4 Climate event predictions in Aymara communities in the Andes of northern Chile.

Abstract

The predictions and forecasts of climatic events have occupied an important place in the Aymara's cosmovision that inhabit the foothills and highlands of northern Chile. Especially in how the climatic predictors of the natural environment are part of the ritual and utilitarian culture of this ethnic community concerning their agricultural production. In this context, using a qualitative research methodology, 15 in-depth interviews were carried out with Aymara community members from 8 pre-Andean localities of Arica and Parinacota and 4 altiplano localities of Tarapacá, systematizing and analyzing the main characteristics of how this traditional knowledge system operates. It is argued that among the predictions, the observation of stellar phenomena is disappearing, but not that of climatic phenomena, especially predictors of atmospheric phenomena, flora, and fauna, among others, survive. Also, the loss of this knowledge is irreparably perceived at both the individual and community level, threatening its conservation as part of our intangible cultural heritage.