Abstract
The Huaorani, an indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon, were contacted in 1956. Since that date, they have been submitted to an intense process of "civilization" and "integration". Although homicidal practices were present in the Huaorani way of life, there is no evidence of suicidal practices, a circumstance that has changed drastically since the beginning of the 21st century. Suicide rates have progressively increased among this group: alarmingly so in the case of Huaorani youth. Based on ethnographic research we approach the phenomenon of Huaorani suicide in the Toñampari area from a cultural perspective. The interpretive scheme applied here helps us to understand not only the context and the triggering motives of suicidal acts, but also the essential factors for understanding these in the Huaorani context. Among our conclusions, this phenomenon is indicated as one of the consequences of the process of the assimilation of the Huaorani into Ecuadorian national society.
Keywords:
suicide; indigenous peoples; youth; cultural assimilation; civilizing process