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Upriver: The Turbulent Life and Times of an Amazonian People
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About Upriver: The Turbulent Life And Times Of An
Product Description In this remarkable story of one man’s encounter with an indigenous people of Peru, Michael Brown guides his readers upriver into a contested zone of the Amazonian frontier, where more than 50,000 Awajún―renowned for their pugnacity and fierce independence―remain determined, against long odds, to live life on their own terms.When Brown took up residence with the Awajún in 1976, he knew little about them other than their ancestors’ reputation as fearsome headhunters. The fledgling anthropologist was immediately impressed by his hosts’ vivacity and resourcefulness. But eventually his investigations led him into darker corners of a world where murderous vendettas, fear of sorcery, and a shocking incidence of suicide were still common. Peru’s Shining Path insurgency in the 1980s forced Brown to refocus his work elsewhere. Revisiting his field notes decades later, now with an older man’s understanding of life’s fragility, Brown saw a different story: a tribal society trying, and sometimes failing, to maintain order in the face of an expanding capitalist frontier. Curious about how the Awajún were faring, Brown returned to the site in 2012, where he found a people whose combative self-confidence had led them to the forefront of South America’s struggle for indigenous rights.Written with insight, sensitivity, and humor, Upriver paints a vivid picture of a rapidly growing population that is refashioning its warrior tradition for the twenty-first century. Embracing literacy and digital technology, the Awajún are using hard-won political savvy to defend their rainforest home and right of self-determination. Review “ Brown writes elegantly…This is…a powerful, moving and entertaining book about one of the most interesting indigenous peoples in South America.” ― John Hemming , Times Literary Supplement “ 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 Awajún's difficult encounters with the outsiders with whom they have had varying degrees of contact with for almost 500 years…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's most important lesson is its portrayal of human diversity as crucial for the understanding of our species.” ― Daniel Everett , New Scientist “A model of nuance and humility. [ Brown] describes vividly the encroachments of modernity on the lives of the Awajúns, and their attempts to resist and survive as the Amazon is carved up for natural-resource extraction. But Brown is scrupulously unsentimental and resists the political pieties typical of Latin American ethnography, which so often treats indigenous people as victims or heroes. The result is a book with the fullness and texture of real human life; it is a masterpiece of social science.” ― Graeme Wood , Pacific Standard “ Upriver: The Turbulent Life And Times of an Amazonian People is not only a revealing portrait of a people corning to terms with the modern world, but also of the changing face of anthropology itself.” ― Wanderlust “In a well-written, detailed text, anthropologist Brown presents an eloquent book full of reflections based on his 1976–2012 fieldwork with an Amazonian society, the Awajún, previously known as the Aguaruna or Jibaro. This indigenous society living in the Upper Amazon of Northern Peru has often been highly misunderstood and has erroneously been described as a vanishing society and portrayed in a very simplistic way as primarily a murdering culture. Brown presents a detailed story filled with many personal events combined with rich ethnographic and cultural information and a witty perspective that easily engages readers… This quite thoughtful w
