Predicting environmental occurrences using traditional Andean knowledge: signals from the Tero-tero (Vanellus resplendens)

Escobar-Mamani F.; Gómez-Arteta I.; Capurro V.M.P.; Ayaviri-Nina V.D. · Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribena (2025) · DOI: 10.32991/2237-2717.2025v15i1.p109-135

Resumen

Past generations interacted with the natural-spiritual world. A practice that partially persists today is through the Tero-tero (Vanellus resplendens), a small and friendly bird that accompanies humans on their journey, announcing dangers and good news, serving as a source of inspiration, wonder, and guidance for agricultural work. This study explored the interpretation that local communities give to the signals of the Tero-tero in predicting environmental events while attempting to counteract the fading relationship between birds and humans as a historical legacy. The ethnographic research gathered information over three years in the Peruvian highlands through participatory observation, recording the various forms of the Tero-tero's flight, its melodic songs, and nesting behaviors in open fields as mechanisms for environmental prediction. In-depth interviews with elderly shepherds and farmers were also conducted to explore the relationship between local communities and the small bird. The results revealed that the actions of the Tero-tero, as a predictor of environmental events, guide the agricultural activities of the Andean people. Its signals, sounds, nesting, and movements anticipate climatic changes. The study concludes that the Tero-tero's predictions are partially accurate regarding the occurrence of environmental events in the Andes, and they form part of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. This knowledge explains the relationship between birds and humans, considered a historical legacy that can face the triple environmental threat (environmental adversity, political crisis, and climate change). Therefore, it should be considered in the practice of ecological agriculture for socioenvironmental sustainability.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional del Altiplano; Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista