The idea of the interconnectedness of all things is central to the tribal way of looking at the world. practical knowledge of the environment, of crops and medicines, of hunting and fishing, is a byproduct of it. the makuna believe that human beings, animals, and all of nature are parts of the same one. animals and fish live in their own communities, which are just like human communities, with their chiefs, their shamans, their dance houses, their songs, and their material possessions. when human peoples dance in this world, the shaman invites the animal people to dance in theirs. if humans do not dance and shamans do not offer spirit food to the animal people, the animals will die out and there will be no more game left in the world. for the makuna the radical disjunction so characteristic of western thought between nature and culture, men and animals, dissolves. eastern colombia amazon, vaupes region, population: 600

beings 600 tribal vaupes western owstillpictures animals central characteristic amazon spirit disjunction theirs people one dance dissolves columbian possessions peoples radical indians practical crops die interconnectedness men byproduct will medicines knowledge humans hunting colombia fish food shamans live game fishing material thought population human offer houses shaman culture indians makuna idea believe songs chiefs invites nature environment communities eastern animal hrssh