Mysteries of the Jaguar Shamans of the Northwest Amazon

Introduction

1 Introduction This book explores the meanings of shamanic knowledge and power among the Baniwa,an Arawak-speaking indigenous people of the Northwest Amazon in Brazil, with whom I have worked since 1976. It focuses on the only living jaguar shaman among the Baniwa, Mandu da Silva of the village of Uapui, Aiary River, who has been a shaman for more than sixty-four years.The idea to write his biography came from his daughter, Ercilia, and Mandu gladly obliged. His narrative is the only one on record of a shaman who is today considered by many Baniwa to be a “wise man”(sábio in Portuguese; kanhenkedali in Baniwa), or what is referred to in the anthropology of religion as a prophet. By “prophet,”I mean men and women believed to have the power to communicate constantly with the principal divinities, who advise them of things to come and of the attitude people should take in relation to those forthcoming events. Prophets are recognized by the culture as having the sole legitimate power to announce future events and warn of any imminent dangers. The Baniwa people are well known in the literature for their history of engagement in religious movements of this nature (Wright and Hill 1986; Hill and Wright 1988; Wright 1998, 2005). Since the mid-nineteenth century, indigenous prophetic leaders have emerged in an almost continuous sequence among both Arawakspeaking peoples and Tukanoan-speaking peoples of the Northwest Amazon, on the borders of Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia. On 2 Introduction the history of these traditions, see my doctoral thesis, 1981; book, 2005; and numerous articles, 1983, 1992c, 2002a; also Hugh-Jones 1981, 1996). Mandu’s story is unique in that it reveals the struggles that a still-living jaguar shaman and sábio has faced during a lifetime dedicated to healing and counseling the people of the Northwest Amazon region. Like his predecessors, Mandu has demonstrated deep concerns for the future of Baniwa traditions. He has traveled long distances to warn the indigenous peoples of the dangers in losing their traditions, and he is a religious virtuoso in the sense of accumulating the powers and knowledge of healer shaman, priestly chanter,and dance leader.He has been an important political leader of the community of Uapui for decades, and above all he is internationally recognized for his important work on behalf of the continuity of indigenous religious traditions. His prophetic message is perhaps best exemplified in The Warnings of Mandu (2008). This Venezuelan film shows what has happened to indigenous communities of the upper Guainia River who have lost their shamanic traditions or whose shamans were manipulated by nonindigenous political interests. The result has been,in Mandu’s words,“domination by the enemy, ”a catastrophic situation foretold in the sacred stories shared by many Arawakspeaking peoples of the region. ethnography of the baniwa and other northern arawak-speaking peoples The Baniwa, Kuripako, and Wakuenai are three northern Arawakspeaking peoples living on the borders of Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. In Brazil, it is estimated that there are over 100 villages of Baniwa and Kuripako, with a total population of 4,000; in Colombia, their population is approximately 6,000, predominantly Kuripako; and in Venezuela, the Baniwa and Wakuenai Introduction 3 (an ethnonym for the Kuripako) together have a population of approximately 1,200. All of the societies in this region are patrilineal and patrilocal. The Baniwa say that they have three main phratries: the Hohodene of the Aiary River, the Walipere-dakenai of the lower Aiary and most of the middle to lower Içana River, and the Dzauinai on the middle Içana (between the villages of Jui uitera and the hill of Tunui Falls). Beyond the ring of these central groups, there are several small sibs, fragments of other phratries, living in villages further up the Içana. Each of the principal phratries consists of five to ten sibs,ranked according to a birth order of primordial ancestral siblings who emerged from the earth at the beginning of time in several places, the most important of which is called Hipana, where the universe Map 1. Northern Arawak-speaking peoples in the Northwest Amazon 4 Introduction began for the Baniwa and for many other northern Arawak-speaking peoples. Hipana is a place of great potency, since many world-changing events took place there. The child of the sun was born there. It is considered...