Sacharuna Library

2.1 ...the Creator of the Universe was the Sun...Altgough omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, this divine persoification is not without moral blemish because...he committed the outrageous sin of incest. He is an anthropomorphic god who himself passed through a moral transformation, from a state of purity to sinfulness and then back again to purity, thus being as much an image as a model of an anxiety-charged social situation. PP41

2.2 The Sun Creator...was not the same sun that now illumines our earth but a creative principle that, although continuing in existance, is now invisible and can be known only by the beneficial influence that emanates from it. After the act of creation and the establishment of moral norms, the sun returned to Aphikond’a, the region of paradise...continuing to participate in his creation. He sent on his eternal representative, this sun that we see today...,and it is through it that the Creator Sun exercises his power, giving his creation light, heat, protection and above all, fertility.PP41-42

2.3 The Creation consists of four fundamental elements that...constitute the basis of the Universe and of the life that animates it: Land, water, air and energy. Our world is formed by land and water; that is, the forests and the rivers that are two opposing but complementary elements. That which is land is masculine and that whch is water is femenine. Their dichotomy is essential because it establishes the model for all that is created and will be created. It is a sexual dichotomy but, in a wider sense, it represents the division between categories of givers and receivers, thus establishing a system of reciprocal relationships. The obligatory coincidence of opposites leads to new creations,...or procreations, and these establish new obligations and ties among their components. Between these two principles, the air, the great asexual element, expands between this world and the supernatural world...; it is, therefore, the communicating element through which contact is established. PP42

2.4 But above all is the element of energy. Energy is the element of the sun itself and is essentially beneficient and protecting. It seeks the continuity of life through the cycle of fertilization and gestation, of growth and renewed procreaton. It is the energy of the Sun that makes women conceive and give birth, makes the animals reproduce and the plants grow and causes the fruits to ripen. But other cyclical phenomena are also subjet to this power; the movement of the stars, the seasons of the year, the scarcity or abundance of food, etc. So the energy of procreation-creation is a masculine power that fertilizes a femenine element that is the world. of course the biosphere has both masculine and femenine aspects, but seen in its totality, as a field of creation, it has primarily a feminine character over which the sun exercises its power. PP43

2.5 ...among the Desana...the Milky Way is interpreted as an immense seminal flow that fertilizes... all the underlying biosphere. The Milky Way is the zone of communication where contact between terrestrial beings and supernatural beings is established...But on the other hand the Milky Way is the dwelling place of sickness. PP44

2.6 In the dimension of hallucinations men can obtain good and find divine illumination, but, in taking undue advantage of this state, he can cause evil. Of course, the two components-the fertilizing seminal skein and the current of Ôrotten wastesÕ of a pathogenic character-form a part of one single concept of insemination and contagion. PP45

2.7 ...the name of the divinity refers to the bone, the skeleton that sustains the human body and, in a transferred meaning, society. The divinity is a ÔboneÕ because of his strength. his resistance, and his quality of being an axis, a center. he is, then, an axis mundi and constitutes the basis of the moral code; he is the continuity of traditions and the conviction of their validity...The desana compare the divine bone with a tube, and in this form it is designATED AS VEÕE GOÕA. THE WORD VEÕE MEANS ÔTUBULAR cane,Õ like those used to make thin flutes or an arrow, and this tube is said to connect the divine sphere Ôon highÕ with the divine sphere Ôbelow,Õ the latter being imagined as a primogenic uterus located under our world. This uterus is Ahpikond’a and the tubular bone that is the divinity penetrates the universe vertically in the form of an inmense phallus. ÒThe bone-god is a penis,Ó says our informant, and ads ÒThis tube, this bone makes contact between man and Ahpikondeia: through it arises inspiration. It is the principal channel that interconects. The bone-god is the penis, the fundamental pART OF CREATION.Ó..the informant adds, ÒBetween the visible world and the invisible there is sexual contact.Ó PP49

2.8 The solar semen like human semen, is not necessarily an element of good but at times can cause evil. Lightning is essentially the ejaculation of the Sun that can fertilize the land but can also be destructive. PP49

2.9 The principal energy of the Sun does not operate along a straight line, fertilizing this or that aspect of the Creation, but constitutes mainly a hughe closed circuit in which the entire biosphere pARTICIPATES. THE DESANA IMAGINE THIS CIRCUIT AS HAVING A FIXED QUANTITY OF ENERGY THAT FLOWS ETERNALLY BETWEEN MAN AND ANIMAL, BETWEEN SOCIETY AND NATURE. THIS QUANTITY OF ENERGY BEING FIXED, MAN MUST REMOVE WHAT HE NEEDS ONLY UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS AND MUST CONVERT THIS ARTICLE OF ÔBORROWEDÕ ENERGY Into a form that can be reincorporated into the circuit. For example, when an animal is killed the energy of the local fauna is reduced; when the game is converted into food, however, the current continues, now in the field of society, because the consumers of the food acquire energy that previosly belonged to the animal. This energy ids handled in two ways: taken as biospermatic energy, it is repressed and thus returns to the capital of total energy in which the animals participate again; taken as mere vitality and health, it returns to the total energy of the biosphere. This then, is a process of feedback. Any human action that participates in the circuit restores energy to nature that, for its part, acts on society again. The individual should never cause an interruption in the circuit; that is, he should never use energy without restoring it again. PP50

2.10 What we have called the circuit the Desana designate by the term bog‡. This word can be translated as Ôcurrent,Õ and the Milky Way is called mirunyŽ bog‡, or wind current. But the term is sometimes motonymic in that the effect is designated as a causal factor. It is the effect of the Milky Way that is bog‡...uhśri bog‡ (from uhur’/to attract with the mouth, to suck in, to ingest something) is feminine fecundity. here the bog‡ is shown to be an energy of transformation, of creation, something which receives in order to develop it into a new form. the expression uhśri bog‡ is also used to describe the attitude of the payŽ when he Ôsucks an illnessÕ from the body of a patient, an act that combines two forces, that of removing the sickness to incorporate it in his own body and that of transforming the pathogenic matter into something neutral and harmless. PP51

2.11 This notion of transformation, characteristic of bog‡, involves a concept of contact, of communication. For example, what the embbryo receives through the umbilical chord is bog‡...the Milky Way [is viewed by the Desana as] a Ôway,Õ as something that connects, or relates...the informant said: Ôthe Milky Way is bog‡ because it connects something, and it has bog‡ because it contains a power.Ó This power is that of ÔbringingÕ or Ôtaking awayÕ illness or other evils...But the power of the Milky way is not only that of a fertilizer...;it represents in itself a cosmic fecundizing force...Also, it is in the Milky Way, the sphere of hallucinations, that the rupture of the cosmic levels is produced. PP51

2.12 An example of contact and relationships between human beings is the following: when a payŽ touches another person, someone who is ill or an enemy, not only is a contact between two bodies produced but energy is transmitted that originates from a luminous source, the payŽ, and affects a passive body, beneficially or deleteriously. PP52

2.13 The informant says: Ôbog‡ has two meanings: good and evil; the owl takes part in the evil aspect. the owl is the representation of the waste of bog‡.Õ This idea of the waste of bogea is obviously related to an action that diminishes the total energy of the circuit...The evil character of bog‡ appears clearly in the following example: when a person with evil intentions wants to do harm to a pregnant woman, he invokes the Ôblack skeinÕ.This is a negative power that obscures the Ôyellow skeinÕ or, as the informant expresses it: Ô...it makes the gohseri bog‡ (light) turn black.Õ An intermediate form of such malefic magic is found in the case of those who attempt to cause an illness to a newly born child....(blackish-reddish) bog‡ is invoked. The informant says: Ôthen the child suffers because of the bvlack aspect, but does not die as a consequence. There are two aspects: the reddish one is good and the black is evil.Õ PP53

2.14 The hearth is called peamŽ bog‡, not only because of the flames (bog‡) but also because of its transforming energy. In Desana symbolism the hearth is a transforming uterus (just as a uterus is a ÔkitchenÕ) in which energuies operate that cause a profound change in food. PP53

2.15 The term ohokar’ri bog‡ means Ôto live.Õ but the verb is also used to describe the sexual act. When the word bog‡ is added, the idea of a current, a continuity is expressed. ÔThose who make contact with this bog‡ live and go on procreating.It is a succession of lives: they are born, they die, and they leave children because of bog‡.Õ...ÕWhen the old men talk during a gathering, they always mention nomŽ im’siri bog‡/women-sweetness bog‡); this means the continuity of procreation. It is a continuous current; it is a circle that comes from Ahpikondia, and from here it returns again. PP54

2.16 ...according to the informan [bog‡] is a femenine principle. In effect, bog‡ is transformation and creation, and its most simple expressions are that of the hearth, with its heat and flames, and the uterus of awoman. But our informant observes bogea is a result, an effect caused by another force...called tulari, a complementary masculine principle. PP54

2.17 Tulari is a ÔforceÕ, a term that can be applied to the physical qualities of man, animal, a piece of wood, or any hard and resistant object. Water has tulari,the same as the wind, or a bent bow. But it also means authority, command, the power of leading. A man who leads others, ...has tulari, and thus a patŽ has tulari because he dominates others through his esoteric knowledge and his supernatural power received from divine beings. But these are categories of power that are known, and are common, manageable and predictable. Tulari is more than this; tulari is also a force immanent in beings or objects that is not related at all to physical or intellectual qualities but is present or absent in certain phenomena as a broad energy equivalent of bogea. Tulari is the cause of bog‡...the central current of a river is called water-force-current, an expression that shows the difference between the two terms. Tulari is the impulse, i.e. the current of the river. The informant explains: Òtulari makes boga function...bog‡ is a recipient; tularibogea makes contact looks for something. Bog‡ attracts; it is uhuri bogea, the bog‡ that draws in...Tulari is the forest, the mammals; bog‡ is the river, the fish...Tulari is masculine energy, and bogea is femenine energy. The two together are fertilization and fecundity; they are the great current that circulatesPP 55.

3.1 [WomanÕs] receptivity is compared with the gesture of soliciting something or of joining her hands before her breast in the form of a concave receptacle...another image connected to the reciptivity of woman compares the uterus with a birdÕs nest full of little fledglings that srcream in an agitated manner, opening their beaks for food. This image is called nihirei, a state of anxious waiting, of great expectancy. In fact this same image is transferred and applied to all of humanity; human beings are clamorous persons, and Ôthey screech in the shade of the Sun god who takes care of us.Õ This comparison is made mainly by the elders who give advise during gatherings and who transmitt the tribal traditions; that is, by the initiated who raise their voices ÔscreechingÕ so that the divinity will hear them. PP61

3.2 ...it is believed that the quantity of semen is very small in proportion to the ÔstarchÕ or the ÔhoneyÕ of the woman, and that woman can never be ÔsweetenedÕ in just one coitus. The potential of women in terms of sexual energy, is considered to be higher that that of men, and as ÔproofÕ...it is cited that children are more apt to resemble their mothers...The desire of the man is that they be ÔspirituallyÕ similar to him, and he seeks to increASE HIS ENERGY BY MEANS of restrictions and dietary prescriptions. PP61

3.3 Human existence is interpreted as a perpetual cycle of fertility,gestation, and birth, death and birth being the steps from one uterine existance to another. The individual is born from his mother, but the main life force comes from Ahpikond’a,the paradisiacal uterus; when born, the child is incorporated into the world, which is another uetrus, but at the same time he eneters the uterus that is the maloca. At death he returns to Ahpikondeia or perhaps, if he has not deserved paradise, he returns to the uterus of the lonely hills in the forest where he continues his existence in the form of an animal. The transformation is thus continued, and the individual passes from one state to another, his final destiny being determined by his moral behaviour in this world. On this depends wether hereturns to a contemplative state in Ahpikond’a or descends to the level of the ANIMALS. PP64

3.4 ...the seat of the soul (simpora0 is the heart. It is a little ÔclothÕ that begins to flutter and to become agitated at the moment of birth when thechild begins to breathe and to establish contact with the air, which is the medium of communication. The air is Ôthe wind that gives lifeÕ; the soul is interpreted as a breath that, when blowing against the Ôlittle clothÕ maintains the life state. The soul depends directly on the Sun Father...This dependency is expressed in the belief that the soul is a luminous element that not only exists under the reflection of the sun but possesses its own luminoscity that the sun gave it at the moment of birth...So the soul is a kind of mark or sign that the Sun gives to each individual, but which is devoid of any moral principle. PP64

3.5 When the soul happens to be in some magical danger, three kinds of solar light are invoked to reinforce it, areddish, white and pale green light. These colors...are associated with terrestrial vitality, with the seminal energy of the sun, and with the satiety produced by the milk-coca that emanates from ahpikondia. No concept of heat is associated with these colors but only a concept of internal luminosity, visible only to the initiated...The soul is imortal inasmuch as it is the part of the individual that returns to ahpikond’a, where the body rises again as ahummingbird; however, the soul can separate itself occasionally from the body during life as, for example, during a hallucinatory state or in case of a sudden accident.PP 64.

3.6 The soul of any individuals is exposed to many dangers. A payŽ may seize it and thus cause death and serious illness. Even a glancefrom a payŽ may afect the soul and..cause sickness. He can also immobilize the Ôlittle clothÕ without removing it from the body, by penetrating it with several thorns that impede its movements. In these cases, another payee, in charge of curing the condition that otherwise might be fatal, can resort to the stealing soul of another person to replace the immobilized soul. This...suggests that the soul is not considered an individual element related to a moral concept but is simply an organ, to be sure the most vital, but interchangeable and impersonal. PP65

3.7 The complement of the soul is the mind/kaÕi. the kaÕi resides in the brain from the time of birth, but does not die with the body. it continues existing as a Ôshadow, a spiritÕ The kaÕi is intelligence, reason; it is the accumulation of experience. man thinks through the kaÕi, and a payŽ can influence the functioning of the kaÕi, but not the soul, of another person. The soul he can only ÔobstructÕ. Animals have no simpora but have kaÕi because they Ôthink and reasonÕ in remembrance of past experiences. The only exception are fish; they have, located in the heart, a principle of simpora. A third component is diro‡, a vital quality whose name is related to dii/blood and diÕe/flesh. Diroea is health, the good life, physical well being expressed through activity and joy. Diro‡ disappears at the moment of death, and animals as well as men contain this principle. PP65

3.8 After death... the souls of persons who have been virtuous and who have complied with the moral norms of their culture go to ahpokond’a. This ideal state however, is only attained by a small minority, a belief that causes profound anxiety. The greater part of the souls...[return] to the great uterine malocas, which are subterranean or subacquatic, where the spirits of the inhabitants of the forest and of the rivers live. The Desana...[believe that] ...to replace the animals that periodically fall prey to the hnters and fisherman, a certain number of souls must go to these malocas...There the souls constitute the energy that is converted into new creatures that eventually go forth into the forest and the waters to be caught by men. It is the payŽ who decides who must die or which soul must go to these storehouses, and his decision is besad (or thought to be so) on the moral quality of the person. Also, those who break the taboo of looking for magical herbs around the hills and rapids or whi kill a sacred animal...must return to an animal state and go into these large storehouses. The place where the soul goes does not depend, in all cases, on the sins the person has committed, but rather on the type of ÔnegotiationÕ that the payŽ has carried out wth the supernatural owners of these storehouses. When the creatures in the forest and rivers become scarce, the payŽ puts himself into a trance and ÔnegotiatesÕ for a certain quantity of animals ...in exchange for the death of some persons whose souls will go to pay the debt. PP66

3.9 An essential difference between the categories of souls- those that are in ahpikondia and those that are in the hills-consists in the fact that the former do not belong to this world any longer and no longer participae in it while the latter continue in existence and take part in the life of men, in animal shape, or as ÔghostsÕ. PP66

3.10 In the cultural world of the Desana, men and animals live in a true symbiosis, a state of total interdependence, conceived in terms of one single cycle of fertilization and procreation. In order to live and to procreate, man needs the animals that, through the food they offer, transmit the necessary vital energy, a vitality interpreted asa fertilization of humanity by the animals. In return, man should then fertilize the animals so that they will go on multiplying. This reciprocal fertilization is accomplished through differnt means. in various ritual activities man fertilizes nature, but at the prize of a great sacrifice in the sphere his own sexuality. The fundamental rule of the hunter is sexual abstinence, and this rule demands a level of repression that cannot but lead to a state of profound anxiety. It can be said that the law of exogamy refers not only to society but also to its symbolic complement, the animals. The hunter should be selective and not choose his prey arbitrarely, following only his desire for food. Only on certain occasions can he satisfy his hunger, and these conditions are harsh but necessary. Sexual repression has the double aim of magically fostering sexuality and the multiplication of the animals and of controlling at the same time population increase, i.e., to regulate the number of potential consumers. the sexual act is considered a great danger, a situation fraught with anguished images, especially for the man who fears to lose his skill as a hunter. Besides, a man who sires more than two or three children will be considerd socially irresponsible and contemptible. PP68

3.11 The message of the Sun Father, in terms of the prohibition of incest and of the danger of endogamy is, above all, an exhortation to conserve energy translated into the law of reciprosity. PP68

4.1 In order to guide and protect his creation, the Sun gave his power to various divine personifications, each one in charge of certain functions in the development of human life. PP76

4.2 First of all there are the emekori-mahs‡...[who] represent a beneficient masculine principle associated with the color white. The name is translated as Ôpeople of the day,Õ suggesting a temporal sequence that expresses the passing of time and of human generations; they are not astral divinities nor are they asociated with the light of day but are associated with the passing of time or the time-lapse ofthe life of an individual. They are the special protectors of ceremonials and gatherings...They are the protector of conjugal sexual relations. It is to these that the payŽ addresses his invocations when chicha is being prepared so that all social gatherings will be carried out in an atmosphere of peace and friendship...[they] live at river bottoms, in the rapids, and it is for this reason that the payŽs invoke them at the landing place. They are not water spirits, but the large pools and rapids are their dwelling places; through the water of the river and their umbilical cords, they establish contact with each individual. They are personifications of good whose presence is felt in the cordial atmosphere of reunins where, it is believed, they drink and dance together with the rest. In any social conflict they are the mediators invoked by the payŽs...The individual cannot invoke [them] but must ask the payŽ to speak with them on his behalf. PP76

4.3 The diroa-mahsa ..are exclusively in charge of the physical well being of mankind. They are the blood people and are associated with the color red; their concern is good health, curing sickness and childbirth. They also live in the rapids near the maloca...On many occasions these two categories of divinities are described not so much as anthropomorphised personifications but rather as ÔstatesÕThrough them the individual feels a continuous contact with the power of the sun and receives physical and moral strength that permits him to fulfill his duties as a member of society...The informant says: Ôthe emekori-mahs‡ represent the purity of customs; the diro‡-mahs‡ are the essence of corporeal life.Õ PP77

4.4 The Vih—-mahse is the divinity associated with the use of the powder of vih— (piptadenia) and, by extension, with all the hallucinogenic plants...their true sphere of action is the milky way from whose heights they observe the doings of mankind. [They] are essentially amoral beings because they also serve evil persons who want to cause harm to an enemy. In these case the intermediaries come to be the direct causes of evil because they can disturb the currents of the Milky Way and send sickness to the earth. PP77

4.5 All animals are thought to be subject to an ÔownerÕ, chief, who is their protector and master. This ÔMaster of AnimalsÕ is Va’-mahse, perhaps the most important divine personification for the Desana hunter. PP80

4.6 The only one who know the hills and their ÔhousesÕ are the payŽs because their role is to speak with Vai-mahse so that he will cede some of his animals to the hunter...he does not ask for individual animals but asks for herds or a good hunting season, and as ÔpaymentÕ he promises to send to the house of Vai-mahse a certain number of souls of persons who, at their death, must return to this great ÔstorehouseÕ of the hills to replenish the energy of those animals [given] to the hunters....vai-mahse shows him {payŽ] his animals hanging from the raters of the maloca Ôin bunchesÕ. After having agreed on the price in souls, the payee chooses the game animals that the hunters have asked him for. Walking through the maloca he shakes the rafters and beams to wake up the animals that then go out into the jungle. The price is charged Ôper shakeÕ and sometimes more are awakened than had been agreed upon and the payŽ must reopen negotiations. PP82

4.7 Another aspect of Vai-mahse and, perhaps, the most important, is his sexual interest in human beings. Vai-mahse pursues women, especially those who have not yet reached puberty, and waits for an occasion to violate them...the consequences are generally death. Although the quantity of game increases at the place of the violation, the payŽs fear that this unasked-for abundance will exact its price and will cause the death of many people as a payment for the animals. PP84.

4.8 As an insatiable satyr Vai-mahse is jealous of all men and of human sex life. Any gesture or allusion excites him, and he always watches the sexual life of society...Pregnant women and those who have recently given birth are the main object of [his] jealousy. Angry because he was not the cause of the pregnancy, he sends sickness to them. PP85

4.9 The figure of Vai-mahse is obviously the personification of the sexual life of the game animals. The Ôred dwarfÕ with his polished wand is a phallic being...Animals and men are only parts of one single fertilizing cycle, of one interloking mesh. There is a sexual relationship between the Master of Animals and women, while the men, as hunters, enter into a sexual relationship with the game animals...man and animal form complementary reciprocal and interdependent units, each one personified, moreover, by his representative, be it Vai-mahse or the paye. There is then a very fine balance here and its daily maintenance is a focal point of Desana thought. PP86

5.1 The Desana clearly distinguish between perceiving and conceiving. To perceive is...a word formed by the verbs to see, and to know. That which is seen becomes known because it is recognized and can now be classified; that which is perceived comes to form part of a classificatory category. But to conceive is different; to conceive is composed of the verbs to hear, and to know. When perceiving, it is the eye that sees and recognizes, but when conceiving, it is the mind (KaÕi) that ÔhearsÕ and reflects. And that which is ÔgeardÕ is the ÔechoÕ of things. Hearing this ÔechoÕ, one knows what it is that is being perceived, what it is that is symbolized. The concept of symbolism, of symbolic thought, is expressed then in the word keori, the echo, shadow, image, essence. Used as a verb keori means to measure or to take the measure of something, and our informant explains that Ôthe echo is the measure of soundÕ. PP94

5.2 Mahsiri is to know, and mahse is man, a person, a thinking being. A man is he who sees and hears the echo of things and thus knows. A man is he who knows the symbolism of things, objects, acts, events, and who has the capacity to establish chains of symbolic associations, which become more and more abstract. Conversely, a man is one who can reduce an abstract concept to its simplest symbolic expression. PP94

5.3 The ability of conceiving resides in the kaÕi, the mind of the person. The kaÕi permits man to reflect; man comes to ÔstabilizeÕ his thoughts and emotions by reflecting. This cognitive act is designated ...[by] a term derived from to hear, to understand, to step, to seize. MENTALLY, this expression is accompanied by a fixed image: a man standing upright, firmly planted as a cosmic axis, stepping firmly. Mere understanding ...is something very different because it refers to intellectual agility, good memory, eloquence, but Ôto understand-step-seizeÕ embraces a more profound dimension because it leads to wisdom and not simply to knowledge. To achieve this state of reflection, of ÔstabilizationÕ and equilibrium, is the ideal of the Desana man because only then does he find security through the comprehension of religion and its function in the life of society. But in order to achieve this goal it is necessary to hear the echo of things; ...to know the ramifications of the symbolic system and to be able to reduce them to their elemental bases. PP94

5.4 ..the informant frequently made associations of ideas that were difficult for us to follow...he simply said that Ôthought lumps,Õ menaing that ideas, or complexes of ideas are easily associated and, for him, have a meaningful form. Pp95

5.5 A sequence of levels of abstraction [in thoughts jump] Ôobject-act-eventÕ/1metaphor-metonymy/2 personal sexual physiology/3sexual energy of the biosphere/4 cosmic energy. PP95

6.1 There is only one Creation, only one potential of energy in which all participate, both men and animals. The hunter needs animals to be able to live and to procreate new generations and must, therefore, foster the increase of the species. The game animals, on the other hand,...acknowledge the interest of the hunter in their increase and thus become his dependents[?]. But at the same time they fear that huan sexuality, which always diminishes the total potential, may set a limit to their own powers of procreation. The principle underlying this interdependence is the concept of the great circuit. The sexual act freely executed leads to multiplication; repressed, it leads to the restriction of the species. only its selective control, by man, establishes a balance and guarantees survival. PP97

6.2 The central preocupation of desana religious thinking is the control of human and animal fertility, and around this fundamental nucleous rovolves the language of their myths and the message of their ceremonies and dances, their moral norms, their social and economic relationships, in other words, all of their institutions and cultural patterns. it is not sex in its carnal, erotic meaning that preoccupies them but the simple fact of male fertilizing power that acts upon female principle and thus creates a new being. Sexuality is thus the most simple expression of an economic principle. The Creation of the universe was the primordial fertilizing act that established the great model for the continuity of life thus created. But creation, for the Desana, resulted in essentially two beings, man and animals, the hunter and his prey. Since then, the fertility and fecundity of both have been the great framework within which existence and life are developed. outside this framework there is no possible place for the Desana. PP97

7.1 [at the] true center of the maloca, a wooden seat is placed from which the kumś or payŽ officiates and recites on the occassion of reunions...It is the most sacred spot in the maloca: Ôthe furor of the jaguar resides in the center of the ridgepole; it was the sun who put this power there,Õ says our informant. PP108

7.2 ...it is said that: Ôthe Sun covers a man in his maloca as if he were undera gourd cup.Õ ..ÕTO COVER THE HOUSEÕ, ÔTHAT WHICH Hides us, protects us,Õ is frequently repeated in the invocations against sickness...At the same time, the maloca is verbalized as ÔattractiveÕ and ...it is said that it Ôbreaths like a magnetÕ and thus it attracts to the maloca Ôthe good lifeÕ and the protection of Diro‡-mahse, the blood people in charge of the physical well-being of mankind. PP108

7.3 Symbolically the hearth represents the uterus, and Ôit is the sign of how humanity was born,Õ because the yellow flames symbolize the fertility of the sun and the red flames the fecundity of nature...The hearth is thus an instrument of cosmic transformation, a crucible. The pot-stands placed in the fire are a Ôcontact,Õ that is, they unite the cosmic levels, but, apart from this they symbilize sexual organs. PP108-109

8.1 While the priest (kumś) rules over a sphere that is perhaps closer to the supernatural than to men, the payŽ is a man of action who is continually in contact with the evnts and demands of the daily life of the group that he attempts to protect and guide. He is the interpreter of society, its leading spokesman with the supernatural forces. In the fine equilibrium between production and consumption, between what nature gives and what culture demands, it is the payŽ who continually fulfills the role of mediator and moderator. PP125

8.2 A payŽ embodies various concepts of ÔpowerÕ. One is tulari, which includes physical strength, intellectual capacity, and certain supernatural faculties. The word tulari can also be translated Ôto injectÕ, in the sense of transmitting something Ôthrough a sting.Õ The act of an insectsÕ stinging is called tulari, but the term also applies to persons who have a Ôpenetrating glanceÕ. The power of penetrating has several interpretations; on the one hand it describes the visionary, the one who sees what is considered the occult by other men; on the other hand, it has_a sexual meaning because the payŽ...represents the phallic concept of procreation. Also, an aspect of the power of ÔpenetrationÕ is the capacity to enter into a trance and to undertake a magical flight that permits the payŽ to leave the biosphere and penetrate to another existential plane. A payŽ is at botom a specialist in developing this rupture of levels in a spatial, ecstatic sense as well as in the sense of passing from one conceptual unit of time to another; ecstasy is eq uivalent to death and is, therefore, a process of acceleration of time.PP126

8.3 The soul (simpora) of a payŽ is compared with a fire whose light penetrates obscurity and makes things visible; it is imagined as_a flame that comes out of the Ôlittle webÕ and emits a light, according to the degree of his power. ..It is the simpora deyori, the letting-itself-be-seen, that is the true manifestation of his soul in nature. The light of the soul of the payŽ and the light of lightning are both of a yellow color; that is, they represent the fertilizing powers of the sun...The payŽ is then obviously a person who contains a strong luminous and thermal quality. Our informant says...: Ôthe kaÕi (Ômind) of a payŽ does not have strength without the knowledge that the light provides. he can only act in a field already explored by this light. He is a part of the light of the Sun.Õ...in fact, the payŽ is a solar figure, a representative of the creator. PP127

8.4 The power of transformation of a payŽ is one of the most important aspects of the office that he fulfills in his group. This ability to transform himself is called payŽ-people-to pass from one place to another. On a horizontal plane, within the biosphere, the payŽ can transfer himself geographically, for example, to a hill, or can convert himself into a jaguar or into an anaconda...In a tridimensional plane the payŽ transforms himself in order to pass from the biosphere to the exosphere when, in his trance, he flies upto the Milky Way. ...A payŽ, it is also said, may change himself into a vear’-mahse, a beguiler, a ransacker. These beings appear in human form as a relative or a friend and invite those they meet to accompany them, only in order to make them lose their way in the forest. PP133

8.5 At the death of a payŽ, his body is buried in the center of the maloca and the site is abandoned. His soul goes to Ahpikondia, but if he was an evil payŽ, then it enters the hills or the rapids, where the soul continues its existance. not in the form of an animal but as a ghostly being that accompanies Va’-mahse. many of the hills are especially feared because certain payees of old times live in them, and stories are still told about their evil deeds...These payŽs who are shut up in a hill or a rapids, although they were evil, form an important medium of contact for the still living payŽs, and it is supposed that all the payŽs maintain contact with their dead colleagues whose souls still dwell in this world. PP135

9.1 According to tradition, the office of the kumś was created by the Sun Father who determined that these menshould be called upon to perpetuate moral teachings in the highest ethical sense. In effect a kumś is not concerned with the curing of common organic illnesses nor does he lend himself to magical manipulations of any sort. he is not concerned with the world of Vai-mahse; his relationships with supernatural beings are carried out through Emekorimahse and Diroa-mahse, with Viho-mahse serving as an intermediary. A kumś only does good and has no enemies; he is not exposed to criticism and envy. PP135

9.2 The apprenticeshipe lasts several years, and in it are emphasized the interpretation of the hallucinatory images produced by yajŽ, the kumśs ability to give constructive advise, and the power of conviction in settling human conflicts....But above all...the area of expression of a kumś is not that of mere knowledge of phenomena that concern daily human existence but rather of wisdom and serene meditation. PP136

9.3 ...his main public function consists of pronouncing...the Ôsongs of god,Õ that are sometimes sung on the occasion of large gatherings when gifts of food are distributed between phratries. During these ceremonies, which may last for two or three days, people bring quantities of smoked fish or wild fruits that the Kumś receives and keeps in his house...After having recited the invocations to the Sun, offering him these foods, he dirtibutes them among the participants in the gathering...the food is interpreted as consecrated, coming directly from the divinity...the main objective of this ceremony is to ask the Sun for abundance and the fostering of growth. PP136-137

9.4 On the occasion of these rites the kumeu sometimes uses a small altar-like object that consists of a woven box...in it, the kumś keeps his ritual objects. Among these objects there are several anthropomorphic figurines of wood ,,,that represent the Sun, the Daughter of the Sun, and Emekori-mahse. These figurines are made by the kumeu himself or by some youth who is still unmarried and has not yet had sexual relations...For the invocation of the Sun, the kumś places his little figurines on the box and then dances in a circle around them. During this dance he marks the beat with a stomping tube decorated with two black stripes and a series of triangles representing the designs of the snake canoe. PP137.

9.5 On a much higher level than the payŽ, the kumś is a luminous personage who has an interior light, a brillant flame that shines and unveils the intimate thoughts of all people who speak to him. his power and wisdom are always compared to an intense light that is invisible but perceptible through its effects. The manifestation of this luminous energy is the Ôpenetrating glanceÕ that is attributed to the kumś, his capacity of fathoming the psyche of a person and of thus knowing his intimate motivations. PP137

9.6 ...a concept called penyori. This word is derived from peri/to hear, and nyori that designates the effect of the Ôpenetrating glanceÕ. Nyor’ is the impact that the words of the kumu make, tha sudden insight that leads to comprehension...during the dialoge, the reaction of the individual is produced by the process of inyari/to see, u‡ri/to transfer, and pepiri/to be renewed. The informant explains: ÔThe entire conversation is directed to Ahpikondia. When concentrating (peiri) in this manner, one sees, one is thereÕ. Properly speaking, the experience is trance-like, but not hallucinatory. ÔThe soul is transported,Õ and an acceleration of time is produced, like a momentary death and return to the uterus. As a catharsis, the beneficial effect cannot be doubted. ÔAfter conversing in this way with the kumś, one goes away relieved,Õ says the informant. PP138

9.7 ..the relations between kumś and payŽ are generally harmonious and of mutual respect. There is no conflict between their respective functions, and while the payŽ dedicates his efforts mainly to his relations with Vai-mahse and the economicproblems of society, the Kumś watches over its spiritual well being. PP138

9.8 At the death of a Kumś his body is buried in the center of his maloca and the dwelling is abandoned. The place of the burialis not feared or avoided but is considered as satureted with his wisdom and good advise. After five years or more have passed, the members of the sib Umusi-pora gather there and exhume the body. The bones of the toes and hands are burned and pulveriZed and the powder is then mixed with chicha, which the men drink to incorporate into themselves the wisdom of the dead kumś. PP139

9.9 With the institution of the kumś we find ourselves on the highest level of Desana religion. The attitude of the kumś is always one of imploring and adoration, never of imposition. Although the kumś ...oficiates in a fertility ceremony, its form is far removed from the crude suxual symbolism that characterizes other ritual activities, and it is evident that what is involved is a true cult in which the problem of mere earthly existence has been sublimated. PP139

10.1 The principal rites of the life cycle of the Desana concentrate on puberty and death. These two phenomena are the culminating aspects of existence: the beginning of the participation in the circuit of sexual energy and its termination...But puberty and death are personal events in which society has a special interest because they delimit the period during which the individual is an active link in the chain of the transmission of energy. PP139

10.2 [At birth], when the umbilical chord is cut, the child enters a very dangerous state; his contact with the maternal uterus and with the cosmic uterus of Ahpikondia is broken, but he has still not been incorporated into the uterus of the maloca. The circuit is broken, and now the great medium of communication, that of tobacco, takes the field. The father smokes his cigar in and around the maloca to Ôsorround itÕ against all danger, and he recites invocations to Diro‡-mahse so that he will help dispel the dangers of Vai-mahse. At last the women bring the child and enter the maloca with it, safe and sound. When they pass through the door, the contact with ahpikondia is reestablished, the circuit is closed again, and the newly born child efects the passage from one uterine existence to another. PP140

10.3 As soon as a woman gives birth, the man interrupts all his daily activities...and remains inside the maloca...he should not go to the forest or to the landing...He must not hunt or fish nor should he touch his weapons or those of other people. nor should he bathe in the river...His diet is of great importance, consisting only of small fish from the brooks...and other ritually pure foods.PP 147

10.4 Death is called siriri, a term that means to enclose, to hinder oneÕs path. It is the state in which the soul has lost its vital comunication with the air and is now isolated within a magic fence. PP147

11.1 ...the womenÕs pregnancy and, above all, birth, cause Vai-mahse, the Keeper of the Game, to be violently jealous. Vai-mahse, who is always sexually attracted to women, now feels profoundly jealous of the man who was the cause of the pregnancy and attempts to revenge himslef on him for having usurped the sexual priviledges that Vai-mahse believed to be his. ..The woman is also exposed to dangers because Vai-mahse sends his anacondas after her...But what angers Vai-mahse most is not so much the birth of a child as the flow of blood that accompanies the birth. ÔHe does not like blood to flow,Õ and his attitude here is the same as at the first menstruation of agirl that also causes the rege of Vai-mahse. Our informant explains that a link is established between birth, menstruation, and the violation of a girl who has not yet reached puberty, in other words, a prohibited femenine element. Also, we are dealing here with ...equal participation in the common potential of procreative energy of men and animals. the danger represented by Vai-mahse is nothing less than a new exhortation of the exogamic law as well as a mechanism of control of the biotic equilibrium. PP147

12.1 Conflicts occasionally arise among sibs and phratries. These may not be limited to mere controversies between individuals but may extend to two antagonistic groups. the causes are generally the violation or rape of women, the failure to carry out the exchange of women or any other transaction,and also mutual accusations of witchcraft. PP149

12.2 The concept of revenge until death is of great importance in the emotional life of the desana...Inthe case of a murder, a ritual is carried out that does not consist of purification but of a magical defense against posible retribution. When, as a personal revenge or during a conflict among sibs or phratries, a man kills another, the murderer, assisted by his friends, calls on a long series of thorny trees and shrubs that form an impenetrabla circle around him...they form an impenetrable barrier against any retributive aggression. The summoning ends by his asking for protection from the Jaguar so that, invisibly, he will surround this fortification within which the murderer will remain for several weeks. PP150

12.3 One of the principal causes of profound hostility among men is the destructive criticism by which doubt is cast on whether a person is a Ôgood desana,Õ in the sense of observing and promulgating the norms and traditions of the culture. Any fault in the behavior of children is attributed to a lack of responsibility of their parents, and these are criticized when their children are not good dancers or when it is suspected that their daughters are not loyal wives to their husbands. To accuse a man of being a bad hunter, a bad adviser, or a bad dancer is a very grave offense because on these qualities the entire concept of personal prestige is based. It would be just as bad to insinuate that he is lazy in his work in clearing the chagra or of maintaining his maloca in good condition. A man who has sired many children is accused of being a bad husband and of causing too much work for his wife...it is always pointed out that every man or woman is, first of all, a public representative of his (or her) sib or phratry, and that the community to which he belongs will be judged by others in accordance with the behavior of the individual. The same accusations are made of women who are occassionally called lazy, talkative, bad mothers or advisers, or bad representatives of the phratry. ..the offended person takes his time in preparing his revenge... he never forgets the offense and thinks only of his revenge...revenge is a central theme in the lifeof the Desana male. PP156-157

13.1 The word...that is used to designate the hallucinogenic plant yagŽ expresses a metonymy in that its effect is exchanged for the cause...this effect implies a passage over a threshhold. according to our informant: Ô...here is a wall, a shell that separates the natural world from Ahpikondia. This shell impedes vision; men who live in our world do not see Ahpikondia. in order to see it they must drink yagŽ.ÕBut at the same time Ô[yagŽ] is a shellÕ; [the informant] compares it with a Ôwall that divides,Õ Ôsomething that protects,Õ Ôsomething that is something else.Õ ...Õthe canoe is a foreign thing in the water. it is not of water; if it were outside the water it would not float. it is another thing. It is a protecting shellÕ...Õif one removes the skin (mercury) that is behind a mirror, one sees through it. One does not see this world although it continues to be refleced in the mirror, but one sees that which is beyond it.Õ To explain the objective of this transcendental passage, the informant says: Ôit is to connect that which is diferent to that which is known. It is to reassure oneself; it is to be humanized, to be aware of human life. One knows that it is another thing, but then one knows that one belongs to it.Õ PP151

13.2 ...we are dealing with a concept that can be expressed by: the essence of passage, of transportation, or of uterine transformation. The passage from one cosmic plane to another is, in reality, a process of birth; the rupture of the plane (or shell) is the rupture of the placenta, followed by the entrance into another dimension of existence and cognition. many other ideas enter into the formation of this concept...: coitus, birth, ecstasy, hallucination, sickness, death; but also the nursing at the maternal breast that also is a ÔshellÕ that must be penetrated; the consumption of coca, which removes all hunger just as does ahpokondia [satiety]; the testicles that Ôprotect the semen.Õ The communication with the supernatural sphere is therefore conceived in terms of a passive sexual contact: the penetration of the cosmic uterus, in order to find ecurity within it, to find food and the necessary energy to be able to exist outside of it. PP151

13.3 But this passive contact has..its active counterpart. There exist several mechanisms through which contact can be established by means of attitudes that represent fertilization. Asceticism, the privations to which an individual submits himself to achieve a state of ritual purity, obligatory for the hunter, is accompanied by the intentional accumulation of sexual energy whose purpose is precisely that of contributing to the total procreative energy of the Universe. By saving his own bog‡, the individual contributes actively to the bog‡ of the universe. desana thought is very clear in this respect: it is not a problem of the conservation of matter but of energy. by maintaining energy in a state of equilibrium, matter will be created; there will be food and security. PP152

13.4 ...the Desana are aware of the fact that hallucinatory visions can be induced endogenously by fasting, concentration, certain bodily postures, and many other means. The hallucinatory experience is then a true revelation, in which the veil -the enveloping ÔshellÕ- is momentarily lifted. PP152

13.5 Another means of communication is tobacco, although in this case contact is established only on a symbolic level [?]. In the act of smoking there is a complex symbolism in which the act of nursing is combined with a phallic symbol, the cigar, and a uterine symbol, burning, and ashes, the latter being the Ôresidue.Õ On the other hand smoke is bog‡, an element of fertilizing energy that rises from below in an upward direction to unite the Milky Way with the great universal bog‡. the tiny seeds of the tobacco plant also have a seminal meaning. When the forked cigar holder is used, the sexual symbolism is clear: sticking into the earth like a world axis, the phallic union between the various planes of the above and below is achieved. PP152

13.6 As the rain puts out the fire, tobacco smoke is an imitation of the clouds and can disperse them or cause them to gather. On the other hand, smoke makes one invisible and is, as a consequence, a means of defense. By blowing smoke around a place or an object, one forms a magic fence that acts as a protection against dangers. Another quality of smoke is that of purifying; smoke is blown over the body, weapons, traps, and over a sick person; the objects exposed to evil influence are Ôbathed in smokeÕ...Tobacco can also be a means of magical aggression. An invocation is pronounced over a large cigar, and it is then buried near a maloca or the landing of an enemy. PP152

13.7 In a horizontal sense the cigar acts in two ways: when its smoke is blown over something ortoward something, a circular barrier is set-up that widens while the smoke expands; the smoke Ôopens the eyesÕ of the agents of evil who, in its place, see a fence; it has a limit in space. On the other hand when burying or throwing the cigar, it is this that is converted into an agent of evil. in a vertical sense, it is the smoke (not the cigar) again that acts, carrying a message to the skies, whose content is not of an aggresive character.PP153

13.8 In the life of the individual then tobaccois the principal magical instrument through which the most diverse situations can be handled...When smoke is being inhaled, a direct contact is being established with the soul of the smoker and carries a personal message, either a warning or a request. PP153

13.9 In all invocations tobacco smoke is the principle medium because the request is directly transmited through the smoke.PP153

13.10 [Invokations are] preceded generallyby a description more or less detailed of the physical aspects of the personification that is invoked. In the mayority of cases, animals are involved; their aid is solicited, and they are then described by their form, color, movements...To close an area off with a fence or a barrier against evil influences, emekori-sarin—/days-fence is invoked. This refers to the halo of the sun. In this case the sun is identified with the maloca sorrounded by a defensive fence that is the halo of the sun, and this fence is put around the place of the individual who is in danger...any animal to which desirable qualities are attributed at a given moment can be invoked to give help...Invocations addressed to a supernatural force such as the Sun, Emekori-mahse, or Vai-mahse are generally made by the kumś or the payŽ. PP154

13.11 Invocation, combined with the use of tobacco, is probably the ritual attitude that is most frequently observed by the individual. Daily life requires this attitude for many differnt ends, generally very personal ones, and through it the individual maintains his sense of security through the knowledge that he is continually in contact with the powers that permit him to dominate the conditions of existence. PP156

14.1 ...the ritual division of the space of the maloca is of great importance. The Ôsecond jaguar,Õ formed by a pair of house posts and the beam that marks the center of the dwelling, divides it into a forward section where the men gather and into a rear section that is occupied by the women. Fires are lit only in the womenÕs section so that the men are in the shadow, Ôunder the red reflection of the women,Õ or of the female and terrestrial fecundity...The men, on the other hand, occupy the ÔyellowÕ section of male, solar fertility, and their ÔreflectionÕ falls uponthe womenÕs section. PP160

14.2 The recitations [during large gatherings of various sibs or phratries] always make allusion to the red and yellow sections of the maloca; each one says that the men of his phratry are admirers of the light of the opposite side. The fecundity of the women of each phratry is discussed and the necessity of uniting the two ÔreflectionsÕ for the good of mankind and of the tribe. Then lenghthy discussions are held about sexual relations, and it si said that man is born as a result of semen in order to live Ôunder the red sign that is the protection of Diroa-mahse.Õ The symbolism of colours is discussed, emphasizing that yellow light represents fertilization and that the Ôred sectionÕ is the receiving and fecund part. PP 161

14.3 ...a phrase from our informant: ÔYurupar’ is not a person; it is a state-it is a warning not to commit incest and to marry only the women from another group.Õ PP171

15.1 Taking yagŽ is interpreted as a return to the cosmic uterus, to the Ômine,Õ to the source of all things. It has the objective of reaffirming religious faith, through the personal experience of seeing with oneÕs own eyes the origin of the universe and of mankind, together with all supernatural beings. On awakening from the trance, the individual remains convinced of the truth of the religious teaching. He has seen everything...The voice of the Kumś has guided him and has explained everything to him in detail. PP174

15.2 During the ceremony of yagee, the presence of a kumś, or another person of wide esoteric knowledge, is ...of the highest importance. Speaking or singing continualy, explaining each phase of the hallucinations...the kumś imprints his interpretation of the sensations in such a manner that a new hallucinatory experience is readily founded on a preestablished basis. The power of conviction of these hallucinations must be truly extraordinary in these circumstances. PP174

15.3 ...two factors are combined here; trance, or the separation of the ÔsoulÕ and its mystical union with the divinity. and, simultaneously, an acceleration of time. ÔTo take yagŽ is to die,Õ the informant says, and, the Ôreturn to the uterusÕ is considered the anticipation of death. The person not only passes from one cosmic plane to another but enetrs a fourth dimension, the temporal one, the one that permits the establishment of divine contact [?]. This acceleration of time is consciously produced and does not occur exclusively with the drinking of yajŽ. As we have seen, a similar mechanism operates in the ÔdialoguesÕ or confessions in which the kumeu offers catharsis by the same return to the uterus. PP174-175

16.1 The concept of disease is called dorŽ, a term that denotes a complex symbolism that, at first sight, obscures the sequence of interconnected ideas. The word dorŽ is derived from dorŽri/to order, to send. Illness id thus commonly interpreted as a mandate, or the product of a mandate, sent by or through a supernatural agency. But, on the other hand, dorŽri also means Ôto change intosomething in imagination,Õ and in this sense too, the term is connected with the concept of disease. To make a person fall ill is called dorŽ yeÕeri, and this last word (ye-eri/to cohabit) shows us that a sexual element has been introduced. We then have three basic ideas: the mandate, the transformation, and the sexual act. PP175

16.2 In the first place, the person or the supernatural agent who ÔsendsÕ an illness must be transformed, and this transformation generally operates through a concept designated as the Ôspoted jaguarÕ (dor—ri yeÕe)... Just as the spots (observe here the invocatory formula) of the jaguar make him almost invisible in the twilight of the jungle, so does the aggressor hide under the guise of this feline. But at the same time he ÔtransformsÕ his victim. ...The phallic jaguar now commits an imaginary act upon his victim, a sexual imposition that is the equivalent of a magic violation followed by a pathological impregnation. So the illness is the result of a sexual act, etiologically imagined as a supernatural phenomenon, but morally seen as a fact. Coitus is sickness (or death), and this is the message that the symbolism carries. For the Desana, sexuality, in any form, connotes serious danger...PP175

16.3 According to popular etiology, sickness may be due to many different causes. The most common cause is the malevolence of Vai-mahse, the ...Keeper of the Game.A second cause can be a payŽ and, finally, any person who is an enemy. PP176

16.4 It is said that all diseases were created by the Sun Father to control human conduct through them...PP176

16.5 All illnesses, except those caused by Vai-mahse are produced by Vi—-mahse who serves as an instrument. His field of action being the Milky Way, he is thus associated with the Harpies and theBuzzards, consumers of all that is rotten and represents the essence of all that is sick and pathogenic. The winds are instruments for carrying illnesses from the Milky Way to the earth, being the currents that Vi—-mahse diverts for this end. PP175

16.6 The specific pathogenic agents are the following: a) small, black splinters or thorns of a palm trunck and little quartz fragments that penetrate the organism and are then localized in some organ; b) blows with the feather crown of a malevolent personification or the act of Ôputting the crown onÕ a victim to cause illness; c) vegetable fibers of the cumare palm, or,d) a magic ÔfenceÕ with which the organ is encircled or which is put around it to isolate and destroy it. PP176

16.7 Cures are effected only in the daytime because it is feared that during the night hours Va’-mahse might come near and cause harm. Preferentially, sick persons are carried to the landing where the treatment is made....PP177

16.8 In principle, all illness is imagined as a wrapping, a thin black cape that envelops the patient and must be broken in some manner to accomplish the cure. ..what is sought is to rupture the envelope and to reincorporate the patient into normal life. PP177-178

16.9 There is one single word -mahs‡ri-meaning to cure and to be born. Moreover, it is believed that, in order to produce a rebirth, it is necessary in many cases to symbolically efect coitus with the patient, an act which introduces into his organs an element of vitality and growth...[ther is] an underlying assumption that the illness itself was caused by a sexual act, a kind of contagious insemination. The sex of the sick person is not taken into account...for it is believed that all sick people have an esssentially femenine character. PP178

16.10 The first phase of the therapeutic process consists in penetrating the wrapping that envelops the patient. To accomplish this, the payŽ invokes a number of creatures that, with their teeth, bite and perforate the envelope....Once this envelope has been eliminated, other animals are invoked to carry away the sickness. The attention of the harpies and buzzards is called to the fetid odor of the rotten substance, which is the illness, and they are asked to come and cary it away and throw in on the Milky Way...Another invocation is addressed to the humingbird and the weaverbird, bothof which exemplify cleanliness of the nest because with their strong beaks they extract and exterminate insects....Another animal that exemplifies cleanliness is the deer, [who] is invoked to clean the sick person, especially those suffernig from smallpox or from cutaneous diseases. The worker ants are invoked to form a circle of defense around the patient. Then the Ôsaliva of the stars,Õ the dew is invoked as a seminal element that produces growth. The patient must ÔgrowÕ and fortify himself in order to be reborn. The saliva of the stars must counteract the venom of the sickness; one concept of insemination attempts to neutralize another. PP179

16.11 A category of invocations of great importance refers to the beneficial action of certain colors. Here, the most diverse animals are invoked, especially those of a yellow, orange or red color....all are requested to saturete the body of the patient with their reddish-yellow color. PP179

16.12 The land snail is invoked to lend his power of hiding himself and of making himself ÔinvisibleÕ; the vampire bat is invoked so that he will carry away the blood of patients who are suffering from diarrhea or hemorrages. The jaguar is invoked so that with his roar he will frighten the illness and keep it away. PP180

16.13 Once the disease has been eliminated, invocations follow to strengthen and calm the patient...cleanliness, health and joy; wen invoked, the dove is asked to impart these qualities to the sick person. PP180

16.14 When a person is being cured of some disease, the pay·ee does not pronounce the name of the patient but invokes the beneficial influences only on his remedies: infusions, baths, and so on. The benefit is not invoked upon the sick person but upon the materia medica. When the sickness is beleived to be caused by a personal enemy, it is supposed that the enemy places an invisible ÔwatchmanÕ beside the victim, and the corresponding invocations then have the purpose of removing this sentinel. PP181

17.1 It is said that an adult man ought to have a penis Ôthe size of a hummingbirdÕ and not a large one Ôlike an anteater.Õ This difference is emphaiszed a great deal in conversation because a penis of small size is considered a sign of high social status. The comparison honey-semen...accordin to the informant: ÔThe honey of the flowers is pure because the flower has not made contact with the other flowers; it was not created by human hands.ÕWhat is involved here then, is a concept of purity. Honey, which is at the same time crystal, is a crystalline liquid and represents the fertilizing force of the Sun Father; that is to say, it represents the semen of the original phallus. It is emphasized here that the honey of the flowers is ÔpureÕ and that it was Ôtransformed by nature into a transparent liquid,Õ which means that it was not a raw element but a ÔtransformedÕ one...The act of boiling or cooking food ÔtransformsÕ it in a sexual sense because it not only changes its quality from raw to cooked but, above all, produces a change in sex; from male to female, from evil to beneficial [?], from offensive to harmless, from profane to pure. On the other hand, to cook is a symbol to cohabit, which is also a mechanism of transformation...the bee represent[s] Ôthe penis of the sunÕ, and [is a] phallic symbol associated with the concept of the seminal liquid formuolated as honey/crystal. The symbolism of honey also appears in everyday life;the men look for honey in the forest and give it to pregnant women to eat because it is a Ôpure foodÕ which aids gestation. ÔJust as in the sexual act, the man now provides his women with honey,Õthat is, he symbolically repeats the coitus to insure birth. PP195

18.1 It is interesting to observe that the Desana do not have a fixed concept of time butone that can be manipulated, accelerated or retarded, in combination with the rupture of levels of perception. PP178

19.1 All Desana are designated as Sons of the Hummingbird, not in the sense of descending from the bird but being under its supernatural protection. The Hummingbird rules in Ahpikond’a, the uterine paradise, and his fellow creatures on earth represent him in the capacity of models. At death, the souls of those Desanas who have led a virtuous life are convered into hummingbirds and return to the uterine paradise. PP193

19.2 The first large category [of animals the Desana use] is formed by those animals created directly by the Sun Father when he made this world....the deer, the tapir, the peccary, the monkeys, the various rodents and, finally the birds. These animals obviously constitute the principal prey of the hunter, but they have very ambivalent attributes because, in accordance with circumstances, Vai-mahse can use them to cause harm to men. Although Vai-mahse is generally called master of all animals, those mentioned above -including the fish- are the ones that obey him and, under his orders, constitute a control mechanism for human society. However, what contributes most to setting these animals apart is that they form an important link in the procreative circuit of the biosphere in which man and animal complement each other. While their phallic representative, Va’-mahse, participates up to a certain point in human sexual life, the hunter through his representative, who is the payŽ, promotes the fertility of animals. PP203

19.3 A second category is constituted by the fish in the rivers and lagoons. According to the creation myth, these came with the Snake-Canoe that carried the first human beings...Fish and snakes belong, essentially, to one large single family, and the aquatic serpents are directly designated as progenitors of the fish, a concept reflected in the mythical motif of the snake canoe. Land turtles and aquatic turtles as well as other reptiles, alligators, lizards,...are classified with the fish, the basic criterion being their life in or near the water as well as their fishi odor. PP204.

19.4 The third category is formed by animals that were Ôcreated by themselves.Õ...simply came into existance when this world was formed and since then, have continued procreating in a form that, in some manner, remains outside the dynamics of the energy circuit...small fish of the rivers and brooks, toads, frogs, edible ants, termites, mojojoi larvae, bees, the trumpeter bird, the tinamou, and the pigeouns. Although these animals Ôbelong to Va’-mahse,Õ none can be his instrument; they are inoffensive animals, and it follows that they can be pursued without danger and their meat can be eaten without fear of illness because it is Ôpure.Õ The informant says:ÕThe Sun Father protects mankind by means of these animals. These animals do ot shoot arrows.Õ From the point of view of ritual diet, the small fish of the brooks eat better because they eat the best fruits and flowers that fall into the water. Those of the large rivers eat whatever the little fish...do not eat. The fish of the large rivers are dirty.ÕWe can see again that the concept of ritual purity is closely related to the quality of the food and of its ÔpureÕ origin. PP204

19.5 ...there are two Va’-mahse, one the master of the animals of the forest,and the other that of the river, specifically of fish. Now as the animals of the forest have an essentially masculine character while those of the river have a femenine character, the two Va’-mahse also represent a complementary pair. Each Va’-mahse has his own family with which he lives in the hills and rapids, and between these families a relationship of sexual reciprosity exists that expresses the interdependence between the animals of the forest and the creatures of the rivers, especially between the mammals and the fish. It is said that the Vai-mahse of the hills periodically visits the rapids where he takes part in gatherings and dances, an occassion during which he has sexual intercourse with the Ôwomen of the fishÕ...As _a result of these contacts, many fish are born. ÔThe fish are children of the animals of the forest,Õ the informant says....The payŽs, when taking their hallucinogenic drugs, say that they can see these scenes and communicate this to the people as good news and a presage of abundant game. PP207

19.6 According to the Desana, creatures are divided into three groups according to the sounds they produce: whistling (or singing), humming, and croaking[percussion]. [some representatives are respectively: dove,tinamou, heron, owl, tapir, etc; hummingbird, cock of the rock, trumpeter bird, bees, ant, termite, monkey, anteater, certain snakes, etc; woodpecker, macaw, parrots, toucan, quail, eagles, hawks, poisonous snakes, peccary, jaguar.PP210

19.7 Furthermore, these sounds are associated with certain hours: the whistling sound corresponds to the morning, the humming to the afternoon, and the percussion to the night...sexual symbolism...the whistle was sexual incitation, the humming prohibition, and percussion gratification...this code dominates all nature. The voices of these creatures are a permanent expression of the cultural norms, an immense orchestra in which each voice, each sound, each cadence has a profound significance for the native. These sounds, associated with mythical images and ritual symbols, become good or evil omens and, above all, keep society continually aware of the cultural norms to be observed by all. PP210

19.8 Perhaps the most outstanding bird is the Tinamou (anga) that, because of its yellowish feathers and blue eggs, is considered to be an animal having all the beneficial powers of the cosmos. But this is not all; the Sun Father himself admired the ÔperfectionÕ of thisbird, one of the three creatures saved from the great world fire. The Tinamou Ôbelongs to the hills and not to the forestÕ; i.e. it is an animal that is especially protected and is not related to the fertility circuit of the forest animals. it is an Ôinoffensive animalÕ...it is the preferred food of people who must observe a ritually pure diet. By emphasizing that the eagles pursue this bird a lot, the antagonism between ÔoffensiveÕ and Ôinoffensive,Õ that also dominates the biosphere, is underscored. PP214

19.9 According to the Desana, human society and the fauna of its habitat both participate in the same great potential of reproductive energy, a large circuit that animates the biosphere in a continual ebb and flow. The fertility and fecundity of men and animals proceeds from one common source, composed of male energy (tul‡ri) and female energy (bog‡). These complement each other and replenish each other continually, but their total capacity has a fixed limit. It is not an inexhaustable source but a restricted capital; there is only a certain amount of available energy and, therefore, it is necessary to maintain equilibrium. The human waste of energy immediatly diminishes the procreative energy of the animals and, as this is known to be very restricted, theobligation of society is to curb any activity that might cause loss or dissipation of human energy. recognizing manÕs tendency to consume without restraint as well as his tendency to exploit the environment, Desana culture has formulated a series of very strict norms in order to assure the maintenance of a biotic equilibrium. In this mechanism the two administrators of the energetic caital meet: the payŽ and Vai-mahse. Both are phallic beings, procreators, each one attempting to influence the sexual sphere of the other; between them dialogue is established; they bargain, and each one attempts to gain advantages for their charges. It is not a competition for food...or for the mere physiologocal satisfaction of the moment; it is a struggle for the participation in energy, in life itself, and the pawns that are put up are the souls of men. PP219

19.10 Within the wider framework established by the law of reciprosity, the sexual repression of the hunter figures in first place. The retention and accumulation of human sexual energy is not only conceived as a conscious control of the birthrate but has as its equally important goal the conservation of a broad margin of sexual potential in which the game animals can participate [how?]. This participation operates on two levels: on one hand it is indirect and metaphysical, the animals receiving a generalized energetic influence; on the other hand it is direct in the sense that, in an imaginary sphere-but not for that less real for the person- an erotic relationship exists between men and animals. This relationship or contact is effected in dreams, nightmares, hallucinations, or simply in daydreams. in these cases the animal is a sexual object, a voluntary succubus, fertilized by man, that multiplies its own animalspecies. But this contact can also be produced in the inverse; the animal can appear in the visions or dreams as an incubus, and in this case the investment of energy is not only lost but can even be lethal to the involuntary victim.PP219-220

19.11 The relationship between the hunter and his prey has then a marked erotic component. The hunt is practically a coutship and a sexual act, an event that must be prepared for with great care in accordance with the strictest norms. The verb to hunt is ..translated as Ôto make loveto the animalsÕ...The manifest idea is that of sexually exciting the game so that it will draw near and allow itself to be killed, an act that in itself is an attitude of sexual domination,ÕThe game animals are like coquettes,Õ the informant says. Even the dangerous animals like snakes or jaguars are ÔcaressedÕ in this manner, the person tryig to appear to them sexually attractive and, thereby, friendly and harmless. PP220

19.12 In order to achieve this sexual attractiveness, the hunter has the following means at his disposition: sexual abstinence and consequently a latent state of excitation; physical cleanliness produced by bathing, emetics, and dieting; ritual purity of his weapons; the use of aromatic herbs whose perfume is exciting; facial paint; the use of tobacco; special amulets and, finally, magical invocations...The man prepares himself for courtship and Ôunder this disguise he goes hunting.Õ PP220

19.13 The criterion used in the selection of these plants is based upon the similarity between the color of the leaves and that of the animal onewants to hunt...The roots, or leaves, of these plants are chewed, and the entire body is rubbed with the mass as well as the weapons the hunter uses. On the onehand the hunter looks for herbs that drive away certain dangers, whether they be snakes, the bor‡ro, or other spirits; on the other hand, he uses herbs to attract the game. PP221.

19.14 A hunter does not excuse himself to the game for having killed it, but quite often speaks to the dead animal, especially when it is a female. In any case, he observes in detail the genitals of his prey and makes comments on their size or form. When asked if the hunter felt sexually excited, the informant answered dryly: ÔTo kill is to cohabit.Õ PP225

19.15 Blood...is an element that must be dealt with with care. As a general rule, the animal is bled outside the maloca...The informant says: ÔIt is blood that unites men and animals, in a sense of fertility and kinship. Semen is quiet another thing; that would be a matter of lineage. But blood is a tie that establishes communication and unity. Between man and animals there is a very close kinship, and the expression of this kinship is blood.Õ PP227

19.16 ... take into account that the game animals owe their existence and their vital energy inlarge part to the incarnation of the souls of those men who, by their conduct, have been condemned to the Hills of Va’-mahse after death...ÕTo kill animals is to kill people. it is a punishment that the Sun father imposed because they went away to the hills and did not obey the rules. However, when killing an animal, one does notthink of this...But there is a sense of family ties.ÕPP227

19.17 ...the words of our informant summing up the relationships that exist between man and animal: ÔThe animals have no morals; they have only their way of procreating. They have no special rules; they simply multiply, live and die, but they are always subject toVa’-mahse. he tells them what they should eat, where they should walk, and how they should procreate. It is like a second world. Va’-mahse is the reward for manÕs actions; his zeal serves to formalize the rules that the Sun Father has established, and he makes use of the animals to enforce these rules.Õ PP227-228.

19.18 [a man should not carry the game into the maloca, but leave it outside]. The maloca is a uterus and therefore a place at whose entrance a fundamental operation operates. The act of the man in bringing an animal to the maloca is equivalent to a sexual act, a fertilization of the uterus by the male factor....; it is thought that Ôthe food prepares the uterusÕ -the uterus of the maloca as well as the uterus of the woman- so that it will be fertile thanks to the energy assimilated. at the same time, the men who consume this food receive new energy, prepared by the women through the culinary process. Thus the circuit remains closed: energy is conserved and life has continuity. PP232

19.19 ...that which is roasted or smoked has a male character; ...what is emphasized is the odor of smoke, said to be a very masculine property. Everything that is boiled is said to be female...intrinsic quality of hot liquid and the process of boiling...All foods with a salty or sour taste are essentially male while those with a sweet or insipid taste have a femalecharacter. The rotten and the fetid are always associated with thefemale sex; also, overripe fruits or very bland food. PP233

19.20 The strict division of foods into male and female categories has an extraordinary importance in the life of the group because it determoines which foodstuffs can be consumed simultaneously. ..to avoid consumption of ÔmixturesÕ Meat cannot be cooked together with fish, nor avocado with meat, nor ants with fish...the mere idea causes revulsion and is emphatically rejected as unthought of and highly dangerous. PP235

20.1 division of labor ...men are mainly occupied in the masculine sphere of the forest while the women are in the fields. On the social plane this involves exogamic marriege among menidentified as hunters and women identified as horticulturalists. In the technological-artisanal sphere specialization exists in the manufacture of certain artifacts, canoes, basketry, trays, manioc grates, etc, each produced by a single group and thus available for exchange and barter. A social unit that gives women to another unit also gives certain artifacts and is, ideally, the producer of certain foodstuffs, all of which are exchanged with the group receiving the women. This system avoids all competition: there is always a market for the goods that a group produces, and there is always a demand for the products of others. On the other hand, the system leads to a strong sense of cohesion, controls aggressiveness, and promotes the maximumutilization of all available resources. in this manner not only survival but the continuity ofthe distinctive cultural norms of each group is guaranteed. The circuit of energetic potential, as the Desana formulate it, remains closed; each debit is recouped and the current circulates without interruption. PP244

20.2 Does the concept of the supernatural exist for the Desana, our informant affirm that itdoes, it is tulari-boga, biocosmic energy, the equivalent of our notion of the supernatural. ÔIt is that which cannot be modified...on the contrary, man always depends on it.Õ PP248

21.1 1) Existence (ariri):, living Ôbut they donÕt know whyÕ. They know the principal characteristics and functions of the divine intermediaries and ARE INSTRUCTED in the rules applying to fishing, hunting and to ceremonial gatherings. they know the myths referring to the fundamental structure of the Universe, origin of mankind, and paradisiacal condition of Ahpikond’a. Yurupar’ interpreted as where Ôthe deadÕ and the devil come to terrorize people.

21.2 2) Reflection (Pepiri):ÕThey are those who hear and learn; but they only feel. But then they think and reflect,Õ...implies above all learning of invocations, songs, dances, ceremonial conduct at gatherings, counsel, and a repertory of myths and descriptive tales. Mostly young men. Important in acquiring status. Some stay here all lives.

21.3 3) Knwoledge (pesiri)...haveachieved profound knowledge. ÔThey hear and understand, they reasonÕ knowledge embraces the myths that refer to the creator and the creation, incest of Sun Father, genealogies of sibs, phratries. Yurupari interpreted as a commemorative rite promulgating law of exogamy; and hallucinations with yagŽ and vih— interpreted as manifestations of divine and mythical personages. Function of payee and kumś known. Also, symbolism of maloca, all manufactured objects, acoustical code of instruments, code of nimals, and culinary code.

21.4 Wisdom (mahsi-doar’)...perhaps 3%. these are kumśs, some payŽs, and some exceptionally gifted individuals...know the great law of the energy circuit of the biosphere and the mechanism of the ÔechoÕ (keor’) by which all creation continually transmits the message of its creator...for them the sequence of the intrauterine stages is clear.They understand the acceleration of time and the hallucinations that permit them momentarily to return to the source of everything, to be reborn with the conviction of faith. the level of wisdom mahsiri/to know, doarei/to sit down; it is the level where the person is seated on his bench. PP252-252