VIEWPOINTS

Life Plan
— Fernando Huambutzereque

Thought and Territorial Planning of the Aents

Editor’s Note: The Shuar Aruntam territory, located in the Amazon Basin in southeast Ecuador, is recognized for biodiversity as well as mineral resources. The Shuar Arutam community is self-governing, adhering to a life plan that guides a model of development to ensure sustainable use of natural resources to support the families in the territory. The author, an architect from the Aents, a Shuar lineage, describes the  wisdom of Aruntam revealing the traditional ways of thinking about mother earth, planning and the relationship to all beings that share the planet.

[En español: Plan de Vida: Pensamiento y Planificación Territorial de los Aents]

Where does the rationality of the Aents come from? This question is always present in my mind and brings me back to the cultural roots that built an integral environment. Conceived as a link of systemic relationships, of beings connected to each other, of Nunka (the Earth) and its living beings, this integral environment is in search of nature´s energy and the capturing of power, called Arutam (power manifested as energy in an adequate state of mind). From a chemical and physical perspective, all living beings, including the smallest organism, share the same energy matter, which allows us to produce life and be part of this bundle of similar connections. In the same way, the Aents of the Shuar lineage know that there is a connection of energies between human beings, plants and animals. They are also aware that the brain is a mystery, whose mechanisms science is finally able to unpack. Somehow, the ability to feel, observe and capture the power of positive energy depends on the mental health of a person.

When a human being is in the growth stage, like any other living being, they observe a range of experiences. As a child, one constantly comprehends all forms of energy (positive or negative). The Shuar take full advantage of this stage to capture the energy called Arutam. As the growth process accelerates, the human being becomes stronger, growing up with awareness and wisdom at an early age. This is a difficult topic to explain to another culture and in another language: this power, Arutam, which is energy, allows the Shuar to be conscious of her/his actions and to be humanity within the natural order. This is the state which allows for the practice of arantukma, the holistic respect for ii Nunke, space and time, our life, our land. To capture this energy, the Shuar prepare their body and mind, eliminating toxins through fasting, and focusing their vision on the energy of the power they want to acquire, once the mind is liberated with the Natem Ayawaska.

It is understood that the energy of the most powerful beings—from ii Nunke (our land, the land of all beings), panki (boa), uunt yawa (jaguar), tsenkutsuk yawa (panther) and chai (bear)—meets with the energy of the human being physically and mentally. This dimension allows the Aents Shuar to connect with energy that cannot be physically seen, felt or heard. It allows one to understand that connection that Arutam grants to the human being of the jungle to strengthen them with greater wisdom, strength and tenacity, in order to achieve coexistence and harmony with the environment.

Arutam's energy, in practice, is transformed into Arutam's wisdom through the principles established by Etsa (knowledge of nature), Nunkui (knowledge of how to manage the aja or orchard), Shakaim (knowledge of the power of the human being) and Tsunki (knowledge of the aquatic system).

To achieve the wisdom of Arutam, the Shuar create spaces for physical preparation in the waterfalls, lagoons, giant trees and rivers in the midst of the jungle, understanding that nature itself is full of energy. The connection is achieved without the interference of any sound that does not proceed from nature itself. The maikiua (floripondio or malicagua), tsank (tobacco) and Natem Ayahuasca accompany this process. Wisdom acquired in this way awakens the human consciousness and traces human functions within the territorial environment, determining their scope and system of management. Furthermore, it clarifies the most ideal way of observing the territory, allowing for the protection of its integrality, and respecting the holistic structure that contains the memory of their ancestry, the energy that inhabits ii Nunke. In the Spanish language, one would say that the structure of integrality enters a state of consciousness—based on equilibrium, synergy, and reciprocity, which necessarily generates a pattern of life among the Shuar, a pattern which is also one of habitation within the territory. In this way, the cycle of construction of Shuar life is achieved as well as the rationality of the Aents.

The connection of the Shuar with Arutam is permanent and continues today. The rationality of human beings in their relationship with the territory is the main basis of our struggle, whether it manifests as social or personal protest, in the daily life of the Shuar. The ii Aents belong to the lineages of the Shuar (in present-day Ecuador), Achuar (in Ecuador and Peru), Shiwiar (in Ecuador and Peru) and Awajun (in Peru), extended in the vast Nunka or "Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon.” Aents means person, therefore it includes all human beings. One of the great examples of rationality and wisdom of the Aents, which can be observed in practice, is the site of the Tuutin Community, carried out in the 1980s and 1990s, complying with the principle of arantukma in relation to nature and existing ecosystems, based on the cycle of naitiak (winter) and uwi (summer).

In this context, one of the most complex moments for the nationalities of the beautiful jungle of Ecuador, was to elaborate, in response to the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) initiative, a "Life Plan". The CONFENIAE representatives had structured the constitutive elements for said Life Plans based on the worldview shared by the nationalities. Then, their representatives proposed to the Technical Secretariat of the Amazon to manage the execution of the project, in compliance with the Organic Law for the Comprehensive Planning of the Amazon Special Territorial Circumscription. The national planning system of Ecuador establishes through its regulations the guidelines that govern land use planning at the national level. These conditioning factors do not reflect the reality of the thinking of the nationalities or their way of understanding the territory. The national planning instruments do not consider concepts of applied integrality, true balance and effective reciprocity (with other human societies, animals and all the agencies of nature). Words like balance, conservation and reciprocity are used in official documents and in professional circles, but they lose all their meaning in the face of the extractivism that characterizes actions in the Amazon. The Ecuadorian state, within its laws and regulations, including the Constitution, does not recognize socio-ecological systems (or communal systems, if several families have come together) as minimum planning units. They even consider the members of the original nationalities as mere possessors of their territories, reserving ownership of the subsoil, in order to maintain an extractivist "development" model.

In order to make effective the agreement between CONFENIAE and the state, the nationalities had to comply with the terms outlined in a series of guidelines for the execution of the Life Plans. I was able to actively participate in the elaboration of the Achuar Life Plan. I know first-hand that the Achuar were determined to conduct their vision based on the full participation of the communities and their representatives in a plural governance or plural politics style. The ultimate goal was to create a cultural connection that would articulate the way of thinking of the Achuar and the methodology of participation and information management required by the institutions. This cultural link was also important to explore how technology could contribute to understanding the complexity of the territory and its interactions, as well as the activities of its human inhabitants—who have been guaranteeing since time immemorial a sustainable and self-sustaining future for it.

Based on oral traditions, we revisited the memory of ii Nunke (Ikiam in Achuar). This allowed us to incorporate the original rationality and the power of Achuar knowledge into the Life Plan, under the values or principles of Etsa (abundance, strength and abilities of humans), Nunkui (agroecology, the one that multiplied and created agricultural and medicinal products, the aja), Shakaim (the ability to work) and Tsunki (the one that protects aquatic species and mindful social behavior). For the Shuar and Achuar Aents, the territory is a single component that encompasses all existing relationships in nature. That is, beings are not separated from each other. We are all part of ii Nunke or Ikiam (all of us, not just humans). This component—the territory—will remain stable if its inhabitants observe it in an integral way, and their actions are part of Arutam's wisdom. For this reason, the Achuar decided to include their Life Plan in an already established planning system, and from that position, contribute determining and particular factors to the planning of their territory. Using technology to ''zoom into'' Achuar territory, for example, we landed in a space of convivial relations in which the Shuar and Achuar Aents are active participants: a comprehensive and specific planning system that is connected to that very same territory called tarimta. In the Achuar context, tarimta is the conception of perennial space (time and territory). Nature is order itself and acts in an integral way, according to a system into which the Achuar weave themselves.

Based on these considerations, the Achuar decided that the Life Plan for their culture should reflect the following concepts:

By realizing the magnitude and complexity of the Achuar planning system, I understood—through the memory of our lineage—that the Life Plan is the waimiakmauri of the Achuar; that is, the energy of Arutam, practiced through the actions and life decisions of the Achuar in their territory in pursuit of their children and future generations; it is the power of the dream of their lineage, trapped in the moments of ways (guayusa), natemamu or kasak (ayawaska moment), maikiua (floripondio), and tsanmamu (tobacco moment). Respect for the power and wisdom of Arutam enabled the elaboration of a spatial structure with Achuar relevance, which recognizes the presence of Arutam in the planning of the territory, based on the values ​​of Etsa, Nunkui, Shakaim, Tsunki, through moments of Natemamu, Kasak, Maikiua and Tsanmamu, understanding the state of rationality that the human being has the obligation to reach when planning. This space of reflection was balanced by sharing the wayus moment before dawn.

All the knowledge and wisdom that was used for the construction of this planning instrument derived from the conversations with the Achuar. These allowed us to define the principle of Achuar territorial integrality, which is based on criteria of synergy, balance and reciprocity practiced in the territory, building the Achuar worldview, from cultural self-determination. These criteria or principles adhere to the constitutive elements of integration, in the sense of pluriversity and reciprocity as the foundations of a bioeconomy (an economy of life, to use a Western planning term) and rationality enacted with autonomy and government.

The analysis of the current state of the Achuar territory and the participatory planning process, necessary for the formulation of the Life Plan, distilled criteria that are not considered within the planning guides of the Republic of Ecuador; its Development and Territorial Management Plans (Plan Ecuador) and its Land Use and Management Plans (Secretariat of Territorial Management). It is still pending to include the criteria and principles of territorial planning and settlement of the Achuar and other nationalities in the national system of territorial planning.

Glossary of Shuar terms

[1] Aents Human being(s). There is no singular nor plural form for this term. Ants is. A simultaneous unity and plurality. We are all one.

[2] Aja Orchard

[3] Arantukma Holistic respect for ii Nunke, our Earth

[4] Arutam Power manifested as energy in an adequate mental state. It is important to clarify that for the Aents Shuar, power derives from self-control and a person's ability to control the mind. If a person is mentally healthy, that person will have power, including physical power.

[5] Chai Bear

[6] Etsa The sun, lord of terrestrial animals. Knowledge of nature (it is a principle of Aents Shuar planning). Abundance, strength and ability. Source of ideal patterns of behaviour.           

[7] Ikiam Jungle

[8] Maikiua Floripondio (hallucinogenic and analgesic plant)

[9] Achu-Morete Oily palm tree native to Amazonia. Achuar derives from Achu (morete). The Achuar are the people of the morete palm tree.

[10] Naitiak Winter

[11] Natem Ayawaska

[12] Natemamu/Natem Kasak Ayawaska moment

[13] II Nunke Our Earth

[14] Nunka/Nunkui Earth. It literally means “land we tread upon, or all we can walk upon. Agroecology. She who multiplied and created agricultural and medicinal products. The aja or orchard, and all edible products. Source of ideal patterns of behavior.

[15] Panki Boa

[16] Shakaim Knowledge of human power. Male ability, strength and resistance in work. Source of ideal patterns of behavior. 

[17] Tarimta Territory, perennial space (time and territory).

[18] Tsank Tobacco

[19] Tsanmamu Tobacco moment

[20] Tsenkutsuk yawa Panther

[21] Tsunki He who protects aquatic species. Knowledge of aquatic system

[22] Uunt yawa Jaguar

[23] Uwi Time of the chonta. It marks summer time

[24] Waimiakmauri The energy of Arutam practiced through the decisions and actions of the life of the Aents

[25] Ways Guayusa moment

Note: Translation from Shuar to original version in Spanish by author. Read the original Spanish translation here.

Fernando Huambutzereque is a Shuar architect working in Ecuador. He led the team that developed the Achuar Life Plan, a territorial planning scheme advanced by the Achuar First Nation of Ecuador. He has collaborated with several Amazonian municipalities, and is currently envisioning a forest resurgence program for the highway that leads from Macas to Huamboya.

Guest Editor: Ana María Durán Calisto