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Awaj煤n wives use the threat of suicide to make men behave better (Image: Victor Rojas)

From female suicide to the nature of being civilised, probing tribal life in the 21st century needs an unflinching, critical eye

ON 26 January 1987, Time magazine ran an article in which US presidential candidate George H. W. Bush, replying to the suggestion that he should consider where to take the country, was quoted poking fun at 鈥渢he vision thing鈥�. This was widely ridiculed in the US because it violated the clear expectation of Americans that their leaders have such a 鈥渧ision鈥�.

Nothing strange there: most societies expect their leaders to have a view of how they think the future will or should be, and how this defines their duties to those they lead.

Vision of one sort or another plays a big role in Upriver by . This is his effort to understand the spiritual and political beliefs and practices of the Awaj煤n people, who live in the Peruvian Amazon at the foothills of the Andes. The book details his research as he lived with them between 1976 and 1978, as well as his later reflections on experiences and observations gained during subsequent visits.

Brown has a passage that could easily have described what Americans expected of their president. He writes that the Awaj煤n 鈥渂elieved that the well-being of men, and, to a lesser extent, of women, depended on the acquisition of powerful visions鈥�.

Upriver is one of the best books I have read on Amazonian peoples in a long while. Brown is even-handed and insightful, and he writes with flair and clarity. He takes an unflinching, clear-eyed look at tribal life and at the Awaj煤n鈥檚 difficult encounters with the outsiders with whom they have had varying degrees of contact with for almost 500 years.

And there鈥檚 an old question, dating back at least to the 18th-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that concerns him deeply. He writes of the 鈥渃ontrast between the civilized and the not鈥�, claiming that 鈥渢here is no more foundational question in the social sciences鈥� than understanding this contrast. He links this to the Awaj煤n鈥檚 struggles over the past 40 years to maintain their identity, their security and their lands against strong multinational forces.

The question of what it means to be civilised recurs in many books on Amazonian peoples. What makes Brown鈥檚 book stand out is his willingness to criticise all sides, including the Awaj煤n, in his quest to arrive at a deeper, non-sloganeering understanding of the dynamics between the Awaj煤ns and 鈥渃ivilizados鈥�, and among the Awaj煤n themselves.

Along the way he makes observations that will bother those who idealise tribal societies. For example, he asks why the Awaj煤n offer astoundingly shallow characterisations of the inner psychological states and motivations of other Awaj煤ns, as well as outsiders.

This superficiality is deeply curious, given the potential advantage in understanding the motives of other Awaj煤n鈥檚 for killing and suicide. After all, more than half of all deaths of Awaj煤n men are due to murder, while more than a third of deaths among Awaj煤n women are suicide.

Suicide is unknown in some Amazonian societies 鈥� the Pirah茫 for example 鈥� and common in others, such as the Suruwah谩. In Awaj煤n society, suicide functions partially as a threat for women to ensure that men treat them better. This is because when a woman commits suicide, her husband is likely to be condemned by the community 鈥� an act potentially culminating in his deceased wife鈥檚 male relatives murdering him. Clearly, men fear this danger, and the book gives examples of them treating their wives better on the basis of the belief that they might commit suicide otherwise.

In passing, though, Brown illustrates the pettiness and self-righteous silliness of some of his fellow anthropologists. He berates their unfortunately common tendency to flip between research and advocacy, between just doing good science 鈥� and standing up for tribal communities.

聯Brown shows the pettiness and self-righteous silliness of some of his fellow anthropologists聰

Diverse benefits

Brown also looks at sorcery, violence, daily life and sex, at the ways in which Awaj煤n society is like or unlike other Amazonian societies, at the larger Peruvian culture, at peace, health and illness. His experiences, descriptions and understandings will resonate with all who have had the privilege of living among a tribal society. And for those who have never enjoyed this experience, Upriver will make you wish you had.

But perhaps the book鈥檚 most important lesson is its portrayal of human diversity as crucial for the understanding of our species. Although the book doesn鈥檛 successfully answer its core question 鈥� explaining the contrast between 鈥渃ivilised鈥� and tribal societies, and what being 鈥渃ivilised鈥� means now 鈥� Brown does show a plurality of visions the Awaj煤n people have for their own future. And through these visions, we are better able to understand this Amazonian society and, ultimately, our species.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淥ne world, many visions鈥�