Amazon Peasant Societies in a Changing Environment: Political Ecology, Invisibility and Modernity in the Rainforest

361 Pages·2009·5.29 MB·English

by  Cristina Adams Dr

Amazon Peasant Societies
in a Changing Environment
Amazon Peasant Societies
in a Changing Environment
Political Ecology, Invisibility
and Modernity in the Rainforest
by
Cristina Adams
UniversityofSa˜oPaulo,Brazil
Rui Murrieta
UniversityofSa˜oPaulo,Brazil
Walter Neves
UniversityofSa˜oPaulo,Brazil
and
Mark Harris
UniversityofStAndrews,Fife,UK
1 3
Editors
CristinaAdams RuiMurrieta
SchoolofArts,SciencesandHumanities DepartmentofGeneticsand
UniversityofSa˜oPaulo EvolutionaryBiology
Brazil UniversityofSa˜oPaulo
Brazil
WalterNeves MarkHarris
DepartmentofGeneticsand DepartmentofSocialAnthropology
EvolutionaryBiology UniversityofStAndrews
UniversityofSa˜oPaulo Fife,UnitedKingdom
Brazil
Translatedandupdatedversionof:
Adams,C.,Murrieta,R.,&Neves,W.A.(2006).Sociedadescaboclasamazoˆnicas:modernidadee
invisibilidade(1aed.).Sa˜oPaulo:Annablume.
CoverimagetakenbyMarkHarrisinNovember2003.
ISBN:978-1-4020-9282-4 e-ISBN:978-1-4020-9283-1
DOI:10.1007/978-1-4020-9283-1
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2008936510
#SpringerScienceþBusinessMediaB.V.2009
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ofthework.
Printedonacid-freepaper
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To Guilherme M.M de La Penha,
in memoriam
Preface
IamdelightedtobeabletoprovidesomecommentsontheEnglisheditionofthis
book,SociedadesCaboclasAmazonicas:ModernidadeeInvisibilidade,originally
published in Portuguese by Annablume Editora, with support from FAPESP
(TheStateofSa˜oPauloResearchFoundation).Thebookpresentsasynthesisof
theadvancesinunderstandingofcaboclosinthepast20years,andmuchofthis
materialhasnotbeenavailableheretoforeinEnglish.
ThisbookisappearinginEnglishatacriticalmomentintheevolutionofour
understanding of caboclos. For one thing, this body of work has made it
possible to get away from the earlier connotations of the term caboclo which
wasademeaningtermusedalwaysforsomeonebelowyou,asnotedbyWagley
andGalva˜ointhe1950s.Asresearchhasaccumulated,moreandmorescholars
areoptingfortheuseofthetermribeirinhoinstead.Thisisasitshouldbe,asthe
termcabocloisinanynumberofwaysintentionallyironic.Onceinaconversa-
tionwithacolonofromthepre-Amazoniamaranhense,hecalledmeoverand
showedmehispigpensaying‘thisisthecattleofthecaboclo’.Notallcaboclos
havesucharefinedsenseofirony,orperhapstheydoandwehavefailedtotake
noteofit.
I will not try to summarize the papers in the volume, as the excellent
introduction to the volume does a superb job of doing so. Rather, I want to
notewhataremarkableshiftthisvolumerepresentsinthediscourseoncaboclos
thatprecededit.Theunderstandingofcaboclosfromthe1950stothe1980swas
stronglydrivenbynotionsofculturalecology(cultureshapedbythewaypeople
organize to exploit resources), and by notions of syncretism (mixing up of
cultures coming into contact). Then a more historical bent entered into the
analysis,representedbyvariousauthorsinthisvolume,whobegantorecover
the complex interactions of native Amazonians in Directorate (state run) vil-
lages, and the subsequent economic conditions faced by these populations
followingthebreakdownofthevillages andamore isolatedeconomic life. In
the late 1980s and early 1990s came a more human ecological approach, that
includedbioanthropological,nutritional,andpoliticaleconomicapproachthat
complexified the underlying bases for the way of life of caboclos. It is this
direction which is most strongly represented in this book. Whereas before
caboclo cultural explanations focused on their isolation, now the analysis
vii
viii Preface
showed how connected they have been for a good part of the nineteenth and
twentieth century to a global economy, and to regional patterns of economic
inequality.
WhenIfirstwenttotheAmazonmanydecadesago,itwasquicklyclearto
methattheAmazoniancaboclosthatIcameacrossinnewsettlementprojects
along the Transamazon Highway were gifted resource managers. They had
higher yields per unit of land and per unit of labor, they had better health,
andtheyeven tookadvantageofavailablecapitalandtechnologybetterthan
theallegedlymoremodernsouthernerswhocametothearea.Theyknewhow
tohunt,howtorecognizethebestsoilsforfarming,andhowtodiversifytheir
portfolio.Theyevenledthewayininvestingtheirprofitsinnearbyurbanareas
in the form of a house, a store, and education for their children—without
abandoningtheirlandortheirknowledge.Whatwashardformetounderstand
at that time, was why so many other colonists, and government civil servants
working in the area, could not see that. Even when I presented them with
quantitativeevidenceforthehigherperformanceofcaboclos,technicalperson-
nel insisted that that could not be—and colonists dismissed caboclos as poor
farmerswhoweremoreinterestedinhuntingthancultivatingtheirland.
Whythisresistance?Ihavereflectedonthatovertheyears,andfoundthat
there are many reasons. It takes time for people to learn how to use the
resources in a new environment (sometimes as long as one generation), and
while a few individuals will reduce that period by borrowing from neighbors,
most people resist learning from those whom they have placed in a socially
inferior position (i.e. the caboclo). Even if people are willing to learn, it still
takestimetolearnsomethingascomplexasafullarrayofadaptivestrategiesto
ecosystems as complex as those in Amazonia. People prefer to try what they
know, rather than to change, and this attitude delays learning precise knowl-
edge.Ifweaddtoenvironmentalknowledge,theknowledgerequiredtounder-
stand one’s position vis-a`-vis the regional political economy – such a task
becomes fraught with huge challenges. This was further complicated by the
shifts in social and economic relations that accompanied life in Amazonia
following the developmentalist efforts that began in the late 1960s and which
brought many different actors to the scene, who challenged the traditional
political economic order, and attempted to restructure the relations of
production.
IsitanywonderthattheruralpopulationsofAmazonia,whethercaboclo,or
immigrant, found themselves in ever more precarious situations—but also
provided with some opportunities. As the papers in this volume indicate, one
seesplacesinAmazoniawherethehealth,nutrition,andeconomicconditions
ofcabocloshaveimproved—butalsotoomanywhereithasnot.Whereasthe
market for ac¸aı´ has exploded globally, local caboclos have not benefited as
muchastheyshouldhaveeveryrighttoexpect.WhereasBrazilnowleadsthe
worldinbeefexports,cabocloshavenotbenefited.WhereasBrazil’ssoybeans
keep growing in world market share, this mechanized crop has not benefited
caboclos. In fact, the trickle down benefits of the development efforts of the
Preface ix
past38yearsinAmazoniahavebeenminiscule,andpeopleinAmazoniahave
not shared in whatever profits have been made—and the caboclo least of all
amongthem.
This book points to the need to pay attention to the structural conditions,
and the livelihoods, of people in Amazonia— particularly its forgotten rural
populationsandthemarginalizedpopulationsinthegrowingcities.Theyarea
richresourceofknowledge,energy,andappropriatedevelopment.Theydonot
lackcapacityordesire,theyoftenlackopportunity.Thedevelopmentformulas
imposedbyoutsidersbenefitoutsidersmoreoftenthannot,andleavepopula-
tionsfurtherimpoverished.Astarthastobeeducationandhealthavailableto
all—butaneducationthatincludesknowledgeofAmazoniaanditspeopleand
resources. This has to be an education that values what they know, and the
conservationandsustainableuseoftheregion.Withoutthisfoundation,devel-
opmenteffortswilldestroyratherthanuseandconserveAmazonia.Thisbook
offersanimportantscholarlybasisforvaluingthecaboclo,andforaddressing
regional development, as if people mattered. I applaud the authors in this
volume, for putting people first, and giving us deep understanding of the
conditionsfacedbycaboclos.
TerreHaute,IN EmilioMoran
Acknowledgments
We would like to begin by expressing our gratitude to all the families and
communitiesofAmazoniawhohavehelpedtomakethisbookareality.With-
out their collaboration, involvement and inspiring friendship this initiative
wouldnothavebeenpossible.Ourspecialthanksmustgotoourstudentsand
friends who have supported and helped in the long, and many times, tedious
process of editing in Brazil: Aglair Ruivo, Nelson Novaes, Henrique Ataı´de,
Eloise Tonial, Maissa Bakri, Natasha Navazinas and Carolina Taqueda.
The immeasurable support of the Department of Genetics and Evolutionary
Biology,oftheInstituteofBiosciences,andthe‘Pro´-ReitoriadePesquisa’,both
oftheUniversityofSa˜oPaulo,wasvitaltotherealizationoftheworkshopfrom
whichthisbookisderived.TotheFoundationfortheSupportofResearchof
the State of Sa˜o Paulo (FAPESP) we owe a large part of the funding for the
workshopinJune2002,aswellasforthepublicationoftheBrazilianeditionof
thebook.ToEmilioMoran,ofIndianaUniversity,forhavingplayedafunda-
mentalroleintheformationofthefirstgenerationofBraziliananthropologists
andecologistsdedicatedtothestudyoftheriverinepopulationsoftheAmazon.
InScotlandattheUniversityofStAndrews,LisaSmithpreparedtheEnglish
languagemanuscriptforpublicationandGraemeSandemandesignedthemap.
The translation of the Portuguese originals was made possible by a ‘Primer
Premio Annual’ (2007) de Artı´culos de Investigacio´n en temas de Seguridad
AlimentariayNutricional(SAN)fromtheIniciativaAme´ricaLatinayCaribe
sinHambreandtheReddeInvestigacio´nyCapacitacio´nenSeguridadAlimen-
tariayNutricionaloftheFoodandAgricultureOrganization(FAO).
xi
Contents
Introduction................................................ 1
CristinaAdams,Rui MurrietaandWalterNeves
PartI Identity,HistoryandSociety
1 UtopiasandDystopiasintheAmazonianSocialLandscape......... 21
StephenNugent
2 LandscapeTransformationandLanguageChange:ACaseStudy
inAmazonianHistoricalEcology............................. 33
WilliamBale´e
3 MixedIndians,CaboclosandCuribocas:HistoricalAnalysis
ofaProcessofMiscegenation;RioNegro(Brazil),
18thand19thCenturies.................................... 55
De´ciodeAlencarGuzma´n
4 ‘SempreAjeitando’(AlwaysAdjusting):AnAmazonianWay
ofBeinginTime.......................................... 69
MarkHarris
PartII SustainabilityandDevelopmentPolicies
5 TraditionalPeoples:IntroductiontothePoliticalEcologyCritique
ofaNotion.............................................. 95
HenyoBarrettoFilho
6 TheDomesticEconomyinMamiraua´,Tefe´,AmazonasState....... 131
DeborahdeMagalha˜es Lima
7 PatternsofResourceUsebyCabocloCommunities
intheMiddle-LowerAmazon................................ 157
Fa´biodeCastro
xiii
xiv Contents
PartIII ResourceManagement
8 AgricultureIntensification,EconomicIdentity,andShared
InvisibilityinAmazonianPeasantry:CaboclosandColonists
inComparativePerspective................................. 181
EduardoBrondizio
9 TheUseofandAccesstoForestResources:TheCaboclos
oftheLowerAmazonandTheirSocio-CulturalAttributes ......... 215
Ce´liaFutemma
PartIV GenderandDailyLife
10 Women,GenderRelationsandDecision-MakinginCaboclo
HouseholdsintheAmazonEstuary .......................... 241
AndreaSiqueira
11 ‘ILoveFlowers’:HomeGardens,AestheticsandGenderRoles
inaRiverineCabocloCommunityintheLowerAmazon,Brazil .... 259
RuiMurrietaandAntoinetteWinklerPrins
PartV DietandHealth
12 BreadoftheLand:TheInvisibilityofManiocintheAmazon ...... 281
CristinaAdams,RuiMurrieta,AndreaSiqueira,WalterNeves
andRoselySanches
13 Socio-EcologyofHealthandDisease:TheEffectsofInvisibility
ontheCabocloPopulationsofTheAmazon.................... 307
HiltonSilva
Conclusion................................................. 335
RuiMurrieta,WalterNeves,HenyoBarrettoFilho
andCristinaAdams
Index..................................................... 347