Kurunabirus. Una mirada urarina sobre la creación de las enfermedades y los nuevos contagios en la cuenca del río Chambira (Amazonía Peruana)

The Urarina of the Chambira River (Peruvian Amazon), like other indigenous groups and communities in the region, are once again facing a potentially catastrophic epidemic event. Despite the lack of knowledge about the effects or the way the new disease is spreading, and using the little information available, they responded promptly to the spread of COVID-19 by arranging for the closure of access to the basin and adopting measures of self-isolation. This article is a reflection on the experience of the last few months, and arises from several conversations that took place between the two authors throughout the quarantine period. The text raises a discussion about the coronavirus (kurunabirus), its origin and spread, using an unpublished Urarina myth that tells the creation of the diseases. Finally, it highlights how the mythical discourse, by contradicting the merely biological interpretations, confers a social origin to the infectious diseases, whose vaccine becomes effective through autonomy and organization, the only virtuous strategies to face the current emergency.