Citation

Delgado A. AIBR-Rev. Antropol. Iberoam. 2021; 16(3): 559-582.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021)

DOI

10.11156/aibr.160306

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

One of the observable consequences of the social and cultural change among the Huaorani (an Amerindian people from the Ecuadorian Amazon contacted in the late 1950s), has been the suicide, which since the beginning of the 21st century has been increasing alarmingly. This article focuses the attention on the case of Epaa, a 28-year-old woman, who unexpectedly and for no apparent reason took her own life away, leaving behind many unknowns. The ethnographic fieldwork on which this research is based lasted two months. Based on the data produced, this paper offers a brief approach to Huaorani suicide in the Toñampari area, to, after that, describe its two central objectives: 1) portray in detail the suicide of Epaa with the versions of the triggering motives; and 2) reflect, from a cultural point of view, on the deep factors that help to understand the protagonist's behavior. The conclusions highlight the practical sense of shamanism as an explanation and the possible influence of words, as an element of contagion. © 2021, Asociacion de Antropologos Iberoamericanos en Red. All rights reserved.

Language: es

Keywords

Suicide; Death; Contagion; Indigenous people; Huaorani