A world seen through mobility. Cultural conceptions about nature among Andean pastoral communities

TOMASI, JORGE

New Delhi

Simposio; 19TH ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium; 2017

ICOMOS

Pastoralism is defined as a form of animal breeding based on extensive mobility. However, as Khasanov proposed, more than a mere productive practice is constituted as a way of life. In this way, the universe of pastoral communities presents specific forms of understanding of the world, logics of social organization and particularly conceptions about what we define as nature. These conceptions have been in tension with different state forms throughout history that have sought their sedentarization and dissolution of the relations with their places.In the case of Andean communities (Peru, Bolivia and northern Chile and Argentina), pastoral practices are mainly concentrated in the highlands, are based on intense cyclical and seasonal shifts within pasture areas, and involve management of mixed herds of camelids, goats and sheep. The bond with the animals that are part of the herds must be understood from a symmetrical relation, such that they are constituted as nonhuman members of the domestic units. In the same way, landscapes, places and architectures resulting from pastoral dynamics are not presented as a passive scenario, but rather as agents within an intense network of relationships.This proposal has the objective of approaching an understanding of Andean pastoral practices, taking as a case study the highland communities in the north of Argentina, based on ethnographic field work. We are interested in observing the pastoral geographies in the area, focusing on the conceptions with the natural world, and the relationships that are established between the different agents. The study of the associated architectures will be one of the keys to the proposed analysis.