"É o Rio Piauí, mas é rio seco": as variações do Rio Piauí nas comunidades Lagoa Dantas, Fechadão e Caldeirão, São Raimundo Nonato, Piauí

Abstract

This dissertation explores the human and non-human perceptions about the variations of the Piauí River in the communities of Fechadão, Lagoa Dantas and Caldeirão, located in the rural area of São Raimundo Nonato, Piauí. Based on the dialogue with Eduardo Kohn’s theory, this research enfolds human perceptions in the midst of ways of perceiving and living with the variations of the Piauí River that are beyond the human, to give way to the openness that exists in communities to experiences and perceptions of other living beings. Human perceptions about variations reveal the existence of different modes of existence: the river, the riacho (creek) and the natural pools, which participate together with living beings in a dynamic of life creation. These perceptions point to the perceptions of non-human beings about the variations. Human and non-human beings establish forms of coexistence with the Piauí river, through the cultivation of relationships, which enable the generation of life. However, the lives of the various beings and modes of existence that make up the Piauí river are threatened by changes in nature, experienced as a crisis in the relationships that allow the continuity of life. Thus, the Piauí River emerges as a complex semiotic environment, which implies rethinking the way we understand it.