Work

Autonomy and Leadership: Political Formations among the Ashéninka of Peruvian Amazonia

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: This article examines notions of hierarchy and leadership among Ashéninka people in Peruvian Amazonia. It considers the apparent disjunction between individuals' preference for a peaceful and autonomous everyday existence and the Ashéninka's renowned ability to form large-scale cooperative groups under powerful leaders. Responding to recent anthropological writings that recognise the variability of political forms both across and within Amazonian societies, the article focuses on the social and political preoccupations that can be seen to underlie both social forms among the Ashéninka. It argues that individuals believe that peaceful social reproduction is best achieved by acting independently and respecting the autonomy of others but that aggregation and differentiation remain an option in circumstances where individual action would be ineffectual. The article also examines how the Ashéninka use outsiders as effective organisers that also symbolise the problems of coercive power.

Source: Ethnos

DOI: 10.1080/00141840701768284

Author: Evan Killick

Institution: London School of Economics and Political Science

Language: English

Topic: Indigenous Studies in Latin America

Subfield: Cultural Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: London School of Economics and Political Science, Royal Anthropological Institute, University of St Andrews, Economic and Social Research Council

Award: G2193929661