Geodiversity of the upper Rio Negro

Yepamahsã and Desana cosmology

Abstract

The article starts from the perception of the correlation between elements of geodiversity and the cosmological elements of the indigenous peoples of the Upper Rio Negro, based on two Kihti ukuse (ancestral narratives) of the Yepamahsã (Tukano) and the works of the Desana artist Feliciano Lana. For this purpose, the works “OMERÕ Constitution and Circulation of Yepamahsã Knowledge” and “World Agency by KUMUà YE´PAMAHSÔ, developed by indigenous intellectuals from the Upper Rio Negro, were used. Three areas were selected for correlation, which correspond to the postcard sites of the urban center of São Gabriel da Cachoeira: Morro Boa Esperança, Serra do Cabari, and Serra de Curicuriari, and their surroundings. The municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira is the most ethnically diverse municipality in Brazil, which highlights its well-marked cultural characteristics and its status as a territory of resistance. Indigenous narratives, from their cosmology of the creation of the world and human beings to the current practice of Bahsese, associated with geodiversity, indicate an intrinsic connection to indigenous culture in their daily life and their places.