ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an account of the author's fieldwork in Ecuadorian Amazonian montaña. As the art of ethnography teaches us too well, every successful entry story takes its toll on the researcher’s untested optimism. The author had set out to explore the interplay between Shuar social organization and the novel institutional life engendered by state-derived institutions (schools, village councils and federations), all of which were being actively appropriated and managed by Shuar people. Whilst the Shuar life-course does not presuppose rigid social stages or ceremonial age-sets, children still need to develop the self-restraint, oratorical skills and gendered productive capacities that characterize mature Shuar persons. This process of development is represented as taking place in the heart, the centre of individuality where one’s self-reflexivity, deepest emotions and the ability to act appropriately reside. During this period, therefore, adults deploy discipline to enhance the sense of independence, courage, and forcefulness of character they wish to cultivate in children.
