kilikháma state. The apyoxólhma, or shaman, receives power
(siyavnáma) through visions and apprenticeship to the song
of the plants, whose ingestion, though lacking hallucinogenic
properties, produces ritual death. Once he obtains siyavná-
ma, the shaman commands the kilikháma, who control nu-
merous beings and realms of the universe. The territory of
the dead (pisisl), situated toward the west, is the destination
of the souls of the dead, although some remain close to the
living.
The Kaskihá. The “masked celebration” of the Kaskihá
is of particular interest. It is based on a myth that describes
the origin of the festive attire following the quartering of the
water deity Iyenaník. The practice of kindáian, which is a
dance, is the only medium for invoking the power of such
deities.
The Sanapaná. The rich mythic narrative of the Sana-
paná focuses on the war between the heavenly world, inhab-
ited by the ancestors (inyakahpanamé), and the terrestrial
world, inhabited by the fox (maalék). The ancestors, who dif-
fer morphologically from present-day humanity, introduced
the majority of cultural goods. Among the fundamental
structures distinguished by the Sanapaná is the “dream,” the
soul’s life in its wanderings separate from the body. Death
is understood as theft of the soul by demonic forces, the souls
of the dead that stalk during the night in forests and marshes.
The demonic spirits are anthropomorphic. Some are malig-
nant, including those whose mere appearance can cause im-
mediate death. There are also benevolent spirits who are the
familiars of shamans (kiltongkamák). The shaman’s initiation
involves fasting and other tests.
MATACO-MAKKÁ FAMILY. The Mataco-Makká language
family of the central Chaco includes the Mataco, Chulupí,
Choroti, and Makká.
The Mataco. The religious universe of the Mataco
(Wichí) centers on the notion of power (la-ka-áyah), which
is the property of innumerable supernatural beings of de-
monic (ahát) or human (wichí) nature, personifications of
such phenomena as the sun, moon, stars, and thunder. The
Mataco recognize a dualism of body (opisán) and spirit
(oDnusék) in humans. Death changes the oDnusék into a malev-
olent supernatural being.
The central character in Mataco mythic narrative (pah-
lalís), Tokhwáh, is the one who imposes cosmic and ontolog-
ical order on the present-day world. The actions of this su-
pernatural being, who has a demonic nature, are
incorporated in his trickster aspect; nonetheless, he is per-
ceived by the Mataco as a suffering and sad being. In his law-
giving role he introduces economic practices and tools; hu-
manizes the women who descend from the sky by
eliminating their vaginal teeth; institutes marriage; and
teaches the people how to get drunk, to fight, and to make
war. He also introduces demonic spirits who cause illnesses
(aités) and establishes the shamanic institution (hayawú) and
death. The most important Mataco ceremony is carried out
by the shamans, in both individual and communal form,
with the objective of expelling illnesses according to Tokh-
wáh’s teachings.The shamanic initiation includes possession (welán) by
a demonic spirit (ahát) and the consequent separation of the
initiate’s soul (oDnusék), which undertakes journeys to the dif-
ferent realms of the cosmos. When the initiation is complete,
the shaman has achieved an ontological alteration in the state
of his soul—he has been transformed into a demonic being.
The smoking or inhalation of the dust of the sumac (Anade-
nanthera macrocarpa) is a frequent shamanic practice.The Chulupí. The mythology of the Chulupí (Nivaklé,
Aslusláy) comprises three narrative cycles on the deities who
acted in primordial times, but who then distanced them-
selves from humanity and the earthly world. The Xitscitt-
sammee cycle describes a supernatural being comparable to
an almost forgotten deus otiosus. The cycle of the supernatu-
ral being Fitsók Exíts includes prescriptions for the rites of
female initiation; myths recounting the origin of women, of
the spots on the moon, and of honey, among other things;
and the tale of the expulsion from the universe of the super-
natural creator. The Kufiál cycle relates the cataclysmic
events accompanying the fall of heaven and the subsequent
actions of the demiurge Kufiál, to name a few of its themes.A structure essential to the Chulupí religion is siˇcDee, or
ultimate power, which defines and dominates a vast group
of beings and actions. In effect, siˇcDee is the strange made
powerful, which can manifest itself in unexpected guises—in
human or animal form, by means of a sound or a movement
like a whirlwind, or as master of the spirits of the forest. The
siˇcDee plays a significant role in the initiation of the shaman
(siˇcDee): He appears to the shaman in the guise of an old man,
for example, who offers the shaman power and grants him
the spirit familiars called watDakwáis. By fasting, enduring
solitude in the woods, and drinking potions made of various
plants, the initiate achieves a revelatory experience rich in vi-
sions, many of which are terrifying. The Chulupí idea of ani-
mistic reality is extremely complicated and varied, given that
the soul can appear in any number of manifestations.The Choroti. The principal cycles of the Choroti are
five in number. The cycle of Kixwét describes a supernatural
being, of human appearance but gigantic, whose role com-
prises the duplicity of both the demiurge and the trickster.
The cycle of Ahóusa, the Hawk, the culture hero par excel-
lence, recounts how he defeated the beings of primordial
times, stealing and distributing fire and teaching humans the
technique of fishing and the making of artifacts. The cycle
of Woíki, the Fox, who partakes of the intrinsic nature of
Kixwét and is a very important figure in indigenous cultures,
contains myths describing his creation of various beings and
modalities of the present-day world. The cycle of WeDla, the
Moon, relates the formation of the world. The cycle of Tse-
matakí alludes to a feminine figure characterized by her ill
will toward men and her uncontainable cannibalism.SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE GRAN CHACO 8635