Memorias de violencia, pandemia y prácticas de auto-cuidado entre los arakmbut de la Amazonia peruana

Abstract

Among the indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon, the health crisis caused by the pandemic unleashed multiple interpretations of the origin of the virus, mobilizing memories of the past and legendary figures. Within the Shintuya community inhabited by Arakmbut groups, the stages of evolution in the interpretation of the virus determined various collective responses. If Covid-19 was initially considered as a new “Disease of the White Man”, medical care and vaccination campaigns later determined its association with other types of malignant beings, such as the pishtaco.