Spirit and Material Forms in the Body of Kuwai- Approaches to Meaning 11 30 2013

8/13/2019 Spirit and Material Forms in the Body of Kuwai- Approaches to Meaning 11 30 2013

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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+)

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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+

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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)

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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. .

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

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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.

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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.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

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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

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Right Side of Kuwais Body:

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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.

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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

Spirit and Material Forms in the Body of Kuwai- Approaches to Meaning 11 30 2013

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Transcript of Spirit and Material Forms in the Body of Kuwai- Approaches to Meaning 11 30 2013