[virtual excursion]
[the achuar]
[wildlife]
[birdwatching]
[back]
The Achuar maintain a remarkable and intimate relation with nature and its processes.

They have created a representation model of annual cycles in the rain forest
which is much more precise than any other developed by biologists
or weather scientists.

[timeline]
[architecture]
[language and symbols]
[understanding of the cosmos]
[back]
 
UNDERSTANDING OF THE COSMOS
JANUARY - FEBRUARY - MARCH - APRIL - MAY - JUNE
JULY - AUGUST - SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - NOVEMBER - DECEMBER
     
Wampuash - kapok trees bloom.
Charapa nujintri - milky way becomes visible.
Shiñuktint - fatting time for terrestrial birds.
Wampuash week - breeding time for the leaf cutting
ants, 1st period.
Namaktin - migration of fishes upstream during their matting season.
Tserempushtin - guava tree fruit season.
Kuyuktin - water level in rivers and lakes decrease.
Esat juarmau - dry season begins.
Tsenkush uchirmati - breeding time for the marmo-
sets.
Uwi kakramu - thunder and lighting-flashes without
rain; chonta palm bloom.
Waá iwiarmau - nesting time.
Macha sacamau - famine time for monkeys and other frugivorous.
The Achuar understand the universe as a hemisphere of sky and earth, which is surrounded by water. For the Achuar the upper river (yaki) - down river (tsumu) axis is much more important than the east / west axis.
Some of the most feared creatures such as anacondas, dolphins and ants, dwell in the underworld.
         

 



 
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