fits the community, and the otxikanrígi, the cause of all
deaths, illnesses, and misfortunes in the group. Celebrations
that are particularly worthy of note are the lunar ceremonies,
the rites celebrating the birth of the chief’s son, and the initi-
ations of young men and women.
The Mocoví. Prominent in the scattered Mocoví mate-
rial is the myth of an enormous tree that reached to the sky.
By climbing its branches, one ascended to lakes and to a
river. An angry old woman cut down the tree, extinguishing
the valuable connection between heaven and earth.
Gdsapidolgaté, a benevolent supernatural being, pre-
sides over the world of the living. His activity contrasts with
that of the witches. Healing practices among the Mocoví are
the same as those of the other shamans of the Gran Chaco,
with the addition of bloodletting. The Mocoví, like all the
Guiacurú, believe in the honor of war and value dying in
combat as much as killing. When they return from a battle
they hang the heads of the vanquished on posts in the center
of town and they sing and shout around them. The horse
plays an important role in daily life and in the hereafter;
when the owner of a horse dies, the horse is sacrificed and
buried beside the owner to bear him to his final destination
in the land of the dead.
ARAWAK FAMILY. The extensive Arawak family of languages
includes the Chané of Argentina. Fundamental distinctions
cannot be made between the corpus of Chané myths and that
of the Chiriguano; similarities abound between them, partic-
ularly with respect to the figure of the shaman. There are two
kinds of shamans: one with benevolent power (the ipáye) and
another dedicated exclusively to malevolent actions that
cause death (the ipayepóci). The mbaidwá (“knower, investi-
gator”) has dominion over the individual destinies of
humans.
One of the most important aspects of Chané religion is
the carnival of masks (also celebrated by the Chiriguano).
Some of the masks are profane, representing animals and fan-
tastic anthropomorphic characters. The sacred masks repre-
sent Áña, and these are deadly playthings that cannot be sold
to travelers. When the carnival is finished, the masks become
dangerous and must be destroyed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
One can find an abundant bibliography on indigenous groups of
the Gran Chaco in Ethnographic Bibliography of South Ameri-
ca, edited by Timothy O’Leary (New Haven, Conn., 1963).
The Handbook of South American Indians, 7 vols., edited by
Julia H. Steward (Washington, D.C., 1946–1959), offers
general characteristics on habits and customs of the peoples
of this cultural area. The Censo indígena nacional (Buenos
Aires, 1968) is restricted to the Argentine Chaco. Fernando
Pagés Larraya’s Lo irracional en la cultura (Buenos Aires,
1982) studies the mental pathology of the indigenous people
of the Gran Chaco and then reviews their religious concep-
tions. Scripta ethnológica (1973–1982), a periodical pub-
lished by the Centro Argentino de Ethnología Americana,
Buenos Aires, contains more systematic information about
the aboriginal peoples of the Gran Chaco.
There are only a few specific works that deal with particular
groups; among those few are Los indios Ayoreo del Chaco Bore-
al by Marcelo Bórmida and myself (Buenos Aires, 1982).
Branislava Susnik has also given attention to the Chulupí na-
tives in Chulupí: Esbozo gramatical analítico (Asunción,
1968). Also worthy of mention are Miguel Chase-Sardi’s
Cosmovisión mak’a (Asunción, 1970) and El concepto Nivaklé
del Alma (Lima, 1970). Bernardino de Nino wrote an Ethno-
grafía Chiriguano (La Paz, 1912). In reference to the Cadu-
veo culture, see Darcy Ribeiro’s Religia ̃o e mitologia Kadiuéu
(Rio de Janiero, 1950). One can also consult Johannes Wil-
bert’s Folk Literature of the Mataco Indians and Folk Litera-
ture of the Toba Indians (both Los Angeles, 1982).
New Sources
Arce Birbueth, Eddy, et al. Estrategias de Sobrevivencia entre los
Tapietes del Gran Chaco. La Paz, 2003.
Clastres, Pierre. Mythologie des Indiens Chulupi. Edited by Michael
Carty and Hélène Clastres. Leuven, 1992.
Fritz, Miguel. Los Nivaclé: Rasgos de una cultura paraguaya. Quito,
1994.
Fritz, Miguel. Pioneros en El Chaco: Misioneros oblatos del Pilcoma-
yo. Mariscal Estigarribia, 1999.
Tomasini, Alfredo. El Shamanismo de los Nivaclé del Gran Chaco.
Buenos Aires, 1997.
Tomasini, Alfredo. Figuras protectoras de animales y plantes en la
religiosidad de los indios Nivaclé:Chaco Boreal, Paraguay.
Quito, 1999.
MARIO CALIFANO (1987)
Translated from Spanish by Tanya Fayen
Revised BibliographySOUTHEAST ASIAN RELIGIONS
This entry consists of the following articles:
HISTORY OF STUDY
MAINLAND CULTURES
INSULAR CULTURES
NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN INSULAR CULTURESSOUTHEAST ASIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF
STUDY
Southeast Asia straddles one of the two trade routes linking
East Asia and the Mediterranean. For many centuries, mer-
chants traveled through the Straights of Malacca to points
further east, bringing spices, gold, and other precious com-
modities, and with them came religious texts, modes of ritual
practice, iconographies, and other religious systems. A conse-
quence of this strategic location is that virtually all of the
major religions of the world can be found in Southeast Asia.
Today by far the most common religious traditions are
Therava ̄da Buddhism, Islam, Roman Catholicism, and the
Vietnamese variant of traditional Chinese religion. Yet there
are also communities of Balinese and Tamil Hindus, Protes-
tant Christians, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians. Prior to the Second
World War there were significant Jewish communities. One
can also find a vast array of indigenous religions in tradition-
ally isolated portions of the region that are either upland or
on remote islands far from the trade routes.SOUTHEAST ASIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY 8637