Ancestral Rituals of the Indigenous Worldview in the Resistance Against the Majaz Mining Project

Carrasco N.A.; Soupplet R.V.N. · Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribena (2022) · DOI: 10.32991/2237-2717.2022v12i2.p435-458

Resumen

Mining extractivism responds to the needs of capital expansion and the requirements of the industry. The territories are occupied by explorations and camps in search of mineral. Copper is one of the most abundant minerals in Peru. But many times, local populations resist mining exploitation, even in the exploration stage. The degree of cohesion of the population is one of the variables that will determine the success or failure of resistance actions. The indigenous worldview plays a central role of cohesion, in which the natural environment is considered to have sacred spiritual qualities. This is the case of the Huaringas, lagoons to which powers are attributed. The towns of Huancabamba and Ayabaca in northern Peru are located around the Huaringas; To this day, these peoples are resisting the exploration and exploitation of their territory by the Chinese mining company Zijin Ltd and its Río Blanco copper mining project. Immersed in her worldview, resistance was achieved and achieved using the hallucinogenic wachuma plant, known as the San Pedro cactus. Despite the repression and torture, the resistance has been victorious until today.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Jaén