on the banks of the Xingu, who do not like human flesh, and
those living in the sky), mammals (forest species and those
living on the river bed), and so on. In addition the Juruna
believe everything that exists on earth also exists in the sky,
which is a kind of earth resembling that of humans. Even
though the Juruna do not consider the river to be a copy of
the forest, they say it can be viewed by some river inhabitants
as a copy of the earth, except that the forest in their earth
resembles human gallery forests, and their gardens are por-
tions of land broken off from the river banks. Finally, there
is an opposition between the viewpoints—or perspectives—
of living, conscious human subjects and alien beings, such
as animals, spirits, and the dead. The dynamism and com-
plexity of Juruna cosmology depends on the confrontation
between these discordant viewpoints.
Juruna shamanism used to be composed of two systems,
each related to a society of the dead. Rarely was it possible
for a shaman to practice both types of shamanism. The spirits
of the dead inhabiting the river cliffs fear those living in the
sky, whose society is composed of the souls of warriors and
their leader. Indeed the Juruna fear these spirits of the sky
the most, and thus this form of shamanism was considerably
more powerful, dangerous, and difficult to perform. Each
system of shamanism was associated with a great festival in
honor of its particular category of the dead. The festival for
the dead of the river cliffs was accompanied by the sound of
flute music and songs performed by the dead through the
mouth of the shaman. Another festival was accompanied by
the music of a set of trumpets. When the Juruna offered food
to the souls of warriors during their festival, they said they
would rather eat the flesh of roasted Indians brought from
the other world; they also refused to drink manioc beer, say-
ing they were already drunk enough. By contrast, the spirits
from the river cliffs would drink plenty after eating the meal
from their hosts, spicing up the manioc beer made by Juruna
women with a dose of beer brought from the other world.
The last of these celebrations was held in the 1970s. Despite
the changes in their ritual life, the Juruna continue to cele-
brate beer parties and two major festivals every year, each
held for approximately one month.
Ge-Timbira. Ge-Timbira religiosity is marked by a
strong dualism. That characteristic divides creation, nature
and society, and the groups that make up society.
Canela. A Canela origin myth recounts that Sun and
Moon walked over the land, transforming the world that al-
ready existed and thus creating the norms for social life. Sun
established the norms favorable to life, whereas Moon modi-
fied them to test its imperfections. Sun created ideal men and
women, whereas Moon created those with twisted hair, those
with dark skin, and those seen as deformed. Sun allowed ma-
chetes and axes to work by themselves in the gardens, where-
as Moon made them stop. Consequently people had to work
hard to make their gardens—the origin of work. There are
at least a dozen episodes of this myth that recount the begin-
ning of death, floods, and forest fires, why the buriti palms
are tall, why the moon has its spots, and other conditions.
Other Canela myths explain the origin of fire and corn.
A boy brought fire for his people after having stolen it from
the hearth of a female jaguar. Star Woman fell in love with
a Canela and so came down to live for a while among his
family members. During her stay she indicated that corn
would grow in the forest, and she taught them that it was
good to eat. This was the origin of gardens. She then re-
turned to the sky with her mate and both transformed into
twin stars, known as Castor and Pollux.
Krahó. Krahó origin myths are similar to those of the
Canela. Indeed these myths seem to suggest that everything
in Krahó culture, even shamanism, came from the outside.
Like the Canela, the Krahó believe all of their culture was
created by the twins Sun and Moon. The Krahó disapprove
of the actions of Moon not only because he was less skilled
than Sun but also because he insisted that Sun do what he
requested, for it was from these requests that the evils that
afflict humans entered the world.
Other myths tell how the Krahó studied agriculture, ob-
tained fire, and learned the rituals and songs. Generally the
myths tell the story of an individual who leaves the village
and, in the world outside, learns something important, later
returning to the village where he or she transmits the new
knowledge. In the case of agriculture, however, a being from
nature brings the knowledge of planting to the villagers and
then withdraws to the outside world. The myth of Auke,
which is important for understanding Krahó participation in
messianic movements in the 1960s, follows the same pattern.
But Auke, on entering the village, is not given the opportuni-
ty to teach the Indians what he knows, for they are afraid of
him and end up violently expelling him from the village.
Auke then creates white humans. Several other myths tell of
individuals who, having been expelled from the village, do
not return with new things that could be used by its inhabi-
tants; rather, they stay in the world outside, transforming
themselves into animals or monsters.
The Krahó have many rituals. Some are short and linked
to individual life crises (such as the end of seclusion after the
birth of a first child, the end of a convalescence, and the last
meal of a deceased person) or to occasional collective initia-
tives (such as exchanges of foods and services). Others are as-
sociated with the annual agricultural cycle, for instance,
those that mark the dry and wet seasons, the planting and
harvesting of corn, and the harvesting of sweet potatoes. Yet
other rites form part of a longer cycle, associated with male
initiation, that must take place in a certain order; nowadays
this cycle is difficult to reconstitute, in part because one of
the rites has been abandoned. Various rites related to the an-
nual and initiation cycles have myths that explain their ori-
gins. However, there is not a strict correspondence between
the sequence of myths and that of rites, although they over-
lap in some ways.
The first human who acquired magical powers was car-
ried up to the heavens by vultures, where he was cured and
received powers from the hawk. There is apparently noSOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN AMAZON 8629