Water words guiding water relations: Agta water epistemology informs water security practices

Abstract

Indigenous peoples’ relationship with water challenges paradigms of resource scarcity, and extends beyond extraction and consumption. The Agta foragers of Isabela province in Northeastern Luzon, Philippines engage with water through their knowledge systems and practices, forming a distinct Indigenous epistemology of water which includes both material and non-material dimensions of water relations. This paper reports on an ethnographic investigation involving semi-structured interviews and water mapping activity to examine the material and non-material dimensions of water security among 25 members of Agta forager communities living in the towns of Dinapigue, Divilacan, and Maconacon. The paper focuses on descriptions of Agta water sources, mobility and settlement patterns related to water, intergenerational water knowledge, and “water guardians” to show the components of Agta epistemology of water that can be used to inform water security practices. The authors use a hydrosocial approach based on Indigenous water relations studies to analyze the complex connectivity of material and non-material dimensions of water security. Scholars often do not include Indigenous epistemologies in their analysis, thus this paper advances understanding of how to use such frameworks.

Keywords

• Water security
• Indigenous epistemology
• Indigenous languages
• Hunter-gatherers and foraging societies
• Philippines
• Ethnographic studies