The Amerikas Colloquium

Markos Panayiotou (LMU München):

 Ancestral wooden Gold Pan (Markos Panayiotou 2026)

Planetary Spirits in Napo’s Gold Rush

Since the early 2000s, the Province of Napo in Amazonian Ecuador has been the site of intensive gold extraction. In this context, Napo Runa communities have become entangled with their abiotic environments in multiple, often contradictory ways. Drawing on the Planetary Turn, I will demonstrate that rivers and minerals in Napo are not merely a passive backdrop to human life. On the contrary, these elements have actively contributed to local human and more-than-human world-making projects.

For more than 10 consecutive years, Ecuadorian governments have granted national and foreign companies access to gold-mining sites in Napo. These concessions have dramatically affected the health of local communities and environments. As of February 2026, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment and Energy has suspended all mining activities in the area, citing the Rights of Nature.

Napo Runa communities have struggled to come to terms with changes in their rivers and in external markets. Since the early 20th century, artisanal gold mining has enabled Runa communities to interact with highland settlers (awallaktas) and foreign companies. However, by accessing these external worlds, they are held responsible for local disasters. In local healing practices, these responsibilities are redistributed and extended to the realm of supay spirits. My presentation will thus focus on how white and mestizo worlds have become intertwined with the spirit worlds of the Napo River and its tributaries.

When?      May 19, 18:15
Where?    Oettingenstr. 67, Room L 155             

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