The power of the patrones. Humanity and transformation in Kukama history (Peru and Colombia)

Ramírez Colombier M. · Desde el Sur (2026) · DOI: 10.21142/des-1802-2026-0030

Resumen

The ethnogenesis of the Kukama people can be traced back to the migratory trajectories of Tupi-Guarani groups dating from pre-Columbian times. Their location along the navigable rivers of the western Amazon led to early contact with colonization, which had drastic impacts on their constitution as a group. Thus, the presence of «whites» is a constant element in Kukama postcolonial history. Attempting to capture a Kukama point of view, this paper will explore the condition of the patrón, a role that appears to be assumed both by «human people» and by «water people» (karwara), non-human entities endowed with their own forms of agency. The underwater beings seem to exhibit a broad and relatively homogeneous access to patronal power, expressed through their capacity for control and transformation. Being patron turns out to be an ontological condition linked to a system of mastery, that organizes the cosmos through its spatial and historical dimensions.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas