The Shuar myth of Nunkui as an educational resource from third-wave ecocriticism

Abstract

This article analyzes the Shuar myth of Nunkui from the perspective of third-wave ecocriticism, with the aim of understanding how Indigenous epistemologies construct environmental and ontological knowledge that challenges the modern Western paradigm. The study is grounded in a qualitative hermeneutic methodology, based on the analytical reading of a narrative fragment from Amazonian oral tradition and on dialogue with contemporary theoretical approaches related to nonhuman agency (Iovino & Oppermann, 2014), transcorporeality (Alaimo, 2016) and relational cosmologies (Escobar, 2018; Viveiros de Castro, 2004; De la Cadena, 2015). The results indicate that the myth configures a relational ontology in which humans, plants, divine entities and natural elements actively participate in the production of collective life. This worldview is expressed through an ethics of care, reciprocity and territorial co-responsibility, consistent with Shuar cosmology and with the people’s long-standing historical relationship with the Amazonian environment. The conclusions highlight that the myth does not function as a mere literary artifact, but rather as situated environmental knowledge that challenges anthropocentrism and offers ontological alternatives relevant to the current socio-ecological crisis. Its pedagogical potential is also emphasized in European secondary education settings, where it enables critical environmental education, intercultural dialogue and the construction of a more plural and decolonial global citizenship.