mysteries of the jaguar shamans of the Northwest Amazon m y s t e r i e s of the jagua r sh a m a ns of the Northwest Amazon Robin M. Wright | Foreword by Michael J. Harner university of nebraska press | lincoln and london © 2013 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Publication of this volume was assisted by the Virginia Faulkner Fund, established in memory of Virginia Faulkner, editor in chief of the University of Nebraska Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wright, Robin, 1950– Mysteries of the jaguar shamans of the northwest Amazon / Robin M. Wright; foreword by Michael J. Harner. pages. cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8032-4394-1 (cloth: alk. paper) 1. da Silva, Mandu. 2. Baniwa Indians—Biography. 3. Shamans— Brazil—Biography. 4. Baniwa Indians—Religion. 5. Baniwa phi- losophy. 6. Baniwa Indians—Rites and ceremonies. I. Title. f2520.1.b35d3 2013 299'.8839—dc23 2013001790 Set in Sabon Next by Laura Wellington. Designed by Nathan Putens. Contents List of Illustrations vii Foreword ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Part 1. Shamans, Chanters, Sorcerers, and Prophets 1 “You Are Going to Save Many Lives”: The Life Story of Mandu da Silva, Hohodene Jaguar Shaman, coauthored by Manuel da Silva and Ercilia Lima da Silva 31 2 Mandu’s Apprenticeship and a Jaguar Shaman’s Powers of World-Making 53 3 “You Will Suffer Along Our Way”: The Great Suffering in Mandu’s Life 105 Part 2. Shamanic Knowledge and Power in the Baniwa Universe 4 Creation, Cosmology, and Ecological Time 147 5 Mythscapes as Living Memories of the Ancestors 208 Part 3. Transmission of Shamanic Knowledge and Power 6 The Birth of the Child of the Sun, Kuwai 233 7 Death and Regeneration in the First Initiation Rites, Kwaipan 247 8 The Struggle for Power and Knowledge among Men and Women 276 Part 4. Revitalization Movements in Traditional and Christianized Communities 9 The House of Shamans’ Knowledge and Power, the House of Adornment, and the Pamaale School Complex 297 Conclusion 325 Appendix 1. Letter Authorizing Reproductions of Kuwai-ka Wamundana 337 Appendix 2. Description of The Mysterious Body of Kuwai 339 Notes 343 Bibliography 353 Index 365 Illustrations figures 1 Aerial view of Uapui (Hipana) falls, the origin of the universe 5 2 Mandu at the height of his powers in 1977 44 3 Mandu and José Garcia 47 4 “Old pajé José” Cornélio 49 5 Mandu and wife, Flora, at their home in São Gabriel 52 6 Jaguar shamans on their journey in the Other World 55 7 José Garcia extracting pain and sickness from author’s leg 58 8 Pot of pariká in preparation 64 9 Shaman’s rattle 90 10 Drawing of sacred flutes on shaman’s rattle 92 11 Mandu and his apprentices, 2010 104 12 Dyuremawa Maloca on the upper Aiary River, 1927 108 13 Tomb of the prophet Kudui on Warukwa Island 138 14 Kaxadadali 163 15 The universe (Hekwapi), according to José Garcia 169 16 Wamu (black sloth) with stains on its pelt 188 17 Reproduction of petroglyphs on boulder of “false Kuwai” at Hipana Rapids 211 18 Petroglyphs at Hipana 212 19 Petroglyph of Kuwai at Pukweipan 213 20 Reproduction of petroglyphs at Ehnípan 214 21 Two Hohodene chanters in characteristic postures of chanting 291 22 The Sacred Boulder of Dzuliferi, Spirit of Power 292 23 Laureano and young men during Ukuki initiation ceremony 313 24 Young women at the inauguration ceremony for the Malikai Dapana 321 25 Drawing of Kuwai-ka Wamundana by jaguar shaman Luiz Gomez 340 maps 1 Northern Arawak-speaking peoples in the Northwest Amazon 3 2 Mythscape of the Northwest Amazon 209 tables 1 Religious specialists of northern Arawakan Baniwa 8 2 Prophetic traditions of the Northwest Amazon 139 Foreword | Michael J. Harner Since the seventies, Robin Wright has immersed himself in the study of the shamanic practices of the Baniwa of Northwest Amazonia. In this book—much of which is seen through the eyes of the elder jaguar shaman and “wise man” or prophet of his people, Manuel “Mandu” da Silva—the ancient ways of the Baniwa shamans come to life, not only for scholars but in a way that will be familiar to anyone who has practiced contemporary shamanism. Dr. Wright is my kind of anthropologist. In this writing his scholarship is meticulous, and as a scientist he maintains an atti- tude of objective inquiry, yet he probes beneath the surface of the shamanic practices described, observed, and experienced to see what is actually happening. He does not merely study and record the spiritual practices of a people, but recognizes that their shamanic traditions, centuries old, have persisted precisely because they have worked for the people. The shamans’ knowledge is valued and treated with the respect it deserves. What emerges from Mysteries of the Jaguar Shamans of the North- west Amazon is an intimate and fascinating portrait of the spiritual heart of a people. The story begins with a look at Mandu’s shamanic training and apprenticeship through a rare telling in the shaman’s own words. It continues with the trials he faced and the successes he achieved during a lifetime of work as a healer and as a carrier of, and an advocate for, his people’s traditional ways, which he recognizes are essential to the cultural survival of his people. ix