Conflict Resolution and Personal Integrity in the Kichwa Nationality of Ecuador

Abstract

Customary procedures are used to resolve conflicts in indigenous communities based on ancestral practices or customs. These ways of administering justice are not necessarily established by written laws, but are inherited from one generation to the next and evolved through experience and community consensus. Mainly, the Kichwa ethnic group from Orellana province, located in the Republic of Ecuador, applies indigenous justice to solve their internal problems. Their customary justice procedures include natural resources such as chili pepper, tobacco, nettle, guayusa branches, among others. Hence, this research analyzes the customary procedures of the Kichwa ethnic group of Ecuador, seeking to establish connections between these procedures and the rights to personal integrity, particularly for individuals undergoing trails within indigenous justice systems. The goal of indigenous justice is to correct, purify the body, prompt self-reflection, and encourage repentance in the punished indigenous person, serving as a method to maintain harmony among its community members. The investigation results conclude that the customary procedures applied by the Kichwa ethnic group are integral to their cultural identity. Consequently, these practices do not violate the personal integrity rights of individuals under judgment within their community’s justice system.