Territory and domestic ecology among the Kaiowa of Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract This paper aims to analyse the territorial dynamics resulting from the dissymmetric relationship between two processes of dominialisation in which the Kaiowa are involved in Mato Grosso do Sul. The first is represented by the process of territorialisation established by the creation of indigenous reservations and their management by the State, as well as the simultaneous and correlated formation of rural properties and urban centres. The second process, expresses the indigenous response to the territorialisation, through the ecology of their households, engendering adaptations in the activities of its members and strategies to regain control of their expropriated lands. Under these real conditions, the Kaiowa reflect on the configuration of their territorial spaces by creating important cultural categories related to them, thus revealing that territoriality is not an immanent and/or previously defined structure, but something that is historically constructed.

摘要 本文旨在分析凯奥瓦人（Kaiowa）在巴西南马托格罗索州（Mato Grosso do Sul）参与的两种支配化（dominialisation）进程之间的不对称关系所催生的领土动态。第一种进程以国家设立并管理土著保留地（indigenous reservations）所确立的领土化（territorialisation）进程为代表，同时伴随农村地产与城镇中心的同步关联形成。第二种进程则体现为土著群体对上述领土化进程的回应：依托自身家庭生态，推动社群成员调整生产生活活动，并制定夺回被侵占土地的相关策略。在上述现实语境下，凯奥瓦人通过构建与之相关的重要文化范畴，对自身领土空间的形态展开反思，由此揭示出：领土性（territoriality）并非一种固有或预先设定的结构，而是一种历史建构的产物。