Colombia. He has experience in research projects on decoloniality, alternative development and indigenous communities in the Andean region and accompanies their movements.