NOTION OF TERRITORY, WORLDVIEW AND SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES FROM THE ÑAYEVUECHIÑUUN PERSPECTIVE IN SANTA CATARINA MECHOACÁN, OAXACA, MEXICO

Abstract

This research was performed in the Santa Catarina Mechoacán village, located in the Mixteca region of the Oaxaca Coast, Mexico. The objective was to analyze the influences of the cities of the Mexican state, as members of a larger society, on the ñayevuechiñuun worldview, from the perspective of local actors. The study was performed in the Mixtec language, under the Investigación Participativa Revalorizadora (IPR). Semi-structured interviews techniques, participant observation and field trips were used. In the results it is clear that the territory from the ñayevuechiñuun worldview has a sacred approach and, therefore, its appropriation is governed by the Tu'unva'a (good things), made up of social and cultural values, which are framed in the original philosophy called koova'ayo (let's live well). Likewise, it was determined that the influences of the larger society on the environment and social dimensions, especially on the worldview and territorial appropriation, correspond to the effects of the model of a nation, in its process of incorporating the ñayevuechiñuun community into the Mexican state.