The Cosmopoetics of Plants: A Dialogue Between Shipibo-Konibo Botanical Knowledge, Ecology, and Science

Abstract

This essay explores the cosmopoetics of plants through a dialogue between Shipibo-Konibo ancestral knowledge and modern ecological science. Drawing from lived experience, artistic practice, and Indigenous philosophy, the authors propose "Amerindian cosmopoetics" as a framework for understanding the relational intelligence of the living world. Rejecting the term “animism” and its colonial connotations, they articulate a vision in which plants, territories, and spirits form part of a conscious, communicative cosmos. Through embroidery, storytelling, and ceremony, knowledge is generated not through detachment but through affective immersion. The article also highlights parallels between Indigenous thought and recent botanical research, such as the recognition of plant sentience and ecological interdependence. It argues that science and Indigenous wisdom can coexist without erasing their distinct epistemologies, provided mutual respect and ethical awareness guide their interaction. Cosmopoetics thus emerges as a call for epistemic pluralism and a re-enchantment of our ways of knowing, living, and coexisting.