Sustain the world in dialogue with the invisible - Carolina Ribeiro Araujo

Climate change is a global reality, the result of intense and unsustainable human exploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation. The regular sustainable techniques are not enough to change this situation. Some authors attribute this to the lack of “connection and empathy with nature”, characteristics of a lifestyle in a capitalist society. Faced with this unpromising reality, some people have sought answers in spirituality, through practices, behaviors and worldviews supported by values related to the environment. This perception, studied by the anthropological field of Spiritual Ecology, aims to understand how some people create symbolic systems of human-planet relations, unfolding in practical ways. In this context, the knowledge of religion and spiritual ethics can make people aware of human and ecological rights, which include the indigenous shamanism of different peoples of the Amazon, based on a worldview intrinsically associated with nature, where there is no effective separation between nature, humans, and non-humans. Based on this recognition and appreciation, the practice of Amazonian shamanism has been spreading to other territories through the circulation of shamans and indigenous leaders. Portugal is one of these destinations, where indigenous people from the Amazon hold retreats, ceremonies and cultural events. Based on ethnographic fieldwork through participant observation in five ceremonies in different Portuguese locations between 2022 and 2023, the preliminary results of this research are presented. The results suggest that these practices maintain their tools and mysticism. The people who frequent foreign territories belong to the Pano linguistic branch, such as: Huni Kuin, Yawanawá and Noke Koi. The ceremonies and retreats take place in a natural environment, enabling participants to get in closer contact with nature. The resources will be reverted to the benefit of the communities of origin of these indigenous people, always related to the way of life that respects nature, raising awareness about the environmental preservation of an important biome for tackling the climate crisis.Article by Carolina Ribeiro Araujo, illustrated by Joana Cruzhttps://theanthro.art/sustain-the-world-in-dialogue-with-the-invisible/