Tejer con lo sagrado: resignificaciones de la vicuña en comunidades manejadoras del altiplano jujeño

Human beings establish relationships with their environment according to their worldview; these are the foundations for decision-making and the management of natural goods. In Andean communities, vicuñas have played a fundamental role since pre-Hispanic times. The growth of their populations led communities in Jujuy to consider the sustainable use of their fiber. This paper reflects on how the meanings attributed to the vicuña have been shaped and transformed in those communities, at the intersection of ancestral practices, sacred relationships, public policies, and sustainable management processes. From the outset, the state regarded vicuñas as a fiscal resource with economic potential, grounding sustainability in ecological criteria. For the communities, they were a common good under the guardianship of ruling beings. The introduction of new management practices brought changes in how the animal–community relationship is interpreted, generating tensions between the technical–institutional and the religious–communitarian. Over more than ten years, the experience of the CAMVi shows the importance of including local imaginaries with their spiritual and ceremonial dimensions for the successful implementation of conservation policies. Keywords: chaccu – territorial management – conservation – commons – Indigenous communities