Abstract. – The traditional notion of “good life” among the western Tucano reminds one of central aspects of Epicur who put the values of self-sufficiency, ascesis, refusal of the longing for material possession, and a secluded life into the center of his philosophy. While the pursuit of an analogous set of values resulted in the feeling of contentment among the eighteenth-century Tucano, today many of them see themselves as “poor.” In their attempt to find a balance between ancient ideas and the contemporary globalized economic system, a successful life seems almost impossible to realize even if there are tendencies to try and reunite happiness and self-sufficiency. [Northwestern Amazonia, Western Tucano Indians; notion of “good life,” Epicur]