Northwest Amazon Research Articles

Urbanisation and transformation of indigenous resource management: the case of Upper Rio Negro (Brazil)

Indigenous resource management is transforming in the face of urbanisation in Amazonia. We wonder how land tenure arrangements feature a new kind of resource management in peri-urban areas. Data were obtained from ethnographic and agro-economic interviews combined with a geographic information system analysis of population and land tenure distribution nearby Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, Northwest Amazonia. The territories of each indigenous village are composed by many kinds of land use rights, ranging from exclusive ownership to common property. In the peri-urban area, private property has become the main land use right. But most of indigenous families resort to a multi-sited land use in rural-urban areas. The multi-sited pattern is associated with diversification of land use rights in the same households and extended families. These innovations reveal the adaptation of indigenous resource management.

Density and activity patterns of ocelots ( Leopardus pardalis) in northern Peru and the impact of oil exploration activities

The western Amazon is experiencing unprecedented levels of oil and gas exploration, a trend of particular concern given the high levels of biodiversity found in this relatively pristine and unstudied region. Despite the widespread use of seismic reflection technology for exploration, no studies have investigated the response of wildlife populations to this disturbance in the tropics. We conducted a trail camera survey inside a large oil concession (Block 39) in the Peruvian Amazon near the Ecuador border with ongoing 2D seismic explorations to investigate its effects on ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis) activity and abundance. The estimated size of the ocelot population within our 22 km 2 study area was the same before (control period: 34 ± 6.9 ocelots) and during exploration operations (disturbance period; 34 ± 4.6 ocelots) and we detected no change in activity patterns between the two periods. Ocelot capture rate was unaffected by the presence of seismic crews, and distance to the nearest seismic line was not correlated with capture rate at individual stations. Our density estimates (ocelots/100 km 2) from the control (75.2) and disturbance period (94.7) include the highest reported for the species, and represent the first ocelot density estimates from the northwest Amazon forest. These high values conform to recent research showing a positive association between ocelot density, annual rainfall, and proximity to the equator (this study: >2500 mm annual rainfall; <200 km from equator). We discuss the potential short- and long-term environmental impacts of seismic operations, particularly as they relate to large mammal populations.

Escape from the noun phrase

This paper deals with the evolution of certain subordinating constructions in Hup, a Nadahup (Makú) language of the northwest Amazon. Internal reconstruction, informed by close resemblances among synchronically attested clause types, suggests that Hup’s headless relative clause has given rise to a converb construction, a subtype of adverbial in which a dedicated verb form modifies a main clause. This development provides new insight into the origins of converbs and sheds light on the crosslinguistically common resemblance between relative and adverbial constructions more generally. Additionally, the Hup converbal clause has itself developed a main clause function, and the subordinating morphology employed by the relative and converb constructions is associated with topicalization. The transitions undergone by these structures in Hup contribute to our understanding of the diachronic pathways that may be taken by clauses once they have attained syntactic complexity.

Baltica, Amazonia and the SAMBA connection—1000 million years of neighbourhood during the Proterozoic?

Possible large-scale geological correlation between Baltica (East European Craton) and Amazonia (central South America) is discussed using compilations of recent data and regional geological models. A fit with northwest Amazonia attached to southwest Baltica – the SAMBA ( South America– Baltica) connection – produces a closely matching pattern of westward younging Proterozoic growth zones and is suggested to have existed from at least 1.8 Ga to at least 0.8 Ga. West Africa was probably attached to northeast Amazonia and southeast Baltica during the same time period. As in most plate tectonic reconstructions, northwest Baltica was attached to eastern Laurentia (Greenland) from 1.9 Ga to at least 1.3 Ga, and western Amazonia thus formed a continuation of the southeast Laurentia–western Baltica active margin, being characterized by intermittent crustal growth and orogenic deformation during the late Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic, as well as periods with more inboard intraplate magmatism. In order to reach the “standard” Rodinia configuration, Baltica must have separated from Laurentia and, together with Amazonia and West Africa, rotated c. 75° clockwise relative to Laurentia. During the 1.1–0.9 Ga Grenvillian – Sveconorwegian – Sunsas orogeny, the western margin of Baltica and Amazonia collided with the southeast margin of Laurentia, as part of the formation of the Neoproterozoic supercontinent Rodinia. Final break-up of Rodinia occurred around 0.6 Ga, although separation of Amazonia and West Africa from Baltica may have occurred earlier. With ocean opening along the southwest (Tornquist) and northwest (Iapetus) margins of Baltica, and the formation of the Timanian orogen along the leading northeastern edge at 0.6–0.55 Ga, Baltica moved to the (present-day) northeast, into a 200 million year period of solitude, the only period during its history when Baltica existed as a continent of its own, before reuniting with Laurentia during the Caledonian orogeny and then merging with the rest of Eurasia.

The Fruit of Knowledge and the Bodies of the Gods

This article focuses on the sacrificial acts of divinities and other primal beings whose bodies became cultivated and wild plants; and plants as forms of gifts and other types of exchange from the deities to humanity among the Baniwa peoples of the Northwest Amazon. I seek to extend Viveiros de Castro’s ideas on Amerindian ‘perspectivism’ (1996, 2002) to evaluate their ‘fit’ to Baniwa spiritual ethnobotany. Initially, I see a major difference between the perspectivism and agentivity of animal and fish-people, which is very common amongst all Arawak and Tukanoan-speaking peoples, and the plants which derive more often from a divinity that has been sacrificed, dismembered, transformed, and divided up into many distinct plants. The predator-prey relation between animals and humans is secondary when compared to sacrifice and gifting relations between plants and humans, which seem to have more to do with the development of chiefly and priestly societies.

THE ART OF BEING CRENTE: THE BANIWA PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The central objectives of this article are to describe and analyze the Baniwa Art Project, a sustainable development project based on intensive production and commercialization of basketwork, which the Baniwa Indians of the Northwest Amazon (population approximately 12,000), with the assessment of the SocioEnvironmental Institute (ISA), a major NGO in Brazil, launched in the late 1990s. The goals of this project were to enhance the value of the Baniwa basket-making tradition, increase production within the limits of the sustainable use of natural resources, generate income for indigenous producers and their political associations, and train indigenous leadership in the skills of business management. This very successful project was initiated shortly after the creation of the Indigenous Organization of the Içana River Basin (OIBI) and essentially involves 16 of the more than 100 Baniwa communities of the Içana River and its tributaries in Brazil. This article reflects on how young Baniwa evangelical political leaders, with the support of the NGO, promoted the rise of individualism, as well as the introduction of Western values of economic and political success. This generated conflicts with more “traditional” values and practices of egalitarianism producing an increase of witchcraft accusations. The case of a young Baniwa leader who coordinated both the political association and the Art Project illustrates extremely well the sorts of grave conflicts that emerged. This article will also reflect on modifications in human/spirit relations following the introduction of evangelicalism and sustainable development projects. For this, I shall cite extensively from a recent interview I conducted with a Baniwa political leader regarding his perceptions of the relations between evangelicalism, the political movement, and the meanings for the Indians of the notion of “sustainable development.”

Contrasting patterns of diameter and biomass increment across tree functional groups in Amazonian forests

Species' functional traits may help determine rates of carbon gain, with physiological and morphological trade-offs relating to shade tolerance affecting photosynthetic capacity and carbon allocation strategies. However, few studies have examined these trade-offs from the perspective of whole-plant biomass gain of adult trees. We compared tree-level annual diameter increments and annual above-ground biomass (AGB) increments in eight long-term plots in hyper-diverse northwest Amazonia to wood density (rho; a proxy for shade tolerance), whilst also controlling for resource supply (light and soil fertility). rho and annual diameter increment were negatively related, confirming expected differences in allocation associated with shade tolerance, such that light-demanding species allocate a greater proportion of carbon to diameter gain at the expense of woody tissue density. However, contrary to expectations, we found a positive relationship between rho and annual AGB increment in more fertile sites, although AGB gain did not differ significantly with rho class on low-fertility sites. Whole-plant carbon gain may be greater in shade-tolerant species due to higher total leaf area, despite lower leaf-level carbon assimilation rates. Alternatively, rates of carbon loss may be higher in more light-demanding species: higher rates of litterfall, respiration or allocation to roots, are all plausible mechanisms. However, the relationships between rho and AGB and diameter increments were weak; resource availability always exerted a stronger influence on tree growth rates.

Multilingual Imperatives: The Elaboration of a Category in Northwest Amazonia

The Vaupés River Basin in northwest Amazonia is a well‐established linguistic area. Its major feature is obligatory societal multilingualism which follows the principle of linguistic exogamy: “those who speak the same language as us are our brothers, and we do not marry our sisters.” Speakers of East Tucanoan languages and of one Arawak language, Tariana, participate in the exogamous marriage network and share the obligatory multilingualism.Long‐term interaction between East Tucanoan languages and Tariana has resulted in the rampant diffusion of grammatical and semantic patterns and calquing of categories. A typologically unusual system of 11 imperatives in Tariana bears a strong impact from East Tucanoan languages; but to say that imperative meanings were just borrowed or calqued from East Tucanoan languages would be a simplification. The markers come from different non‐imperative categories, via distinct mechanisms. I discuss the mechanisms involved in the development of Tariana multiple imperatives and then address the crucial question: Which factors facilitate the diffusion of commands?

Multilingual Fieldwork and Emergent Grammars

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Nominal Classification in the North West Amazon: Issues in Areal Diffusion and Typological Characterization

Nominal classification systems are quite widespread in Amazonia. However, their existence was generally unknown to typologists prior to the late 1980s. For example, the works of Denny (1976), Greenberg (1977), Allan (1977), and Dixon (1986) are essentially silent about South America. Perhaps the earliest systematic descriptions that used terms like “classifier” or “noun classification” are Gomez-Imbert (1982) and Payne (1986), though the raw morphological material of Amazonian classification systems was certainly reflected in a variety of earlier works (e.g., Hart 1963, who referred to “shape morphemes” in the Peruvian language Amarakaeri; Key 1967 on Cayuvava of Bolivia; Peeke 1973 on Waorani of Ecuador; and Landaburu 1979 on Andoke of Colombia). 1 Payne (1987), followed by Derbyshire and Payne (1990), provided a first overview of North West Amazonian nominal classification systems. A number of descriptions have been published since (e.g., Barnes 1990, Aikhenvald 1994; 1996, Aikhenvald and Green 1998, Seifart 2002, and Weber 2002), but many systems of the region remain unor underdescribed. 2 The papers in this volume explore nominal classification in languages spoken in the North West Amazon, where the Putumayo, Caqueta, and Vaupes river basins approach the Amazon River and where the borders of Colombia, Brazil, and Peru meet (see figure 1). The languages come from the Witotoan, Peba-Yaguan, Arawak, and Eastern Tucanoan families. 3

Changing Times and Local Terms on the Rio Negro, Brazil: Amazonian Ways of Depolarizing Epistemology, Chronology and Cultural Change

Partway along the vast waterways of Brazil's middle Rio Negro, upstream from urban Manaus and downstream from the ethnographically famous Northwest Amazon region, is the town of Castanheiro, whose inhabitants skillfully negotiate a space between the polar extremes of ‘traditional’ and ‘acculturated.’ This paper takes an ethnographic look at the non-polarizing terms that these rural Amazonian people use for talking about cultural change. While popular and academic discourses alike have often framed cultural change in the Amazon as a linear process, Amazonian discourse provides resources for describing change as situated in shifting fields of knowledge of the social and physical environments, better capturing its non-linear complexity and ambiguity.

Language and social identity (review)

Reviewed by: Language and social identity ed. by Richard K. Blot Liwei Gao Language and social identity. Ed. by Richard K. Blot. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Pp. xx, 295. ISBN 0897897838. $83.95 (Hb). This book consists of papers concerned with the relationships between the social use of language and the positioning of language users within a specific social stratum by other people. Articles in this collection also address the issue that particular uses of language are usually viewed as an indicator of language users’ geographic, ethnic, age, and gender attributes. The chapters in this volume mainly address two questions: (1) Under what circumstances is it necessary or desirable to resort to the use of a particular variety of language to construct a particular identity? and (2) What are the consequences of the building of various types of identities? Following an introductory chapter by Richard Blot, three essays examine the role of narratives in constructing contrastive identities by Indians in the Americas. Gary Gossen looks at the situation in Chiapas, Mexico. He discusses a Tzotzil Maya story and suggests that narratives provide the Indian community with resources for treating linguistic performance as a foundation of social identities and social inequality. Janet Chernela and Eric Leed discuss the Unurato myth narratives in the Brazilian Northwest Amazon and explore how a collective identity is generated and preserved through narratives. Jerry Kelly studies the circulation of visionary Mayan narratives in southern Belize and shows that even when narratives are used for the purpose of reconstructing traditional identities to fight against modern oppression, the latter may still exert a strong influence in this rebuilding process. [End Page 454] The next three articles highlight the important role that language plays in ideologies and practices of inclusion and exclusion and point to the shifting relations between language, identity, and political-economic development. Kathryn Woolard discusses the transformation of Catalan from the language of a suppressed minority to the official language of an economically and politically powerful Catalonia in Barcelona. Maria Lagos looks at the way in which individuals in Cochabamba, Bolivia, reproduce and transform the dominant discourse in a society where markers of class and ethnic differences have become ambiguous. Maria Villalon analyzes an Enapa text from Venezuela and argues that narratives constitute a major part of Enapa politics of self-representation, which help build different representations of personhood against the homogenizing procedures of the criollo society. The remaining studies focus on the United States. Michael Long argues that the Ebonics debate was actually started mostly by the appearance of the New Right and its goal of weakening challenges to racial oppression. Bonnie Urciuoli examines the phenomenon that Spanish is used sparingly in the advertising in the magazine Hispanic and argues that this is a strategy for avoiding clashes with the rise of the Official English movement. Ellen Schnepel discusses language and gender in the French Caribbean and suggests that language planners, among others, have not paid sufficient attention to the way in which changing gender relations help shape the relationship between Creole and French in Guadeloupe and Martinique. James Collins looks at new strategies for mobilizing American Indian identities against historical and contemporary pressures to eliminate Tolowa identities in California. In examining the interaction among language, social identity, and the worldview, John Pulis calls attention to the importance of verbal performance in building Rastafarian identities in Jamaica. In scrutinizing passionate speech and literate talk in Grenada, George Mentore contends that the literacy practices that seem to be instrumental to political participation are actually imperialist tools for suppression that aim to produce acquiescent citizens. Liwei Gao Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Copyright © 2007 Linguistic Society of America

Onset and End of the Rainy Season in South America in Observations and the ECHAM 4.5 Atmospheric General Circulation Model

AbstractRainfall in South America as simulated by a 24-ensemble member of the ECHAM 4.5 atmospheric general circulation model is compared and contrasted with observations (in areas in which data are available) for the period 1976–2001. Emphasis is placed on determining the onset and end of the rainy season, from which its length and rain rate are determined.It is shown that over large parts of the domain the onset and ending dates are well simulated by the model, with biases of less than 10 days. There is a tendency for model onset to occur early and ending to occur late, resulting in a simulated rainy season that is on average too long in many areas. The model wet season rain rate also tends to be larger than observed.To estimate the relative importance of errors in wet season length and rain rate in determining biases in the annual total, adjusted totals are computed by substituting both the observed climatological wet season length and rate for those of the model. Problems in the rain rate generally are more important than problems in the length.The wet season length and rain rate also contribute substantially to interannual variations in the annual total. These quantities are almost independent, and it is argued that they are each associated with different mechanisms.The observed onset dates almost always lie within the range of onset of the ensemble members, even in the areas with a large model onset bias. In some areas, though, the model does not perform well. In southern Brazil the model ensemble average onset always occurs in summer, whereas the observations show that winter is often the wettest period. Individual members, however, do occasionally show a winter rainfall peak. In southern Northeast Brazil the model has a more distinct rainy season than is observed. In the northwest Amazon the model annual cycle is shifted relative to that observed, resulting in a model bias.No interannual relationship between model and observed onset dates is expected unless onset in the model and observations has a mutual relationship with SST anomalies. In part of the near-equatorial Amazon, there does exist an interannual relationship between onset dates. Previous studies have shown that in this area there is a relationship between SST anomalies and variations in seasonal total rainfall.

Ethnobotanical Evidence for Cultivar Selection among the Tukanoans: Manioc (Manihot esculentaCrantz) in the Northwest Amazaon

Manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a cyanidecontaining root crop that is cultivated by many indigenous groups in Amazonia. Although the Tukanoans of the Northwest Amazon grow low cyanogenic-potential (CNP) manioc, high-CNP manioc, requiring detoxification prior to consumption, provides over 80 percent of the calories they consume. The purpose of this paper is to determine which characteristics of manioc are most important to the Tukanoans in their decision to plant more of some manioc cultivars than others. Given the apparent resistance of high-CNP manioc to pests and pathogens, we hypothesized that the Tukanoans' preference for high-CNP manioc would be explained by their perception of higher yields of high-CNP cultivars in comparison to low-CNP cultivars in their gardens. However, the results reported here indicate that while yield and damage suffered by the plant may be factors that influence cultivar selection, it is the foods which can be made from each cultivar which is the principal consideration.

Simulation of the summer circulation over South America by two regional climate models. Part II: A comparison between 1997/1998 El Niño and 1998/1999 La Niña events

This study investigates the capabilities of two regional models (the ICTP RegCM3 and the climate version of the CPTEC Eta model – EtaClim) in simulating the summer quasi-stationary circulations over South America during two extreme cases: the 1997–1998 El Nino and 1998–1999 La Nina. The results showed that both the models are successful in simulating the interannual variability of summer quasi-stationary circulation over South America. Both the models simulated the intensification of subtropical jet stream during the El Nino event, which favoured the blocking of transient systems and increased the precipitation over south Brazil. The models simulated the increase (decrease) of precipitation over north (west) Amazonia during the La Nina (El Nino) event. The upper level circulation is in agreement with the simulated distribution of precipitation. In general, the results showed that both the models are capable of capturing the main changes of the summer climate over South America during these two extreme cases and consequently they have potential to predict climate anomalies.

Conservation of the Biological and Cultural Diversity of the Colombian Amazon Piedmont: Dr. Schultes’ Legacy

Richard Evans Schultes, the father of modern ethnobotany,arrived in Colombia in 1941. Over a period of 50 years,Schultes carried out the most extensive research of hisera on the plants and cultures of the Colombian part ofthe Northwest Amazon. His invaluable work stands outnot only for its scientific excellence, but because he wasthe first researcher to emphasize the important role tobe played by ethnobiology in the coming years. Evenin Schultes’ time, ethnobotanists across the world werepressed to recognize the importance of focusing on boththe conservation of the Amazon jungle and of its inhabitantcultures, societies which serve as repositories ofknowledge about many medicinal substances with greatpotential application for the Western world. Schultes tookdirect action, strongly urging the research community tocease expeditions having the sole purpose of searchingfor new medicines; instead, he insisted on the need totrain professionals willing to share life with the peoples ofthe tropical jungles. Dr. Schultes worked to transform abotany increasingly concerned with economic potentialsinto an ethnobotany with heart. The Amazon piedmontis the world’s region of greatest biodiversity, as well ashome to one of the last surviving ancient shamanic traditions,the yagé culture, which comprises five distinct ethnicgroups. The yagé culture preserves a comprehensiveset of shamanic practices, including the ritual use of theirsacred plant, yagé or ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis sp.),alongside a vast knowledge of the jungle and its medicinalplants. With the enthusiastic support of ethnobotanistMark Plotkin, one of Schultes’ dearest disciples and Presidentof The Amazon Conservation Team, we have implementeda program that seeks the protection, recuperationand strengthening of the indigenous cultures of the Amazonpiedmont. We believe that their knowledge and practices,as well as their shamanic systems, are extremelyimportant and useful for biodiversity conservation and forexpanding the scope of health models around the world.The diverse programs of the Amazon Conservation Teamhave a common objective: to engender a true interculturaldialogue between traditional indigenous knowledgeand Western science. Thus, our program in Colombia hasdeveloped an integrated strategy for biodiversity and culturalconservation that includes shamans and apprenticesprograms, construction of ceremonial houses, planting ofmedicinal gardens, sacred lands reclamation, ethno-educationand sustainable production projects, in each casein concordance with the shamans’ guidance. The culminationof our recent work was the historic gathering of fortyindigenous healers from 7 tribes across the ColombianAmazon, surviving practitioners of one of the last greatshamanic traditions. The participating elders producedthe first code of ethics of traditional medicine of the ColombianAmazon, which was published with the title “TheBeliefs of the Elders.”

Euglossa paisa, a new species of orchid bee from the Colombian Andes (Hymenoptera: Apidae)&lt;br /&gt;

A distinct new species of orchid bee, Euglossa paisa Ramírez n. sp., is here described. Various morphological characters suggest that this new taxon belongs to the subgenus Glossurella, a group composed of 21 species whose members occur throughout low and mid elevation tropical America. E. paisa n. sp. is morphologically closest to E. oleolucens Dressler, a species endemic to the montane region of southern Costa Rica, and these two to E. fuscifrons Dressler, a species endemic to the lowland wet forests of the northwest Amazon Basin. E. paisa is endemic to the Cordillera Central of Colombia, a region of elevated diversity and profuse endemism.

Solute fluxes in throughfall and stemflow in four forest ecosystems in northwest Amazonia

The contribution of throughfall and stemflow as pathways for solute inputs into the forest floor in four mature forests in northwest Amazonia was investigated. Total solute inputs, resulting from the changes of atmospheric deposition after rainfall passes through the forest canopy, are presented in the form of throughfall and stemflow nutrient inputs and their possible sources are discussed. Throughfall is by far the most important solute input into the forest floor of the forests studied. On average, it represents about 98% of the total solute inputs. Although trends in solute enrichment varied among the forests, there is a general tendency in all ecosystems towards a distinct enrichment of SO4, K, Cl, NO3 and NH4 in throughfall and stemflow and a small increase of protons, Mn, orthoP and Fe. When comparing the net enrichment between the forests, the relative increase of solutes in throughfall and stemflow was higher in the flood plain and low terrace than in the high terrace and sedimentary plain forests. While highest values for total cation inputs were observed in the flood plain, the low terrace showed the highest value for total inorganic anions. The length of the antecedent dry period was the main factor affecting throughfall and stemflow composition, concentrations increasing with increasing length. A second, less important factor was the amount of throughfall and stemflow, which showed a poor and negative correlation with solute concentrations. The increased activity of frugivores in the canopy during fruiting periods seemed to lead to temporary increased solute concentrations in throughfall and stemflow as a result of the wash off of deposited faecal materials and detritus in the canopy. Leaching from leaves and wash off of exudes, of solutes deposited on the foliage after evaporation of intercepted rainfall and of dry deposited materials were all found to contribute to the concentration of solutes in the throughfall and stemflow. Gross rainfall enrichment after passing the forest canopy, mainly by nutrient leaching, is considerably lower than the amounts of nutrients released in litterfall implying a tight nutrient cycling and nutrient conserving mechanisms by forests studied.

Clinical investigations of the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca: rationale and regulatory challenges

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage that is prominent in the ethnomedicine and shamanism of indigenous Amazonian tribes. Its unique pharmacology depends on the oral activity of the hallucinogen, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which results from inhibition of monoamine oxidase (MAO) by β-carboline alkaloids. MAO is the enzyme that normally degrades DMT in the liver and gut. Ayahuasca has long been integrated into mestizo folk medicine in the northwest Amazon. In Brazil, it is used as a sacrament by several syncretic churches. Some of these organizations have incorporated in the United States. The recreational and religious use of ayahuasca in the United States, as well as “ayahuasca tourism” in the Amazon, is increasing. The current legal status of ayahuasca or its source plants in the United States is unclear, although DMT is a Schedule I controlled substance. One ayahuasca church has received favorable rulings in 2 federal courts in response to its petition to the Department of Justice for the right to use ayahuasca under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. A biomedical study of one of the churches, the Uñiao do Vegetal (UDV), indicated that ayahuasca may have therapeutic applications for the treatment of alcoholism, substance abuse, and possibly other disorders. Clinical studies conducted in Spain have demonstrated that ayahuasca can be used safely in normal healthy adults, but have done little to clarify its potential therapeutic uses. Because of ayahuasca's ill-defined legal status and variable botanical and chemical composition, clinical investigations in the United States, ideally under an approved Investigational New Drug (IND) protocol, are complicated by both regulatory and methodological issues. This article provides an overview of ayahuasca and discusses some of the challenges that must be overcome before it can be clinically investigated in the United States.

Language Ideology and Women's Speech: Talking Community in the Northwest Amazon

Taking the Northwest Amazon of Brazil as its example, this article argues for the analytic concept of a culture, combining, but heuristically separating, speech practice and language ideology. In the Northwest Amazon, an ideology of language establishes an equivalence between linguistic performance and descent group belonging. In contrast to the fixed, normative notions of groupness, this article explores the dynamic construction of social relations through women's ritualized wept greeting speech. In these interactions, linguistic differentiation is countered by the experience of a single speech act based upon shared principles with or- ganized participation in and by different linguistic codes. Through the collaborative nature of the speech act a common ground is pro- duced and revealed. The community in this sense emerges as a cultural artifact whose production is largely the work of women. Through these speech interactions-of similar sentiments and meanings across different linguistic codes-women of the Northwest Amazon construct a community of talk. (Keywords: women, laments, language, Amazonia)