Las trampas de la gente del centro del mundo: documentación de la pesca tradicional de los pueblos Murui, Bora y Okaina del noroccidente amazónico

This article presents a process for appropriating and documenting artisanal fishing techniques using traps among the People of the Center (Murui, Bora, and Okaina) in the Colombian Amazon. Far from treating the traps as mere subsistence tools, the paper analyzes them as artifactual assemblages that integrate ecology and cosmology within a situated practice. The analysis encompasses: a) collecting plant fibers, b) manufacturing processes, c) ritual prescriptions, and d) practices of use in relation to hydrological cycles and fish ethology. Methodologically, the research was conducted through intergenerational workshops that prioritized the audiovisual recording of the creation of associated material culture. Documentation of intangible heritage, such as songs associated with fishing rituals, was also carried out. These technologies not only capture fish but also organize calendars, facilitate interspecies agreements, distribute community responsibilities, and prevent diseases linked to aquatic life. The study, in turn, responds to a context of migration and urbanization in the port of Leticia, Amazonas, a situation that has accelerated the deterioration of this knowledge due to displacement, biodiversity loss, overfishing, mercury contamination, and restricted access to healthy bodies of water. Documenting and revitalizing the traps is a strategy of cultural resistance that contributes ethnographic insights to ongoing debates about safeguarding biocultural heritage and environmental governance.