Abstract

GONZALEZ SAAVEDRA, María Luisa. A place for the Shawi in the history of Maynas. Anthropologica [online]. 2015, vol.33, n.34, pp.249-266. ISSN 0254-9212.

This text aims to make a compilation of the news about the Shawi found in written sources concerning the History of Maynas. Its purpose is to approach a society already portrayed in the sixteen century from the standpoint of evangelization, considering now its anthropological perspective. Following the chronology of notes written by some of the Spanish conquistadors and missionaries who came to take over their land, we will draw the silhouette of a group that has reached our days by positioning itself in the shadow of its neighboring groups: on one hand, the Shiwilu, the model indigenous group evangelized by the Jesuit order; secondly, the Awajun, who managed to keep their ‘paganism’, i.e., to remain their selves outside the mission boundaries. This apparent neutrality is what defines today the Shawi society: a society which identifies itself as indigenous and Christian at once.

Keywords : Amazonia; Shawi; history; missions; Maynas.

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