Abstract

This article follows the format of an ethnographic account of traditional culture, religiosity, and the Atacameño (Lickanantay) worldview, as well as the ongoing transformations affecting all of these. It draws primarily on anthropological literature and is enriched by autobiographical descriptions from Lickanantay sages and ritual specialists, along with complementary ethnographic information gathered by the authors. The article argues for the importance of distinguishing between Atacameño culture and what is cultural among today’s Atacameño people, including specific clarifications regarding cosmology, religiosity, and ritual. From the perspective of traditional culture, as one among several contemporary implications, the article highlights to the existence of a critical stance toward the transformations occurring in the region, especially those attributed to large-scale economies of mining extractivism and tourism. We suggest that a conceptual category such as an ethics of moderation may synthesize this stance of cultural critique. ©2025 Hans Gundermann Kroll y Javier Mercado Guerra