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The doctoral theses of Elick (1969), Weiss (1969) and Bodley (1970), together with the book by Varese (1968), constitute the basic anthropological references for the Ashaninka. These anthropologists carried out their research in Peruvian villages. Following an historical chapter and a description of the environment, Elick provides the reader with a study of several aspects of indigenous culture: subsistence activities, food, material culture, social organization and cosmology. The theme of cosmology was the main focus of Weiss, whilst Bodley directed his study more towards the relationship of the Ashaninka to the pioneer frontier and the environment. Finally Varese focused his analysis on the history of the group. In addition to these classic texts there are others providing an overview of Ashaninka culture, such as that by Graig (1967), or analysing particular aspects of this society, such as subsistence activities (Denevan 1974).

If the Ashaninka located in Peru have been the subject of several studies, anthropological knowledge of the group in Acre is still extremely limited. Excluding a few Funai reports, the ethnographic literature can be summarised as comprising a general introduction to the group by Mendonça (1991) and three master’s dissertations: Woodward (1991), Mendes (1991) and Ioris (1996). Woodward studied the songs and shamanism of some families on the Amônia and Breu rivers. Mendes carried out a pioneering ethnography among the Ashaninka of the Amônia, focusing his attention on the piyarents ritual. Ioris studied the relations of the Envira river group with Funai and the isolated indians in the region.

My doctoral thesis completed in 2002 seeks to reveal the peculiar interpretation that the Ashaninka of the Amônia give to their history and inter-ethnic politics. It shows how this indigenous people experienced, digested and reinterpreted contact with white society in light of its historical circumstances and its own cultural specificity. The work demonstrates that the Ashaninka of the Amônia appropriated in an original and creative way various elements of the western world and its discourse in order to affirm its ethnic differentiation vis-à-vis others and its political demands.