and on many of its tributaries. Caboclos are the mixed descen-
dants of Indians and whites, and their religiosity consists of
an intermixture of the rituals and beliefs of indigenous sha-
manism and popular Catholicism. Both forms are ways of
explaining and dealing with the powers of the universe.
The shamanic universe is populated by “enchanted be-
ings,” which were left by God as guardians of the forest, the
waters, game animals, and so on. They are entities with pow-
ers of enchantment, metamorphosis, and hypnosis and can
be either generous or vengeful. They include the “father” or
“caboclo of the forest,” protector of the forest; the caipora, re-
sponsible for game animals; and the “caboclos of the water,”
which can take humans to the bottom of rivers and streams.
There are also animals (snakes, deer, and turtles) with human
features that can protect, deceive, hypnotize, or make pacts.
The presence of these entities in nature makes the rela-
tions of the caboclo to the forest, rivers, and game highly ritu-
alized. Daily activities, such as going into the forest or fish-
ing, are marked by prayers or requests from the spirit entities
to hunt or fish; the failure to do so could bring panema (bad
luck), a force that infects humans, animals, or objects and
makes them incapable of action. As there are procedures to
cure panema, there are also procedures to enhance the power
of the hunter, sometimes called “pacts,” in which, for exam-
ple, the hunter exchanges the blood of the animal for greater
productivity in the hunt. The relation of the caboclo to na-
ture is thus one of dependence that is kept in balance by re-
specting norms of relations with its inhabitants and the ex-
ploitation of its resources.
The other aspect of caboclo religiosity is popular Cathol-
icism, which, far from being opposed to the supernatural be-
ings, consists of entities and practices that are integral parts
of a single religious field. In general appeals are made to the
Catholic saints to deal more with human affairs, whereas the
enchanted beings and pacts have relatively more to do with
relations to nature. As in other regions of Brazil, popular Ca-
tholicism involves saint day festivals, collective reciting of the
rosary, novenas, devotion to patron saints, and making vows.
The actual presence of church representatives (priests) is in-
frequent in this region, as it is restricted to annual visits to
administer the Sacraments.
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ROBIN M. WRIGHT (2005)SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF
THE GRAN CHACO
The Gran Chaco (chaco, derived from Quechua, means
“hunting land”) is an arid alluvial plain in the lowlands of
south-central South America. Approximately 725,000 square
kilometers in area, it lies between the Andes in the west and
the Paraguay and Paraná rivers in the east, and between the
Mato Grosso to the north and the Pampas to the south. The
scrub forests and grasslands of the Gran Chaco, though
sparsely populated, were the home of numerous indigenous
groups. In the main they were hunters, fishers, and gatherers,
moving seasonally in search of food and practicing supple-
mentary farming. Few still follow their traditional way of life.
The religion of the indigenous groups of the Gran
Chaco can be understood through an examination of their
mythic narratives, which contain their primary structures of
meaning. These myths give an account of a primordial time
in which an ontological modification was produced by the
actions of various supernatural beings who shaped present-
day cultural reality. This rupture may be caused by a lawgiver
(who frequently has the appearance of a trickster), or it may
be the result of infractions by ancestors or by the transforma-
tions of ancestors. Numerous supernatural beings with
avowedly demonic characteristics monopolize the realm of
fear and danger; their ambivalent intentions toward human8632 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE GRAN CHACO