Natalia Buitron
Biographic Data
| ID | 415792 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Natalia Buitron |
| GIVEN NAMES | Natalia |
| FAMILY NAME | Buitron |
| SIGNATURE | BUITRON N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cambridge |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0932-4741 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 52 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Egalitarians despite themselves: Envy and leadership in Ecuadorian Amazonia
The Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia once pursued eminence through warfare and vision quests. While vision quests have been retained, today – settled in villages – they seek eminence through economic success and political leadership. This article examines an apparent paradox: whilst envy suspicions pervade public life, they legitimize rather than level inequality. Successful individuals publicly accuse less wealthy neighbours of envious sorcery, whil…
Nightmare egalitarianism: Commensuration, autonomy, and imagination
Egalitarianism is often idealized, but many anthropologists have noted its potential for nightmare scenarios involving envy, mistrust, and violence. This introduction outlines a framework for understanding the negative emotions and violence associated with the forces of commensuration that are necessary to make people equal. The levelling effect of commensuration stands in tension with autonomy and mutuality; and may be contained through imaginat…
Folklore and Social Anthropology in Amazonia
Special Issue Introduction-Autonomy Through Collaboration: Memory and Media in Indigenous Print and Editorial Projects
This special issue explores the encounter between cultural memory, media, and autonomy in collaborative printing and editorial projects. In recent years, there has been a rise in Indigenous publishing involving collaboration with anthropologists and/or anthropological knowledge. Indigenous collectives often invite anthropologists to support their autonomous publishing projects centered around history and cultural revitalization, due to their pres…
Inculturer le marché: Prédations capitalistes parmi les Shuar de l’Amazonie équatorienne
Comment une population amazonienne vivant en marge de l'économie mondialisée envisage-t-elle son implication dans le marché capitaliste ? Dans cet article, nous examinons les perspectives entrepreneuriales exprimées par les leaders des Shuars équatoriens du Transkutukú. Les leaders placent leur espoir dans la poursuite de l'entrepreneuriat comme moyen de garantir l'autodétermination domestique et ethnique. Ce processus réflexif est encapsulé dans…
Inculturating the market: Entrepreneurial perspectives on capitalist predation among the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia
How does an Amazonian population living at the margins of the globalized economy envision its involvement in the capitalist market? In this article, we examine the entrepreneurial perspectives expressed by leaders of the Ecuadorian Shuar of Transkutukú. Leaders place their hope in the pursuit of entrepreneurialism as a way to guarantee domestic and ethnic self-determination. This reflexive process is encapsulated by the local formula of "incultur…
Governing Opacity: Regimes of Intention Management and Tools of Legibility
The intentions of others are ultimately opaque: we can never know exactly the mind of someone else. Yet humans continually attempt to 'read' the mental states of others and throughout history have created institutions that attempt to do so by managing intentions and thus addressing the opacity of other minds. The contributors of this special issue argue that the form in which we meet the fundamental challenge of the opacity of mind is decisive fo…
Rule of Self and Rule of Law: Governing Opacity Among the Shuar of Amazonia
Faced with the opacity of other minds, we can either confirm the impossibility of knowing or try to make other minds transparent. Among the Amazonian Shuar, two opposed regimes of intention management embody these two options. One is associated with the predatory agency of arútam, the spirit of prominent elders; the other one with the pacifying agency of the Christian God. Secret vision quests and dialogic duels generate an instability of perspec…
Competing for the Future: Play, Drama, and Rank in Amazonia
This article explores competition as a technique of social transformation in Amazonia. In recent years, the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia have begun staging festivals to celebrate the unity and autonomy of their new sedentary communities. Festivals include sporting games and beauty pageants that create a positive spirit of competition through dramatization and ranking. In these competitions, the drama and ranking take place within a ‘play-frame’—a…
State Legibility and Mind Legibility in the Original Political Society
In one of his last great provocations, Marshall Sahlins describes the 'original political society' as a society where supposedly 'egalitarian' relations between humans are subordinated to the government of metahuman beings. He argues that this government is 'a state', but what kind of state does he mean? Even if metahumans are hierarchically organized and have power over human beings, they lack two capacities commonly attributed to political stat…
Les fins de l'égalitarisme: Introduction
Les collectifs humains vivant de maniere libre et autonome, ignorant tout du commandement et de l'obeissance, et valorisant le partage spontane et la mutualite peuvent-ils etre qualifies d'« egalitaires » ? La ou il n'y a pas d'Etat, de legislation ou de sanctions sociales pour garantir l'egalite entre tous, peut-on parler d'« egalitarisme » comme pratique sociale vecue sachant, qu'en ces lieux, cette notion n'existe pas ? La realite de ce type d…
Autonomy, productiveness, and community: The rise of inequality in an Amazonian society
In Amazonian societies, autonomy is said to be a core value motivating egalitarian politics. This article shows how the quest for autonomy and productiveness presently sets in motion processes that encroach upon these very values. Among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador, the realization of autonomy and productiveness increasingly depends on the capture of state resources. Shuar interact with the local state as members of relatively recent sedentary …
Singularity on the Margins: Autobiographical Writings among the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia
Inspired by Stephen Hugh-Jones’s suggestion of a fit between Tukanoan writing genres and their sociocultural systems, in this article we explore Shuar autobiographical writings in light of Chicham (Jivaroan) individualism. By exploring first-person—nonpatrimonial—texts that have received much less attention in the regional literature, the article contributes to theorizing a different way of transmitting tradition:one focused on individual praxis …
The Shuar Writing Boom: "Cultural Experts and the Creation of a "Scholarly Tradition
In dialogue with Stephen Hugh-Jones’s work on Tukanoan writing, this article analyzes the boom in patrimonial writing among Chicham (Jivaroan)-speaking Shuar people. Patrimonial writing foregrounds collective identity and understandings of culture as group property common to the Tukanoan speakers of the Upper Rio Negro but foreign to the pre-missionized Shuar. We argue that the Shuar interest in patrimonial writing can be explained through the hi…
Autonomy, productiveness, and community: The rise of inequality in an Amazonian society
In Amazonian societies, autonomy is said to be a core value motivating egalitarian politics. This article shows how the quest for autonomy and productiveness presently sets in motion processes that encroach upon these very values. Among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador, the realization of autonomy and productiveness increasingly depends on the capture of state resources. Shuar interact with the local state as members of relatively recent sedentary …
Les fins de l'égalitarisme: Introduction
Les collectifs humains vivant de maniere libre et autonome, ignorant tout du commandement et de l'obeissance, et valorisant le partage spontane et la mutualite peuvent-ils etre qualifies d'« egalitaires » ? La ou il n'y a pas d'Etat, de legislation ou de sanctions sociales pour garantir l'egalite entre tous, peut-on parler d'« egalitarisme » comme pratique sociale vecue sachant, qu'en ces lieux, cette notion n'existe pas ? La realite de ce type d…
Governing Opacity: Regimes of Intention Management and Tools of Legibility
The intentions of others are ultimately opaque: we can never know exactly the mind of someone else. Yet humans continually attempt to 'read' the mental states of others and throughout history have created institutions that attempt to do so by managing intentions and thus addressing the opacity of other minds. The contributors of this special issue argue that the form in which we meet the fundamental challenge of the opacity of mind is decisive fo…
State Legibility and Mind Legibility in the Original Political Society
In one of his last great provocations, Marshall Sahlins describes the 'original political society' as a society where supposedly 'egalitarian' relations between humans are subordinated to the government of metahuman beings. He argues that this government is 'a state', but what kind of state does he mean? Even if metahumans are hierarchically organized and have power over human beings, they lack two capacities commonly attributed to political stat…
Rule of Self and Rule of Law: Governing Opacity Among the Shuar of Amazonia
Faced with the opacity of other minds, we can either confirm the impossibility of knowing or try to make other minds transparent. Among the Amazonian Shuar, two opposed regimes of intention management embody these two options. One is associated with the predatory agency of arútam, the spirit of prominent elders; the other one with the pacifying agency of the Christian God. Secret vision quests and dialogic duels generate an instability of perspec…
Special Issue Introduction-Autonomy Through Collaboration: Memory and Media in Indigenous Print and Editorial Projects
This special issue explores the encounter between cultural memory, media, and autonomy in collaborative printing and editorial projects. In recent years, there has been a rise in Indigenous publishing involving collaboration with anthropologists and/or anthropological knowledge. Indigenous collectives often invite anthropologists to support their autonomous publishing projects centered around history and cultural revitalization, due to their pres…
Inculturer le marché: Prédations capitalistes parmi les Shuar de l’Amazonie équatorienne
Comment une population amazonienne vivant en marge de l'économie mondialisée envisage-t-elle son implication dans le marché capitaliste ? Dans cet article, nous examinons les perspectives entrepreneuriales exprimées par les leaders des Shuars équatoriens du Transkutukú. Les leaders placent leur espoir dans la poursuite de l'entrepreneuriat comme moyen de garantir l'autodétermination domestique et ethnique. Ce processus réflexif est encapsulé dans…
Singularity on the Margins: Autobiographical Writings among the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia
Inspired by Stephen Hugh-Jones’s suggestion of a fit between Tukanoan writing genres and their sociocultural systems, in this article we explore Shuar autobiographical writings in light of Chicham (Jivaroan) individualism. By exploring first-person—nonpatrimonial—texts that have received much less attention in the regional literature, the article contributes to theorizing a different way of transmitting tradition:one focused on individual praxis …
Inculturating the market: Entrepreneurial perspectives on capitalist predation among the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia
How does an Amazonian population living at the margins of the globalized economy envision its involvement in the capitalist market? In this article, we examine the entrepreneurial perspectives expressed by leaders of the Ecuadorian Shuar of Transkutukú. Leaders place their hope in the pursuit of entrepreneurialism as a way to guarantee domestic and ethnic self-determination. This reflexive process is encapsulated by the local formula of "incultur…
The Shuar Writing Boom: "Cultural Experts and the Creation of a "Scholarly Tradition
In dialogue with Stephen Hugh-Jones’s work on Tukanoan writing, this article analyzes the boom in patrimonial writing among Chicham (Jivaroan)-speaking Shuar people. Patrimonial writing foregrounds collective identity and understandings of culture as group property common to the Tukanoan speakers of the Upper Rio Negro but foreign to the pre-missionized Shuar. We argue that the Shuar interest in patrimonial writing can be explained through the hi…
Singularity on the Margins: Autobiographical Writings among the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia
Inspired by Stephen Hugh-Jones’s suggestion of a fit between Tukanoan writing genres and their sociocultural systems, in this article we explore Shuar autobiographical writings in light of Chicham (Jivaroan) individualism. By exploring first-person—nonpatrimonial—texts that have received much less attention in the regional literature, the article contributes to theorizing a different way of transmitting tradition:one focused on individual praxis …
The Shuar Writing Boom: "Cultural Experts and the Creation of a "Scholarly Tradition
In dialogue with Stephen Hugh-Jones’s work on Tukanoan writing, this article analyzes the boom in patrimonial writing among Chicham (Jivaroan)-speaking Shuar people. Patrimonial writing foregrounds collective identity and understandings of culture as group property common to the Tukanoan speakers of the Upper Rio Negro but foreign to the pre-missionized Shuar. We argue that the Shuar interest in patrimonial writing can be explained through the hi…
Les fins de l'égalitarisme: Introduction
Les collectifs humains vivant de maniere libre et autonome, ignorant tout du commandement et de l'obeissance, et valorisant le partage spontane et la mutualite peuvent-ils etre qualifies d'« egalitaires » ? La ou il n'y a pas d'Etat, de legislation ou de sanctions sociales pour garantir l'egalite entre tous, peut-on parler d'« egalitarisme » comme pratique sociale vecue sachant, qu'en ces lieux, cette notion n'existe pas ? La realite de ce type d…
Autonomy, productiveness, and community: The rise of inequality in an Amazonian society
In Amazonian societies, autonomy is said to be a core value motivating egalitarian politics. This article shows how the quest for autonomy and productiveness presently sets in motion processes that encroach upon these very values. Among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador, the realization of autonomy and productiveness increasingly depends on the capture of state resources. Shuar interact with the local state as members of relatively recent sedentary …
State Legibility and Mind Legibility in the Original Political Society
In one of his last great provocations, Marshall Sahlins describes the 'original political society' as a society where supposedly 'egalitarian' relations between humans are subordinated to the government of metahuman beings. He argues that this government is 'a state', but what kind of state does he mean? Even if metahumans are hierarchically organized and have power over human beings, they lack two capacities commonly attributed to political stat…
Competing for the Future: Play, Drama, and Rank in Amazonia
This article explores competition as a technique of social transformation in Amazonia. In recent years, the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia have begun staging festivals to celebrate the unity and autonomy of their new sedentary communities. Festivals include sporting games and beauty pageants that create a positive spirit of competition through dramatization and ranking. In these competitions, the drama and ranking take place within a ‘play-frame’—a…
Inculturer le marché: Prédations capitalistes parmi les Shuar de l’Amazonie équatorienne
Comment une population amazonienne vivant en marge de l'économie mondialisée envisage-t-elle son implication dans le marché capitaliste ? Dans cet article, nous examinons les perspectives entrepreneuriales exprimées par les leaders des Shuars équatoriens du Transkutukú. Les leaders placent leur espoir dans la poursuite de l'entrepreneuriat comme moyen de garantir l'autodétermination domestique et ethnique. Ce processus réflexif est encapsulé dans…
Inculturating the market: Entrepreneurial perspectives on capitalist predation among the Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia
How does an Amazonian population living at the margins of the globalized economy envision its involvement in the capitalist market? In this article, we examine the entrepreneurial perspectives expressed by leaders of the Ecuadorian Shuar of Transkutukú. Leaders place their hope in the pursuit of entrepreneurialism as a way to guarantee domestic and ethnic self-determination. This reflexive process is encapsulated by the local formula of "incultur…
Governing Opacity: Regimes of Intention Management and Tools of Legibility
The intentions of others are ultimately opaque: we can never know exactly the mind of someone else. Yet humans continually attempt to 'read' the mental states of others and throughout history have created institutions that attempt to do so by managing intentions and thus addressing the opacity of other minds. The contributors of this special issue argue that the form in which we meet the fundamental challenge of the opacity of mind is decisive fo…
Rule of Self and Rule of Law: Governing Opacity Among the Shuar of Amazonia
Faced with the opacity of other minds, we can either confirm the impossibility of knowing or try to make other minds transparent. Among the Amazonian Shuar, two opposed regimes of intention management embody these two options. One is associated with the predatory agency of arútam, the spirit of prominent elders; the other one with the pacifying agency of the Christian God. Secret vision quests and dialogic duels generate an instability of perspec…
Folklore and Social Anthropology in Amazonia
Special Issue Introduction-Autonomy Through Collaboration: Memory and Media in Indigenous Print and Editorial Projects
This special issue explores the encounter between cultural memory, media, and autonomy in collaborative printing and editorial projects. In recent years, there has been a rise in Indigenous publishing involving collaboration with anthropologists and/or anthropological knowledge. Indigenous collectives often invite anthropologists to support their autonomous publishing projects centered around history and cultural revitalization, due to their pres…
Egalitarians despite themselves: Envy and leadership in Ecuadorian Amazonia
The Shuar of Ecuadorian Amazonia once pursued eminence through warfare and vision quests. While vision quests have been retained, today – settled in villages – they seek eminence through economic success and political leadership. This article examines an apparent paradox: whilst envy suspicions pervade public life, they legitimize rather than level inequality. Successful individuals publicly accuse less wealthy neighbours of envious sorcery, whil…
Nightmare egalitarianism: Commensuration, autonomy, and imagination
Egalitarianism is often idealized, but many anthropologists have noted its potential for nightmare scenarios involving envy, mistrust, and violence. This introduction outlines a framework for understanding the negative emotions and violence associated with the forces of commensuration that are necessary to make people equal. The levelling effect of commensuration stands in tension with autonomy and mutuality; and may be contained through imaginat…
Sociology (8 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (7 works) · Political science (6 works) · Law (5 works) · Politics (5 works) · Aesthetics (4 works) · Autonomy (4 works) · Egalitarianism (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Art (3 works)