State Healthcare and Yanomami Transformations: A Symmetrical Ethnography

3. Epidemic Diseases, Criollos, and the Morality of Being Human

52 chapter three Epidemic Diseases, Criollos, and the Morality of Being Human This chapter explores key aspects of the historical relationship between Yanomami and criollos, with a particular emphasis on epidemic diseases. Drawing on Albert’s (1988) analysis, we follow the innovative transformation of the Yanomami conception of shawara from a type of “war sorcery ” to an ontologically criollo form of disease. This conceptual shift corresponds to the path of Yanomami redefinition of criollos from ghosts to enemies to friends/allies, all in accordance with the Yanomami sociopolitical space as described by Albert (1985). The discussion will compare engagements with early extractivists and missionaries as negative and positive respectively—determined by the degree of conformity to a Yanomami “morality of being human.” This chapter and the following one form a pair. Here we concentrate on how the Yanomami “domesticated” criollos , the concepts, choices, and practices they deployed to reduce criollos’ inherent alterity. In the next chapter we consider the complementary process by which Yanomami derived alterity from relationships with criollos, their own other-becoming. In this way, we first see how criollos became quasi-kin and then see how Yanomami became napë, others themselves. A Baseline Before beginning this analysis, I must provide some basic ethnographic descriptions to enable our understanding. Given that these topics have been treated extensively in the literature (Lizot, 2004; 2007; Albert, 1985; Epidemic Diseases, Criollos, and Morality • 53 Albert and Goodwin-Gomez, 1997), I will limit myself to summaries. When referring to the constituent parts of the person and etiology, I will draw more closely on Lizot’s accounts because his ethnographic reference is the same as mine (Upper Orinoco Yanomami). When discussing the relationship between illness and socio-political space, my reference will be Albert (1985; 1988), given that he has developed this topic thoroughly with the Brazilian Yanomam. Constituent Parts of the Person A major distinction in Yanomami conceptions of personhood is an external -material/internal-immaterial dichotomy: pei siki, “skin, any envelope,” and pei mi ãmo, “the center of something.” The pei mi ãmo is a vital immaterial aspect of the person, a “vital force, life” in Lizot’s terms (2004:2214). Each part of the body can have its own vital principle that is only visible to shamans. A person cannot live long without the pei mi ãmo, which is eminently vulnerable to being devoured or stolen by supernatural agents; if stolen, shamans must recapture and reinsert it in the person. When a person dies, his/her pei mi ãmo becomes a soul (no porepi) that ascends to live in the celestial sphere above the earth alongside its dead relatives (Lizot, 2007:292). Also a vital and immaterial part of the person, the pei no uhutipi is a “reflection, emanation” (Lizot, 2004:275). Unlike the pei mi ãmo, a passive vitality, this aspect can actively attack others and is common in humans, animals, and objects. Some alimentary taboos are based on the aggressive nature of the pei no uhutipi of game animals. When a person dies, this aspect of his/her person becomes a ghost, or “pore,” that roams in the forest causing illness and death in humans (Lizot, 2007:292). The pei noreshi, a person’s animal alter ego, lives in remote parts of the forest so as to preclude encounters with its person. The animal and individual share a common physical fate: if either becomes ill, gets injured, or dies, so does the other. Noreshi designates images, such as photographs, drawings, and figurines. In other areas, the favored term is “no uhutipi.” The pei mishia refers to a person’s breath, but in shamanic contexts, it is associated with life itself (Lizot, 2007:224). Accordingly, people can speak of the pei mishia as that which has been taken from an ill person and needs to be recovered by a shaman. I was told in Ocamo that the pei puhi indicates a person’s thoughts. The term “puhi” can also signify wanting something or having feelings for someone. It can be found in many compound verbs that denote conscious, mental, or emotional activity. 54 • Chapter 3 Using Albert’s (1985:164) distinction and based on my observations, let us distinguish the biological body, pei siki, from the ontological one referring to its vital immaterial aspects—the pei mi ãmo and pei no uhutipi— and pei noreshi. All illness, beyond temporary and minor discomfort or pain, compromises the integrity...