The Notion of Enemy According to Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert

Taking as a starting point the words of Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert – both known as main references for the Yanomami studies; Kopenawa as a renowned shaman and political leader; and Albert as the ethnographer who lived for more than thirty years among them –, this article aims to understand how the Yanomami organise their intercultural relationship system, emphasising the role that the napë thë pë (usually translated as “enemies” or “outsiders”) play within this system. This will be done by distinguishing two different senses this expression acquires when applied to describe: 1) indigenous people; and 2) white people, corresponding to the two phases in which this article is divided: the enmity before and after contact. To conclude, a reflection on how the Yanomami understand the concept of violence will be conducted, seeking to bring the notion of “enemy” closer to the concept of “Other”, as we find it mainly in Gilles Deleuze’s reading of Michel Tournier.