The Choroti shaman (aíew) receives power (i-tóksi)
from the supernatural beings (thlamó), and the strength of
his abilities depends on the number of familiars (inxuélai) he
has.
The Makká. The Makká mythology can be classified as
eclectic, as it demonstrates cultural contact with almost all
the other indigenous groups of the Gran Chaco. The Makká
cycle of the fox is similar to the narrative cycle surrounding
the Mataco supernatural being Tokhwáh and demonstrates
similar themes, such as the origin of women and the toothed
vagina. The Makká hero Tippá, who possesses an immense
penis, is somewhat reminiscent of Wéla, the Mataco moon
deity.
In earlier times, power (tDun) was obtained by capturing
a scalp, after which a complex ceremony was held in which
the scalp was discarded but the soul (le sinkál) of the dead
enemy was retained as a personal familiar, or spirit helper.
This familiar would manifest itself during sleep by means of
a song that even today is sung during drinking bouts. Cere-
monies of drinking bouts among adults permit the regula-
tion of power among people. The ceremony of female initia-
tion is also important, as is true throughout most of the Gran
Chaco.
The organization of the traditional religious universe
was altered through the introduction of Christianity by Gen-
eral J. Belaieff, who brought the Makká from the interior of
the Chaco to the outskirts of Asunción. The icon of Belaieff
is now a central theme in Makká shamanism. Just as among
the Mataco, the shaman (weihetDx) is charged with control-
ling the demonic supernatural beings (inwomét).
GUIACURÚ-CADUVEO FAMILY. The Guiacurú-Caduveo lan-
guage family of the Gran Chaco and Brazil includes the
tribes known as the Pilagá, the Toba, the Caduveo, and the
Mocoví.
The Pilagá. Certain mythic cycles may be distinguished
in the Pilagá mythology. One cycle describes the celestial
deity Dapicˇi, to whom is attributed the inversion of the cos-
mic planes and the transference of some animals and plants
to the sky. In the past, prayers were offered for his help in
the most diverse activities. Another cycle describes Wayay-
kaláciyi, who introduced death, made the animals wild, and
established hunting techniques, modifying the Edenic habits
of an earlier time. Among the eminent supernatural beings
is Nesóge, a cannibalistic woman who determines the prac-
tices of the witches (konánagae). Such characters and themes
as the Star Woman and the origin of women appear in Pilagá
myths.
Among the significant structures, the payák is the most
important. This notion defines nonhuman nature, which is
peculiar to supernatural beings, shamans (pyogonák), ani-
mals, plants, and some objects. Relations with the payák de-
termine conditions in the indigenous world. Either people
acquire payáks as familiars who aid them in their customary
activities, or the payáks inflict suffering on them in the form
of illness, the death of domestic animals, the destruction of
farms, or a poor harvest of fruit from wild plants. Such con-
cepts as the “master-dependent” (logót-lamasék) and the
“center-periphery” (laiñí-laíl) allow the Pilagá to classify be-
ings and entities according to a hierarchy of power.
The initiation of women takes place at the onset of men-
ses. The young girl is locked in a corner of her hut and forced
to fast rigorously. When males reach adolescence, they sub-
mit to scarification of their arms and legs by a shaman, and
the young man is given the characteristics of the species of
animal whose bone was used as a scarifier. Throughout entire
lives, men continue to scarify themselves, especially when
preparing for the hunt or going into battle.
The Toba. The principal themes of Toba (Kom) narra-
tive are celestial cosmology and mythology, which appear in
stories about Dapicˇi and the Pleiades; cataclysms; the origin
of specific entities; stories of animals; stories of the trickster
WahayakaDlacigu, the lawgiver TaDankí, and Aˇsien, a super-
natural being with a repulsive appearance; and encounters
between Toba people and the supernatural being Nowét.
The morphology of these characters, all of whom were pow-
erful in the primordial times, fluctuates between the human
and the animal.
For the Toba, the central structure of the cosmology is
nowét, which appears in the forms of the masters of animals
and of the spheres. Nowét, as a supernatural being, initiates
the shamans (piDogonák) and grants them power that can be
used equally to heal or to harm. Outside the shamanic
sphere, all special skills—hunting, fishing, dancing, and so
on—derive from power given by Nowét. Dreams are struc-
tures that have importance in the relations between humans
and Nowét. Shamanic power is established by the possession
of spirit familiars (ltawá), who help shamans cure serious ill-
nesses, which are considered intentional and also material.
Therapy combines singing, blowing, and sucking as methods
of removing the harmful agent from the victim’s body.
Some of the important ceremonies of the Toba are
name giving, the initiation of young boys, the offering of
prayers to Dapicˇi, matutinal prayers to the heavenly beings,
and the supplications of the hunters to some supernatural
being in a nowét state.
The Caduveo. Go-neno-hodi is the central deity of
Caduveo mythology; he is maker of all people and of a great
number of the cultural goods. His appearance is that of a
Caduveo, and he is without evil intention. In his benevo-
lence, he granted the Caduveo, in ancient times, an abun-
dant supply of food, clothes, and utensils, as well as eternal
life, but the intervention of Hawk, astute and malicious,
made Go-neno-hodi modify the primordial order. Nibetád
is a mythical hero identified with the Pleiades; he greeted the
ancestors during the ceremony celebrating the annual reap-
pearance of this cluster of stars and the maturation of the al-
garoba (mesquite).
The shamanic institution is actualized in two different
individuals: the nikyienígi (“father”), who protects and bene-8636 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE GRAN CHACO