Decolonial knowledge in Practice: a mestiza reflection on sentipensar in indigenous Nasa epistemologies
Frontiers in Sociology September 25, 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1605618 via OpenAlex
Summary
The paper introduces the Nasa Indigenous concept of sentipensar, showing that knowledge arises from being in relationships through the body, affect, intuition, and deliberation that listens to the body and spirits. It argues that knowledge is produced not only in the mind but also in rituals, land-based practices, and everyday acts of care and resistance that sustain community life. Sentipensar offers an understanding of knowledge as deeply situated and communal, challenging the dominant view of knowledge as a cognitive or individual pursuit.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Situated Indigenous Traditional knowledge Deliberation Reflection computer programming |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Sentipensar reveals that Nasa knowledge emerges from embodied, relational, and communal practices, challenging the view of knowledge as solely cognitive or individual. |
Abstract
This paper presents the concept of sentipensar in the Nasa Indigenous practices. Through the concept of sentipensar this article shows that Nasa knowledge can emerge from being within relationships through the body, through affect, through intuition, and through deliberation processes that listen the body and the spirits. It affirms that knowledge is not only produced in the mind, but also in rituals, in land-based practices, and in the everyday acts of care and resistance that sustain community life. As such, sentipensar offers an understanding of knowledge that is deeply situated and communal, challenging the dominant view of knowledge as a cognitive or individual pursuit.