Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe

This article shows the connections between Anglophone anthropology and the political philosophy of interculturality, to which little attention has been given in Latin America. Specifically, the contributions of the so-called ‘ontological turn’ are detailed in order to develop a theory of intercultur...

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Main Author: Christian Tym
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador 2023-01-01
Series:Íconos
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/5445
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author Christian Tym
author_facet Christian Tym
author_sort Christian Tym
collection DOAJ
description This article shows the connections between Anglophone anthropology and the political philosophy of interculturality, to which little attention has been given in Latin America. Specifically, the contributions of the so-called ‘ontological turn’ are detailed in order to develop a theory of interculturality that addresses the differences between Indigenous peoples and Western societies. It is argued that the concept of “culture” constitutes an “ambivalence”, and that from this turn and its critics one can understand better interculturality as a positive proposal from Indigenous intellectuals. The debates on the representation of difference that followed the ontological turn point toward the importance of intracultural diversity; therefore, it is crucial to develop nuanced representations of Indigenous and Western cultures, considering different characteristics that distinguish the communities and individuals of each group. This argument is developed based on intercultural health through the case study of health practices and preferences in the shuar population of the Ecuadorian province of Zamora-Chinchipe. It is concluded that an interculturality is required that does not mean the ethnicization of public policies, but rather their localization and adaptation to the preferences of people in every distinct zone within national territories.
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publishDate 2023-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-d35bcd04cb53483ea4c0800630415e9c2025-02-03T04:31:37ZspaFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede EcuadorÍconos1390-12492224-69832023-01-01277516318010.17141/iconos.75.2023.5445Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe Christian Tym0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5547-9440Philipps-Universität Marburg y Universidad de SídneyThis article shows the connections between Anglophone anthropology and the political philosophy of interculturality, to which little attention has been given in Latin America. Specifically, the contributions of the so-called ‘ontological turn’ are detailed in order to develop a theory of interculturality that addresses the differences between Indigenous peoples and Western societies. It is argued that the concept of “culture” constitutes an “ambivalence”, and that from this turn and its critics one can understand better interculturality as a positive proposal from Indigenous intellectuals. The debates on the representation of difference that followed the ontological turn point toward the importance of intracultural diversity; therefore, it is crucial to develop nuanced representations of Indigenous and Western cultures, considering different characteristics that distinguish the communities and individuals of each group. This argument is developed based on intercultural health through the case study of health practices and preferences in the shuar population of the Ecuadorian province of Zamora-Chinchipe. It is concluded that an interculturality is required that does not mean the ethnicization of public policies, but rather their localization and adaptation to the preferences of people in every distinct zone within national territories.https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/5445ecuadorontological turninterculturalityplurinationalismintercultural healthshuar peoples
spellingShingle Christian Tym
Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe
Íconos
ecuador
ontological turn
interculturality
plurinationalism
intercultural health
shuar peoples
title Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe
title_full Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe
title_fullStr Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe
title_full_unstemmed Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe
title_short Ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of Zamora-Chinchipe
title_sort ontological and intercultural anthropology of health among the shuar peoples of zamora chinchipe
topic ecuador
ontological turn
interculturality
plurinationalism
intercultural health
shuar peoples
url https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/5445
work_keys_str_mv AT christiantym ontologicalandinterculturalanthropologyofhealthamongtheshuarpeoplesofzamorachinchipe