Multi Centric Mythscapes in the Northwest Amazon

8/9/2019 Multi Centric Mythscapes in the Northwest Amazon

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Multi-centric Mythscapes : Sanctuaries and Pilgrimages in

Northwest Amazon Arawakan Religious Traditions

Dr. Robin M. Wright

Department of Religion

University of Florida Gainesville

Florida, USA

Dr. mar Gon!"le! #"$e!

Antrop%logo&'ing(ista

)ostgrado en Antropolog*a

Universidad de 'os Andes

M+rida, ene!-ela

Dr. arlos +sar /avier 'eal

i0e&)resid1n0ia de 2nsino, 3nforma45o e om-ni0a45o6F3RU7

Fio0r-! Ama!onia

8ra!il

Abstract

3n this st-dy, 9e shall dis0-ss the narrative traditions of indigeno-s

So-th Ameri0an peoples, espe0ially the :orthern Ara9a;&spea;ing

peoples of :orth9est Ama!onia, and the themes of pilgrimage and

san0t-ary, 9hi0h are -nderstood thro-gh the motion of m-lti&


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0entered myths0apes. 2a0h of the n-mero-s northern Ara9a;&

spea;ing peoples developed traditions of sa0red geographies related

to their prin0ipal 0reation narratives, pro0essions of primordial

an0estors, migrations of histori0al an0estors, and pla0es of shamani0

prote0tion. 3n this st-dy, 9e dis0-ss three s-0h m-lti&0entered

myths0apes remembered by the =ohodene of the Aiary River, the

>-ripa;o of the -pper 34ana, the 8aniva of the G-ainia, and the

Ware;ena of the 0a$o San Mig-el. Underlying these traditions are

stories of diaspora and e?ile, healing by ret-rn to the 0enter, and

pla0es 9here prote0tion from the deities and the so-ls of po9erf-l

shamani0 seers 0an be obtained.

ntroduction

@he region of the :orth9est Ama!on see map, p. B belo9C is

;no9n for both its so0ial and ling-isti0 heterogeneity and yet, to a

high degree, its 0-lt-ral homogeneity. @he more than ethni0

gro-ps 9ho 0onsider themselves as distin0t so0io&politi0al -nits are

gro-ped by ling-ists into three maEor lang-age families northern

Ara9a;, eastern @-;ano, and Ma;-.. Despite their ling-isti0 diversity,

all peoples shared in a n-mber of 0-lt-ral patterns and instit-tions,

among them the sa0red rites of passage involving a set of an0estral

-tes and tr-mpets 9hi0h are 0onsidered to be the 8ody of the Hrst

an0estral being from 9hi0h 0ame the an0estors of all peoples. At the


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present time, some of the indigeno-s religio-s traditions are

-ndergoing a period of revitali!ation and re&membering, after a long

period of repression by missionaries and forgetting of the rit-als. 3n

the not&too&distant past, the ;no9ledge of the rit-als 9as g-arded

mostly by the healer paE+s shamansC and the priestly elders. -ripa;o, an

ethno&ling-isti0 gro-p 0onsisting of m-ltiple sibs on the -pper 34ana

River in 8ra!il and olombiaI and the Ware;ena and 8aniva of the

-pper G-ainia and assiJ-iare Rivers in ene!-ela. Resear0h has

been 0ond-0ted by Wright sin0e the mid&


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the 0reation of the 9orld are mar;ed, often by petroglyphs, or

meaningf-l arrangements of bo-lders. Sa0red narratives re0o-nt that

in primordial times, the 0reators of the 9orld made long Eo-rneys at

the end of 9hi0h they 0elebrated the Hrst rit-als of initiation. @heir

Eo-rneys are re0alled in min-te detail by elderly 0hanters 9ho repeat

these Eo-rneys in 0hants s-ng in the 0o-rse of the 0elebration of

these rites today.

2a0h pilgrimage is mar;ed by prote0ted pla0es, m-ltiple

O0entersP at 9hi0h maEor transformational events o00-rred in

primordial times the Hrst birth, the Hrst death, the Hrst initiation rite,

emergen0e of the Hrst an0estorsC. @hese 0enters are elaborated in

min-te detail by the religio-s spe0ialists, the Eag-ar shamans, seers

and savants, 9ho based on their dire0t e?perien0es of the sa0red

are 0apable of e?plaining holisti0ally thro-gh the mythology every

shape, ins0ription, lo0ations, and the inter&relations among elements

of the sites. @hey are Osan0t-ariesP in the sense that they are highly&

0harged so-r0es of 0osmi0 life&for0e prote0ted by the spe0ialistsI their

sa0redness involves both a deep respe0t for their intrinsi0

signiH0an0e, a strong tab- against dist-rbing any aspe0t or feat-re in

them, and their 0onne0tion 9ith the invisible e?0ept to the

spe0ialistsC other 9orld of the spirits and 0reator deities.


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B


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Sacred Mythscapes

2a0h ethno&ling-isti0 gro-p had its o9n sa0red myths0ape.

@hese myths0apes 9ere both Om-lti&0entri0P having one or more

sa0red 0enters 9here life&deHning transformations o00-rred and are

re&membered in the n-mero-s petroglyphsC 9ith the 0apa0ity to

e?pand o-t9ards and 0ontra0t ba0; in9ards to the 0enter. 2?pansive

phases 0over the 9hole 9orldT, thro-gh pro0esses that refer to the

primordial Oopening -pP of the 9orld, many of 9hi0h spea; of e?ile

from the 0enter to the e?treme peripheries follo9ed by a ret-rn home

to the 0enter and regaining of po9er.

@he idea of a m-lti&0entered 9orld resolves the apparent

ambig-ity of a 9orld that 9as 0reated at vario-s points in spa0e.

2ven tho-gh the -mbili0-s of the -niverseT is at the pla0e 0alled

Hipana on the Aiary River, ea0h phratry has distin0t relations 9ith its

o9n territory. :ear the head9aters of the 34ana River, for e?ample,

the >oripa;o people also refer to a dierent rapids 0alled Hipana

9here, they say, there are holes at the bottomT and the d9elling&

pla0es of the Yoopinaispirits. @hey say there 0o-ld be a dire0t

0onne0tion -ndergro-ndC 9ith the rapids of Hipana,on the Aiary

River, the pla0e of origin of the an0estors. For the >oripa;o, the pla0e

is or 9as, sin0e most are evangeli0alC an important pla0e of Animal

So-ls, or Iaradathi.

N


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3n both 0ases, Hipana is the name for a sa0red 0enter and not a

village settlement. @here are other s-0h names 0omprising sa0red

0enters Warukwa, Ehnipan, Kaali ka thadapani, Enkwa. Motpana

ea0h referring to points on a OmapP of the primordial 9orld 9here

there are petroglyphs, e?tensive ro0; formations, and other

o-tstanding geographi0al feat-res that are 0onne0ted to the

narratives of 0reation.

:ot all of these 0entersT have the same importan0e nor

J-alities. Ehnpan, on the 34ana River do9nriver from Hipana,is a

0enter -nto itself and yet, at the same time, is a 0omplement to the

great 0enter of the 9orld at Hipana or Uap-iC on the Aiary River,

sin0e it is the origin pla0e of the most important rite of initiation,

9hen the 9orld e?pandedT and 0ontra0tedT 9ith the so-nds of the

sa0red -tes and tr-mpets, and the pla0e 9here the great spirit

Kuwai diedT, that is, left this 9orld for the ther World of the

an0estors.

While the sa0red 0enters of the 9orld, the san0t-aries, and the

an0estral emergen0e pla0es of northern Ara9a;&spea;ers are the

so-r0es of ne9 life, ambig-ity is a feat-re that permeates their

po9ers, be0a-se, they are also so-r0es of primordial poison and

sor0ery. @o visit any one of these pla0es today, one m-st treat them

9ith great respe0t, as pla0es that have their o9n timeT ine

De'oria, n.d.C, 9here the po9er of the sa0red events that too; pla0e

L


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there and are often seen in every detail of these spa0esC is still

present and vibrant. @he po9er of 0reation is ine?tri0ably tied into the

po9er of destr-0tion, as healing and sor0ery, life and death, are t9o

sides of the same 0oin. @his is a 0ommon theme in the sa0red stories

of the northern Ara9a;&spea;ing peoples 8ani9a, >-ripa;o,

Wa;-enai, and othersC. 3t is espe0ially evident in the sa0red story of

ho9 the 9orld 0ame into being and 9as reprod-0ed for all times, the

story of Kuwaisee belo9C.

@he idea of a m-lti&0entri0 9orld is also 0onsistent 9ith the

disp-tes told in narratives bet9een the sibs and ethni0 gro-ps. We

in0l-de in this arti0le a brief 0onsideration of narratives of the

histori0al an0estors, along 9ith 0ertain healing 0hants, insofar as they

re0all pro0esses of for0ed e?ile to peripheral lands and ret-rn to the

homelands, the 0enter of the 9orld. Shamani0 healing itself is largely

fo0-sed on the epidemi0s and si0;nesses that 0ome from the e?ternal

9orld and healing or prote0tion that derives its po9er from ret-rning

to the 9orld 0enter.

Representations And nterconnections

onsidered altogether, the graphi0 representations of the

primordial beings, 0hiseled in the bo-lders of many rapids in the

:orth9est Ama!on, 0onstit-te a 0-lt-ral memory of the primordial

V


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9orld, ho9 it 0ame into being, and the 9orld&0hanging events that

made the 0ontemporary 9orld the 9ay it is. Wright,


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@h-s, the site 0alled Uara0ap-ry is

9here the OGreat @ree of S-stenan0eP, the

=o-se of the 2arth&Master Kaali, on0e stood, lo0ated on the -pper

Ua-p+s River in present&day olombia. @here is the site 0alled Hipana,

9here the Hrst an0estors 0ame o-t of the holes of the stone earth.

Several sites mar; pla0es of the reatorPs ho-ses and 9orld&

transforming events one of these is 9here death 0ame into the 9orld.

All b-t the last of these pla0es are mar;ed by n-mero-s petroglyphs,

tra0es or reminders of primordial a0ts, beings, and eventsI some even

have apparently 0osmologi0ally signiH0ant arrangements of bo-lders .

Altogether, the model of a sa0red Omyths0apeP 0an be represented in

the form of a J-adrangle 9ith a hole in the 0enter. S-0h a form

delimits the -niverse for ea0h northern Ara9a;&spea;ing so0iety in

the region.


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!ig" #: The $enter %&'wai( and !our )irections where Sky and

*arth Meet %Ts'wai( according to northern Arawak o+ the

Northwest Amazon from

omparing amongst the diverse myths0apes of the Ara9a;&

spea;ing peoples in the :orth9est Ama!on Region, there are

important 0on0ordan0es b-t also divergen0es. @his 0an readily be

seen in the 0hanting traditions 0alled kalidzamai, that re0o-nt the

Eo-rneys of the primordial men and 9omen to the ends of the 9orld

and ba0; at the time of the Hrst initiation rites see idal,


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their son, Kuwai. 3n doing so, they left the an0estral spirits of Kuwai

(KuwainaiC m-si0 in every pla0e of importan0e in the ;no9n 9orld.

@hese voyages are 0on0ept-ali!ed both as the p-rs-itT by the

reator to regain the -tes Wright,


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From the perspe0tive of the Ara9a;&spea;ing peoples of the

Aiary River primarily =ohodeneC, the very Hrst 9orld 9as a ball of

stone oating in empty spa0e. @he very Hrst being, Universe hildT,

separated a pie0e of this stone ball and made it rise -p in the s;y to

be0ome the primordial s-n, leaving behind a potT0ir0-lar

depressionC in the stone ball. Shortly after, he 9ent to loo; for the

very Hrst an0estors 9ho emerged from the open hole left by the s-n,

at the pla0e 0alled Hipana, the Universe :avelT, the elestial

Umbili0-sT 0onne0ting the s;y 9ith the earth. As the Hrst an0estors

emerged from the hole, ea0h singing its o9n song, the reator sent

them to their lands. At that time, there 9ere no rivers, no riverbeds,

no food for the Hrst living beings.

Fig. )hoto M.. Wright, KC The great boulder lo9er leftC is

the rst earth 9hi0h oated in inHnite spa0e, before there 9as any


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9ater o9ing at the rapidsI in the 0enter of the narro9 passage is a

perfe0tly ro-nd and deep depression in the ro0;s 9hi0h is said to be

9here the Hrst an0estors emerged.

At another 0enter&pla0e, in the 9orlds that pre&e?isted the

present earth, there 9as the primordial @ree of S-stenan0e 9hi0h

0ontained all the original plant&foods and fr-its, as 9ell as the original

shamani0 po9ers, in0l-ding pari;" beans. @he reator and his people

obtained these shamani0 po9ers by 0-tting do9n this @ree, 0alled

Kaali ka Thadapani, =o-se of the 2arth&MasterT. @he felling of the

great tree bro-ght all food and shamani0 po9ers into the 9orldI the

latter, ho9ever, 9ere stolenT by the tapir, 0reating a sit-ation of

0haos that the reator had to set right by re0laiming o9nership of

them. @his 9as the beginning of shamani0 po9ers to healI b-t it 9as

also the beginning of the forest&spirits into 9hi0h @apirPs 0ompanions,

0ra!ed by their inhaling of the sa0red sn-, transformed.

3n the dra9ing belo9, the felling of the @ree opened -p

0onne0tions amongst all the 0omm-nities of the 9orld at that time,

ea0h of 9hi0h 0o-ld then obtain their shares of food to plant. @hose

0onne0tions be0ame the Hve prin0ipal riverbeds of the :orth9est

Ama!onI all of the riverbeds 9o-ld later be Hlled by the fertile blood

of the First Woman.


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!ig" ." /pening /+ The Ri0erbeds /+ The Northwest Amazon

%each +allen tree is a bed which would later be lled by the

ri0ers o+ blood +rom !irst ,oman(

%dra9ing by @hiago Ag-ilar, Uap-i,


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!ig" 1: Warukwa2 Nhiaperikulis 3ouse /n The DzukualiRi0er2

4pper Aiary" %3ere2 the $reator per+ormed shamanism o0er

the sh(

For the Ara9a;an&spea;ing peoples of the far -pper 34ana River

in present&day olombia, there are myths0apes of maEor importan0e.

ne is 0alled the Great ity of #aperi;oliT, a site 0onne0ted to

another ;no9n the Fortress of the WomenT, both lo0ated on the

Xa9iary stream. 8oth of these may perhaps be the same sites as

9hat the =ohodene refer to as Motpana,the fortress of the 9omen, a

0ave 9here there are stone stat-es of the primordial 9omen. @he

=ohodene state that Motpana is sit-ated at the head9aters of the

Uaran" River, 9hi0h may be lo0ated at e?a0tly the same spot as the


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>-ripa;o FortressT and Great ityT. @here are overland and riverine

0onne0tions bet9een the -pper Uaran" and the Xa9iary stream, as

9ell as bet9een the far -pper 34ana and the -pper Ua-p+s Rivers in

olombia.

For the >oripa;o, ho9ever, 9e 0annot say that the Great ityT

is of theirT traditions as a people. Unli;e among the =ohodene, very

fe9 >-ripa;o elders remember the meanings asso0iated 9ith this

Great ity, and 9e 0annot arm that 9hat they remember 0omes

from their forebears. Another stream f-rther -p the 34ana 9as of

m-0h greater importan0e for the )ayoaliene sib of the >-ripa;o, as

the lo0ation of their an0estral villages. While it is tr-e that most of the

inhabitants of the region in J-estion are >oripa;os 9ho 0ame from the

-pper G-ainia River, there are also n-mero-s des0endants of the

-beo, 9hose prin0ipal territory is f-rther to the 9est, along the

-pper Ua-p+s and its trib-taries.

Sacred Powers o+ The $enter o+ the 4ni0erse

Hipana is 0onsideredthe 0enter of the -niverse in both a

verti0al and a hori!ontal sense. @his most important pla0e sit-ated on

the Aiary River at the rapids also ;no9n as KupC 9as 9here Kuwai,

the 0hild of the reator NhiaperikuliC and the First Woman %maruC,

9as born. @he bo-lders and petroglyphs there ill-strate the follo9ing

elements representing Kuwai&'birth a line of bo-lders mar; 9here


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%maruOsatP before she gave birth to Kuwai, and 9here girls at their

menar0he sit today so that their bodies may be0ome strongI a

bo-lder 9ith designs of the )leiades 0onstellation, the time of plant

gro9th, and others asso0iated 9ith%maruI a bo-lder that represents

KuwaiT, 9ith petroglyphs of a serpent representing the pain of the

9hipT, and spirals that are the so-nds of the -tesTI another

bo-lder, a short distan0e a9ay, is said to represent the tr-e KuwaiTI

a stone that has the shape of the pla0enta of Kuwaiafter he 9as

born, in the shape of a fresh9ater stingrayI several bo-lders

representing the sa0red -tes of Kuwai, and ha9; feathers that

empo9ered the original -tes to ma;e the voi0e of KuwaiI a pla0e

of the an0ient village 9here Nhiaperikulimade the Kuwai-tes.

Gon!ale!&:ane!,


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!ig" 5: Petroglyph and )rawing o+ Kuwai-ka-Wamundana%drawing by T" Aguilar2 67#7(

Kuwai&s m-si0 0reated the 9orld, that is, made it open -p e?pandC

from its primordial, miniat-re si!e, to the h-ge territory and 9orld

that the 8ani9a ;no9 today. @here are, today, Kuwainai, an0estral

spirits thro-gho-t the 9orld, b-t they are hidden and 0an only be

manip-lated by the men. @he site of Hipanaon the Aiary River is by

far the most important and elaborate 0enter, the origin&pla0e of the

Universe.

The !irst ,oman 8ooks !or A $enter To 9i0e irth

A00ording to one version of Kuwai&s birth

8efore Kuwai 9as born, his mother%maru9ent loo;ing for a

pla0e to give


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birth . She 9ent to the Ua-p+s River, later the 34ana River at

the

pla0e 0alled T')pan and she lay do9n there. 'ater, she 9ent

to

*uwedali, on the +aialiUa-p+sC River, and 9ent to lie do9n

there..

'ater, HipanaUap-iC, and she stayed there. After Kuwai 9as

born, he 9as

hidden from her at a pla0e do9nriver. At $umalipekwa,three

pla0es

belo9. Thuruapekwa, Thiripidapekwa. Nhi!pirikuli9ent after

him.T


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!ig" ;: Amaru Seated At The Sacred oulders /+ 3ipana

%drawing by T" Aguilar2 4apui2 67#7< photo by " !ontes2 4kuki2

67#7("@he dra9ing a0t-ally sho9s Amar- seated at T'wai, pla0e

9here the 9aters no longer o9T, at the edge of the 9orld.

Kuwai is the 0hild of the reator 9ith the First WomanI he 9as

0on0eived thro-gh a shamani0 a0t in 9hi0h Nhiaperikuli sent his

heart&so-l into the body of%maru. Nhiaperikuli 9anted to have a 0hild

thro-gh 9hom all of his ;no9ledge and so-l 9o-ld be transmitted.

@he 0hild, ho9ever, 9as an astonishing mi? of 0reative so-nd and

violent destr-0tion, 9ho 9as banished to the periphery of the 9orld.

@he po9erf-l and dangero-s life&for0e that Kuwai represented may be

-nderstood as the Obody of the 0osmosP, 0apable of transforming into

m-ltiple spirit&entities, or the for0es of nat-re the fertility of the

forest and rivers, the devastating del-ge of the rains, the fearf-l

dar;ness of nightC, of initiating ne9 generations of ad-lts, tea0hing

0hildren everything abo-t the 9orld. @he po9ers of his body 9ere in

the end harnessed by being transformed into the material shapes of

-tes and tr-mpets, ea0h representing at on0e a part of Kuwai&s

body, a Hrst an0estor of a phratry, or a relation of allian0e or

antagonism that 0hara0teri!ed the primordial 9ay of life.

@his life for0e is so0iety&in&timeI that is to say, the entire story

0an also be -nderstood as an e?planation for ho9 patrilineal heart&


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so-l, or life for0e, 0ame to be embodied in material forms the sa0red

-tes and instr-mentsC and reprod-0ed over time and spa0e. As long

as there have been YpeopleY in @his World, the belief in the KuwaiHrst

an0estors has been the fo-ndation for their organi!ation into so0iety.

@he 9omenZs maEor role in the pro0ess of 0reation, besides

bearing this 0osmi0 prin0iple 9ithin her body, 9as pre0isely to

introd-0e 0hange in the midst of 0ontin-ity. Shamans state that, after

the birth of Kuwai, the Hrst 9omanPs blood overo9ed the bo-ndaries

of the primordial, miniat-re 9orld aro-nd Hipana, Hlling -p the pre&

e?isting riverbeds, and ma;ing the rivers o9 o-t, th-s fertili!ing the

earth. @his event 9as one of the most important so-r0es of 0hange

and motion in a ne9, dynami0, and e?pansive -niverse. 8efore this

happened, the primordial -niverse 9as self&0ontained in a miniat-re

area aro-nd the Universe Umbili0-sT.

The ,omen=s >Pilgrimage= with the Sacred !lutes andTrumpets"

=ohodene traditions remember a long seJ-en0e of Hve voyages

that 9ere made in primordial times by%maruand the Hrst 9omen

9ho had ta;en the sa0red -tes a9ay from the men after Nhiaperikuli

had partially made them. @he 9omen ed from the men and played

the instr-ments thro-gho-t the ;no9n 9orld. @he 9orld then opened

-p from its then miniat-re to its present&day si!e, thro-gh the po9er

of the m-si0 and so-nds of the -tes and tr-mpets.%maru&s father


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9as @apir, the same 9ho had stolen the original shamani0 po9ers

from Nhiaperikuli.3t 9as similarly the shamani0 po9er and ;no9ledge

embodied in the instr-ments that%maruand the 9omen too; a9ay

from the men, the essen0e of Nhi!perikuli-' heart&so-lT.

@he remembran0e of these events is performed in the sa0red

0hants at all initiation rites, 9hen every initiate is introd-0ed to

;no9ledge of the spirit 9orld and the la9s for living in so0iety. When

the sa0red initiation 0hants 9ere transmitted by Kuwaiin the Hrst

rit-al of initiation, h-manity re0eived the potential to fertili!e the

9orld at the same time shamani!ing and ne-trali!ing its dangers. @he

sa0red story and 0hants in no 9ay ann-l time, b-t rather align 0hange

and 0ontin-ity 9ithin the temporal and spatial 0oordinates of the

-niverse.

@a;ing the story of Kuwaias a 9hole, there 9ere a0t-ally three

moments 9hen the 9omen opened -pT the 9orld after the

0hildbirth, 9hen%maru&' blood tri0;led o-t of the miniat-re 9orld and

Hlled the pre&e?isting streambedsI at the end of the Hrst boysZ

initiation rit-al 9hen the 9omen stole the sa0red -tes and tr-mpets

and paraded thro-gho-t the 9orld playing themI and Hnally, 9hen the

men re0overed the sa0red -tes after 9aging a 9ar against the

9omen. Nhiaperikulithen sent fo-r 9omen o to the ends of the

earth, 9hile one stayed at the 0enter.

Q


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3n the se0ond OopeningP,the 9omen ble9 the -tes and

tr-mpets all over the 9orld, and it e?panded for a se0ond time. @he

men 0hased after the 9omen and made omens to 9arn them of their

p-rs-it. @he 9omen opened -p the 9orld 9ith the so-nds of the -tes

limalia/i0uC to the si!e it is today. @he 9omen 9ent in fo-r dire0tions,

basi0ally e?panding along the same ro-tes that%maruZs blood had

o9ed thro-gh the riverbeds. @he map belo9 tra0es the voyages of

the 9omen 9ith KuwaiT, beginning at the 0enter HipanaC, e?panding

in fo-r dire0tions o-t9ards to the ends of the ;no9n 9orld.Q

n the far -pper Uaran" stream -pstream from Hipana is a

pla0e 0alled 0alled Motipana,9ith large stone formations said to

represent Amar- and the Hrst 9omensP 0ave6fortress. @here, the

9omen performed the Hrst initiation rites for their da-ghter. @here

also, Nhiaperikuli and his allies, the birds and animals, too; ba0; the

-tes and sent fo-r of the 9omen to the ends of the earth. @his

sa0red pla0e is also said to be the pla0e of the origin of all the 9aters

of the rivers in the region.

*?ile /r )iaspora @ Ambiguity n The Sacred ourneys


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3n this third moment, Nhiaperikuli dispat0hed the 9omen to the fo-r

dire0tions of the s;y, sending them on missions to be0ome the

mothers of the 9hite peopleT the )ort-g-ese and Spaniards in

)ort-gal and SpainC. @he 9omen be0ame the 0ond-its of openness to

the e?ternal 9orld and to alterity. @he -tes 9hi0h remained 9ith the

men, on the other hand, are the body of KuwaiT, the 0ontin-ity of the

primordial times for all f-t-re generations walimanaiC. 3dentity 9ill

never be lost as long as po9er is maintained over its most potent,

primordial symbol.

B


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Women retained the po9er of reprod-0ing alterity. 'i;e the men, they

are also o9ners of spe0iH0 ;inds of sor0ery, that is, a form of alterity

that penetrates 9ithin so0iety. 3n the e?ternal 9orld, the 9omen

be0ame the o9ners of ind-stryT asso0iated 9ith ind-strial

;no9ledge, te0hnology, and si0;nesses that derive from the 9hite

manZs ind-stries. Nhi!perikuli th-s left the 9omen 9ith t9o aspe0ts of

alterity[as the Ythers insideY 8ani9a so0iety and the Ythers

o-tsideY &&other ethni0 gro-ps s-rro-nding the 8ani9a, some of 9hom

are anal peoples, 9hi0h in the past represented the potential for

9ar or allian0e among phratries and today signiHes sor0ery from other

peoples, the si0;nesses bro-ght by 0onta0t 9ith the 9hites, b-t also

the White people 9ho help the 8ani9a.

@he 9omen are, a00ording to the narrative tradition of Kuwai,

shamani0 intermediaries 9ith the o-tside 9orld E-st as male shamans

are intermediaries

9ith the ther World of the great spirits. 8oth therefore are lo0;ed in

a ;ind

N


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of 0omplementary opposition that is the moving for0e or dynami0 of

re0ipro0ity and e?0hange, implying both marriage and sor0ery.

An0estral

po9er embodied in the -tes and tr-mpets, ;no9n 0olle0tively as

KuwaiT,

th-s disting-ishes one phratryZs 0olle0tive identity from another. Sin0e

the

la9 of e?ogamy marital e?0hangeC is a 0entrif-gal for0e thro-gh

9hi0h the

e?ternal 9orld in&marrying 9omen, non&indigeno-s peoplesC

penetrates the

internal 9orld of the sib6phratry, there is an e?treme taboo on

sho9ing the

-tes to the 9omen, 9hi0h 9e interpret to be an adaptive me0hanism

to

preserve inta0t the internal 0ontin-ity of phratri0 identity against the

threatening po9ers 9hi0h o-tsiders represent.

The B9reat $ity o+ NhiaperikuliC D where mmortality was

8ost"

L


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!ig" E: !our Fiews o+ the 9reat $ity %photos by $" Ga0ier 8eal2

67#.("@he =-ge 8o-lder in the -pper left is the Main =o-se of

Nhiaperikuli per0hed on the edge of a granite slope at the top of a hillI

the se0ond photo sho9s a slab of apparently 0-tC bo-lder

representing the stone tomb of the Hrst person to dieI immediately

belo9 is a 0loser shot of the tomb 9hi0h has a pie0e of anovert-rned

iron bell at thetombPs head, representing the death mas; of the Hrst

personI and the fo-rth photo is the massive stone ;it0henT near the

great =o-se of the reator.

A 0l-ster of stone formations on the top of a hill at the

head9aters of the Xa9iary stream o the -pper 34ana is 0alled Ythe

V


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Great ity of NhiaperikoliY. 'ealZs masterZs dissertation, defended in

-ripa;o g-ides to this siteC. :othing

similar to it has been reported in the literat-re on the 8ani9a or

other northern Ara9a;an peoples for that matterC. 3t is an

arrangement of massive bo-lders 9ith hardly any petroglyphs on

them, yet 9ith an order and meaning attrib-ted to the 9hole

arrangement that the >-ripa;o 0alled Ythe 0ity of the 0reator s-n god,

Nhi!perikuli.Y @he bo-lders are aligned along an east69est a?is. Sin0e

Nhi!perikuli is the s-n deity, this alignment is s-rely signiH0ant. @he

site as a 9hole re0alls a s0ene from the story of Mawerikuli,the Hrst

person to die, 9ho 9as b-ried -nderneath the ho-se of Nhi!perikuli,

follo9ing the tradition of b-rials many generations ago. @he tradition

of Mawerikuliis said to be a -beo storyT, and it is possible that both

>-ripa;o of the -pper 34ana in olombia and G-ainia, as 9ell as the

-beo of the -pper Ua-p+s, also in olombia, may have had

settlements in this region.

Underneath the h-ge Ystone ho-se of Nhi!perikuliY, per0hed at

an angle on the slope of a mo-ntain top, is a stone slab 9hi0h

appears li;e a stone 0on 9ith a bro;en pie0e of an iron bell sit-ated

atop one end, loo;ing very m-0h li;e the 0arved 9ooden mas;s the

=ohodene p-t on their dead -p -ntil a fe9 generations ago

:im-endaE-


30/51

pie0e 9as pla0ed 9here it is by 9hom and 9hen is a mystery and

it is fas0inating to s-ggest that the stone slab of the tomb may have

been pla0ed 9here it is again, by 9hom is a mysteryC.

8ehind the Yho-seY bo-lder is a Y;it0henY bo-lder traditionally,

all ho-ses 9ere longho-ses 9hile today, most ho-ses have the main

d9elling&pla0e fa0ing the river, and the ;it0hen 0onstr-0tion behind

the ho-seC. 8ehind that are several bo-lders representing Ysentinel

postsY 9here, a00ording to shamansP dis0o-rse, Nhi!perikuli-s pet

birds 0alled Thithiroand Madoodo#0o-ld 9arn of approa0hing

people. @he 9hole arrangement is very reminis0ent of the moment in

the story told by the 8ani9a of the Aiary River 9hen death 0ame into

the 9orld see Wright,


31/51

attempts to revive Mawerikuli,none of them 0o-ld bring him ba0; to

life. @he shamans say that 9hen they are see;ing the ans9er to

9hether a vi0tim of sor0ery 9ill get 9ell or not, they loo; for the

image of Mawerikulito see 9hether it is rising from its tomb, or it is

falling inside. 3f it is rising, the si0; person 9ill ret-rn to lifeI if it falls

inside, the si0; person 9ill die.

!ig" H: The Tombstone o+ Mawerikuli2 the rst person to die in

primordial times" 3mage dra9n by @. Ag-ilar,


32/51

and rebirth. 'i;e Hipana, the Y0ityY is part of a m-0h larger and more

0omple? site asso0iated 9ith other pla0es, s-0h as the Y0avern of the

9omenY 9here, a00ording to the Kuwai story,%maru and the 9omen

hid after they had stolen the -tes from the men. @his 0omple? site

0ontains a large n-mber of ro0; formations and 0aves.

3n the above croIuis of the site /avier 'eal,


33/51

o-t9ard over the vast terrain of rainforest and 0l-sters of hills in the

dire0tion of other myths0apes s-0h as at Hipana.

@his perspe0tive 9o-ld be distin0t from a person sit-ated at

Hipana,the -niverse 0enter at Uap-i, 0onne0ting -priver to Warukwa

on the $zukuali stream#do9nriver to EhnpanC, -p to the s;y

-mbili0al 0ord or do9n thro-gh the hole of emergen0e, to the 9orld

belo9.

:ear it, there is also a pla0e on the S-r-bim stream, deep in the

forest o the -pper 34ana, 9here a large at ro0; sits atop a hill

overloo;ing the river and a vast e?panse of forest&&a pla0e 9here, it is

said, Nhi!perikuli sat and sa9 ho9 the 9orld 9o-ld beY /avier 'eal


34/51

red-0ed in n-mber by the time they ret-rned. @hro-gh ma;ing

allian0es 9ith other 0lans, ho9ever, the an0estral 0hief regained the

on0e prestigio-s position of the 0lan. 3t has gro9n and prospered -ntil

the present day.

@hese Ohistori0alP traditions are 0onne0ted dire0tly to an0estors

9ho probably lived in the latter half of the


35/51

3n e?tensive Held resear0h along the trib-taries of the -pper

G-ainia, Gon!ale!&:ane!, and the 8aniva elder =ernan ami0o

do0-mented the b-rial site of the most famo-s of these prophet&

seers, enan0io ami0o, ;no9n pop-larly as the hrist of the 34anaT

see Wright


36/51

!ig" #7: Mid-#Hth$entury Sa0ant and Seer2 $amico2 >saint= o+

the aniwa lithograph from the M-se- :a0ional, UFR, Rio de

aneiroC

3n parallel fashion, the =ohodene of the Aiary River 9ho follo9ed the

seer6savant >-d-i in the


37/51

Fig.


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bee&spirits, and the s9eet, healing ne0tar of tree fr-its. @he Eo-rney

ba0; to the 0enter 0oin0ides 9ith the grad-al healing of the personPs

so-l and body, s-0h that, by the time the 0hanter has Hnished, the

vi0tim sho-ld have re0overed his6her senses, and 0ome ba0; into life.

3n the story to 9hi0h the healing 0orresponds, the reator as;s his

yo-nger brother, so, yo- have e?0hanged yo-r life for anothercT

indi0ating reversal of death in the peripheral !one by 0omplete revival

at the 9orld&0enter, having passed thro-gh the spirit&9orlds of the

shamani0 bees and dr-n; their remedies.

=ill has arg-ed


39/51

:avelC" From that site, several peoples initiated their migrations, 9ith

I1pirrikuli/Ka/Kwai as their leader, beginning to e?pand and

pop-late the 9orld. Many of them 0rossed rivers, 0ree;s and E-ngle

roads -ntil they settled in pla0es in the G-ain*a and rino0o basin.

2a0h time they rea0hed a pla0e, they performed sa0red rit-als -nder

the leadership of I1pirrikuli,the reator, and thereafter, he and the

reators troopsT fo-nded ne9 villages after ea0h rit-al of

3nitiation. ibid.C

3n the times of I1pirrikuli4'9orld to-r also ;no9n as Kuwai&'

sa0red voyagesC, he and his troop 0amped at apih-ara and they

made a rit-al feast. @hey 0alled it &asJKmakasi9hi0h is a rite de

passageT or initiation rit-alC. @hey designed or painted many

petroglyphs 9hi0h 0an be seen today at that an0ient pla0e. ne of the

most sa0red beings at apih-ara is Siwli,an Ara9a;an an0estor. For

the Ware;ena people, one of their most sa0red pla0es 9as at

apih-ara 5iw1liC on the assiJ-iare river, a riverine 0hannel

0onne0ting the rino0o 9ith the Rio :egro river near San arlos de

Rio :egro, Ama!onas state, ene!-ela.

)art of the myth&history e?plaining this is as follo9s

T3* PR/$*SS/N /! T3* &L,* A$$/R)N9 T/ T3*

,AR*&*NA TRA)T/N" ST/R /! T3* NTAT/N /! T3*

QK


40/51

)A493T*R /! 9RAN)!AT3*R S,8" @old by )edro Fran0is0o

8ernab+ & Ware;ena, apih-ara, assiJ-iare & -ly -bal+ Kwaili#. =e formed this great rapids. 3t

is to this rapids that almost all Hsh go to lay their eggs. @his 9as the

9or; of NOpiruli9ho 9as the same Kwaiof the an0estors. =e made

it so that it 9o-ld be easier for people to 0at0h Hsh for the Kalyama

%kalidzamai in =ohodeneC or rit-al food for initiation. @he &'we

that is to say, &'weand his pro0essionC 0ontin-ed on do9nriver to

the i0hada.

ne part of the gro-p rea0hed the mo-th of the i0hada b-t

another part 9ent to the G-aviare. @here they divided and 0ame ba0;

together. Some 9ent by the -pper rino0o and others 0ame by the

Atabapo River. @hey passed by the stone slab of Eaba \shining erisma

tree] 0alled by the 8aniva Y6ipane 7u'ruY. @here they gathered a


41/51

0olle0tion of art9or; for the initiation of the da-ghter of tu

grandfatherC SiwOli in apih-ara, an an0ient 0omissary of the

assiJ-iare. @he vario-s gro-ps of &'wepassed by ea0h river. ne

of them arrived at the mo-th of the San Mig-el or tJni- ,Jni river.

@he other gro-p 9ent do9n the Atabapo to the Tmiand and

soon passed by the port of Xavita AputsOC. @here, on the stones 0an

be seen the tra0es of the &'we. Soon after, they passed by a trail

thro-gh the forest that led them to the ban;s of the 0a$o Pimichin

)amitsniC . A00ording to 8aniva oral tradition, the trail from Xavita to

)imi0h*n 9as opened in the times of the reator, NOpiruli. @he

tra0ing of this trail 9as done 9hen t9o gro-ps of the pro0ession of

&'we and NOpirulipro0eeded by going from side to side several

from the PimichJn and others +romXavitaC follo9ing the so-nds of

the sa0red animals.T @his 0oin0iden0e is important in that it reinfor0es

the Maip-re&ara9a;an tradition and history of the reation. for

f-rther information see Gon!ale!&:ane!,


42/51

)uOdua-nawi"@here on the San Mig-el they passed by 9here there

9ere people fasting in preparation for the festival at apih-ara. @here

they gathered, at grandfather Atu,ich'wi-$hulJnawio9ner of the

9hips or kap)'i#. F-rther -p from there, on the same San Mig-el, both

the gro-p that 0ame from the mo-th of this 0a$o, and the peoples

9hi0h had entered by 9ay of 5imak)niEoined together in a site 0alled

Madnawi9here they bro;e the shells of many of the fr-its that they

had gathered for that AbOlesi festival of fr-its, or )abokurJ(9hi0h

in reality 9o-ld be a rit-al of initiation. All of them 9ent on by San

Mig-el, they made a Eo-rney that desended to the port of the Ypainted

ro0;Y, on the asiJ-iare 9here they Eoined together other paintings or

art9or;s. For their part, the other that 0ame -p to the assiJ-iare

from the R*o :egro passed by the site they 0alled Y*steritaY, on the

assiJ-iare, from 9here they gathered together the art9or; that 9as

also for the festival of SiwOli. Finally, they all arrived at the gathering

in apih-ara.

n0e in apih-ara they 9ent to 9here )epenOwe 9as, 9ho

9as the 0hief or lead dan0er m1dzaruC for the initiation of the

da-ghter of SiwOli. )epenOwe is also a 0a$o and site that is not

very distant from apih-ara.C @here there 9as a great 0eiba tree

9here they fo-nd a pole for hanging the hammo0; of the girl 9ho

9as fasting. Above Depen"9e, there 9as a 0a$o, on the right ban; of

the assiJ-iare, 0alled )orotomQni, sit-ated abo-t fo-r ho-rs


43/51

9al;ing distan0e from )epenOwe. @here 9as another point for the

yo-ng girlPs hammo0;, hanging from another pole. When they got

there in the early da9n they passed by the mo-th of another 0a$o

0alled &oromQni. @hey passed by a deto-r of this 0a$o 9hile the

other gro-p -sed a deto-r of the 0a$o eripamQni. @here they

stayed thro-gh the night -ntil the morning.

For its part, the 5iw1ligro-p 9as already there in apih-ara.

Finally 9hen the people from above arrived at da9n at apih-ara,

$epen1we9as already there and the yo-ng girl had already parta;en

of the sa0red food, or Kaldama. @here, all the gro-ps that had arrived

from all parts 0ame together in the morning and ea0h one partoo; of

the Kaldama after the initiated girl and stayed the morning in

apih-ara drin;ing, eating, and dan0ing to the so-nd of the dan0e

0alled the Ygallineti0aY the dan0e of the Ywiriru for the Ware;enaC.

Q


44/51

Fig.


45/51

!ig" #.: Partial Map o+ Mythscape on 4pper 9uainia with

insets o+ petroglyphs %+rom: rti!, Fran0is0o )a0hoC y =elena

)radilla. (

Along the Ara9a; mythi0al territory of the G-ainia&Rio :egro 9e

Hnd many other myths0apes. For e?ample, there is one in the San

Mig-el or 3tini Wini stream, a traditional Ware;ena ao 9hi0h is

do0-mented in Mitolo8a 9uare:uena Gon!"le!"$e!,


46/51

We Hnd sa0red pla0es in the -pper G-ainia, near the to9n of

i0torino, G-ain*a&ene!-ela, today a >-ripa;o 0omm-nityI very near

to i0torino is an island named Tuwimirrin 9here there are also

important sa0red and mythi0al petroglyphs.

3n the Atabapo river basin area, in the 0ity of San Fernando de

Atabapo, barrio 'a )-nta de 'araT, there 9as also an important

myths0ape possibly from the origins of the Maip-rean @s"se or

)iapo;o people. Ar0heologi0ally, they belong to the e?tin0t :eri;a9a

:eri0ag-aC people, a )roto&)iapo;o sib. A00ording to S. idal


47/51

$onclusions"


48/51

Gon!ale! #"$e!, mar. K =iteratura' ind8ena' Maipure/arawaka'de lo' *ue>lo' Kurripako, Waekena' 0 ?ani;a del E'tado%mazona'.2ditorial 2l )erro y 'a Rana.ara0as.

.


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Ar0haeologi0al ongress 33, 8arJ-isimeto, ene!-ela, Septemberay and Fran! S0aramelli.


50/51

.


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Documents

Multi Centric Mythscapes in the Northwest Amazon