Animism and perspectivism: Still anthropomorphism? On the problem of perception in the construction of Amerindian ontologies

Abstract

For more than a decade, a close continuity, rather than opposition, has linked Viveiros de Castro’s "perspectivism” and Descola’s "animism”. Both theories are based on Amazonian ethnographic material and should be seen as theoretical constructions of the "Lowland” developed to explain the specificity of Amazonian ontologies. Today, both models exist independently of the south Amerindian data. In this paper, I will present some North-West Amazonian ritual and mythological material that illustrates the first, as well as the second theoretical point of view. The main aim of this paper is to show that general cognitive phenomena involved in the act of perception, such as anthropomorphism and analogical projection, are able to give an account of some Amazonian ontologies, especially if we draw iconographical expressions of past and present societies into the discussion.