Departing from the specific case of Matsigenka people in the montaña of southeastern Peru, this paper challenges some of the assumptions associated with predominant conceptions of Amazonian perspectivism. Examining different cultural registers such as birth rituals and mythology, Matsigenka peoples' notions about being, soul and self are discussed in relation to the importance that often is ascribed to physical shape for conceptualizing the world. In contrast to this stress on the corporeal, it is argued that Matsigenka people consider the non-corporeal cognisant self to determine outlook and identity. In accordance, corporeal transformation is seen as a result of the Self's convivial aspirations rather than an outcome of an Other's predatory intentions.
Amazonia; Peru; Matsigenka; personhood; cognition; perspectivism