On contrastive perception and ineffability: assessing sensory experience without colour terms in an Amazonian society

Based on ethnographic material relating to the Candoshi, an indigenous people from the Upper Amazon, this article explores how they evaluate sensory experiences pertaining to colours without one of the main descriptive tools used for this purpose: colour names. After a review of the research concerning ineffability and colour naming, the article shows that the Candoshi do not have any terms for colours in their language. It then describes how, through a range of practices referred to as ‘contrastive perception’, they manage to communicate sensory experience, including that relating to colours, with accuracy. The last section concludes by discussing some of the theoretical implications of these findings in the light of previous research into the issue.