Photography by Eoin Carey and Johnny Saint Ours

Words by Tamsin Cunningham

Just a short distance uphill from the mouth of Tayos lies the village home of the Shuar guardians of the cave. Life here is based on an intimate understanding of the interconnectedness of all who share the rainforest as their home. The boundary between human life and the forest is thin and porous.

For the Shuar existence alongside the non-human world is one of mutual respect. Guidance and wisdom is sought from the landscape and permission sought when entering into relationship with its waterfalls, rivers and caves.

The way of life here is one always shared with others; there are no hermetic spaces sealed away from the non-human. Animals other than humans roam through living and sleeping spaces. Village life takes place as much outside as it does within human structures. In our cities, where the arena of human life can seem all pervasive this mode of existence can be hard to imagine. We take for granted the degree of control we exert over the temperature, the soundscapes, the security of our spaces and feel affronted when the barriers we place between us and the non-human are breached. But in building impenetrable screens between us and the world around us what relationships might we be missing?

What guidance and wisdom are shut out beyond our walls?

Explore more on the topic of Interconnection:

The Liminal Compass journey>>

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