Sparks of Kuwai’

Baniwa Cosmovision, Covid-19, and the ‘Nós Cuidamos’ [‘We Care’] Campaign

Bibliographic Data

ID12901014
AuthorsRobin M Wright (University of Florida, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume16
Issue1
Pages50-76
Publication date2022-05-06
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-4907 • E-ISSN: 1749-4915
PublisherEquinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1558/jsrnc.20769
OpenAlexW4280492153
LanguageEN
References cited11

The spread of Covid-19 among the vulnerable indigenous populations of Amazonia has produced complex moral and spiritual issues that have demanded creative and cooperative solutions. The Baniwa indigenous peoples of the Northwest Amazon pin the spread of the pandemic on the failure of humans to observe respectful relations with the spirit-people of the environment. Ritual specialists typically believe that the pandemic is due to humans having violated the original instructions, remembered in initiation ceremonies and reinforced throughout a lifetime. Consequently, they further believe, the spirit-people of the environment retaliate by inflicting sicknesses, including the Covid-19 pandemic. To reverse the damage, a strong movement of healthcare led by indigenous women has promoted a revitalization of the use of herbal medicines together with healing practices and the traditional teachings of the initiation rites for men and women

Amazon rainforest · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Criminology · Environmental ethics · Ethnology · Indigenous · Pandemic · Political science · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · History · Medicine · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Philosophy · Psychedelics and Drug Studies · Ecology

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