to an inferior position in relation to the Christian religious
system.
The mythical universe appears to be divided into three
layers: the world below, the terrestrial plane, and the celestial
plane. The first is the mythical space par excellence, for in
it dwell the supernatural spirits. Located just below the sur-
face of the earth, its parallel position in relation to the terres-
trial level facilitates contact between the two worlds, a neces-
sary condition for the existence of the mythical world, since
this plane only makes sense in connection with the world of
humans. The representation of the passage between the two
worlds is physical: there is a “hole” in the terrestrial level that
allows for displacement from one sphere to another. The
switch from one plane to another is marked by the transfor-
mation of supernatural beings that, in their world, have
human form but, to come up to the terrestrial level, need to
“clothe themselves” with a “cloak” that gives them animal
form.
On the terrestrial level live human beings, plants, ani-
mals, and occasionally supernatural beings. This level has a
topography that is analogous to this earth, about which there
are many mythical narratives; however, geographical loca-
tions are fluid and vary from one narrative to another.
Finally, the celestial plane seems to be a space that is
dominated exclusively by Christian cosmology—represented
as Eden, inhabited by the Trinity, and reserved for the cho-
sen, meaning those who have “accepted Jesus” before the
“end of time.” In terms of Palikur myths, heaven appears to
be empty. But even while fragmentary, several aspects of in-
digenous cosmology still occupy space in this domain. The
Palikur believe there are six unnamed levels. Among these,
two have notable inhabitants: on the second level lives the
two-headed king vulture and on the sixth is Jesus Christ,
awaiting the chosen “in the celestial Eden made of gold.”
The other levels are described as “display windows” of purga-
tory, in which one sees the souls of those who do not attain
eternal life. These souls are anthropomorphic, with a human
body up to the neck dressed in a white cloak and the head
of an animal (monkey, alligator, and so on).
In 1926 Curt Nimuendajú mentioned the existence of
three heavens: Inoliku, the lowest, Mikene, and Ena. Just
above the first there was a special heaven, Yinoklin, inhabited
by the Yumawali spirits (or “demons,” as Nimuendajú called
them) of the mountains. This division of the sky by named
levels does not exist now, but with small alterations, the
names given to the heavens are confirmed.
Araweté and Juruna (Tupian). The guiding thread of
Araweté religion is the relationship between humanity and
the Máï, the immortal beings who left the earth at the dawn
of time and now live in the sky. Humans define themselves
as the “abandoned ones,” or “forsaken,” meaning those who
were left behind by the gods. Humans and Máï are related
as affines, for the souls of the dead are married to the gods.
The Máï may, and in the long run will, destroy the earth by
causing the sky to crash down. The ultimate cause of all
deaths is the will of the Máï, who are conceived as being at
once ideal Araweté and dangerous cannibals. The Máï are
not thought of as creators, but their separation from humani-
ty produced old age and death. Among the hundreds of types
of Máï, most of which have animal names, the Máï hete (real
gods) are those who transform the souls of the dead into
Máï-like beings by means of a cannibal-matrimonial opera-
tion. That is, following its arrival in the celestial realms, the
soul of the dead is killed and devoured by the Máï, after
which it is resurrected by means of a magical bath and made
into a godlike being who will be married to a Máï and live
forever young. Besides the Máï, there are also Ani forest spir-
its, savage beings who invade settlements and must be killed
by the shamans, and the powerful Master of the River, a sub-
aquatic spirit who delights in kidnapping women’s and chil-
dren’s souls, which must then be retrieved by shamans.
The most important shamanic activity is bringing down
the Máï and the souls of the dead to visit the earth and par-
take of ceremonial meals. In these ceremonial banquets col-
lectively produced food (honey, fish, and cauim, a fermented
corn beverage) is offered to the celestial visitors before being
consumed. The cauim festival is the climax of ritual life and
contains religious and warrior symbolism. The leader of the
dances and songs that accompany the consumption of cauim
is ideally a great warrior, who learned the songs directly from
the spirits of dead enemies. Singing is thus the heart of cere-
monial life. The “music of the gods” sung by shamans and
the “music of the enemies” sung by warriors are the only two
musical genre known to the Araweté, and both are formed
by the words of “others” quoted in complex ritual formulas.
The souls of the recently deceased often come to earth
in the shaman’s chants to talk to their living relatives and tell
them of the bliss of the afterlife. After two generations they
cease to come, for there will be no more living contempo-
raries who remember them; they are not ancestors, however.
Juruna cosmology has three basic coordinates. First is
the opposition between life and death. This is far from being
a drastic dichotomy as in Western cosmology, because there
are various transitions, such as minor temporary “deaths,” as
in sleep, that typically take the form of dreams. The relation
between life and death involves not so much the notion that
if someone is dead he or she cannot be alive but rather that
someone can be dead in one place but alive in another or that
he or she may be alive here but already dead somewhere else.
In other words, the relation is one of relative disjunction,
which allows for important conjunctions. Juruna shamans
used to be masters at such transitions.
Second, the world axes are formed by the oppositions
between river and forest and sky and earth, each being articu-
lated with the opposition between the presence and absence
of cannibalism. The river and the sky have a positive link
with cannibalism. One can say that all existence can be divid-
ed into these oppositions: human beings (river peoples and
forest peoples), spirits of the dead (those living in the cliffs8628 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN AMAZON