In the Peruvian Amazon, wild foods remain vital for the Maijuna people’s diet, culture, and territorial connection. Based on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this chapter explores how wild foods—such as game meat, palm fruits, and insects—are used, consumed, and valued by the Maijuna, and how these practices are affected by integration into the regional market. It specifically focuses on game meat and the fruits of the aguaje palm (Mauritia flexuosa), as these are the most frequently commercialized wild foods. While wild foods continue to ensure subsistence and social reciprocity, their commercialization increasingly reconfigures local diets, prompting the Maijuna to adapt their consumption patterns. While they tend to sell the most profitable species and consume less game overall—relying more on fish—they retain certain animals and parts, such as monkeys, tapirs, heads, and tapir fat, for local consumption. These choices reflect not only economic constraints but also the strong symbolic value attributed to these foods. Similarly, while sustainable harvesting of aguaje fruits responds to ecological concerns and market demand, it also restricts access to palm weevil larvae, revealing a tension between conservation objectives and the preservation of Maijuna cultural practices.

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The Delicate Balance of Wild Foods: Dietary Shifts and Market Integration among the Maijuna in the Peruvian Amazon

  • Emmanuelle Ricaud-Oneto

摘要

In the Peruvian Amazon, wild foods remain vital for the Maijuna people’s diet, culture, and territorial connection. Based on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this chapter explores how wild foods—such as game meat, palm fruits, and insects—are used, consumed, and valued by the Maijuna, and how these practices are affected by integration into the regional market. It specifically focuses on game meat and the fruits of the aguaje palm (Mauritia flexuosa), as these are the most frequently commercialized wild foods. While wild foods continue to ensure subsistence and social reciprocity, their commercialization increasingly reconfigures local diets, prompting the Maijuna to adapt their consumption patterns. While they tend to sell the most profitable species and consume less game overall—relying more on fish—they retain certain animals and parts, such as monkeys, tapirs, heads, and tapir fat, for local consumption. These choices reflect not only economic constraints but also the strong symbolic value attributed to these foods. Similarly, while sustainable harvesting of aguaje fruits responds to ecological concerns and market demand, it also restricts access to palm weevil larvae, revealing a tension between conservation objectives and the preservation of Maijuna cultural practices.