Positional Wildness: AmazonianRibeirinhos, Pink Dolphins and Interspecies Affections

Amazonian pink dolphins figure in local imaginations as – enchanted – beings that can take on the appearance of persons and have sexual relations with humans. In the context of traditional fishing, ribeirinhos establish connections with dolphins that can be driven by intense corporeal intimacy, as well as by mutual hostility. These ambivalent positional relations are expressed in contrasted personal characterisations of dolphins, which are ‘tame’ (mansos) or even ‘partners’ (parceiros, amigados) for some, but ‘wild beasts’ (bichos bravos) to others. This local form of relating to animals does not take ‘wildness’ or ‘tameness’ as static qualities of bodies or habitats, but as affective potentials that emerge or recede in consonance with often intimate, intersecting corporeal histories.