Nature and domestic life in the Valle del Cuñapirú (Misiones, Argentina): Reflections on Mbyá-Guaraní ethnoecology

Through the ethnographic record of the subsistence activities partially or completely performed in the domestic sphere in two Mbyá-Guaraní settlements in Misiones (Argentina), we outline factors important in describing the local natural environment. Data was collected through systematic observation and also through semi-structured interviews. Analysis indicates that the natural environment of the area is characterized by the indigenous community in several different ways. Thus, local people view the environment as made up of different “micro-environments,” and they consequently think of the elements that compose these “micro-environments” as having different, distinct characteristics. In the context of their daily activities, both these “micro-environments” and the elements that compose them are regarded as resources, in that they are viewed in terms of what is in them relevant to the subsistence of these groups in the rainforest. It is the intention of this study to initiate the systematic recording and processing of information on how these indigenous communities know and manage the natural resources available to them in their daily life. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004