Landscape terms in Alto Perené Kampa (Arawak)

Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of landscape terms in an Amazonian Arawak language of Peru, this study examines landscape categorization among the Alto Perené Kampa. It is shown that Alto Perené culture-specific themes of ecological categorization, namely substance and shape, form a covert template of semantic generalizations that structure the landscape vocabulary set. The continuous semantic strands of landscape terms are substance and shape of geomorphic features, either expressed by simplex terms or combinations of simplex terms with various classifiers. The comprehensive hydrological and topographic vocabulary is argued to reflect Alto Perené Arawaks' particular concern with the affordances of the surrounding landscape and their spiritual preoccupations