clouds. As the controller of all things, Eschetewuarha ensures
that mankind receives water. In return for this favor, she ex-
pects her people to send songs to her nightly, and when such
expectations are not fulfilled she punishes them. Herbert
Baldus (1932), who provided in-depth information about
Eschetewuarha, compares her with the universal mother of
the Cágaba (Koghi), a Chibcha tribe in Colombia that had
been influenced by more advanced cultures. This compari-
son facilitates postulating at least a phenomenological rela-
tionship between the two.
The obvious characteristics of a supreme god are appar-
ently present in Kuma, the goddess of the Yaruro, who sub-
sist on fishing, hunting, and gathering along the Capanaparo
River, a tributary of the Orinoco in Venezuela. She is consid-
ered to be a moon goddess and consort of the sun god, who
is unimportant. Kuma created the world with the help of two
brothers, the Water Serpent and the Jaguar, after whom the
tribal moieties were named. Although she apparently created
the first two human beings herself, her son, Hatschawa, be-
came the educator and culture hero of mankind. Kuma dom-
inates a paradise in the west in which gigantic counterparts
for every plant and animal species exist. Shamans are capable
of seeing the land of Kuma in dreams and visions and are
able to send their souls there. As a reliable informant ex-
plained, “Everything originated from Kuma and everything
that the Yaruro do has been arranged so by her; the other
gods and cultural heroes act according to her laws” (Petrullo,
1939). Métraux drew attention to the typological affinities
between Kuma and Gauteovan, the mother goddess of the
Cágaba, who in turn is connected with Eschetewuarha of the
Chamacoco (Métraux, 1949).
Supreme beings of Tierra del Fuego. Among the peo-
ple living in the southern regions of the continent, a belief
in a supreme being is common in hunting and fishing tribes,
especially the Selk’nam (Ona) of Tierra del Fuego and the
Yahgan and Alacaluf of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.
Despite many years of European influence in this area and
the astonishing similarities of their beliefs to aspects of Chris-
tianity, Métraux believed that the religion of these three
tribes remained substantially independent of Christianity
(Métraux, 1949). Martin Gusinde, a member of the ethno-
logical school of Wilhelm Schmidt, provided us with re-
search information about these tribes shortly before their
cultural extinction (Gusinde, 1931, 1937, 1974). The
Selk’nam, the Yahgan (Yámana), and the Alacaluf (Halak-
wulip) maintain belief in a supreme being who is an invisible,
omnipotent, and omniscient spirit living in heaven, beyond
the stars. He has no physical body and is immortal; having
neither wife nor children, he has no material desires. Among
the Alacaluf, the creator god is named Xolas (“star”), and de-
spite the great distance that separates him from the earth, he
concerns himself with the daily life of human beings.
Through his initiative a soul is allowed to enter the body of
a newborn baby; it remains in the human being until death,
at which time it returns to Xolas. The Alacaluf were obliged
to abstain from any form of veneration of this perfect su-
preme being, since any attempt to influence his will would
have been fruitless. For this reason, it is not known what for-
mal prayers were addressed to Xolas nor whether cultic prac-
tices associated with him were performed.Watauineiwa (“ancient one, eternal one”) behaved quite
differently, according to the beliefs of the Yahgan. He pre-
ferred to be addressed as “my father,” and he was reputed to
be the lord of the world and ruler over life and death. He
was an astute observer of the actions of humans and pun-
ished violations of the laws he had established in relation to
morals and customs. Such rules were inculcated into the
young (boys and girls concurrently) during initiation rituals,
which formed the core of Yahgan religious life. In seeking
contact with Watauineiwa, the individual Yahgan could
draw upon numerous established prayers. A person would
implore Watauineiwa, who was the controller of the game
animals and of all food plants, to help him to secure his sub-
sistence needs and would turn to Watauineiwa to ensure his
continued health, to cure him of sickness, and to protect him
from inclement weather and from drastic environmental
changes. But Watauineiwa was also the target for harsh com-
plaints in cases of ailments and misfortune, and in the event
of death he was accused with the words “murderer in
heaven.”The supreme god of the Yahgan maintained a closer
contact with human beings than did Témaukel, the
Selk’nam’s supreme god. Témaukel (“the one above in heav-
en”) was considered to be the originator and protector of
mankind’s moral and social laws, although he was otherwise
uninterested in daily life on earth. Témaukel had existed
from the beginning of time, but he entrusted Kenos, the first
ancestor, with the final configuration of the world and the
institution of social customs. In spite of the respect they ac-
corded Témaukel, the Selk’nam prayed to him less frequent-
ly than did the Yahgan to their supreme god. Contrastingly,
the Selk’nam meticulously observed the practice of throwing
the first piece of meat from the evening meal out of their huts
with the words “This is for him up there,” an action that can
be considered a form of sacrificial offering. The dead were
also believed to travel to Témaukel.Supreme beings of the Pampas, Patagonia, and the
southern Andes. Although our knowledge of the religious
practices and beliefs of the earlier inhabitants of the Pampas
and Patagonia is sparse and relatively superficial, it is almost
certain that the Tehuelche had a supreme being. Like Té-
maukel of the Selk’nam, the god of the Tehuelche was char-
acterized by his lack of interest in worldly activities; he was
also lord of the dead. This supreme being was, in general,
sympathetic toward human beings, but there is no proof of
a public cult devoted to him. Traditionally he was called Soy-
chu. A benevolent supreme being of the same name was also
found in the religious beliefs of the Pampa Indians, at least
after the eighteenth century.SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW 8579