region on the Brazilian side of the frontier. At the beginning
of the twenty-first century, the growing body of evangelicals
apart, most Tukanoan Indians would consider themselves to
be Catholics. As more and more people now leave their vil-
lages and head for urban centers in search of education and
employment, life in the longhouses and the rich variety of
ritual life that went with it now persists only in the memories
of the oldest inhabitants. On the Colombian side of the bor-
der, the more liberal Javerians preach tolerance of Indian cul-
ture and accommodation with its values and beliefs, allowing
the Tukanoans to conserve much of their traditional religion
and way of life to this day.
Baniwa and Kuripako. The religious life of the Ara-
wak-speaking Baniwa and Kuripako of the Brazil/Venezuela/
Colombia borders was similarly based on the great mytho-
logical and ritual cycles related to the first ancestors and sym-
bolized by sacred flutes and trumpets, on the central
importance of shamanism, and on a rich variety of dance rit-
uals called pudali, associated with the seasonal cycles and the
maturation of forest fruits.
Baniwa cosmogony is remembered in a complex set of
numerous myths in which the main protagonist is
Nhia ̃perikuli, beginning with his emergence in the primordi-
al world and ending with his creation of the first ancestors
of the Baniwa phratries and his withdrawal from the world.
Many of these myths recount the struggles of Nhia ̃perikuli
against various animal-tribes who seek to kill him and de-
stroy the order of the universe. More than any other figure
of the Baniwa pantheon, Nhia ̃perikuli was responsible for
the form and essence of the world; in fact, it may even be
said that he is the universe.
Another great cycle in the history of the cosmos is told
in the myth of Kuwai, the son of Nhia ̃perikuli, and the first
woman, Amaru. This myth has central importance in Bani-
wa culture for it explains at least four major questions on the
nature of existence in the world: (1) how the order and ways
of life of the ancestors are reproduced for all future genera-
tions, the Walimanai; (2) how children are to be instructed
in initiation rituals about the nature of the world; (3) how
sicknesses and misfortune entered the world; and (4) what
is the nature of the relation among humans, spirits, and ani-
mals that is the legacy of the primordial world. The myth
tells of the life of Kuwai, an extraordinary being whose body
is full of holes and consists of all the elements of the world,
and whose humming and songs produce all animal species.
His birth sets in motion a rapid process of growth in which
the miniature and chaotic world of Nhia ̃perikuli opens up
to its real-life size.
The myth of Kuwai marks a transition between the pri-
mordial world of Nhia ̃perikuli and a more recent human
past, which is brought directly into the experience of living
people in the rituals. For that reason, the shamans say that
Kuwai is as much a part of the present world as of the ancient
world, and that he lives “in the center of the world.” For the
shamans, he is the Owner of Sicknesses and it is he whom
they seek in their cures, for his body consists of all sicknesses
that exist in the world (including poison used in witchcraft,
which is still the most frequently cited “cause” of death of
people today), the material forms of which he left in this
world in the great conflagration that marked his “death” and
withdrawal from the world. The shamans say that Kuwai’s
body is covered with fur like the black sloth called wamu.
Kuwai ensnares the souls of the sick, grasping them in his
arms (as the sloth does), and suffocating them until the sha-
mans bargain with him to regain the souls and return them
to their owners.
In Baniwa cosmology, the universe is formed by multi-
ple layers associated with various divinities, spirits, and
“other people.” According to one shaman, it is organized into
an enormous vertical structure of twenty-five layers or
“worlds”(kuma), there being twelve layers below “this world”
(hliekwapi) of humans, collectively known as Uapinakuethe,
and twelve above, collectively known as Apakwa Hekwapi,
the “other world.” Each one of the layers below the earth is
inhabited by “people” or “tribes” with distinctive characteris-
tics (people painted red, people with large mouths, etc.).
With the exception of the people of the lowest level of the
cosmos, and one other underworld, all other peoples are con-
sidered to be “good” and assist the shaman in his search for
the lost souls of the sick. Above our world are the places of
various spirits and divinities related to the shamans: bird-
spirits who help the shaman in his search for lost souls; the
Owner of Sicknesses, Kuwai, whom the shaman seeks in
order to cure more serious ailments; the primordial shamans
and Dzulíferi, the Owner of Pariká (shaman’s snuff) and to-
bacco; and finally, the place of the creator and transformer
Nhia ̃perikuli, or Dio, which is a place of eternal, brilliant
light, like a room full of mirrors reflecting this light. The sun
is considered to be a manifestation of Nhia ̃perikuli’s body.
With the exception of the level of Kuwai, all other levels are
likewise inhabited by “good people.” Some may “deceive” or
“lie” to the shaman, but only the “sickness owner” possesses
death-dealing substances used in witchcraft.
This world of humans is, by contrast, considered to be
irredeemably evil. Thus, of all the layers in the universe, four
are considered to be comprised of wicked people. It is re-
markable how, in the context and from the perspective of the
most elaborate cosmic structure thus far recorded amongst
the Baniwa, the theme of evil in this world of humans clearly
stands out. In shamanic discourse, this world is frequently
characterized as maatchikwe (place of evil), kaiwikwe (place
of pain), and ekúkwe (place of rot [due to the rotting corpses
of the dead]), contrasting it with the world of Nhia ̃perikuli,
which is notable for its sources of remedies against the sick-
nesses of this world. This world is considered to be contami-
nated by the existence of sorcerers and witches. Shamanic
powers and cures, by contrast, are characterized in terms of
the protective, beneficial, and aesthetically correct: to make
the world beautiful; to make this world and the people in it
better and content; to not let this world fall or end (meaning,8624 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST AMAZON