Post on 04-Jun-2018
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The One and the Many: Ancestors and Sorcerers in Hohodene
Worldview
ROBIN M. WRIGHTD!ARTMNT O" R#IGION
$dra%t %or &'(lication in Wiley Online hand(oo) o% Material Reli*ion+
ed. (y M. ,a-'e- / ,. Narayanan. DO NOT 0IT OR 12OT
WITHO2T A2THOR3S !RMISSION44
A(stract:
This chapter explores the meanings of Body in relation to one of the most
important spirits in Hohodene cosmology, the Owner of Sickness and
Sorcery,Kuwai. In my interpretation, I seek to nra!el mltiple layers of
meaning related to this figre "y tili#ing nati!e exegeses that connect
narrati!es, graphic representations $inclding petroglyphs%, shamanic cres
and !isions, sacred geography, and sacred chants. I hope to show that
Hohodene notions of &erson, 'osmos, Ontology, and History are intertwinedin an all(encompassing mltiplicity of li!ing entities into one material and
spirital Body. Sonic imagery, directly connected to sacred places) sorcery
and shamanic powers) and a rigoros ethic of resistance to pain are among
the principal featres of the enigmatic "eing of Kuwai, the first ancestor of
hmanity and the "ody of their *ni!erse.
I amKuwai, yo +pointing to step(son areKuwai, yo +pointing to
me, the researcher areKuwai $-os 'ornelio, /012%
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The research on which this chapter is "ased has "een condcted o!er a
period of 3 decades among the Hohodene peoples of the 4iary 5i!er in the
6orthwest 4ma#on. 4n 4rawak(speaking people, the Hohodene are one ofse!eral phratries that comprise a hypothetical 7people8 called "y otsiders
the Baniwa. This name is not an ethnonym thogh it has "een sed "y
otsiders since early coloni#ation in the /9th'entry and today is accepted
"y the nati!e people as their ethnic identity.
The 6orthwest 4ma#on region has "een compared to a Tower of
Ba"el "ecase of its lingistic di!ersity. The more than :: ethnic grops
who consider themsel!es as distinct socio(political nits are groped "y
lingists into three ma;or langage families< northern 4rawak, eastern
Tkano, and =ak. >espite their lingistic di!ersity, all peoples share in a
nm"er of cltral patterns and instittions, among them the sacred rites of
passage in!ol!ing the ancestral fltes and trmpets which are considered to
"e the Body of the first ancestral "eing from which came all hman
ancestors. These fltes and trmpets are considered extremely sacred, for
which reason they are generally hidden, wrapped in leaf "ndles and "ried
along the ri!er"anks in places that only the adlt men know.
There is a large "i"liography of works "y anthropologists, scientific
tra!ellers, missionaries, and go!ernment officials a"ot the sacred fltes in
the 6? 4ma#on./=ch of this literatre tends to "e sensationalistic and
distorted "y the athors8 own "iases. 'atholic and e!angelical missionaries,for example, ha!e for o!er a centry hnted and persected nati!e "eliefs in
the sacred fltes and masks which they la"eled as demonic, Satan. @or that
1See, for example, Hugh-Jones (1979); Reichel-Dolmatoff (199);!right, (199")
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reason, many commnities no longer cele"rate the rites of their ancestors,
ha!ing lost all "eliefs that at one time played a ma;or role in their inter(tri"al
relations, as well as intra(tri"al identities.
One of the featres of the sacredness em"odied in the ancestral fltesand trmpets is the strong prohi"ition of women and the ninitiated from
seeing them, or knowing what they look like. In contemplating the strong
ta" which still exists in traditionalist commnities, I8!e come to the
conclsion that mch of what has "een said regarding male dominance and
sym"olic !iolence is misgided) conseAently, otsiders who constantly try
to "reak the secrecy are doing a tremendos harm to the identity of the
!arios si"sphratries:when they insist on re!ealing the fltes and trmpets
to those who cannot see them "y !irte of the 7law8 and traditions of the
tri"es. This can "e demonstrated "y the close links percei!ed "etween the
creation cycles and the prohi"ition itself.
4mong northern 4rawakan societies, Cphratric exogamy8 is imperati!e
to social inter(relations) i.e., women marry ot of the phratry into which they
were "orn and into a phratry with whom their families wish to esta"lish or
contine alliances. The ta" on otsider women seeing the sacred ancestral
fltes of their hs"ands$phratry has little if anything to do with a spposed
dread of CincestC $which does not exist in Baniwa mythic narrati!es% and
more with the potential dangers of an Dexternal OtherD "ecoming an
DinsiderD, and disco!ering the sorce of the phratryCs ancestral power. This
represents a great risk expressed in the mythic cycles of the primordial
#Si%& a set of communities 'ho consier themseles to %e agnaticsi%lings an escenants of one common Kuwaiancestor, an onecommon *historical$ ancestor+ *hratr$ is a set of si%s ran.e accoringto the orer of emergence of primorial ancestors from the holes of the(no') rapis of Hipanaon the /iar Rier+
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world, in which the 'reator and his kin are always opposed to the Dother
peoplesD, non(kin, affines, animal tri"es, generally the enemy tree(animals
who are portrayed as the primordial sorcerers.
In the !ery first cycle of creation narrati!es, the animal(tri"es stealpoison from the 'reator and with it, they kill the 'reatorCs yonger "rother.
Ths, death entered the world, eliminating definiti!ely the possi"ility of
hmans retaining their primordial immortality. The ensing strggle o!er
sorcery in the narrati!es is constant and withot resoltion) it is the
eAi!alent in present(day society of the strggles "etween the ;agar
shamansprophets !s the sorcerers $who ha!e animal(like featres attri"ted
to them "y shamans%. The implications of this strggle are that women who
come from Other tri"es marrying in to a phratry "ring with them the
potential threat of destrction. They are, for that reason, prohi"ited from
knowing the Dsecrets of the fltes and trmpets.D It is clear, howe!er, that
women of the samesi" and phratry do know of their primal ancestry, what
the name of the flte ancestor is, and what it looks like. B ut they are
prohi"ited from speaking a"ot them ( as are the initiated "oys who actally
see the fltes and trmpets.
The women are intermediaries with the otside world ;st as shamans are
intermediaries with the Other ?orld of the great spirits. Both therefore are
locked in a kind of complementary opposition that is the mo!ing force or
dynamic of reciprocity and exchange, implying "oth marriage and sorcery.
4ncestral power em"odied in the fltes and trmpets ths distingishes onephratryCs collecti!e identity from another. Since the law of exogamy
$marital exchange% is a centrifgal force throgh which the external world
$in(marrying women, non(indigenos peoples% penetrates the internal world
of the si"phratry, there is an extreme ta" on showing the fltes to the
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women, which we interpret to "e an adapti!e mechanism to preser!e intact
the internalcontinity of phratric identity against the threatening powers
which otsiders represent. This assertion, we arge, nderlies statements
made "y important shamans a"ot not gi!ing p the traditions, for then theenemy will take o!er and the people will "e rined. $?right, :E/3, 'hapter
/% One hopes that the pioneering protection of the Frpary3esta"lished
"y *6GS'O throgh the 'olom"ian go!ernment will "e extended to Bra#il
and ene#elan peoples who still o"ser!e the traditions.
5With Sha6e He 0o6es7: The Hidden Ano6aly
In the sacred narrati!e ofKuwai, as soon as the child was "orn, the
men hstled him away and hid him in the forest "ecase of its strange
appearance and extremely !iolent acts ( ;agar teeth, a placenta that had the
form of a stingray, the child8s ncontrolla"le thirst for milk. His Body is
totally different from hman "odies today, for it was completely perforated
and, from the mltiple holes, sonds and melodies associated with mltiple
animals, "irds, and fish were prodced. The Sn father was astonished that
his child had sch a strange form. The child was so ashamed of his strange
appearance, it is said, he !iolently scked dry the "reast of a sloth
7wetnrse8. @earing that his child wold wreak ha!oc in the world, the
'reator sent him away to li!e hidden for a long time. wai was his child,
the sol of his father the Sn, with all the shamanic knowledge and power
of his father "t also was the incarnation of sorcery and sickness.
0/ lingua geral (trae language of the area) term to refer to theancestral %eing 'hose %o gae rise to the sacre flutes antrumpets+ 2ach ethnic group has a ifferent name for this spirit, somissionaries since the 1"th3entur reuce this cultural iersit to asingle %attle against the 45urupar6, 'hich actuall is a upianemiurge of the forest+
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One 09(year old ;agar shaman narrated the "irth ofKuwai as followsr. Omar Non#le#(Pne# who has worked for Q
decades among northern 4rawak(speaking peoples, reAested that Li# draw
Kuwai, also known asKuwai-ka-Wamundana, the Nardian of Sorcery and
Sickness, a sacred name referring toKuwaisprincipal animal sol identity
as the "lack sloth shadow(sol.$see @ig. /, p. ) and 'h. Q of my "ook%.
4ll Baniwa ancestral fltes and trmpets are considered to "e parts of
the Body ofKuwai.,QHis Body is totally different from hman "odies today,
for it consisted of mltiple parts each "eing an ancestral form of an animal,
"ird, or fish. =ost of the fltes come in pairs, replicating the long "ones of
Kuwais"ody. The exceptions are the single flte called ulitu, said to "e
his penis) and the triple fltes called Waliad!a, 7Fong Sister initiate8
corresponding to the three claws on one of its paws. Gach pair of fltes has a
sacred name corresponding to a primordial, ancestral "eing, whose "ody had
the shape of a long flte or trmpet. Se!eral of these ancestral "eings had
appendages ( wings, legs and arms, added to the long "ones, claws, and
appendages of Kuwais Body. 'onsidered altogether, the graphic
representations of these primordial "eings, chiseled in the "olders of manyrapids in the 6orthwest 4ma#on, comprise a cltral memory of the
primordial world, how it came into "eing, and the e!ents that made the
he num%ers of pairs aries 'ith the .no'lege of the narrators; ui:omes name 1 pairs, most other narrators name fe'er+
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contemporary world the way it is. $?right, :E/3) Ra!ier Leal, :EE9)
Non#ale#(Pne#, :EE2% This cltral memory is, I hope to show, also a
social history. @or, the elements comprising Kuwais "ody orient the
Hohodene today as to who their kin and allies, as well as their affines andenemies, are.
The Body of Kuwai in the drawing "elow consists< firstly, of a
complex com"ination of sicknesses and remedies concentrated in "oth a
central internal axis inside and the external co!ering otside his "ody) and
secondly, nmeros holes in his "ody throgh which a !ariety of animal
sonds are made that, following wai8s 7death8 in a world(transforming
fire, "ecame material ancestral fltes and trmpets of existing phratries, as
well as the defining featres of Hohodene &ersonhood. To nderstand this, I
shall analy#e the elements of sickness and sorcery inKuwais Body first,
followed then "y the notion of ancestrality.
The "ody parts ofKuwaiconsidered to "e sorces of "oth sicknesses
and remedies are< $a% the crown of his head $Kuwai ithipale%, $"% throat
$liweda% $c% the heart $ikaale% and $d% the m"ilics $hliepuhle%. 4ll of these
are key points of sol passage from the crown of the head down to the
m"ilics. These critical points linkKuwaito the knowledge and powers of
the sorcerer and the shaman, as well as to the principal points of entry and
exit of all sols at "irth, coming(of(age, sickness, and death. Thogh not
shown in this drawing, two other points of sol passage are the eyes and the
moth.4rond the crown are clstered !arios icons of sicknesses that
shamans attri"te toKuwai< hair, said to "e tcm fi"re, from the moriche
"
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palm $auritia fle"u!sa%, also known as "riti,associated with sicknesses
prodced "y a sorcerer8s poison, manhene) a white stone that gi!es
headaches) a snake that prodces a painfl sickness called hiuiathi.
The heartsol concentrates in the form of darts, for ma;orsicknesses that the shaman mst learn how to cre first dring hisher
apprenticeship< the#!!pinai, spirits of the en!ironment) the walama, darts
that come from shamans, whether hman or not2) the haikuita, pieces of
wood) and sicknesses of the "lood, sch as hemorrhaging.
@inally, the m"ilics which is said to contain the most powerfl
remedy $t$pe%against sorcerers8 poison K or m"ilics, the connection
"etween the first ancestors of the phratries and all their descendants. The
m"ilical cord constittes the !ery first 7sol8 of e!ery person which enters a
"ody in This ?orld at "irth. It is also the first of se!eral sols to lea!e a
person at death and retrn to the Other ?orld, where all the sols of the
deceased from the "eginning of time are located. @or the shaman Li#, it is
from the m"ilics ofKuwaithat the shaman takes ot medicine for ifiukali,
a gra!e sickness of the digesti!e tract that makes one thin, anemic, wasted
away. This sickness, like all others mentioned, has its origins in the stories1.
The internal axis of sickness and health, as we might call it, in
Kuwais "ody consists of the ma;or sorces of sicknesses, which are
ne!ertheless the sorces of remedies that shamans can se to cre the same
8Shamans sa that in Kuwaisillage in the
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sickness. This do"le(sided featre of the powers contained inKuwais"ody
is as essential to nderstand as it is to know how each type of sickness and
remedy came into "eing, "y whom, and why.
4s one elderly shaman narrator explained,4fterKuwaihad gone away, Nhiaperikulifilled a pot of manhene
$poison% and then, a friend of his drank the plant poisons called hfer!,
li"upana. He "egan to ha!e diarrheia.Nhiaperikulitook the ceramic
pot to his hose and left it there in order to keep it from others8
wanting it. He ordered his people theKuwaikere&to make sre that no
other people cold come and take away the poison. The'enunai,
howe!er, scceded in tricking them and stole the poison.Eenunai
iketsuali ikurumanhene.$=atteo &., /009%
The hair $Kuwai liid(u% of his "ody is considered one of the most
potent types of poison which a tre shaman mst o"tain from the Body of
Kuwaiin order to cre a patient in This ?orld.Kuwais"ody was covered
"y hair or fr, which seems like a paradoxical mixingmerging of the
featres 7open8 and 7closed8 sed to descri"e his "ody and, as we shall see,
the ni!erse.Similar to the sloth8s $wamu% "ody, which har"ors innmera"le
kinds of fngae that li!e sym"iotically in its pelt, Kuwaisfr was fll of
"gs and poison. Similar also to the sloth8s ha"its, Kuwaiwas most of the
time closed, with great control o!er his digesti!e orifices, which is
appropriate for the fasting period he imposed on initiates. ?hen his "ody7opens8, it is either to emit creati!e sonds, or to allow flids to fall like rain
"Kuwaikereis one of seeral names referring to the spirit people 'ith'hom he lie+ here are also Kuwainyai, %ee-spirit .eepers of potentmeicine, their hone that helps 4%ring %ac. the soul6 of anunconscious person+
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on the earth. It is important to nderstand how these sond emissions are
modlated throghot the narrati!e $e.g., a melody sng in harmony !s a
chaotic "ellowing of sonds) a diet of ripe forest(frits !s a canni"alistic
de!oring of flesh%.0
,iscera+ Body "l'ids and Their Si*ni%icance
Kuwais viscera $specifically, his li!er% contained &oison that was
a"sor"ed "y certain plants after his death) these plants ha!e the shape of a
li!er/E. Lar!ae associated with rotten wood are said to "e the "ile of
Kuwai$lidanhe%, part of his poisonos animal(form associated with rot. Or,
"etter stated, in the perspecti!e of Kuwai, the lar!ae are his heart(sol,
while to hmans, they are the "ile that spoils the meat of a freshly(killed
animal.
One of the most important flids of Kuwais(odyis his (lood which
is identified "y the shamans as parik$ $d(aat!%, the psychoacti!e that
shamans inhale in its dried ot form as snff in order to die and retrn to
the Other ?orld of the deities and spirits) this "lood norishes the
shaman8s own heartsol, ikaale, whichmeans "oth the material organ and
the spirital sorce of life(spporting energy in the "lood that can "e !ital to
cres.
Kuwais sali!a+ liahnuma+ can "e "oth a creati)e, seminal fluid
which re*enerates the ph#sical w!rld, +ut can als! +e used in s!rcer# .One
9How can a "ody co!ered "y fr "e fll of holes at the same time M If welook at photos of a sloth8s fr, there are nmeros places of discoloration asa reslt of the fngae, white spots that K from a distance K cold !ery well "eseen as 7holes8. It is plasi"le that these spots are percei!ed as the 7holes8 in
Kuwais"ody fr.1>These plants are sed in Bra#ilian poplar cltre to ward off e!il spirits$Gspada de So -orge, for example%
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example of liahnumain the normal world is the life(gi!ing sap that drops
from the trees as thogh, Hohodene say, a larger tree is feeding its yong
saplings. The 7other side8 of liahnumais sed in sorcery, where a sorcerer
will cast a spell em"odied in his spittle left along the trail where the !ictimwill walk. Sorcery prodces a condition of physical, spirital o&en8ness in
its !ictims in which an excess of flids is in!olntarily expelled from the
"ody $!omiting, diarreia%.
4n e9cessive lossof this life Kgi!ing flid, howe!er, is one featre of
the most dreaded ailments an initiate cold get, a wastin* away sic)ness,
purakali,characteri#ed "y constant dri""ling of spittle, the transformation of
the initiate8s "ody parts into animal, or plant parts. It is the dissoltion of the
person into a grotesAe assem"lage of deformed plant and animal parts.$see
my article, /003, &rsing the Spirits for frther discssion of this
condition% Purakali is a form of Other("ecoming that occrs at seasonal
changes, for example, from dry to wet, or the reslt of not o"eying
restrictions at these critical moments of time. ?hen this occrs, a powerfl
reaction from the Owner of Sicknesses can "e expected against the
initiate, ;st as happened in primordial times.
Besides the animal, "ird, and fish parts of his Body, Kuwai can
transform into !arios spirit(Others who are considered to "e powerfl and
dangeros enemies, $Kpuunda%< n#aime,// an extremely dangeros,
canni"alistic ogre, a transformati!e spirit of death, is known as the Other
Kuwai$that is, Kuwai can transform into this 7Other8, demonic "eing%)!!pinai, sickness(transmitting spirits of the forest, ri!ers and ri!er"anks)
the ?hite =an,#alanawinai, who, it is "elie!ed, was generated from gr"s
11he name Inyaimeliterall means& negatie other (Inyai, other; me,neg+)
1#
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of a rotten, slain enemy 4naconda.
The kind of spirit called in#aime is said to "ecome em"odied in a
li!ing sorcerer8s heart(sol, for a sorcerer "y definition is someone who
has transformed from a cltral person into an enemy other.The kind of spirits called#!!pinaiare em"odied in almost any plant,
"sh or shr", as well as the contless kinds of insects, "gs, and spiders
which can "e in!oked to gi!e sickness and pain to hmans.
These came into "eing $were "orn% from Kuwais ashes at the
moment of his spirit8s departre from This ?orld. =ost importantly, at the
moment of his "rning in fire, he lets loose from his "ody all of these spirits
which then spread throghot the world.Kuwai em"odied all sickness and
sorcery) he is their owner.His fr, it is said, ran and entered the "ody of
the "lack sloth,Kuwaisshadow(sol today $Kuwai idanamini wamu% and
the a!atar of sorcery.
If an initiate "reaks the restrictions imposed on all who are
participating in theKuwairites, it is "elie!ed that a catastrophe will ensre.
@or, the other Kuwai has the &ower to destroy li%e+ throgh !iolence,
chaotic and lod sonds like the crashing of thnder, and "y nleashing
sickness and sorcery which take on nmeros forms throghot the world.
Kuwai and Growth: the Ancestral HeartSo'l $ikaale4 o% the S'n
"ather
The story ofKuwaitells of how he came into the world and de!elopsthrogh an entire life(cycle< conception, pre("irth, "a"yinfant, adlt, old
man, and post(mortem "odysol. >ring the story, an initiate is instrcted
on the mltiplex relations "etween hmans and Other "eings. iKuwai was
e!entally 7killed8 at the end of the first initiation rite when his father pshed
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him into an enormos fire and, following the fiery transformation, his Body
"ecame ancestral trmpetsfltes. &recisely at the same place where Kuwai
was "orn,.ipana, a gigantic paxi"a palmtree, shot ot from the grond,
connecting This ?orld and the Other ?orld where Kuwai li!es eternally.The paxi"a palmtree $which is natrally hollowed ot% was the
materiali#ed form of all the apertres and long "ones of KuwaisBody. It
was the sorce of all the sacred fltes and trmpets. 5ecalling that Hipana is
considered the ?orld 'enter, the celestial m"ilical cord, the sacred
fltes and trmpets are therefore the material m"ilical connection "etween
primordial ancestors and all their descendants.
These are the ancestors of the Hohodene phratry. Their names are
remem"ered for the e!ents and processes that occrred in primordial times
and that are significant to the social reprodction of the phratry, as well as of
the Baniwaripako(speaking peoples as a whole. Ths we may say that
the knowledge em"odied inKuwai consists of the cltral memory of the
phratry, all o% the li%e &hases and transitions that &eo&le will &ass
thro'*h+ as well as the &rinci&al characters in the dra6a o% cos6ic
history.
4s in the story, the sonds of the fltes and trmpets played in
initiation rites today are what make initiates and frit("earing palm trees
today *row+ along with the whips that were part of Kuwais "ody. he
souns plus the 'hips %rea. open the initiates$ s.in an
penetrate the initiates$ heart?soul+ !ith these souns, in
sum, there is gro'th an expansion; 'ith Kuwais 'hips,
plus the *fire$ of sacre pepper, the initiates *r out$, that is,
the %ecome immune to the potentiall harmful ancestral
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spirits (Kuwainai) +1# Initiates are taght to control (odily needs (y
%astin* and to (eco6e %'lly c'lt'ral (ein*s (y reco*ni-in* and
e9&eriencin* the 6'sic o% the sacred.
?henKuwaismelodies are played, today as in the "eginning times,they are accompanied "y the sonds of whips slashing the "odies of the
participants. In resistin* the &ainof the whips $not demonstrating pain
throgh crying or e!en flinching%, all life grows with %orce $Aickly% and
strength. This is why the men play the fltes and trmpets dring the time of
the ripening of the forest(frits, at the "ase of the frit(trees K in order to
make them grow in a"ndance, as food for the initiates and whoe!er isseeingKuwai$Hgh(-ones, /090, &. =aia, :EE ) to!a, :E/3 %.
Sacred So'ndsand Growth
The apertres, holes, in Kuwais "ody were externali#ed and
materiali#ed after his sacrifice in the great fire..The sacred fltes were then
measred and ct from the paxi"a tree) once the tree was "roken into pieces
and fell to the grond, the 'reator fashioned them in sch a way as to
replicate the melodic sonds of the original Body of Kuwai. 4fter he
finished prodcing all of the instrments, the 'reator declared that they, the
people can take these, and play them.
@ollowing this, narrators may contine "y telling how each of the
phratry8s ancestral fltes and trmpets were "orn, emerging from the holes
in the 5apids of.ipana, the 'enter of the ?orld. Gach emerged and was
sent to li!e on a specific piece of ri!erfront land, as thogh the One singlesorce had mltiplied in order to "e dispersed in mltiple commnities o!er
a large geographical area.
1#Just as an unripe fruit is ifficult to open %ecause its shell is still4'et6, so the initiates hae to %e the right age for the opening of theirs.in to occur+
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The sonds of these fltes and trmpets penetrate and open p
initiates8 "odies today making them grow into matre, 7ripe8 adlts.Kuwais
thorax "ecame the great trmpets that "ellow ot the -agar Bone song
that opened p the world, making it expand like a "alloon to its present(day si#e. ?ith these sonds, there is physical growth. The sonds are always
accompanied "y Kuwais whips, an integral part of the Body of Kuwai
that, according to Hohodene elders, stimlate growth and demonstrate
resistance to the stinging pain./3
The shaman8s drawing "elow positions the apertres inKuwais"ody
in sch a way as to indicate an order, on "oth sides of the "ody, of named
fltes and trmpets $each stick or o"long shape representing a long flte%.
@rom the meanings attri"ted to each of the fltes, we come to nderstand
$/% what featres or attri"tes of primordial ancestrality are considered
central to Hohodene world!iew, $:% the meaning of the ancestral world and
its powers which were transmitted to all ftre generations, $3% the
Hohodene nderstanding of their 'reator8s reprodction of their cltral
memory.
By reprodction, I mean not merely "iological reprodction, nor the
physical "ody in the narrow sense which 5eichel(>olmatoff gi!es to the
fltes $/00, /002%. @or, "esides their "eing parts of Kuwais primordial
Body, the fltes and trmpets represent the natre and Aalities of the
&erson, as nderstood cltrally, of collecti!ities or the collecti!e Self
10@n the rituals 'hen the sacre flutes an trumpets are plae, theault men an 'omen 'hip each other often 'ith such force in theirstro.es that the leae re 'elts on the %ac. or chest+ !hen it is aninitiation ritual, the elers 'hip the initiates three times, thenimmeiatel step o'n on the initiates$ feet 'hile stretching theinitiates$ torsos % lifting up their arms at their %ent el%o's+ his is to4ma.e the initiates gro' Auic.l6, the elers sa+
1
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$si"s and phratries%, and of collecti!e Others or 4lterity.
4ncestral powers of fertility, reprodction and growth, copled with
the catastrophic powers of sickness and sorcery, are em"odied in the sacred
fltes and trmpets. In This ?orld as a whole also, for, e!erywhere there areancestral sols $Kuwainai%, there will also "e spirits of enemies, sickness
and sorcery. The idea of all that we call the natral world and anything
7non(Baniwa8 are im"ed with these seemingly paradoxical powers.
Kuwai-ka Wamundana:By Parts
?hat I shall now do is demonstrate how each of the pairs of sacred
fltes and trmpets refers to an attri"te of cltral &ersonhood, in "oth
indi!idal and collecti!e senses of ancestrality, as well as attri"tes of
4lterity. The inter(relations of the parts are articlated throgh
transformati!e processes of 8"ecoming Other8. This "ecoming Other is
effected "y externali#ing and materiali#ing that which is internal and
powerfl, or "y internali#ing powerfl meanings that are im"ed in
materially external forms.
KuwaisBody may "e di!ided into for parts< left and right sides,
pper and lower parts. Internal and external parts of the Body constitte the
linkages em"odied inKuwai"etween collecti!e Self(identity of the phratry
with attri"tes of 4lterity.
?e "egin with the left side where the following figres $holes,
ancestral fltes% are sitatedescendants) "ird ancestral fltes and trmpets inclde all si"(mem"ers of a
phratry)
Q. Sacred Body and 6otions of Territory, place(marking) ancestral
instrments connect sacred flte "odies of ancestors with actal territory, or
part of ri!erfront lands). Gxogamy, historical relations of alliance "etween phratries)
opposed "y the treachery of affinal 7other peoples8)
2. Other("ecoming< transformations occr "y internali#ing the Other,
externali#ing the Self)
#9
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1. 'ltral =emory and Social History< ancestral instrments
sym"oli#e historically(formed relations of marriage and political alliances)
9. 5eplica"ility of 4ncestral Identity, the 7heartsol8 of the Sn
@ather, a key to the meaning ofKuwaislife.0. 'ategories of &erson, Si", &hratry, and 7&eople8 are intertwined
with categories of "irds, tree(animals, land animals, fish, and those in(
"etween species that are com"ined $e.g., openclosed featres%. Kuwai is the
totality of these categories, a "asis for his secrecy, nwillingness to show
himself in p"lic, and highly dangeros Aalities.
@igre /< The Body ofKuwai-ka Wamundana
From: Omar Gonzalez-Nanez, 2007, p. .
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
0>
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@ig. :< 4thor8s 'omposition of the Nreat Spirits and >eities of the Baniwa
'osmos. The drawings were made on separate sheets of paper "y a ;agar
shaman8s apprentice. Beginning from lower left to lower right, pper right,
pper left, and in("etween, these are< D(uliferi, the Spirit of shamanic
&ower) Nhiaperikuli, the 'reator at his island home of Warukwa $Ig.
*arana%)Kuwai-ka-Wamundana, the great spirit gardian of sorcery and theancestral powers)Amaru, the @irst ?oman, whose spirit today li!es at the
edge of the world) three of the forest spirits< Long 4rm) the chief of the
animals) the half(frryhalf(smooth(skinned deer%) and the Spirit of >eath,
awerikuli, the first person to die at the hands of the tree(li!ing'enunai.
01
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@ig. 3< The Other ?orld that the pa;s see in their sol ;orneys. 4"o!e the
hman !illage are the great Spirit of &owerD(uliferiand his three axiliariesthe ;agar( shaman( spirit( others,D(aui malin#ai.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
0#
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Big+ & etail of Kuwaisheart?soul an nael, 'ith sic.ness-giing spirits an arts an 'ooen pieces stuc. in the heart(ikaale); the nael is associate 'ith the 4%leeing sic.ness6 'hen the um%ilical cor %ecomes infecte an s'ollen 'ith%loo+
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
00
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Right Side of Kuwais Body:
0
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08
eft Sie of =u'ai
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@ig. < &etroglyph at.ipana< a "ody fll of holes, a head(shape
with two eyeholes, whip, and long tail.
@ig. 2 < &etroglyph at'nukwa, rapids immediately "elow.ipana, showing
the framework of the "ody ofKuwai, with two sym"ols of the sonds
emitted from his "ody.
0
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iBIBLIOGRAPHY
Chaumeil, Jean-Pierre & Hill, J.D. 2011. Burs-!"-Breah# Omaha$
%niersi' !" (e)ras*a Press.
G!l+man, Irin. 200.Cubeo Hehenewa Religious Thought. Metaphysics
of a NorthwestAmazonian People. (.Y. C!lum)ia %niersi'
G!nale /e, Omar. 2010. Per!l'hs !" %er Ri! (er!-Guainia
an+ Casi3uiare Basin an+ he 4aiuran-Ara5a*an Relii!ns.
%nu)lishe+ ms. 6aer resene+ ! 7!nress8.
G!nale-/e,Omar.2009. Las lierauras in+ienas maiureara5a*as
+e l!s ue)l!s *urria*!, 5are*ena ' )ania +el esa+! Ama!nas.
:un+a7i;n e+i!rial el err! ' la rana. Cara7as.
Hill, J!nahan D. 200
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Ra""!, 4anuel R!mer!. 200=. 4ali*ai. El Can! +el 4alirri. B!!a$
:un+a7i!n Paraure.
Rei7hel-D!lma!"", G. 1