Paper short abstract:

This paper proposes to read Amazonian quilombolas 'dating' practices and semantics as a 'taming' vector that both opens and limits the possibilities of livability and cohabitation of humans and nonhumans in the forest.

Paper long abstract:

Amazonian quilombolas dating practices generate connections that temporarily 'tame' not only the people involved in the relation, but also specific parts of the environment and animals. I first propose to read 'dating' practices and semantics as a taming vector that both opens and limits the possibilities of livability and cohabitation of humans and nonhumans in the forest. Secondly, I suggest to see 'dating as taming' as an embodied process which is central to quilombolas place-making and personal ontogenies. More generally, the relational contingency of taming is discussed in contrast to the idea of the 'domestication' of whole landscapes or species, and inquires into the conceptual implications of considering particular persons, places and animals as being 'tame' for some, but potentially 'wild' or dangerously unfamiliar for others.