On Friday, May 2 at 2 pm in Hibben 105, Valerio DiFonzo, a doctoral student in the Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology subfield, will present the New Mexico Folklore Award talk Negotiating Eco-Theologies: Catholicism, Indigenous Myth, and Sustainability in the Peruvian Amazon.  

Abstract

This talk draws on collaborative ethnographic research with the Jesuit NGO SAIPE and Awajún-Wampis communities in the Peruvian Amazon to examine how Catholic eco-theology intersects with indigenous ontologies in local development projects. Focusing on Father David, an Awajún Jesuit integrating indigenous mythology—particularly the Nugkui myth—with Pope Francis’s ecological ethics, the analysis explores how universalist Christian frameworks negotiate with indigenous knowledge to shape localized eco-theological visions. Through examples like beekeeping projects, the research highlights how indigenous communities navigate tensions between traditional reciprocal practices (ipaamamu), communal autonomy, and neoliberal development pressures, contributing to broader anthropological debates on continuity, rupture, and the creative hybridization of Christianity.