Performing and Resisting. Epistemological Defense of the Communities of the Colombian South Pacific

Abstract

In this text, I discuss the concepts of territory, performance, ethnographic methodology and their role in the struggle to decolonize Latin America. For this, I begin by presenting the territory of the Colombian South Pacific: its communities, ontological relations, traditional music, and territorial conflicts. From a personal experience in this territory during the realization of a traditional music performance, I approach the concept of performance and ritual performance. The performance, in turn, leads us to a discussion about the knowledge that inhabits the bodies and voices of individuals and their invisibility in the face of the dominance of Western thought. I continue by presenting a critique of ethnographic methodology and propose a deconstruction of pre-established epistemologies, to direct ethnographic work from an empathetic and sensitive approach to the communities under investigation. Thus, I aim to demonstrate the power of territory, performance and ethnographic methodology as effective mechanisms of epistemological transformation.