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root- metaphor based on the image of a machine, while in the other, the metaphor is
based on social relations.
This Moqoit vision of the environment and its unusual manifestations transforms
the latter into exceptional ways of sanctioning and legitimizing behaviours. They do
not only guide and limit human action towards the future, but also the past, which
enables to reread and confer meaning to what has already happened.
The described notions, as we have shown throughout the chapter, are applied in
everyday life to interpret events and guide actions. In the same direction, the political reflections we mentioned do not only apply to the establishment of relationships
with the non-human societies that share the cosmos with the Moqoit. Connections
with other human groups are also part of the Moqoit cosmo-politics. Human management of power is seen as a specific case of power management in general. Since
humans are not the most powerful entities that inhabit the world, their abilities, their
‘luck’ and their wealth depend on pacts made with powerful nonhumans. For all
these reasons, the Moqoit reflect upon their links with the surrounding society and
especially with the state in the wider context of their cosmological thinking. As we
have pointed out in several examples, the submission to the rules of the game of the
criollo world is seen as an integral part of the current Moqoit situation in the cosmos
and as a consequence of successes and mistakes of the criollos and their respective
cosmo-political strategies. This situation determines, for example, the kind of pacts
with non-human beings to which the Moqoit can aspire today. Similarly, the dominant situation of the criollos is understood as a result of pacts they themselves have
with non-human societies, such as the Christian entities led by the Holy Spirit.
However, this situation is not seen as permanent, and signs of the propitious moment
to reverse it are awaited. Various options for human and non-human pacts are constantly being explored.
As we pointed out when defining cosmo-politics, the term stresses that the
assessment of conflicts among diverse human groups requires questioning hegemonic notions on humanity and its environment; in particular, the separation
between nature and society. On the other hand, we must avoid both the a priori
reduction of the political to the merely human, and the assumption that the inclusion
of non-human agents implies the dilution of relations of human domination and
their economic and political mechanisms. Moqoit cosmo-political thinking poses a
world in which both dimensions are substantially intertwined. It is not a ‘confusing
and mystifying’ or ‘exotic’ rationale; on the contrary, it is a very concrete approach
to a universe in which humans are not the only beings with appetites and desires.
We believe that this case can help us appreciate that different cultures construct
knowledge about the sky and other areas of existence based on experiences and
models of a different nature than those held by Western science. Therefore, to
address this topic academically, we are impelled to deconstruct the assumptions on
which our experience of the world is grounded, in order to understand those cultures
according to their own logics.
A. M. López
root- metaphor based on the image of a machine, while in the other, the metaphor is
based on social relations.
This Moqoit vision of the environment and its unusual manifestations transforms
the latter into exceptional ways of sanctioning and legitimizing behaviours. They do
not only guide and limit human action towards the future, but also the past, which
enables to reread and confer meaning to what has already happened.
The described notions, as we have shown throughout the chapter, are applied in
everyday life to interpret events and guide actions. In the same direction, the political reflections we mentioned do not only apply to the establishment of relationships
with the non-human societies that share the cosmos with the Moqoit. Connections
with other human groups are also part of the Moqoit cosmo-politics. Human management of power is seen as a specific case of power management in general. Since
humans are not the most powerful entities that inhabit the world, their abilities, their
‘luck’ and their wealth depend on pacts made with powerful nonhumans. For all
these reasons, the Moqoit reflect upon their links with the surrounding society and
especially with the state in the wider context of their cosmological thinking. As we
have pointed out in several examples, the submission to the rules of the game of the
criollo world is seen as an integral part of the current Moqoit situation in the cosmos
and as a consequence of successes and mistakes of the criollos and their respective
cosmo-political strategies. This situation determines, for example, the kind of pacts
with non-human beings to which the Moqoit can aspire today. Similarly, the dominant situation of the criollos is understood as a result of pacts they themselves have
with non-human societies, such as the Christian entities led by the Holy Spirit.
However, this situation is not seen as permanent, and signs of the propitious moment
to reverse it are awaited. Various options for human and non-human pacts are constantly being explored.
As we pointed out when defining cosmo-politics, the term stresses that the
assessment of conflicts among diverse human groups requires questioning hegemonic notions on humanity and its environment; in particular, the separation
between nature and society. On the other hand, we must avoid both the a priori
reduction of the political to the merely human, and the assumption that the inclusion
of non-human agents implies the dilution of relations of human domination and
their economic and political mechanisms. Moqoit cosmo-political thinking poses a
world in which both dimensions are substantially intertwined. It is not a ‘confusing
and mystifying’ or ‘exotic’ rationale; on the contrary, it is a very concrete approach
to a universe in which humans are not the only beings with appetites and desires.
We believe that this case can help us appreciate that different cultures construct
knowledge about the sky and other areas of existence based on experiences and
models of a different nature than those held by Western science. Therefore, to
address this topic academically, we are impelled to deconstruct the assumptions on
which our experience of the world is grounded, in order to understand those cultures
according to their own logics.
A. M. López