Dynamic dualism

: alterity, knowledge and the movement of cultural revitalization among the Huni Kuin of the Alto Rio Purus in the state of Acre, Brazil

Abstract

This thesis concerns forms of interaction with Otherness among the Huni Kuin of the Purus in the state of Acre, Brazil. Based on one year of fieldwork doing participant observation along the Purus river, I examine contemporary modes of dynamic dualism in Huni Kuin practice and thinking, focusing on how it expresses itself in movement and action. The key argument that I make is that dualism is a lived and embodied approach to dealing with difference and the reproduction of the Self, rather than something anthropological analysis can infer as if an underlying principle generating social organization, or reveal as if a structuring force behind discourse.

I explore lived dynamic dualism by examining the recent development of the cultural revitalization movement, which is premised upon intensified engagement in, and appropriation of, linguistic, musical, shamanic, artistic and ritual practices and forms of knowledge understood as integrating genuine Huni Kuin culture. Although this movement began elsewhere in the region of Acre, Huni Kuin on the Purus are increasingly participating in its discourse and political objectives. The thesis shows how this movement is not understood as a return to the past, nor as a rejection of the outside world, detailing how the contemporary approach is to seek new partnerships and alliances beyond the local Acrean context, including outside of Brazil.

The chapters follow my interlocutors as they move along the Purus river, their continually evolving understanding of life and approach to the world, the experiences of youths, the significance of music and song, the organization of people in the movement, recent innovations upon shamanic practices. By following the movements of my interlocutors, as they go out into new spaces and social worlds, and return to Huni Kuin places and people, I argue that dynamic dualism is the lived reality of how people move through the world, where the movement toward Otherness implies a return toward the Self, and the movement toward the Self implies a subsequent movement toward Otherness.

Date of Award	3 Dec 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews
Supervisor	Christos Lynteris (Supervisor) & Cecilia Anne McCallum (Supervisor)