According to the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA), in general, indigenous lands continue to be the “main barrier against the destruction of the forest”, whose preservation is fundamental, for example, to reduce the impacts of climate change and conserve all forms of life.
Data such as this demonstrate the relevance of these peoples in the protection of the environment. Chief Mapu Huni Kuin, son of Isaka and one of the main indigenous leaders of Acre, said in an interview with Galileu Magazine: “The forest is our body, our home, our spirit. If they destroy the forest, they are destroying us.” For the “Peoples of the Forest”, the forest and everything within it is sacred and must be well cared for.
We had the pleasure of getting to know the Kaxinawá (Huni Kuin) up close, a people who live in harmony with nature, respecting and protecting it. We wanted to learn a little more about their culture, traditions and customs and today we are here to share some of what we have learned with you.
To help us with our research, we had the support of Dr. Célia Maria Cristina Demartini, who holds a degree in History from the University of São Paulo (1983), a master's degree in Archaeology from the University of São Paulo (1997) and a PhD in Archaeology from the University of São Paulo (2003).
The Kaxinawá (Huni Kuin)
The Kaxinawá are an indigenous ethnic group that is part of the Pano linguistic family. They are located in the tropical forest that covers eastern Peru, from the foothills of the Andes to the border with Brazil, the state of Acre and southern Amazonas, covering the Alto Juruá and Purus areas and the Javari Valley, respectively.
The Pano groups designated as nawa, among them the Kaxinawá, form a subgroup that calls itself huni kuin, true men, or people with known customs (huni = person, kuin = reference to identity, similarity or likeness). One of the characteristics that distinguish the huni kuin from the rest of men is the system of name transmission. Within this system of names, the name Kaxinawá itself seems to have originally been an insult – Kaxi means bat, cannibal, but it can also mean people who have the habit of walking at night.
Today the Kaxinawá call all related groups “Yaminawa”; both those who maintain contact with white people and the Pano groups that live in the headwaters of the rivers between the Upper Juruá and Purus, and those who remain distant and hidden, without “peaceful” contact with national society.
The Huni Kuin keep their cultural identity alive and, through their representative entities, are able to balance their relations with the surrounding society. Both those from the Juruá Valley and those from the Purus have associations that facilitate projects ranging from agricultural production, important for the subsistence of the communities, to school education activities.
They have a vast material culture that ranges from cotton weaving, with natural dyes, to pottery made from clay with ashes obtained from animals, trees and even shards of other ceramics, on which kenes are printed, a type of mark that identifies the material culture of the Huni Kuin, whose meaning is related to courage, strength, power and wisdom.
For the Huni Kuin, People of the Forest, all knowledge is sacred and comes from plants and animals. Yuxibu is a sacred entity that is difficult to explain. According to the story of Shaman Agostinho Ika Maru, he is the great creator of all things.
“No one is greater, nor smaller, nor more beautiful than the other. We are the same living beings as Yuxibu.
So I think that is Yuxibu's thought.
We talk about it, but we don't see it. Yuxibu is an invisible thing. We know its name, but no one has found it.
Yuxibu creates. He created everything, and he is still creating today”
Pajé Agostinho Ika Muru (Itau-Cultural MEMORY, DOCUMENTATION AND REFERENCE CENTER, 2017).
The myth of the big snake
For the vast majority of indigenous groups, the relationship between “sacred and profane”, that is, “religious rituals” and daily activities are closely linked. All activities carried out in the community have a direct relationship with the “creation myths”. In this sense, the myth of the big snake is associated with both shamanic knowledge and hunting skills and techniques. Encountering a snake can be the beginning of a shamanic career or success as a hunter.
Among the Kaxinawa, the large snake is considered the primordial shaman and source of luck in hunting. Thus, “if a man finds a boa constrictor in the forest, he calls other men to kill it and ask that its yuxin (which loosely translates to “spirit”) make them lucky hunters.” Kaxinawa women also do the same, so that the snake’s yuxin teaches them to control their fertility and be good weavers (Lagrou 2007). As with men who choose to be initiated into shamanism, the legitimization of the request for luck in hunting, control of fertility and graphic teachings occurs with the encounter of the anaconda’s yuxin in dreams (Lagrou 2007, p. 312-313).
Among many Pano groups, ayahuasca and the large snake are closely related, as is proven in the myths. There is an association between the shamanic practices that involve the use of ayahuasca, the underwater world and the beings that inhabit it, especially the great snake, guardian of ayahuasca.
Art
One of the Huni Kuin cultural expressions are the Kene – traditional graphics called true paintings, applied to body painting, weaving, basketry, textiles and ceramics. Huni Kuin graphics represent an intrinsic part of their identity, a fundamental element in the beauty of their objects and people with a unique aesthetic that is totally connected to the cosmology and history of their people.
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Célia Maria Cristina Demartini
She holds a bachelor's degree and a full degree in HISTORY from the University of São Paulo (1983), a master's degree in Archaeology from the University of São Paulo (1997) and a doctorate in Archaeology from the University of São Paulo (2003). She has worked in the area of research in archaeology, education and museums since 1985. She has been an employee of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo since 1987. She was a History teacher in the state public school system, held the position of head of the Educational Service and Director of the Technical Curatorship Service MAE/USP. E-mail- crismartine@yahoo.com
She participates in research and projects related to archaeology throughout Brazil, especially São Paulo and the Amazon.
She has worked on numerous exhibition projects both nationally and internationally. Participated in the development and production of the documentary Antiga Amazônia Presente, which reflects on the indigenous peoples of the Amazon.
Bibliographical references used to construct this text
CENTER FOR MEMORY, DOCUMENTATION AND REFERENCE – ITAÚ CULTURAL. Uma Shubu Hiwea: living school book of the Huni Kuin people of the Jordão River. São Paulo: Itaú Cultural, 2017.
LAGROU, Els. 1991. An ethnography of the Kaxinawá culture: between the snake and the Inca.
Master's Dissertation, PPGAS/Federal University of Santa Catarina
LAGROU, Els. 1996. Shamanism and representation among the Kaxinawá. In: LANGDON, E. J. M. (org.). Shamanism in Brazil: new perspectives. Florianópolis: Ed. da UFSC, pp.197-231.
LAGROU, Els. 2002. What does Kaxinawa art tell us about the relationship between identity and otherness? Mana, vol.8, n.1, pp. 29-61. Available at: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/mana/v8n1/9640.pdf
LAGROU, Els. 2007. The Fluidity of Form. Art, otherness and agency in an Amazonian society (Kaxinawa, Acre). Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks. 580 p.
BEIRIGO LOPES, Ruth D. 2010. Lessons from the snake — a reading of pano ethnology — Dissertation presented to the Postgraduate Program in Anthropology at the Fluminense Federal University, Niterói.
Sources of images:
https://pensarcultura.com.br/nacao-indigena-kaxinawa-cria-game-sobre-sua-historia-para-preservar-cultura-local/
site.tucumbrasil.com/tecelagem-huni-kuin/
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Canopée was founded in early 2020 by a small group of internationally renowned entrepreneurs and executives who decided to pool their skills and experience to benefit the environment and communities living in protected and preserved areas.
