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NATIVE CHRISTIANS

Native Christians eects on the modes and effects of Chistianity among indigenous peoples of the Ameicas dawing on compaative analysis of ethnogaphic andhistoical cases. Chistianity in this egion has been pat of the pocess of conquestand domination, though the association usually made between civilizing andconveting. While Catholic missions have emphasized the ‘civilizing’ pocess,teaching the Indians the skills which they wee expected to execise within thecontext of a new societal model, the Potestants have centeed thei wok on pomoting a deep intenal change, o ‘convesion’, based on the ecognition ofGod’s existence.

Vaious ethnologists and scholas of indigenous societies have focused theiinteest on undestanding the natue of the tansfomations poduced by theadoption of Chistianity. The contibutos in this volume take native thought as thestating point, looking at the need to elativize these tansfomations. Each authoexamines diffeent ethnogaphic cases thoughout the Ameicas, both histoicaland contempoay, enabling the eade to undestand the indigenous points of viewin the pocesses of adoption and tansfomation of new pactices, objects, ideasand values.



VITALITY OF INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS

Series Editors

Gaham Havey, Open Univesity, UK Lawence Matin, Univesity of Wisconsin-Eau Claie, USA

Tabona Shoko, of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

Ashgate’s Vitality of Indigenous Religions seies offes an exciting new clusteof eseach monogaphs, dawing togethe volumes fom leading intenationalscholas acoss a wide ange of disciplinay pespectives. Indigenous eligionsae vital and empoweing fo many thousands of indigenous peoples globally, anddialogue with, and consideation of, these divese eligious life-ways pomisesto challenge and ene the methodologies of a numbe of academic disciplines,

whilst geatly enhancing undestandings of the wold.

This seies exploes the development of contempoay indigenous eligions fomtaditional, ancestal pecusos, but the chaacteistic contibution of the seies isits focus on thei living and cuent manifestations. Devoted to the contempoayexpession, expeience and undestanding of paticula indigenous peoples andthei eligions, books addess key issues which include: the sacedness of land,exile fom lands, diaspoic suvival and divesication, the indigenization of

Chistianity and othe missionay eligions, saced language, and e-vitalizationmovements. Poving of paticula value to academics, gaduates, postgaduatesand highe level undegaduate eades woldwide, this seies holds obviousattaction to scholas of Native Ameican studies, Maoi studies, Afican studiesand offes invaluable contibutions to eligious studies, sociology, anthopology,geogaphy and othe elated subject aeas.

OTHER TITLES IN THE SERIES

Indigenous Diasporas and DislocationsEdited by Gaham Havey and Chales D. Thompson J.

ISBN 978 0 7546 3906 0

Caribbean Diaspora in the USA Diversity of Caribbean Religions in New York City

Bettina Schmidt

ISBN 978 7546 6365 2

The Vitality of Karamojong Religion Dying Tradition or Living Faith?

Ben KnightonISBN 978 0 7546 0383 2



Native ChistiansModes and Effects of Chistianity among

Indigenous Peoples of the Ameicas

Edited byAPArECIDA VILAçA

PPGAS, Museu Nacional, UFRJ, Brazil

rOBIN M. WrIGHTUniversity of Florida, USA



© Apaecida Vilaa and robin M. Wight 2009

All ights eseved. No pat of this publication may be epoduced, stoed in a etievalsystem o tansmitted in any fom o by any means, electonic, mechanical, photocopying,ecoding o othewise without the pio pemission of the publishe.

Apaecida Vilaa and robin M. Wight have asseted thei moal ight unde the Copyight,Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identied as the editos of this wok.

Published byAshgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing CompanyWey Cout East Suite 420Union road 101 Chey SteetFanham Bulington, VT 05401-4405Suey GU9 7PT USA

England

www.ashgate.com

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Native Chistians : modes and effects of Chistianity among indigenous peoples of theAmeicas. – (Vitality of indigenous eligions seies)1. Indians of South Ameica – religion 2. Indians of South Ameica – Missions 3.Missions – South Ameica 4. Convesion – Chistianity 5. South Ameica – religious life

and customs 6. South Ameica – Chuch histoyI. Vilaa, Apaecida II. Wight, robin, 1950– 270’.08998

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Native Chistians : modes and effects of Chistianity among indigenous peoples of theAmeicas / edited by Apaecida Vilaa and robin M. Wight. p. cm. — (Vitality of indigenous eligions seies)

ISBN 978-0-7546-6355-3 (hadcove : alk. pape) 1. Indians—religion. 2. Indians—

Missions. 3. Chistianity and cultue—Ameica—Histoy. 4. Catholic Chuch— Ameica—Histoy. 5. Potestant chuches—Ameica—Histoy. I. Vilaa, Apaecida,1958– II. Wight, robin M., 1950–

E59.r38N38 2008 277.0089’97—dc22 09ANSHT 2008023030

ISBN 978-0-7546-6355-3



Contents

List of Illustrations and Maps vii Notes on Contributors ix

Intoduction 1

1 Towads a Compaative Study of Jesuit Missions and IndigenousPeoples in Seventeenth-Centuy Canada and Paaguay 21

Allan Greer

2 Chistians: A Tansfoming Concept in Peuvian Amazonia 33 Peter Gow

3 ‘Befoe We Wee All Catholics’: Changing religion in Apiao,Southen Chile 53

Giovanna Bacchiddu

4 Money, Loans and Faith: Naatives and Images of Wealth, Fetility,and Salvation in the Nothen Andes 71

Emilia Ferraro5 The re-Invention of Mapuche Male Shamans as Catholic Piests:

Legitimizing Indigenous Co-Gende Identities in Moden Chile 89

Ana Mariella Bacigalupo

6 Potestant Evangelism and the Tansfomability of AmeindianBodies in Notheasten Amazonia 109

Vanessa Elisa Grotti

7 The Skin of Histoy: Paumai Pespectives on Convesion andTansfomation 127

Oiara Bonilla

8 Convesion, Pedation and Pespective 147

Aparecida Vilaça

9 Shamans and Missionaies: Tansitions and Tansfomations in theKivalliq Coastal Aea 167

Frédéric B. Laugrand and Jarich G. Oosten

10 Baniwa At: The Baniwa Potestant Ethic and the Spiit of Sustainable

Development 187

Robin M. Wright



Native Christiansvi

11 Divine Child and Tademak: Economy, Moality, and CultualSustainability of a Guaaná Poject among the Sateé-Mawé, Bazil 211

Wolfgang Kapfhammer

Aftewod 229

Joel Robbins

Index of Peoples 23Peoples 239 Index of Authors 241Subject Index 245



List of Illustations and Maps

Illustrations

2.1 Chuch, Nauta, Bajo Maañon (Pete Gow, 2005) 357.1 Paumai man with the skin disease purupuru, o pinta

(Spix and Matius, 1817–1820) 1318.1 Pesentation of new convets in Wai’ Potestant sevice (Vilaa, 2007) 148

9.1 The igloo Chuch of rev. Amand Tagoona as it can be seen todayin Bake Lake, Nunavut 167

10.1 Baniwa baskets in diffeent shapes and sizes make excellenthome and ofce decoative pieces (Wight, 2008) 187

11.1 Guaaná plants (Paullinia cupana) 21411.2 Uniawasap’i plants the eye of he child, giving ise to guaaná 216

Maps

Indigenous peoples in Canada xiiiIndigenous peoples in South Ameica xivAea of reseach in Chile 90Map of Nothwest Amazon/Bazil egion 193



This page has been left blank intentionally



Notes on Contibutos

Giovanna Bacchiddu is D in Social Anthopology (St. Andews Univesity,2007) and he PhD dissetation is a study of sociality, kinship and eligion inApiao, southen Chile. She is autho of a numbe of aticles on Apiao, Chiloé. Sheis cuently woking on a poject on peceptions of paenthood amongst Italianadoptive paents of Chilean childen.

Ana Mariella Bacigalupo is D in Anthopology (UCLA 1994) and Associate

Pofesso of Anthopology at SUNY Buffalo. She has been woking with Mapucheshamans fo sixteen yeas and has ganeed numeous fellowships to suppot

he eseach, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a rockefelle

Fellowship, a Bellagio Fellowship, an Ameican Association of Univesity Women

Fellowship, and fellowships fom the Divinity School and the Cente fo Wold

religions at Havad Univesity. She eceived the Outstanding Young Investigato

Awad and the UB 2020 awad fo Excellence in Cultual, Histoical and Liteay/

Textual Studies fom the Univesity at Buffalo. He books include Shamans of the

Foye Tree: Gender, Power and Healing Among the Chilean Mapuche (Univesityof Texas Pess, 2007); La Voz del Kultrun en la Modernidad: Tradición y Cambio

en La Terapéutica de Siete Machi Mapuche (Univesidad Católica de Chile pess,

2001); and Modernización o Sabiduría en Tierra Mapuche? (San Pablo Pess, 1995).

Oiara Bonilla is D in Social Anthopology (École des Hautes Études en SciencesSociales, Pais, 2007). He PhD Dissetation is on the social oganization, mythHe PhD Dissetation is on the social oganization, mythand cultual tansfomation among the Paumai of the Puus rive (Amazonas,Bazil). Pesently she continues eseaching among the Paumai, concentating onthe themes of itual and shamanism, Chistianity and its tansfomations, as wellas on the elations among the Paumai and the whites.

Emilia Ferraro is D in Anthopology (Univesity of Kent at Cantebuy, 2000),lectue at the Univesity of Duham (UK) and lectues egulaly in sevealUnivesities in Ecuado. Since 1992 she has been conducting ongoing eseachin Ecuado. Fom 1993 to 1995, and again fom 1999 to 2001, she was diectoof the School of Applied Anthopology at the Salesian Univesity; fom 2001

to 2004 she woked as senio lectue in the Latin Ameican Faculty of SocialSciences (FLACSO) and fom 2004 to 2007 she was a lectue at St. AndewsUnivesity (UK). She has also woked as a development consultant fo sevealEcuadoian NGOs and Intenational Oganizations in Ecuado. Among he booksis Reciprocidad, Don y Deuda. Formas y relaciones de intercambios en los Andes



Native Christiansx

del Norte del Ecuador [recipocity, Gift and Debt. Foms and elations of exchangein the Nothen Andes of Ecuado] (Quito: FLACSO-Abya Yala, 2004).

Peter Gow is chai of Social Anthopology at the Univesity of St. Andews. Hismajo eseach has been with the Pio (Yine), Asháninka and othe peoples ofthe Bajo Uubamba ive in Peuvian Amazonia. Among his publications ae twoethnogaphic monogaphs on the aea: Of Mixed Blood (Oxfod: Claendon Pess,1991) and An Amazonian Myth and Its History (Oxfod Univesity Pess, 2001). Afuthe volume on Peuvian Amazonia as a egional system is neaing completion,and he is beginning a compaative poject on the social histoy of noth Pethshiein the Highlands of Scotland.

Allan Greer is D in Histoy (Yok Univesity, 1980) and Pofesso of Histoy at

the Univesity of Toonto, specializing in Canadian histoy and the colonial histoyof the Ameicas. His books include Mohawk Saint: Catherine Tekakwitha andthe Jesuits (2005), Peasant, Lord, and Merchant: Rural Society in Three QuebecParishes, 1740–1840 (1985), The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries inSeventeenth-Century North America (2000) and, with Jodi Bilinkoff, ColonialSaints: Discovering the Holy in the Americas, 1500–1800 (2003). These wokshave won seveal pizes, including the John A. MacDonald Pize, the GilbetChinad Pize, the Allan Shalin Pize and the Pix Lionel-Goulx.

Vanessa Elisa Grotti is D in Social Anthopology (Univesity of Cambidge,England, 2007) and he PhD dissetation, entitled ‘Nutuing the Othe: wellbeing,social body and tansfomability in notheasten Amazonia’ is a study of change andsocial tansfomation among the Tio, Wayana and Akuiyo of southen Suinamand Fench Guiana. She is cuently Bitish Academy Postdoctoal Fellow at theInstitute of Social and Cultual Anthopology of the Univeity of Oxfod, studyingthe elations between Tio and Wayana Ameindians and the health cae systems inSuiname and Fench Guiana. She has also been reseach Fellow at the Laboatoied’Anthopologie Sociale (EHESS-Collège de Fance, Pais) and at the LondonSchool of Hygiene and Topical Medicine. She is the co-edito of Rethinking the

frontier in Amazonia and Siberia: extractive economies, indigenous politics andsocial transformations (Special edition of Cambridge Anthropology, 2007).

Wolfgang Kapfhammer is D in Ethnology (Univesity of Munich) and AssistantLectue of Ethnology of South Ameica at the Ethnology Institute of the Univesityof Munich. Among his books ae Der Yurupari-Komplex in Nordwest-Amazonien.

(Münchene Ameikanistik Beitäge 28, München 1992, edition anacon) and GroßeSchlange und Fliegender Jaguar: Zur mythologischen Grundlage des rituellenKonsums halluzinogener Schnupfdrogen in Südamerika (Völkekundliche Abeiten6, Bonn 1997: Holos Velag). In 1998–99 he did eseach among the Sateé-Mawé,of the Andia-Maau Indigenous Aea (Bazil) and in the city of Manaus.



Notes on Contributors xi

Frédéric B. Laugrand is D in Anthopology (Laval Univesity, 1997), pofessoat the Depatment of Anthopology at Laval Univesity and the cuent Diecto ofthe CIÉrA, the Cente Inteunivesitaie d‘Études et de récheches Autochtones.He has conducted eseach among the Inuit in Nunavut, Canada, since 1993. Hiscuent eseach topics include shamanism and Chistianization, human-animalelations, histoical and visual anthopology, education and tansmission ofknowledge. He is the autho of He is the autho of Mourir et renaître. La réception du christianisme

par les Inuit de l’Arctique de l’Est canadien (Pesses de l’Univesité Laval, 2002).He has edited vaious books ecoding Inuit oal taditions such as Perspectives onTraditional Health, 2001 (with M. Theien), Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: Shamanismand Reintegrating Wrongdoers (Nunavut Actic College, 2002) (with J. Oosten).recent books ae Apostle to the Inuit. The Journal and Ethnographical Notes ofthe Rev. E.J. Peck: The Bafn Years 1894–1905 (Univesity of Toonto Pess,

2006) edited with J. Oosten and F. Tudel; and La nature des esprits/The Natureof Spirits (Pesses de l’Univesité Laval, 2007), edited with J.Oosten.

Jarich G. Oosten is D in Histoy of religion and Compaative religion(Univesity of Goningen, 1976), and pofesso at the Depatment of Anthopologyat Leiden Univesity (Nethelands). He is the autho of The War of the Gods:The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology, (routledge and Kegan, 1985).He has published extensively on Inuit taditions. With C. remie he edited Arctic

identities (CNWS, 1999). With F. Laugand, he edited books in thee diffeentseies at the Nunavut Actic College: Inteviewing Inuit Eldes ( Introduction,1999; Perspectives on Traditional Law, 1999); Inuit Pespectives on the TwentiethCentuy (Transition to Christianity, 1999) and Memoy and Histoy in Nunavut( Representing Tuurngait , 2000, Keeping the Faith, 2003). With F. Laugand andandF. Tudel, he edited Apostle to the Inuit. The Journal and Ethnographical Notesof the Rev. E. J. Peck : The Bafn Years 1894–1905 E. J. Peck : The Bafn Years 1894–1905 (Univesity of Toonto Pess,2006 and with F. Laugand La nature des esprits/The Nature of Spirits (Pesses del’Univesité Laval, 2007).

Joel Robbins is Pofesso and Chai of the Anthopology Depatment at theUnivesity of Califonia, San Diego. His eseach and witing have focused onthe globalization of Pentecostal and chaismatic Chistianity, the development ofa compaative anthopology of Chistianity, and the constuction of theoies ofcultual change. His pimay eld eseach has been caied out in Papua NewGuinea. He is the autho of Becoming Sinners: Christianity and Moral Tormentin a Papua New Guinea Society (Univesity of Califonia Pess, 2004) and is co-

edito of the jounal Anthropological Theory.

Aparecida Vilaça is D in Social Anthopology (Univesidade Fedeal do rio deJaneio, 1996), Associate Pofesso of the Gaduate Pogam in Social Anthopology(PPGAS) at Museu Nacional, Univesidade Fedeal do rio de Janeio (UFrJ),eseache with Bazil’s National reseach Council (CNPq) and a Fellow of the



Native Christiansxii

Guggenheim Foundation. She has been doing eseach among the Wai’ of thesouthwesten Amazonia fo the last twenty yeas. Among he publications aetwo ethnogaphic monogaphs on the Wai’, Comendo como gente. Formas doFormas docanibalismo Wari’ (Editoa UFrJ/ANPOCS, 1992) and Quem somos nós. OsOsWari’ encontram os brancos (Editoa UFrJ, 2006). Since 2001 he main focus ofeseach is Wai’ Chistianity, on which she has published seveal aticles.

Robin M. Wright is D in Anthopology (Stanfod Univesity, 1981), AssociatePofesso of religion at the Univesity of Floida, Gainesville, and etied FullPofesso of Ethnology at the Univesidade Estadual de Campinas. He has doneeldwok among the Baniwa of the nothwest Amazon since 1976 and has published numeous aticles in the aeas of indigenous eligions, indigenous histoyand indigenist policy in Bazil. Among his books ae Cosmos, Self and History in

Baniwa Religion. For Those Unborn. (Austin, TX.: Univesity of Texas Pess,1998) and História Indígena e do Indigenismo no Alto Rio Negro [Indigenous

History and the History of Indigenist Policy in the Upper Rio Negro] (Campinas:Mecado de Letas/Instituto Socioambiental, 2005). He is also the edito ofTransformando os Deuses. Os Múltiplos Sentidos da Conversão entre os PovosOs Múltiplos Sentidos da Conversão entre os Povos

Indígenas no Brasil. [Tansfoming the Gods: The Multiple Senses of Convesion[Tansfoming the Gods: The Multiple Senses of Convesionamong the Indigenous Peoples in Bazil] Vol. 1, (Campinas: UNICAMP, 1999) andTransformando os Deuses. Igrejas Evangélicas, Pentecostais e Neopentecostais Igrejas Evangélicas, Pentecostais e Neopentecostais

entre os Povos Indígenas no Brasil. [Tansfoming the Gods: Evangelical,[Tansfoming the Gods: Evangelical,Pentecostal and Neopentecostal Chuches among the Indigenous Peoples in Bazil]Vol. II. In 2004, he co-edited, with Neil Whitehead, In Darkness and Secrecy: the

Anthropology of Assault Sorcery in Amazonia (Duham: Duke Univesity Pess).



Intoduction

A numbe of collections have been published since the 1990s on the subject of the

Chistianization of native peoples, as studied fom an anthopological pespective (see

especially Hefne 1993 and Cannell 2006). Continuing to exploe this analytic theme,

the pesent volume takes as its stating point native cosmologies and thei models of

tansfomation, situating Chistianity as just one among the many tansfomations

conceived o expeienced by these peoples. In othe wods, we look to compehend

the native expeience of Chistianity as pat of the wide socio-cosmological context

within which this eligion is classied, shaped and lived. Moeove, the volumefocuses on a specic ethnogaphic aea, the Ameicas, whose homogeneity (amid

an equally evident divesity), especially in the domains of cosmology and myth

– both of which ae of paticula inteest to us hee – was exploed in depth in Lévi-

Stauss’s magisteial Mythologiques (1969, 1973, 1978, 1981). Ou volume attests to

the continuing fecundity of this wok by highlighting the salience of those categoies

of thought – in paticula the ‘categoies of the sensible’ – identied by the autho as

elements found thoughout Native Ameican cultues.

The book is composed of 11 chaptes focusing on diffeent egions of theAmeicas: Canada (the Ioquois-speaking Huon and Mohawk, Inuit), theEcuadoian Andes (the Quechua community of Pessillo), Peu (peoples of theBajo Huallaga rive: the Shiwilu/Jebeo, Cocama, Cocamilla, Lamista Quechua,Chamicuo and Chayahuita), Chile (the island Apiao and the upland Mapuche),Paaguay (the Guaani) and Bazilian Amazonia (the Tio, Paumai, Wai’, Baniwaand Sateé-Mawé). It bings togethe the nal vesions of papes initially pesentedat the symposium Modes and Effects of Christianity among Indigenous Peoples ofthe Americas held at the 52nd Intenational Congess of Ameicanists in 2006.

Ou point of depatue in each case is the indigenous pespective. How havethese diffeent goups undestood and expeienced Chistianity? What questionsdo the ethnogaphies of indigenous Ameican peoples, and the new concepts andtheoies emeging fom these studies, pose in tems of undestanding the nativeexpeience of becoming Chistian?

What inteests us ae the native viewpoints of the encounte with Chistianity, paticulaly since, we believe, any phenomenon is cultually dened and we haveno choice but to choose a cultue fom which to stat (Viveios de Casto 1999: 115;

120).1 In this kind of encounte, thee is no middle gound. In othe wods, thee ae

1 In a moe ecent wok, Viveios de Casto (2002) adds a futhe twist to thisIn a moe ecent wok, Viveios de Casto (2002) adds a futhe twist to thisepistemological famewok by aguing that what we call the native point of view should eally be undestood as a elation between the anthopologist’s pespective (his o he woldviewand theoetical tools) and that of the native. (See too Wagne 1975 and Stathen 1988.)



Native Christians2

no agents located on an imaginay dividing line between the two cultues: contayto the suggestions of some authos (see Monteo 2006), this applies even to thosemissionaies with long and intense expeience among native peoples, speakingthei languages and familia with thei customs. Ou analytic famewok situatesmissionaies unambiguously on this side of the divide, as agents popagating anunequivocally westen ideology, albeit with nuances that need to be examinedcase-by-case.

This does not mean that the pespectives of missionaies and othe westenactos ae ignoed in the following texts. Indeed, Allan Gee’s chapte deals pecisely with a compaison between Jesuit missions in two diffeent counties(Canada and Paaguay), based on histoical ecods. We believe that the accessto these pespectives is impotant, whethe this viewpoint is acquied thoughwitten documents poduced by the missions o govenment agents, o though

diect statements fom missionaies disposed to engage in an open dialoguewith anthopologists and histoians. The encounte with Chistianity, like anyencounte with alteity, is popely undestood as a seies of diffeent moments o phases, all of which can be compehended as ‘stuctues of conjunctue’ (Sahlins1981), poduced by a complex inteaction between cultual foms, the oveallhistoical setting and a wide vaiety of chance events, including the actions of paticula individuals, some of them attibutable to the specic pesonalities ofthe missionaies and natives involved (see Fienup-riodan 1991). Ou decision

to focus on the native point of view does not mean that we have ignoed theviewpoints of othe agents. rathe, the latte ae subsumed by the fome insofaas the native pespectives povide us with the categoies fo compehending the pocess of Chistianization. In othe wods, we seek to undestand the Chistianexpeience of these peoples via thei cosmological concepts, and thei social, political and economic oganizations.

Ou inteest, theefoe, esides in obseving and analyzing local vesions ofChistianity, accepting that, even fom the viewpoint of westen cultue, thee isnot one Chistianity but many. As Kee (1993) has shown in his study of the ‘Jesusmovement’ – just one among a numbe of sects that opposed some of Judaism’s basic pemises – Chistianity has been dened by a seies of impotant mutationsove time. Fo example, although thee wee initially no obvious gues ofhieachy o authoity within the community (ibid: 55), the late emegence of anecclesiastical base pompted a vaiety of changes, beginning with the intoductionof hieachy, which pushed the eligion away fom its chaismatic oigins towadsan institutional stuctue (ibid: 63). In addition, ‘roman and Judaic patenalism ofthe ealy times, which was questioned by Jesus and by the tadition of the most

ancient testaments, became the nom in Chistian homes as well. Women had to besubmissive to thei husbands …. The slaves had to obey thei mastes’ (ibid: 61).Likewise, the notion of faith undewent alteation. Fom being dened as a beliefin the wod of God, it became linked to the idea of a tue doctine in opposition toheesy (see Pollock 1993 on the histoical changes in the conception of convesionand faith; see also Veyne 2007).



Introduction 3

As we know, the most impotant and adical edenition of Chistianitycame about with the Potestant refomation, unleashed in 1517 by Luthe’scondemnation of Catholic hieachy and dogma. Since then Chistianity has been constantly edened within Potestantism with the emegence of diveseintellectual cuents, denominations and sects, each selecting diffeent aspects ofChistianity as cental elements. The Catholic Chuch esponded with the Counte-refomation, based on a hadening of dogmas and an emphasis on missionayactivities. Centuies late anothe impotant edenition of Chistianity occued,this time within Catholicism, following the efoms implemented in the wakeof the Second Vatican Council in 1962, which estoed the Chuch’s missionayvocation, emphasizing espect fo diffeent cultues (see runo 2006: 240–45).Cultual elativism became pat of Catholic pactice (o at least that of some ofits segments), which meant, among othe things, espect fo diffeent types of

eligious manifestations, including indigenous eligions (see Shapio 1981).The most impotant point to stess, howeve, is that, given its missionay and

inclusive natue, Chistianity has always been edened by the social goupsin contact with it. Cultual openness is an indissociable pat of any missionayeligion. This was the vision, fo example, of the apostle Paul who, as Kee obseves(1993: 57), tavelled fom city to city ecuiting local followes who could speadthe Chistian message thoughout the roman Empie. His stategy was to adaptules and pocedues to the local situation – a pactice little diffeent fom what we

obseve today in the wok of Catholic missionaies among indigenous goups (seealso Cannell 2006: 26).This does not mean, though, that no cultual foms o aspects have emained

intact duing Chistianity’s popagation ove time and space – a point agued bysome scholas of eligion and social scientists in esponse to what they peceiveas an excessive elativism in anthopological studies (see Hefne 1993 and Wood1993 fo a discussion of this issue). Although dening these cultual foms issomething of an impecise science, thee is clea ageement concening some ofthe basic pemises, such as monotheism and divine tanscendence, though neitheof these ae exclusive to Chistianity, o the mediation of this tanscendence withthe divine incanation in Jesus, and the idea of edemption o salvation thoughhis death. One of the fascinating points evealed by the woks in this volumeis that the native peoples unde study have thei own singula view not only ofappaently seconday aspects of Chistianity but also of these founding dogmas.Thus God and Jesus ae associated with the pantheon of taditional spiits, theshamans visit God and talk to him, caved gues of saints ae teated as people,edemption depends on actions and the pope obsevance of ituals, and salvation

is undestood as a collective act of becoming. Similaly, convesion, fa fom being seen as the outcome of an individual’s inne tansfomation (in accodancewith Potestant doctine), is conceived as a collective tansfomation aising fom



Native Christians4

a bodily change (as in the case of the Tio, Paumai and Wai’ descibed hee).2 Inmany instances, such as among the Wai’ studied by Vilaa, it is the vey notion ofan individual – which Dumont (1983) agues is an essential aspect of Chistianity – that is absent.

We emphasize that the tem convesion is used hee as a synonym fo becomingChistian and efes, theefoe, to what native peoples undestand as Chistian pactice. It should be noted the fequent mismatch between the peceptions ofmissionaies and those of native peoples – a confusion that occus, fo example,when the fome believe that indigenous pactices eveal intenal and lastingtansfomation (see Viveios de Casto 1992, and Gow, this volume), only to besupised by a mass movement of de-convesion, o when the natives insist onthe fact of thei convesion in the face of disbelief fom missionaies and evenanthopologists (see Pollock 1993, and Gow and Vilaa, this volume).

The indigenous peoples descibed hee manifest thei adoption of Chistianityin a vaiety of ways: by being baptized (Chiloé), attending masses o sevices(Chiloé, Wai’, Tio, Paumai), making cash offeings to the saints (Pesillanos),afming thei belonging to the community by becoming immesed in a cicuitof debts (Pesillanos), including the Catholic saints and God among the shamanicspiits (Chiloé, Mapuche, Pesillanos, Inuit), ceating ituals that violate taditionalfood taboos (Inuit), masking afnity and suppessing the agency of animals(Wai’), o taking pat in self-sustaining economic activities in collaboation

with oganizations contolled by Chistian institutions (Pesillanos, Baniwa,Sateé-Mawé). They claim they ae Chistians and, in contast to missionaies, asanthopologists we have no option than to believe in them.3

This is pecisely what Gow poposes in his chapte: ‘My account hee ofwhat it means to Bajo Huallaga people to be cristianos, “Chistians,” the denselyinteconnected emphases on naming, tade, itual, peacefulness and magicalviolence, based as it is in twentieth centuy ethnogaphy, suggests that what theJesuits and anthopologists thought o think Chistianity might be is vey fa fom

2 Fo a discussion of the collective aspect of convesion, see Viveios de CastoFo a discussion of the collective aspect of convesion, see Viveios de Casto(1992; 2002) on the seventeenth centuy Tupinambá, Tooke (1992) on the Akha of Buma[Myanma], Gow (2006) on the Pio of Peuvian Amazonia, and Vilaa (1996, 1997) onthe Wai’.

3 Viveios de Casto (2002: 132–40) agues that this believing does not mean belief Viveios de Casto (2002: 132–40) agues that this believing does not mean beliefin the eligious sense of the tem; instead, it means ‘taking the native seiously’, lookingto compehend the implications of appaently contadictoy o iational statements fo theindigenous lived wold. In his wods:

To ask oneself whethe the anthopologist ought to believe in the native is a categoymistake equivalent to asking whethe the numbe two is tall o geen ... as if it wee necessayto explain (as if the essential task wee to explain) why the Indians believe that peccaiesae human when ‘self-evidently’ they ae not. It is useless wondeing whethe the Indiansae ight o not in this espect: fo do we not aleady ‘know’ the answe? But it is necessayto know pecisely what we don’t know – that is, what the Indians ae saying when they saythat the peccaies ae human. (ibid: 134–5).



Introduction 5

what it might mean to be cristiano fom an indigenous pespective in the BajoHuallaga ....’ The question posed by the othe authos of this volume in elationto thei ethnogaphic mateial is the same as that explicitly fomulated by Gow:‘Instead of asking, “What did the Jesuits do to the people of the Bajo Huallaga?”I want to shift the question to, “What did the people of the Bajo Huallaga do withthe Jesuit mission?”’ At issue, theefoe, is not knowing what Chistianity does tonative cultue, but what native cultue does to Chistianity (also see Gow 2001;Viveios de Casto 1999: 165). As Gow obseves in his wok on the convesion ofthe Peuvian Pio, ‘asking questions about the impact of Evangelical Potestantismon Pio cultue is to ask missionaies’ questions’. In a simila way, Wight’s twovolume seies (1999, 2004), Transformando os Deuses [Tansfoming the Gods]took as its initial focus the concept of ‘inte-eligious elds of identity’ and the pespective of seeing and undestanding ‘the ways in which indigenous peoples

have, duing thei long histoies of contact, incopoated, tansfomed o ejectedthe diffeent foms of Chistianity’ (Wight 1999: 7).

As we pointed out ealie, these kinds of ethnogaphic situations pesent us withan unavoidable epistemological choice. Had we stated out fom the viewpointof missionaies o othe contact agents, we would have eached vey diffeentconclusions. These ae pespectives deived fom distinct ontologies, meaningthey can hadly coincide.

Howeve, anothe type of compaison is of paticula inteest to us hee – namely,

a compaison of the Chistianization of native peoples in two distinct ethnogaphicaeas, Amazonia (taken as a sub-aea of the Ameicas) and Melanesia. Fom theoutset, we stess that this entepise was not pat of the oiginal poposal fo thesymposium and is not theefoe an explicit theme in the contibutions to thisvolume.4 We simply believe that a compaative pespective habous an enomous potential fo undestanding the diffeent foms assumed by Chistian expeienceand the elation of these foms to the socio-cosmological systems chaacteizingthese two egions. Thee ae two main easons fo ou belief. Fistly, studies of theChistianization of native goups suffe fom an excessive egionalism (with twoimpotant exceptions, namely the collections edited by Hefne in 1993 and Cannellin 2006), which limits analysis to a specic ethnogaphic context with a few timidattempts to genealize to a egional level (see robbins, this volume). Secondly, foat least a decade thee has been an intense dialogue between Amazonianists andMelanesianists (see Gotti 2007; Kelly 2003, 2005; Stathen 1999; Vilaa 2005and Viveios de Casto 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004), which has still as yet to includethe Chistianization of native peoples.

Nonetheless, the only attempt to poduce a systematic compaison between

the two ethnogaphic egions to date has been the collection edited by Gego andTuzin (2001), entitled Gender in Amazonia and Melanesia, in which Amazonianists

4 Aside fom Vilaa, who in the conclusion to he chapte highlights the paticulaitiesAside fom Vilaa, who in the conclusion to he chapte highlights the paticulaitiesof the Wai’ case by contasting it with the expeience of the Uapmin of Papua New Guineaanalyzed by robbins (2004).



Native Christians6

and Melanesianists with lengthy eldwok expeience focus specically on thequestion of gende, compaing and contasting ethnogaphic data and analytic pespectives dawn fom the two egions. Without embaking on a detailedevaluation of this wok, we meely obseve that the question that inspied the book, as some of its contibutos obseved at the time, has a diffeent weight ineach of these egions, playing a much moe cental ole in the anthopologicalundestanding of Melanesian sociality. As Descola demonstates in his chapte,the evidence suggests that, in contast to Gego & Tuzin’s poposal, what countsas ‘gende’ in Melanesia need not necessaily tanslate as ‘gende’ in Amazonia.The elations between humans and nonhumans, paticulaly animals, ‘may be ascental to the undestanding of Amazonian sociability, as ae gende distinctionsto the constuction of Melanesian identity’ (Descola 2001: 108, see also Viveiosde Casto 2002: 444; n.37).5 Mailyn Stathen stesses the same point in elation

to Melanesia:

humanity, and thus a division between humans and othes, is not the pincipal ontologicalaxis. I do not think that the diffeence between ‘spiit’ and ‘animal’ o ‘human’ has beenthe achetype fo pespectival tafc in the Amazonian sense. rathe, it is pesons whooffe pespectives on one anothe. By this I mean that the signicant lines ae intenal, between human beings as distinctive social entities, that is, between types o kinds,distinguished by thei elationships with one anothe. That is why gende, as a meansof eication, giving a fom to pesons, has gued so pominently in Melanesian

anthopology. (Stathen 1999: 252–3).

We ae not suggesting that the theme of Chistianization can supplant that of gendeelations (which in fact compise a cental theme of the Mapuche expeience ofChistianity, as we shall see). Pehaps the most impotant outcome of compaingthese two egions of the wold has not been the discussion of a specic theme, butthe dialogue between analyses and concepts developed by egional specialists onthe basis of thei ethnogaphies. Ou point in citing this debate, howeve, extends beyond obseving that the inteest in compaing these two egions has been aoundfo some time. The fact that both the authos cited above emphasize the elation between humans and non-humans, especially animals, as a cental aspect ofAmazonian sociality esonates with a theme that pevades diffeent chaptes ofthis book, as we shall see, and that, fa fom being esticted to Amazonia, seemsto compise a pan-Ameican motif (as indeed Lévi-Stauss had aleady shown inhis fou volume Mythologiques).

5 Also see Hugh-Jones (2001) in the same book fo an inteesting compaative execiseAlso see Hugh-Jones (2001) in the same book fo an inteesting compaative execiselso see Hugh-Jones (2001) in the same book fo an inteesting compaative execise between ‘Melanesia’ and the Baasana of the Alto rio Nego, a egion whee the conceptof gende seems to have a diffeent implication to that of most of Amazonia, and Stathen1999: 249–260; 2001 as examples of what an anthopological compaison between the twoegions might look like. See Vilaa 2005 fo a bief discussion of this topic.



Introduction 7

It was with the idea of instigating a eection of this kind that we invited Joelrobbins to wite an aftewod to this book: a schola of Melanesian Chistianity,robbins has developed a theoy of convesion, based on his ethnogaphicexpeience, that has had a consideable impact on studies of Chistianity. The pesent volume’s compaative scope is limited to this initial outline, but weconside this the st step towads developing a moe systematic compaativeentepise in the futue.

Of the 11 chaptes making up this book, Gee’s is the only text that isexclusively histoical in kind, examining and compaing two distinct expeiencesof the elationship between Jesuit missionaies and native peoples dating fomthe seventeenth centuy: namely, the Guaani of Paaguay and the Ioquois ofCanada. The autho emphasizes the impotance of the conjunctual aspect ofthese encountes, which ae supeimposed ove the cultual peculiaities of the

two goups. Gee agues that the most impotant point in tems of explaining thechaacteistics of each mission is the colonial context, which vaied consideably between the two counties. In Paaguay, the Indians had enteed into contact withthe Euopeans much ealie and had suffeed moe fom slavey and exploitation.In Canada, contact was moe ecent and the exploitation of indigenous labouwas not taken to be a natual fact, as occued in Paaguay. In Gee’s wods:‘The Guaaní expeience of Euopean empie and colonization was vey diffeentfom that of the Ioquoian peoples of Noth Ameica. To oppose a Spanish empie

of conquest and tibute to a Fench empie of commece and alliance would bea athe cude simplication, but it is a simplication that captues moe than again of tuth.’ Although this chapte does not deal specically with the theme ofconvesion, the data pesented clealy shows that the idea of convesion infomingthe activities of the seventeenth centuy Jesuits was vey diffeent fom the onewith which we ae familia today, with pefomance of ituals being taken as asufcient poof of faith.6

Gow’s chapte analyzes the signicance of being Chistian in the egion of theBajo Huallaga in Peu, an aea inhabited by a numbe of diffeent peoples (Shiwilu/Jebeo, Cocama, Cocamilla, Lamista Quechua, Chamicuo and Chayahuita) andwhee Jesuit missions wee once active. The autho shows us that hee the tem‘Chistian’ caies the meaning of ‘human’ and appeas devoid of any eligiousmeaning, functioning as an instument of social classication that inteconnectsIndians, mestizos, whites, animals, the living and the dead. His stating pointis a citique of the tendency to favou an histoical appoach ove ethnogaphicanalysis when studying the cultue of these peoples, as if the fact that these Indiansae consideed ‘accultuated’ implies that any ethnogaphy will inevitably be

incomplete (fo an analogous citique see Viveios de Casto 1999 and Otne1984: 143). In Gow’s wods: ‘If the poblem of histoical ethnogaphies of the

6 See Pollock 1993 fo analogous comments; also see Viveios de Casto (1992) fo See Pollock 1993 fo analogous comments; also see Viveios de Casto (1992) foan analysis of the elation between the Jesuits and the Tupinambá of the Bazilian coastduing the same peiod.



Native Christians8

Bajo Huallaga lies in the subodination of ethnogaphy to histoy, the solution liesin using that ethnogaphy to aise questions about that histoy.’ Gow’s analysis ofthe histoical and ethnogaphic mateial poduced by othe authos on the egion’s peoples is an exemplay demonstation of the esults attainable by an epistemologythat pivileges ethnogaphy.

Compaing the Peuvian Bajo Huallaga and the Bazilian Uppe Xingu – bothcomposed of a set of linguistically distinct peoples who ae linked by peacefulexchange elationships and conceive themselves as ‘humans’ in contast tothose located outside the system – Gow obseves that the social system of theBajo Huallaga cannot be intepeted as ‘the exclusive poduct of Jesuit action’.Accoding to the autho, we ae faced with ‘a social fom immanent withinexisting indigenous societies’, which contact with the Jesuits allowed to becomemateialized. Chistianization was a constitutive pat of this new conguation, an

impotant sign of the peaceful elations with the Jesuits and not simply a eligious phenomenon.

Bacchiddu’s chapte also examines the equation between Chistians andhumans, albeit fom anothe angle, based on an ethnogaphy of Apiao islandin Chiloé southen Chile. Analyzing the convesion to Potestantism among asociety that denes itself as Catholic since its beginnings, Bacchiddu eveals howeligious identity hee is insepaable fom the idea of community and how thelatte includes not just living humans, but also the dead and the saints. The citical

attitude displayed by community membes to those who become Potestantseveals that eligion in Chiloé is not elated to an inne postue, but to a set ofattitudes and ituals though which people elate with each othe and with thesaints. To become Potestant is to detach oneself fom this elational context,foming othe elationships and ceasing to pefom specic ites linked to thefomation of the body, such as communion. Nevetheless, it is pecisely becauseeveyone submits to some of these ites, especially baptism, in thei childhoodthat becoming Potestant is peceived to be effectively impossible, given that the bodies of these pesons have aleady been fomed as Catholic. The elationship between body and identity (as opposed to the elation between mind/soul andidentity implied in the westen concept of convesion) is a theme widely exploedin ecent ethnogaphies of Amazonian goups (see Conklin 1989, 1996, 2001;Gotti 2007; Kensinge 1995; McCallum 1996, 2001; Seege et al. 1979; Vilaa2002, 2005). As we agued ealie, and as can be obseved in vaious chaptes ofthis book, this theme is cental to undestanding Chistianization.

Feao’s chapte also focuses on a Catholic community, Pesillo, a Quichuavillage of nothen Ecuado, and specically on the way in which loan epayments

– pat of a continually enewed cycle of contacting and settling debts – fomthe main way of fabicating the community. As with the Chiloé, this communitynot only includes humans but also local Catholic divinities fo whom paymentsin money ae made as offeings o in etun fo favos. In analyzing two distinct pactices of money lending – the Catholic NGO cedit scheme and el castillo, alocal scheme of poviding small loans – the autho shows that a special categoy



Introduction 9

of money is bon fom the ‘inteaction of Catholic imageies of faith and salvationwith Andean categoies of the moality of ecipocity that equies a compulsoyetun ove whateve has been given’. Although the meaning given by local peopleto money is indissociable fom thei lengthy familiaity with the powe of theCatholic Chuch, thee is a elation of continuity between the money and theoffeings made to the spiits of the foest and, consequently, between these spiitsand the Catholic divinities. Simila analyses can be found in the aticles by Wightand Kapfhamme on the powe elations between indigenous politico-eligiousassociations, poweful NGOs and tansnational foundations seeking to suppotsustainable development pojects at local levels.

In he chapte on the Mapuche of Chile, Bacigalupo analyzes how the identityof shamans – typically men – has been shaped duing the diffeent moments inthei elationship with Euopeans, beginning in the seventeenth centuy with the

was of conquest undetaken by the Spanish and the aival of the Jesuits. He mainfocus is on the way in which the tansgendeism of shamans, indissociable fomthei conception of spiitual powe as inheently female, poved to be the mainaena fo the ideological clash between the shamanic and Catholic cultues. As hasoccued in vaious othe egions duing the initial encounte with Chistianity,shamans wee identied with the piests (see too Laugand and Oosten’s chapteon the Inuit) as the pimay mediatos in the elation with spiits, cues andexocists. This identication was not limited to the native peoples, since the

piests themselves authoized and encouaged the association. In the case of theMapuche, the identication led to – o pehaps stated out fom – the equationmade by themselves between the tansgendeism of the shamans and that of the piests, evident in thei use of feminine clothes and celibacy, a facto which povedfundamental fo the suvival of the male shamans. It is woth highlighting theimpotance of clothing since, Bacigalupo adds, female clothing is so cental to theconstitution of the male shaman – o, in othe wods, to his identication with thefemale univese which is the souce of his spiitual powe – that even the pesent-day shamans, who want to avoid being pejoatively identied as homosexuals,continue to use feminine adonments as an indispensable pat of thei pactice.This clothing is not simply a symbol of womanhood, but a cental facto in its poduction, meaning that dessing as a woman is essential to the constitution ofthe female identity of these men (along with pefoming female activities andavoiding those elated to male oles).7

The notion of the body as a site of identity and its eminently tansfomationalnatue is the cental theme of Gotti’s chapte on the Tio (Caib), moe specicallythose living in Tepu village in Suiname whee the autho based he eseach. In

he intoduction, Gotti discusses the centality of the body in Amazonian socio-cosmologies, showing how native conceptualizations of the ways in which bodiesae fabicated – and the diffeent bodies poduced as a esult – offe key categoies

7 See too Gow’s chapte on the impotance of clothing in constituting the identity of See too Gow’s chapte on the impotance of clothing in constituting the identity ofChistians.



Native Christians10

fo a ‘eection upon complex social netwoks which engage Ameindians andthei Othes: “wild people,” “white people,” categoies that addess the veyfabication of bodies and thei humanity’. The Tio expeienced the pocess ofcontact and sedentaization (begun in the ealy 1960s) as a bodily tansfomationachieved by adopting new dietay pactices and swapping taditional ituals of poducing the body fo Chistian ituals believed to have the same goal. In thecase of the Tio of Tepu village, the pocess of sedentaization is insepaablefom Chistianization since the contact expeditions wee conducted by Potestantmissionaies fom the West Indies Mission and Unevangelized Fields Missions,accompanied by ecently contacted Waiwai Indians. A few yeas late, it was theTio themselves who left with one of the missionaies to contact the Akuiyo withthe aim of civilizing and Chistianizing the latte people. Gotti’s cental pointin elation to Chistianization is: ‘that to the Tio of Suiname, convesion to

Chistianity is undestood above all as a change of body, which makes the bodymoe socialized but less tansfomational. They do not undestand Chistianity asa set of moal laws o cosmological pinciples but as a seies of bodily pacticesthat change pesons and how they elate to each othe.’ The failue to integatethe Akuiyo fully into Tio society ‘ests on thei bodies’ incapacity to be moldedinto Chistian bodies’. Howeve, this is not a completely unwanted failue, theautho explains, since the bodily diffeence in elation to the Akuiyo is caefullymaintained by the Tio, who ae keen to exploit the ‘wildness’ of these Indians

– a tait esponsible, among othe things, fo thei skill as huntes and thus as povides of meat to the Tio.The conception of convesion as a bodily change is also the cental theme of

Bonilla’s chapte on the Paumai, speakes of an Aauan language, who inhabitthe middle Puus ive in the southwest of Bazilian Amazonia. Taking mythictansfomations as a model, the Paumai expeience histoy as a sequence ofchanges in social foms aising fom a change of skin. The Chistian phase wasinauguated by the Potestant missionaies of the Summe Institute of Linguistics(SIL) in the 1960s, following thei cuing of vaious afictions, especially pinta,a skin disease fo which the Paumai wee enowned (and stigmatized) by thelocal population. A new fom of sociality was theeby begun, feeing themfom submission to the ubbe bosses. Likewise, this fome phase maked bythe elation with these bosses – who feed them fom constant attacks by Indianenemies, intoduced tade and with it access to manufactued goods – is conceivedto have been initiated by a change of skin, in this case enabled by the access towesten clothing.

The pedato-pey pai – a cental ontological schema in Amazonian cosmologies

– functions hee to oganize social elations, seving as the basis fo elations withthe outside. Contay to most Amazonian peoples, howeve, the Paumai stive tomaintain the position of pey, not pedatos, in thei elations with othes. Moespecically, this tuns them into pey to be domesticated as pets, meaning thatwhat is appaently a fom of submission is actually the way they have found ofcontolling dangeous elationships, focing the othe to assume the position of an



Introduction 11

adoptive fathe and povide. This was the elation fomed with the ubbe bosseswhen the Paumai became employees, and likewise with the missionaies. Bonillaconcludes that Chistianity is expeienced as a collective elationship with a new boss o adoptive fathe, whethe God o the missionaies, a fom that appaentlycoincides with the model of dependency imposed by the newcomes.

The Wai’, speakes of a Txapakua language living in southwesten Amazonia,have been in contact with the fundamentalist Potestant missionaies of the NewTibes Mission since the end of the 1950s. Like the Tio and the Paumai, theWai’ associate Chistianization with a bodily tansfomation (one pomotingconsubstantialization), which in this case poduces a change of pespective,situating them – though hee in a way opposite to that of the Paumai – in the position of pedatos in the pedato-pey ontological pai. Using myth as a tool ofcompaison, Vilaa applies the concept of Ameindian pespectivism developed

by Viveios de Casto (1996, 1998) to the task of undestanding thei convesionto Chistianity, analyzing this convesion as a pocess of adopting the enemy’s pespective ooted in the Wai’ endeavo to stabilize the position of humans(equated with that of pedatos) fo themselves. The autho also contibutes tothe cuent debate between anthopologists and students of eligion conceningthe integity of Chistianity as it speads acoss time and space, emphasizing thatthe dichotomy between continuity and uptue makes little sense fo peoples, likethe Wai’ and othe Ameindians, who epoduce themselves though successive

alteations that involve the tansfomation into an othe and the acquisition of thisothe’s pespective, a cental featue of shamanic systems.The idea that Chistianization simultaneously involves continuity and

tansfomation is taken up again in Laugand and Oosten’s chapte on the Inuitof the Canadian Actic, though fom anothe pespective. Accoding to theauthos, Chistianity, bought to the Actic by Anglicans and Catholics, was alsoassimilated by the Inuit on the basis of thei own shamanic system. God wasequated with othe spiits, becoming the most poweful of them, while piests andshamans quickly peceived the similaity between thei functions, a convegencewidely epoted thoughout the Ameindian wold (see Hugh-Jones 1988; Viveiosde Casto 1992; Wight 1998 and Bacigalupo, this volume). Howeve, althoughthe authos state that the shamanic system emains active insofa as the spiitualelations with animals have neve been completely suppessed, they ecognize thatChistianization has povoked impotant tansfomations, which ae conceived asa beak with the past.

The idea of a beak becomes evident in the itual ceated by the Inuit to pomoteconvesion, the siqqitirniq, centeed on the collective ingestion of potions of game

that ae nomally pohibited, such as the heat, live, bains and tongue, with theintention of making the suspension of taditional food taboos – a itual equatedwith baptism o communion. It is woth noting that the siqqitirniq was a itual ofcommensality, involving the collective ingestion of the same food, theeby echoingsimila notions – examined in vaious othe chaptes of this book and elsewhee



Native Christians12

– of tansfomation as a bodily change and convesion as a pocess involving thecollective goup athe than isolated individuals.

As occus among the Paumai, the Tio and the Wai’, as well as among theChiloé and the peoples of the Bajo Huallaga, the elationship between humansand animals, o pedatos and pey, is an essential point in the Inuit ewoking ofChistianity. Howeve, while fo the Wai’ divine ceation dehumanizes animals,fo the Inuit the animals maintain thei human status, a condition enabling the pesistence of shamanism. The tansfomation to which Laugand and Oostenefe, sustained by the Inuit peception of thei beak with the past, is notundestood as a change of pespective enabled by the adoption of the enemy’s point of view, as occus among the Wai’. What the authos’ analysis suggestsis the intoduction of a hieachy – connected to powe and efcacy – of spiits, pactices and ituals of Inuit and Chistian oigin. Following convesion, ‘God was

consideed as the owne of all the animals, the sea woman lost he cental positionin Inuit cosmology.’ Chistian payes and hymns became seen as moe effectivethan shamanic fomulas in tems of ensuing the success of hunting and healing,‘winte feasts’ (tivajut ) wee abandoned and Chistmas gadually became the mostimpotant celebation.

This is an impotant point, implicit in vaious othe chaptes of this book,and suggests that the Inuit expeience is conguent with the model developed fothe Uapmin case by robbins (2004) and biey pesented in Vilaa’s chapte.

Accoding to this model, convesion of the Uapmin involved the coexistenceof two cultual systems (native and Chistian) though a elation of hieachicalencompassment. Howeve, a cental element in robbins’s model is the moaldomain, not only because it is though this domain that, the autho agues,local people become awae of change, but also because moality compises thecental peoccupation of the Uapmin. Moeove, he agues, the cultual contentof Chistianity foegounds the question of moal change. Chistian moality,which epesses desie and values the individual, encompasses Uapmin moality,which values desie and pivileges elations and goups, poducing a constant andtomented state of moal conict among the Uapmin.

Although Laugand and Oosten’s analysis points to the same kind of hieachicalencompassment, it does not suggest the existence of a moal conict among theInuit, something that also appeas to be absent among the othe peoples descibedin this volume (with the exception of the Baniwa and the Sateé-Mawé, as we shallsee below). The easons fo this absence can be taced to the pinciples intinsicto native conceptions of social elations, and to anthopological pactice itself,which, accoding to robbins tends to ignoe the moal domain.8 We cannot answe

8 It should be pointed out that what robbins calls the moal domain – o the domain of It should be pointed out that what robbins calls the moal domain – o the domain ofvalues – is inspied by the wok of Dumont (1983) and thus possesses a collective chaacte.We ae not dealing, theefoe, with a moal conict cented on the individual (although itmay be expeienced individually) but with the outcome of the encounte between diffeentcultual systems.



Introduction 13

fo the cases descibed hee, but like robbins we believe that encompassment canonly be appehended when a specic domain is dened to which it applies (seenote 5 in Vilaa’s chapte). Thus, depending on the aspects o domains in focuso the analytic famewok employed, we could ague that it is the native systemthat encompasses Chistianity, as occus among the Inuit, beaing in mind thatshamanism continues to be the key domain fo undestanding the expeience ofChistianity.

The peoples descibed hee – even those in contact with Chistianity focentuies, such as the Chiloé, Mapuche, Pesillanos and the inhabitants of theBajo Huallaga – have absobed the new cosmology and new pactices in stableand elatively comfotable continuity with taditional conceptions. God and theCatholic saints became pat of the indigenous elational system, gounded in aconception of humanity that includes diffeent types of beings, such as spiits

and animals. The centality of vision, a featue typical of shamanic systems, ismaintained in the Chistian expeience of these peoples. Indeed, as Laugand andOosten highlight, adheence to Chistianity among the Inuit only tuly occuedafte visions of Chistian entities began to be epoted. The same type of continuitywith taditional pinciples is visible among new Chistians, such as the Tio, thePaumai, and the Wai’, who, among othe things, expeience convesion as a bodily change simila to othe tansfomations, including those found in myths.

In this context, the Baniwa and the Sateé-Mawé analyzed hee seem to

occupy a place apat insofa as the ethnogaphies highlight the centality of themoal domain, tanslated in the fom of an intense conict between goups ofkin and afnes. Seveal factos ae citical fo undestanding Baniwa adhesionto Chistianity today and its elation to thei involvement with the global maketfo selling thei baskets. Fistly, the Baniwa have a long tadition of paticipationin pophetic movements, led by poweful shamans, in which the cental questionof the movements has been the moal poblem of the existence of witchcaft andhow to contol it. Secondly, the Baniwa also have a long tadition of insetioninto local, egional, and global makets to sell thei poducts, geneally withoutintemediaies such as NGOs which, since the 1980s, have become key playes,along with caefully chosen young leades, in detemining the diections of theso-called ‘sustainable development’ pojects. Today, young Baniwa evangelicalsae speaheading both the political movements of the Baniwa and thei gowinginteest in sustainable development pojects. These leades have been the object ofwitchcaft assaults in a sot of tense elation between intenal and extenal politics,local poduction and the extenal maket. Like the Baniwa pophets of the past,these young leades seve as intemediaies in diecting change elative to the

suounding society.Simila dynamics appea to be at wok in the case of the Sateé-Mawé. Like

the Baniwa, they have expeienced a massive insetion into the capitalist economy – paticulaly though the poduction of the beveage called guaaná. This apidinsetion may have ceated the conditions fo the moe intense expeience ofindividualism as a value, while at the same time it poduced conicts between



Native Christians14

the new individualism and the taditional elational values as found in myths.Kapfhamme’s pape analyzes the mythopaxis associated with the cultivation ofthe guaaná plant as a commecial poduct and its elation to the Sateé-Mawé politico-eligious (evangelical) oganization with its poclaimed ideology ofunivesal bothehood.

robbins himself (2004) has suggested that insetion in the wok maket couldexacebate the conict of values and eventually ende impossible the coexistenceof Chistianity and the taditional system, leading to the complete substitutionof one cultual system by the othe. This amounts to the nal stage of change,subsequent to the juxtaposition of the two systems. The latte fo thei patsucceed the initial phases of contact with Chistianity, which can be descibed as‘assimilation’ and ‘tansfomation’, in accodance with the model of Sahlins (1981,1985) adopted by the autho. These st phases diffe fom late phases insofa as

taditional cultue foms the efeence point fo appehending Chistianity, whichis not peceived on the basis of its own cultual peculiaities (valoization of theindividual, condemnation of desie, and so on). Tue cultual change only occusafte this peception has taken place.

Taking this model as a efeence point, we could say that most of the peoplesdescibed hee – with the exception of the afoementioned Baniwa and Sateé-Mawé – have not passed the initial phases of pocessing the encounte withChistianity. Howeve, while this claim may be accepted without too much poblem

fo the ecently contacted Paumai, Tio, Akuiyo and Wai’ who might not havehad time to compehend fully Chistianity (though as Vilaa shows in he chapteon the Wai’, this does not seem to be the case thee), it becomes poblematic whenapplied to peoples such as the Chiloé, Mapuche, Pesillanos and the inhabitantsof the Bajo Huallaga who have been in contact with Chistianity fo centuiesand who take Chistian identity to be taditional, unable to imagine a pecedingmoment of change o convesion.9 Just like the new Chistians, those who have been Chistians ‘foeve’ also undestand Chistianity via native categoies – thatis, as a collective expeience focused on the body and on the elations betweenhumans and non-humans, and encompassed by the inclusive elational modelchaacteistic of shamanism, which includes animals, spiits and Catholic saintswithin the sphee of humanity.

Thee is, of couse, much moe to be said on that topic, which will mostly benet fom a boade compaative discussion between diffeent ethnogaphicaeas. Again, the signicant amount of wok on cultual change among native peoples fom the Pacic, even if not specically focused on Chistianity (see Akinand robbins 1999; Bashkow 2006; Eington and Gewetz 1995; Keane 2007 [this

one specically on Chistianity]; robbins and Wadlow 2005; Sahlins 1981, 1985,1995, 1999, 2005, 2007; Stathen 1999; Wagne 1975, to cite just a few books) is

9 The Inuit compise a case apat, since although they have had moe than a centuyThe Inuit compise a case apat, since although they have had moe than a centuyof contact with missionaies, they mak a contast – a beak – between a taditional past andthe Chistian pesent.



Introduction 15

a good example of a liteatue that could be put into dialogue with the Ameindianliteatue on the same subject (see Albet and ramos 2000; Andello 2006; Caneioda Cunha 1992; Fausto and Heckembege 2007; Godon 2006; Gow 1991; 2001;Lasma 2005; Santos Ganeo 1996; Vilaa 2006) that is ecently appeaing. Thestudy of Chistianization will mostly benet if inseted within this moe extensivediscussion on cultual change.

Apaecida Vilaa androbin M. Wight

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Chapte 1

Towads a Compaative Study of Jesuit

Missions and Indigenous Peoples inSeventeenth-Centuy Canada and Paaguay1

Allan Gee

Fom the sixteenth centuy to the eighteenth, the Society of Jesus acted asEuope’s ethnogaphic antennae. With missions scatteed acoss Asia, Afica and

the Middle East, as well as Noth and South Ameica and the Caibbean, and

with an active pogam of coespondence and publishing, the Jesuits developed

a signicant body of knowledge on a vaiety of cultues. They appoached non-

westen societies with the aim of changing them and, to vaying degees they did

bing about change, though they neve eally contolled o even undestood the

pocesses at wok. Be that as it may, the global scope of the Jesuit entepise and

of the achive of textual mateial assembled by the missionaies povides a uniqueoppotunity to undetake compaative and intecontinental eseach on contact,

colonization and eligious tansfomation aound the ealy moden wold. How

stange then that moden scholaship has emained, on the whole, so blinkeed in its

esponse to this documentay teasue tove, focusing thei inquiies exclusively on

a paticula mission site, while ignoing the Jesuits’ fequent efeences to fa-ung

locations (Peuvian missionaies efeing to Japan, Canadian missionaies citing

Latin Ameican expeiences, amongst othes).2 This chapte, not itself based on

systematic compaative eseach in the Jesuit achives, consides the seventeenth-

centuy Jesuit missions of Paaguay and New Fance. It is intended to be suggestive

and to illustate the potential value of deepe pobes along these lines.

Ealy in the seventeenth centuy, Spanish Jesuits began establishing reducciónes

among the Guaaní of ‘Paaguay’, while a few yeas late Fench Jesuits wee atwok among the Ioquoian peoples – st the Huon and late the Five NationsIoquois – of easten Noth Ameica. Viewed fom an extenal, ethnogaphic, pespective, the aboiginal peoples involved shaed seveal common chaacteistics(I make this point with some discomfot, given the eductionism involved in any

classication of cultues). They lived in villages composed of seveal multi-family

1 revised vesion of a pape pesented to the 52nd Congess of Ameicanists, Seville,2006. My thanks to Dot Tue fo he helpful comments.

2 Thee ae of couse exceptions to this obsevation. See, fo example, Dauil Alden’sexamination of Potuguese missions in Ameica and Asia.



Native Christians22

houses; they pacticed swidden agicultue, cultivation being the esponsibilityof women; men cleaed elds, hunted, shed, waged wa and occupied positionsof community leadeship. Politics and kinship wee intetwined in these cultuesand thee was no extenal, coecive state stuctue. Beyond these schematicallydened points of similaity, thee wee, of couse, multiple divegences: foexample, polygamy was a moe impotant indicato of pestige fo Guaaní thanfo Ioquoian men; the pophecies of chaismatic shamans that moved the Guaaníto undetake geat migations had no equivalent among the Ioquoians. Still, ingeneal tems, these peoples all fell unde the boad heading of ‘semi-sedentayvillages’.

The Euopean missionaies who confonted Guaaní and Ioquois in theseventeenth centuy had even moe in common. Though they hailed fom diffeentnations, mainly Spain in the one case, almost exclusively Fance in the othe,

they wee Jesuits and consequently they wee men of vitually identical social backgound, education and outlook. The Jesuits active in Canada wee all ofEuopean oigin, wheeas some South Ameican missionaies wee Ceoles, aisedand tained in the New Wold, but the Jesuit ratio studiorum ensued that they hadall ead moe o less the same classical and Chistian authos in essentially thesame ode. Thei missionay aspiations wee basically identical, with (and heeI butally simplify motives that wee complex and fequently contadictoy) aninteio and pesonal component that stessed self-sacice and imitatio christi,

and an extenal component that aimed at conqueing teitoy and peoples fo thetue eligion. One of the foundes of the Jesuit missions of Paaguay, Antonioruiz de Montoya, entitled his account of the entepise ‘Conquista espiitual’,implying an association between the convesion of souls and the violent seizue ofteitoy (Montoya,1993).3 Even though the Fench Jesuits came fom a quate ofEuope whee the militaistic taditions of the reconquista wee absent, they tootended to expess themselves in the language of conquest (Blackbun, 105–28). Inseventeenth-centuy Fance, it was still consideed pope to ‘educe’ unbelievesand lead them to Catholicism, focibly if necessay (Deslandes, 95). And yet, inspite of these paallels on both the native and the Euopean side of the eligiousencounte, the couse and the esults of these two attempts at ‘spiitual conquest’wee stikingly diffeent, and in ways that help to illuminate the geneal pocess ofindigenous chistianization.

3 In making use of the tems ‘convesion’and ‘convet’ in this chapte, I mean to efe In making use of the tems ‘convesion’ and ‘convet’ in this chapte, I mean to efeto the seventeenth-centuy Jesuits’ undestanding of eligious change among indigenous peoples. Baptism was cental to this pocess, but so was ongoing submission to cleicaldiection. Outside the mental univese of the Ealy Moden missionay, it is difcult toattach any clea, coheent and consistent meaning to the concept of ‘convesion’; this is a point I ague at geate length elsewhee (Gee, 2003).



Towards a Comparative Study of Jesuit Missions and Indigenous Peoples 23

Paraguay

With Montoya leading the way, the Jesuits began thei mission to the Guaaníin 1609, gatheing people fom a vast inteio egion centeed on the Paaguay,Uuguay and Paana rives into thity reducciónes; in the eighteenth centuy, total population anged between 80,000 and 120,000 (Saege, 276). These speciallyconstucted communities wee a vaiation on models developed in the peviouscentuy by missionaies woking in Bazil and Peu. In spite of Montoya’s attemptto pesent his mission as a bold confontation with wild savages, the Guaaní ofthe ealy seventeenth centuy had had long, and mostly disastous, expeience withEuopeans.

A small cops of Spaniads had instituted an unuly and exceptionallyexploitive colonial égime centeed on Asunción in the mid-sixteenth centuy. Fa

fom the centes of impeial govenance, they had used an unegulated vesionof the institution of encomienda to lay claim to the labou of Guaaní, especiallythe women, whom they also exploited sexually. Native population dopped pecipitously though the effects of disease combined with violence and dislocation,yet the Guaaní emained sufciently numeous to effectively submege thehandful of Euopeans in thei midst. racial mixing was an accomplished fact bythe seventeenth centuy and Guaaní the dominant language. The line dividingcolonize fom colonized was exceptionally indistinct in Paaguay and yet this

emained a uthlessly exploitive colonial égime. Into this milieu, Fanciscanmissionaies had come in aound 1580, attacting Guaaní to thei reducciónes

nea the colonial settlements. Though the Fanciscans’ objectives wee benevolent,the effect of thei effots was to facilitate the moe systematic subjection of nativesto the heavy demands of tibute and labou sevice.

Beneting fom the suppot of the Spanish impeial state in the wake ofFancisco de Alfao’s commission of inquiy (1610–1612) into the abuses ofPaaguay’s Indians (Saege, 1999: 270), the Jesuits pusued a stategy of isolatingconvets fom the lay colonizes in compaatively emote locations fa to the east ofAsunción. Unfotunately, this exposed thei reducciónes to the butal depedationsof Bazilian slave-aides fom São Paulo. This led to the evacuation of seveal ofthe most vulneable missions and to the Jesuits’ decision to sponso a ChistianGuaaní militia foce equipped with Spanish ams and taining. Dawing on theiown waio taditions as well as thei Euopean taining, the Guaaní succeededin defeating the Paulistas in pitched battle, educing but neve eliminating thetheat that these aides posed. The mission militias emeged in the st half ofthe eighteenth centuy as the most potent amed foce in the egion, assisting the

Spanish cown in opposing Potuguese expansion into the aea and in masteingPaaguayan evolts. When pat of thei teitoy was ceded to Potugal by the temsof the Teaty of Madid (1750), the Guaaní of the missions mounted a bloody butunsuccessful wa of esistance. The Jesuits, aleady hated by many in Paaguayand Bazil fo thei opposition to the exploitation of Indians, took much of the



Native Christians24

blame, a cicumstance which helped pecipitate the expulsion of the Society ofJesus, st fom the Potuguese empie (1759), late fom the Spanish (1767).

New France

Meanwhile, fa to the noth, Fench Jesuits wee at wok in Canada following theiinitial establishment at Quebec in 1625. Hee too, they followed in the footstepsof Fanciscans (of the efomed recollet banch in this case), beneting fomthe othes’ expeience befoe shouldeing them out of the way (Le Clecq 1691;Axtell 1985). Thei ealy contacts wee with nomadic bands of Montagnais andAlgonquins on the St Lawence rive, people who taded fus with the Fench andwho wee disposed, whethe out of cuiosity o fiendship, to give a heaing to the

eligious popositions of the Fench piests. But thei numbes wee small and theJesuits found it difcult to maintain contact with such mobile people (Gee, 2000:20–32) and so they ediected most of thei effots to the agicultual villages of theHuon peoples, located fa to the west in pesent-day Ontaio. They wee awae ofthei Spanish colleagues’ successes in Paaguay and chose to focus on the Huons patly because thei way of life seemed to esemble that of the Guaaní (Jetten,1994: 15–33; Thwaites, 1896–1900, vol. 5: 33). Though the fuits of evangelizingwee always somewhat disappointing, the Paaguay mission stood as an inspiing

beacon of hope. Fathe Paul LeJeune, esponding to an inquiy in 1637 as to theFathe Paul LeJeune, esponding to an inquiy in 1637 as to the pospects fo convesions in Canada, wote, ‘Je esponds à cela, que si celuy quia escit cette lette a leu la relation de ce qui se passe au Paaquais, qu’il a veu cequi se fea un jou en la nouvelle Fance’ (Thwaites, op. cit., vol. 12: 219).

The Jesuits came to the Huons at an ealie stage in the latte’s contact histoythan was the case with the Guaaní mission. In 1636, when the Huon mission had been mly established afte some inteupted ealy attempts, these natives weefully acquainted with Euopean poducts and had foged commecial and diplomaticties with the Fench, but they had not yet felt the full foce of colonization. Only in1639 wee they visited by thei st devastating smallpox epidemic. Because deathand disease followed the Jesuits, the Huons tuned against them as dangeoussocees, and fo a time it appeaed that the whole entepise would collapsein the face of unanimous esistance. The Jesuits held on, howeve, and ove thecouse of the 1640s the Huons wee weakened by demogaphic decline, gowingcommecial dependence on the Fench and, above all, by defeats at the hands ofthei enemies, the Five Nations of the Ioquois League (Tigge, 1976: 603–788).In an atmosphee of demoalization and intenal dissention, many Huons accepted

Catholic baptism and joined the po-Jesuit faction that favoed close ties withthe Fench. Conceted Ioquois attacks nally destoyed the Huons as a coheentsociety in 1649 and a small emnant goup late followed the missionaies downto Quebec whee they eventually established a kind of reducción settlement neathe city.




The Jesuits continued to evangelize the Algonquian bands that fequentedthe Canadian settlements, while the small population of lay Fench stuggled tohold thei own in conict with the Five Nations. Only afte the aival of toopsfom Fance wee they able to defeat (though not conque) the Five Nationsin 1666–67. Theeafte the way was open fo the Jesuits to ty to convet theifome enemies. In the late 1660s and though the 1670s, a substantial numbeof Ioquois chose to accept baptism and migate noth to settle at two villagesnea Monteal; the lagest of these, located on a Jesuit seigneurie, came to beknown as Kahnawake. The Ioquois of Kahnawake wee heavily involved in NewFance’s fu tade and late on they came to play a cental ole as Fench allies inthe ecuent was against the Bitish colonies. This reducción was also the site ofintense mystic-ascetic devotions on the pat of a goup of women convets whowhipped one anothe, buned thei esh, and exposed thei naked bodies to ice and

snow. These gestues alamed the missionaies who sensed an attempt to bypasscleical mediation and gain diect access to the spiitual powe of Chistianity(Gee, 2005). The Jesuit ecod in New Fance was one of limited success. Fewin numbe (30 to 40 missionaies though most of the peiod), the Jesuits dealtwith Indian populations that wee small (compaed to those of South Ameica)and dwindling. Thus the pedominant motif of thei witings, especially the annual

Relations des Jésuites, was of spiitual tials athe than tiumphs, matydom athethan Chistian conquest. Nevetheless, they did manage by the late seventeenth

centuy to assemble a netwok of ve reducciónes in the vicinity of the Fenchsettlements along the St Lawence. The Ioquois mission of Kahnawake (neaMonteal) emained the lagest of these, but thee was also the Huon settlement atLoette (nea Quebec), as well as Algonquian (Abenaki, Algonquin, Montagnais)missions at Odanak and Bécancou (nea Tois-rivièes). (Hais, 1987, plate 47;Jetten, 1994) When we begin to compae the expeience of convet Indians in thereducciónes of Canada and Paaguay, we cannot help being stuck by the dispaityof numbes; beyond that, howeve, a numbe of inteesting divegences, as well assome similaities, can be discened.

Comparisons

Let us begin by eviewing some of the paallels. Both the Paaguay and the NewFance missions wee ‘fontie’ entepises in that they took place at the edgesof impeial contol, in contast to Chistianizing pocesses that occued in theintensively colonized heatlands of Mexico and Peu. Moeove, the natives involved

in both cases had not peviously been subject to an indigenous state capable ofexacting tibute and commanding labou. These Indians did howeve have a histoyof pio contact with Euopeans, the Guaaní much moe so than the Ioquoians,and thee had been some exposue to Fanciscan missionaies befoe the Jesuitsaived on the scene. In Canada as in Paaguay, the Jesuits endeavoed to isolateand potect conveted natives fom what they saw as a menacing secula colonial



Native Christians26

society. In the Paaguayan setting, the theats wee exteme – death, enslavemento the quasi-slavey of mita originaria – wheeas the Fench Jesuits woied aboutmission Ioquois being coupted by liquo. An additional commonality lies in themilitay vocation of the mission Indians, though the Jesuits themselves did notact as instigatos and oganizes in Canada as they did in Paaguay. Still, in boththese mission zones, Chistian Indians acted as a cucially effective amed foce ofempie and enjoyed a degee of autonomy and espect as a esult of that ole.

Finally, it is woth noting that the Jesuits of Noth and South Ameica had acommon tendency to adapt to indigenous languages athe than equie natives tolean a Euopean tongue. This linguistic accommodation, the hallmak of Jesuitmissions aound the wold, was an effective technique fo attacting listenes at theinitial stages of evangelization, but afte the foundation of convet communities,it also contibuted to the pogam of isolating Indians fom secula Euopean

inuences (less so, pehaps, in Paaguay whee even the colonizes tended to beuent in Guaaní). If language was an instument of empie (Mignolo 1995), then both Jesuits and native Chistians manifested some esevations about submittingfully to the ule of a Euopean monach, pefeing instead to maintain a cetaincultual autonomy.

Fo all these esemblances, the expeience of Guaaní and Ioquoians undeJesuit tutelage was quite diffeent in a numbe of impotant espects. Even whenwe make allowances fo the souces’ hetoical tendency to exaggeate the degee

of missionay contol, it is clea that the Paaguay Jesuits succeeded in eoganizingthe native economy quite fundamentally and in ways that thei countepats in NewFance could hadly contemplate. Notwithstanding the continuation of Guaanísubsistence activities in shing, hunting and agicultue, a geat deal of effotwas diected in evey reducción to new, maket-oiented poduction. Native mentaveled fa fom thei homes to tend the cattle heds on vast, Jesuit-contolledestancias. The gowing and havesting of yerba mate was an even moe impotantsouce of mission evenues. The leaf of a bush that the Guaaní had long used toceate a tea-like beveage, yerba mate caught on with colonizes acoss southenSouth Ameica and the Jesuits commecialized it vey successfully. Natives pefomed the demanding wok of havesting, pocessing and tanspoting the poduct. At the same time, Guaaní subsistence labou was patially tansfomedwith the intoduction of some Euopean cultivation techniques and with men joining women in the elds, contay to the taditional sexual division of labou.

The economic pactices of Ioquoian people living at the missions on the StLawence also changed and adapted to the ways of the maket, but much moeselectively. Families concentated moe than thei ancestos had on the winte hunt

and thei main objective was to poduce beave and othe animal pelts fo saleand expot. Yet this paticipation in the Atlantic exchange economy equied onlythe expansion of one aspect of the pe-contact yealy ound of activities, not acomplete tansfomation of the ‘taditional’ economy. Moeove, the Jesuits hadlittle o no ole in the fu economy. Indians dealt diectly with Fench tadesand they wee diven to the woods by nancial incentives, not by the ugings of




missionaies; indeed the latte tended to disappove of the hunt because of the wayit took natives fa fom the mission chapel. They accepted it, athe gudgingly, asan economic necessity fo thei ocks, even though it escaped thei contol. rathethan nancing the mission entepise though the poduct of Indian labou, theFench Jesuits had to depend on donations fom aboad combined with ent fomthei seigneuial estates and govenment subsidies.

The subsistence economy of the mission Ioquois was vey lightly affected bythe missionaies. Fo geneations, they maintained familia agicultual pattens,with women gowing the indigenous cops of con, squash and beans. Ove theyeas, some Euopean livestock was gadually intoduced, and even some Euopeantillage techniques, but the change was gadual, and since simila shifts took placein the old Ioquois lands of New Yok, they can hadly be attibuted solely to Jesuitinuence. Cows and pigs, like Chistianity, ae among the things the Ioquois

of the missions adopted fom the Fench. Single-family wooden houses, bead,individual buials and some elements of the Euopean costume wee othes. Allwee integated into Ioquoian cultue at a pace and in ways that suited the nativesthemselves. Thee is little evidence to suggest that the Jesuits execised contolove this pocess of ‘assimilation’.

In Canada, unlike the Spanish empie, Indians owed no tibute paymentsand they had no labou-sevice obligations. The impulse to secue and exploitindigenous labou powe was cental to the Ibeian colonization of the New Wold

but it played only a mino pat in the Fench Noth Ameican empie (Seed 2001).Even though the Jesuits of Paaguay went to heoic lengths to defend Guaaníconvets fom secula coecion and exploitation, they still imbibed enough ofthe colonial atmosphee to conside it natual that Indians should be consciptedfo constuction and othe stenuous tasks. Thus the esidences, wokshops andne Baoque chuches of the thity towns wee all built by native wokes andskilled atisans. Similaly, Guaaní boatmen caied the yerba mate to maket inBuenos Aies. In the Spanish Empie manual labou tended to be associated withIndians and othe ethnic goups, but that was not geneally the case in Canada.Accodingly, at a mission like Kahnawake, while natives constucted thei ownesidences, using thei own indigenous mateials and achitectual styles, thechuch was built by Ceole atisans and paid fo by the missionaies. A dawingillustating Fathe Claude Chauchetièe’s histoy of the mission shows Fenchcapentes labouing on the fame of the chapel while Indians sit on the goundneaby watching (Chauchetièe 1984).

The Jesuits made much geate effots in Paaguay than in Canada to modifyindigenous cultue and ways of life in fa-eaching ways. They designed missions

with ows of baack-like living quates fo families, as well as locked enclosuesfo single women. The Guaaní, peviously accustomed to go naked, wee equiedto wea white cotton gaments that gave the appeaance of unifoms. Chuch bells tolled at pescibed intevals to tell people when to get up, when to payand when to go to wok. Maital elations wee stictly egulated with a viewto stamping out ‘adultey’ and polygamy. Some epots fom the peiod give the



Native Christians28

impession of a pefectly egimented, benevolently odeed society (which may bewhy Enlightenment philosophes with no diect knowledge of Paaguay came to be so enthalled with this coopeative, well-egulated ‘utopia’).4 recent histoicaleseach is beginning to uncove the extent to which the Guaaní managed tofustate Jesuit effots to contol them, fo example, by living in taditional hutson the edge of the reducción instead of the dak masony quates assigned tothem. (Ganson 2003; Tue 2003). Of couse, no egulatoy egime has eve yetsucceeded in ovecoming the esistance of ecalcitant humanity, but the pointis that the Paaguay missions epesented an ambitious pogam of social andcultual engineeing and, without eve eadicating Guaaní cultue, it did imposemajo changes on native ways of being and acting.

Violent compulsion was an inevitable featue of a disciplinay egime like thatof the reducciónes. A minoity woked voluntaily, wote Fathe José Cadiel in

1747, ‘but fo the est, it was necessay to beat them one o moe times so thatthey sow and eap the necessay amount’ (quoted in Saege, 1999: 278). Copoal punishment was used to compel Indians to wok, but also to sanction moal andeligious offences, such as missing mass. ‘Whippings on the buttocks fo adultmales, females, and childen alike wee the pimay punishment fo coectingmisbehavio. The Jesuits teated the Guaaní not as they would slaves, but moe asa stict fathe would teat his own childen o a schoolmaste would a classoomof pupils’ (Ganson, 2003: 78; cf. Haubet 1967: 167). Missions also had jails to

incaceate offendes fo shot peiods.Ealy in the histoy of the New Fance mission, the Fench Jesuits tied toestablish a similaly disciplined convet community at Silley, nea Quebec. Toget nomadic Montagnais and Algonquins to settle down and accept Chistianegulation, they cleaed some land, eected wooden houses and offeed food as wellas potection fom enemy Ioquois (ronda 1979). Leadeship fell to tusted Indianconvets who, with Jesuit advice and encouagement, began enfocing Catholicmoal ules with eal seveity. residents caught with pagan itual objects, those pacticing polygamy o taditional couting behavio, wee subject to sentencesof exile, public whipping o a tem in the mission jail. Disobedient wives wee ataget: in one fequently cited incident, a woman who an away afte quaellingwith he husband was chained to a post and foced to fast fo fou days.5 But

4 The utopian legend of the Paaguay missions, popounded in the eighteenth centuyThe utopian legend of the Paaguay missions, popounded in the eighteenth centuyand epeated down to the pesent, is a subject cying out fo a full teatment in the contextof the intellectual histoy of Euope. rae ae the topics whee Jesuit and philosophe visionsconveged, but an appeciation fo the effective egulation of savages was one of them.

5 Thisanecdote,edolentofviolentpatiachalpowe,hasledtomuchmisundestandingThis anecdote, edolent of violent patiachal powe, has led to much misundestandingof the gende politics of the Jesuit missions of New Fance (See Andeson 1991). Apatfom the special situation of Silley, such cases ae vey ae. Among Ioquoian peoples, theJesuits opeated though a tacit alliance with the women and geneally suppoted female powe. The punishment of wives at Silley may have evealed moe about Montagnais thanFench maital noms.




the cucial fact about this expeiment in Latin Ameican-style discipline is that itfailed, as the Indians eithe died o moved away and the Jesuits wee poweless tostop them. Inauguated in 1638, epeatedly disbanded and eestablished ove thefollowing two decades, Silley was essentially defunct as a punitive reducción by1660. The Jesuits, quick to lean by thei mistakes, appea to have concluded thatCanadian Indians would not toleate such teatment. When they dealt with nativesless vulneable than the often-staving bands of Montagnais huntes who settledat Silley, they ecognized that coecion of fee, unconqueed Indians was out ofthe question.

At the same time that the Silley expeiment was poceeding on its falteingway, Jesuits among the Huons wee stuggling to gain any sot of heaing fomthei eluctant hosts. The Huons, fo thei pat, seemed to toleate the Jesuit pesence patly out of espect fo Fench commecial powe, but the leveage

povided by tade had stict limits and it fell fa shot of giving the missionaiesany powe of command. reecting bittely on the obstacles to convesion, whichapplied to eveything – fom the content of Chistianity, the social life of themission, baptism, espect fo piests, Catholic moal egulation, and so on – FatheJéôme Lalement seemed to have Spanish Ameican pecedents in mind: ‘Finally,we cannot hee have foce at hand, and the suppot of that shap swod whichseves the Chuch in so holy a manne to give authoity to he Decees, to maintainJustice, and cub the insolence of those who tample unde foot the holiness of he

Mysteies’ (Thwaites, 1896–1900, 28: 55).Lalement and his colleagues wee cetainly capable of confonting andaffonting ‘pagans’ (delibeately couting matydom in the pocess) but they hadno means of imposing thei will in the county of the Huons. Even afte the 1660swhen they gatheed thousands of defeated Ioquois in the midst of the Fenchsettlements at the reducción of Kahnawake, the Jesuits still felt unable to pacticecoecion. They equied esidents to enounce ‘impuity’ and ‘dunkenness’,though it is appaent that they could not enfoce these pohibitions; othewise,they imposed no denite ules. Ioquois moved feely fom the old, non-Catholic,Ioquois villages to Kahnawake and back again. The missionaies wee acutelyawae that any unacceptable egulatoy egimen would simply lead to an emptycommunity as esidents voted fo feedom with thei feet. Afte 1684, when thest of a seies of was boke out and the colonial govenment became dependenton Catholic Ioquois militay aid, the civil authoities joined the Jesuits in bendingthei effots to keep Kahnawake esidents content. Fench settles neaby gumbledthat Chistian Indians wee not even punished fo cimes against thei popety and pesons (Gabowski 1993).

It was not only the Ioquois of Kahnawake who seemed immune to foce-basedcleical egulation. The mission communities established in the St Lawence Valley by Jesuits and othe missionaies fo Abenakis, Huons, Ioquois and Algonquinswee all un without appaent coecion. Hee too, the state and the eligious odeacted fom convegent motives: it was geneally undestood that the Indians hadothe options and so it was necessay to cultivate thei goodwill to induce them



Native Christians30

voluntaily to emain in place, altenately attending mass and ghting fo the king.The fact that they wee in conict with poweful enemies to the south – fo example,most of the Catholic Abenakis at St-Fanois wee efugees fom the fontiewas of nothen New England – lent thei situation some vague esemblance tothat of the Guaaní, though it still left them with a compaatively wide magin ofmaneuve. Cetainly, both Chuch and secula authoities in New Fance seemedto feel constained in thei ability to foce obedience upon natives.

Conclusion

Elsewhee, I have witten on the Ioquois appopiation of Catholic Chistianityin the seventeenth centuy (Gee, 2003), but this chapte has a diffeent focus. It

attempts to descibe and compae the cicumstances in which indigenous peoples of Noth and South Ameica expeienced Chistian missions. The compaative analysisof Paaguayan and Canadian cases, both dating fom the same peiod and bothinvolving Jesuits, points to the need fo futhe eseach, paticulaly in etievingthe native expeience of convesion. Whethe it is to Chistianity o to the colonialsystem is not entiely clea in the cases examined hee, and it seems that we havein both contexts athe a convesion to colonialism than to Chistianity. Howeve,even this ‘extenal’ examination of mission egimes suggests some peliminay

conclusions and, I hope, demonstates the value of dialogue between scholalyelds nomally studied in mutual isolation. Assessing the natue and impact ofChistianization, it seems, we must conside not only the aims and outlook of themissionaies, not only the cultue and aims of the indigenous peoples, but also theambient cicumstances of contact and colonization. The Guaaní expeience ofEuopean empie and colonization was vey diffeent fom that of the Ioquoian peoples of Noth Ameica. To oppose a Spanish empie of conquest and tibute toa Fench empie of commece and alliance would be a athe cude simplication, but it is a simplication that captues moe than a gain of tuth. In Paaguay muchmoe than in Canada, Indians and Jesuits inhabited a wold whee ideology and pactice tended to suggest the nomality of the subjugation of indigenous peoples.Similaly, it would be misleading to imply that violence and exploitation weeunknown in New Fance. Yet, even though we know that deadly combat aged inthe notheasten woodlands, it was aely congued as a simple confontation ofEuopean vesus native. And seldom did colonizes hee use violence, as they didin South Ameica, as a means of ecuiting foced Indian labou.

Guaaní in the reducciónes of Paaguay enjoyed much less leveage in thei

elations with the Jesuits and wee obliged to toleate much moe intusivesupevision than thei Ioquoian countepats, simply because thei options weeso limited and so epellant. Slavey and cushing labou sevice wee the isks theyan outside the connes of the mission system. Choices fo missionized Indiansin Canada, though hadly unlimited, wee nevetheless much less deadful. Hencethe Jesuits could not impose a vey sevee disciplinay egime.




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Andeson, Kaen. Chain Her by One Foot: The Subjugation of Women inSeventeenth-Century New France. London: routledge, 1991.

Axtell, James. The Invasion Within: The Contest of Cultures in Colonial North America. New Yok: Oxfod Univesity Pess 1985.

Baavaglia, Juan Calos. ‘The Cises and Tansfomations of Invaded Societies:The La Plata Basin (1535–1650)’. in Fank Salomon and Stuat B. Schwatz(ed.), The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, vol. III,South America, Pat 2, 1–58.

Blackbun, Caole. Harvest of Souls: The Jesuit Missions in North America,

1632–1650. Monteal: McGill-Queen’s Univesity Pess 2000.Monteal: McGill-Queen’s Univesity Pess 2000.Campeau, Lucien. La Mission des Jésuites chez les Hurons 1634–1650ons 1634–1650ns 1634–1650. Monteal:

Bellamin 1987.Caaman, Philip. The Lost Paradise: An Account of the Jesuits in Paraguay 1607–

1768 . London: Sidgwick & Jackson 1975.London: Sidgwick & Jackson 1975.Chauchetièe, Claude. Narration de la mission du Sault depuis sa fondation

jusqu’en 1686 (ed.) Hélène Avisseau. Bodeaux: Achives dépatementales deHélène Avisseau. Bodeaux: Achives dépatementales dela Gionde 1984.

Deslandes, Dominique. Croire et faire croire: les missions françaises au XVIIesiècle. Pais: Fayad, 2003.Pais: Fayad, 2003.Ganson, Babaa. The Guaraní Under Spanish Rule in the Río de la Plata. Stanfod:

Stanfod Univesity Pess, 2003.Gabowski, Jan. ‘The Common Gound: Settled Natives and Fench in Montéal,

1667–1760’ Ph.D. thesis, Univesité de Montéal, 1993.Gee, Allan (ed.) The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-

Century North America. Boston: Bedfod, 2000. ———. Mohawk Saint: Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits. New Yok: Oxfod

Univesity Pess, 2005. ———. ‘Convesion and Identity: Ioquois Chistianity in Seventeenth-Centuy

New Fance’, in Kenneth Mills and Anthony Gafton (ed.), Conversions: OldWorlds and New. rocheste: Univesity of rocheste Pess, 2003, 175–98.rocheste: Univesity of rocheste Pess, 2003, 175–98.

Hais, Cole (ed.) Hisorical Atlas of Canada, vol. 1, From the Beginning to 1800.Toonto: Univesity of Toonto Pess, 1987.

Haubet, Maxime. La vie quotidienne au Paraguay sous les jésuites. Pais:Pais:Hachette, 1967.

Jetten, Mac. Enclaves amérindiennes: les ‘réductions’ du Canada 1637–1701.Quebec: Septention, 1994.

Le Clecq, Chestien. Premier établissement de la foy dans la Nouvelle France.Pais: Amable Auoy, 1691.

Mignolo, Walte D. The Darker Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Terrioriality,and Colonization. Ann Abo: Univ. of Michigan Pess 1995.Ann Abo: Univ. of Michigan Pess 1995.



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Necke, Louis. Indiens Guarani et chamanes franciscains: les premières réductionsdu Paraguay (1580–1800). Pais: Editions Anthopos, 1979.

O’Malley, John W. The First Jesuits. Cambidge, Mass: Havad Univesity Pess1993.

ronda, James P. ‘The Silley Expeiment: A Jesuit-Indian Village in New Fance,

1637–1663’. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 3 (1979): 1–18.ruiz de Montoya, Antonio. Conquista espiritual hecha por los religiosos de la

Compania de Jesus, en las provincias del Paraguay. [tans.[tans. The SpiritualConquest accomplished by the Religious of the Society of Jesus ... . St. Louis:Institute of Jesuit Souces, 1993.]

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Peoples of the Americas, vol. III, South America. Cambidge: CambidgeUnivesity Pess, 1999, Pat 2, 257–86.

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Chapte 2

Chistians: A Tansfoming Concept in

Peuvian AmazoniaPete Gow

In contempoay Peuvian Amazonia, the wod cristiano, ‘Chistian’, is often used by speakes of the local dialect of Spanish as a mode of self-efeence and of

contast to othes dened as non-cristiano, but they would be supised if theiintelocutos esponded with questions about eligion. Afte all, the contemptuousquestion, ‘¿Acaso es cristiano?’, [Do you think he/she is a cristiano?], is often putto people showing inappopiate solicitude of animals such as cats, dogs o pigs.

Locally, the wod cristiano pimaily means ‘civilized human’, as opposed to‘wild Indians’ o ‘animals’. This moden usage almost cetainly aose in the Jesuitmissions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuies in the Bajo Huallaga aea innothen Peuvian Amazonia. The pesent chapte exploes cetain aspects of the

meaning of the tem cristiano fo the indigenous peoples of the Bajo Huallaga, andthe poblems aised fo anthopological appoaches to Chistianity.Histoically, anthopology aose in a social milieu dominated by the colonial

expansion of pedominantly Chistian societies, and in that colonial pocessconvesion to Chistianity often played a key ideological function. Anthopologiststheefoe know a lot about Chistianity. It is not supising then that they ae oftentempted to make cetain assumptions about what phenomena such as cristiano

might mean without engaging in the detailed ethnogaphic desciption and analysisthey would hold essential fo less familia phenomena such as coss-cousinmaiage o totemism. It is easy to assume that the people of the Bajo Huallagause the wod cristiano because thei ancestos wee extensively missionized bythe Jesuits. Histoically this is almost cetainly tue, but why then do they use thetem as having as its pimay meaning one that would have been taken by thosemissionaies as theologically acceptable, but vey fa fom its cental impot?Could it be that these indigenous people saw in Chistianity a new way to say anexisting non-Chistian thing, something as familia to them as Chistianity is toanthopology?

The pesent chapte extends and complements the theme of my ealieethnogaphic and histoical account of the elationship between Pio people of theBajo Uubamba and the Summe Institute of Linguistics/Wycliffe Bible Tanslatos(Gow 2001, 2006). Thee I addessed an odd featue of this elationship: despite thehistoically well-attested impotance of convesion to Evangelical Potestantismin the 1940s and 1950s, Pio people in the 1980s and late did not use ‘convesion’



Native Christians34

as an impotant idiom fo discussing thei ecent histoy. Impotant as convesionhad been at the time it happened, they subsequently fogot it. Instead, they assetedthat they wee and always had been cristianos, ‘Chistians’. This usage came to thePio fom the Bajo Huallaga, fo it was people fom that aea who wee the majosouce of immigant ubbe wokes to the Bajo Uubamba in the late nineteenthand ealy twentieth centuy. It was these people, called mosone in Pio, who weeto be the majo model of social tansfomation fo Uubamba Pio people.

Twentieth-centuy ethnogaphic accounts of indigenous peoples of the BajoHuallaga, such as the Shiwilu/Jebeo, Cocama, Cocamilla, Lamista Quechua,Chamicuo and Chayahuita, show clealy that convesion to Chistianity is used by these people as a key metapho of spatio-tempoal pocesses, and especially asa means of social classication. Howeve, my inteest hee is not in the histoical pocesses of convesion, o even in the Jesuit missionaies o missions, but in the

natue of the meaning of tems like cristiano fo these people in the twentiethcentuy. I stat with a consideation of why I think the ethnogaphy is moeimpotant than the histoy.

Historical Ethnographies

Stewad in his account to the histoy of the indigenous people of the Montaña

in the Handbook of South American Indians, pesents a basic summay of thecolonial histoy of the aea. He divides it into thee peiods, as follows:

Exploation and Conquest, 1532–1643. Duing this peiod Spanish contactshad little lasting inuence on the Indian. Exploation; 1532–60, seeking ElDoado, bought no settles; the Conquest, 1560–1600 established townson the westen finge of the Montaña but these wee abandoned by 1600;an inteim of compaative inactivity followed to about 1630.Mission o Colonial Peiod, 1630–1830. Two subpeiods ae oughly thatof (a) Jesuit success, 1640–1767, and (b) a peiod of decadence afte theJesuit expulsion. National peiod, 1830–pesent. Afte national independence fom Spainthee was a gadual penetation by whites but no systematic policy.The peiod bought moe egula exploation as well as settlement. Theabupt shock of the ubbe boom came about 1890 and lasted to 1915and, subsequently, the aea has been gadually opened to moe pemanentsettlement (1948: 510).

Late wites have ened Stewad’s account, but not changed its basicoutlines. An impotant point about this histoy is that thee is geneal ageementthat conquest failed in Peuvian Amazonia, and effective and sustained dominationof local indigenous people by Euopeans only aose late though Jesuit missions.

1.

2.

3.



Christians: A Transforming Concept in Peruvian Amazonia 35

Illustation 2.1 Chuch, Nauta, Bajo Maañon (Pete Gow, 2005)

The aea I hee call the Bajo Huallaga fomed pat of the Jesuit Missions ofMainas. It was the Misión Alta, the ‘Uppe Mission’, which was both the moststable pat of this mission system, and the one of most demonstable impotanceto late developments in the egion. The missions of the Misión Alta weeconcentated in the Bajo Huallaga aea, and cented on Santiago de la Laguna(today known as Lagunas) and they included Jebeos, Chamicuos, Yuimaguas,Lamistas, Chayavitas, Paanapuas, Muniches, Cahuapanas, and the two Mainasmissions, with a total population of 6,400 people at the time of expulsion of theJesuits in 1767 (Santos-Ganeo, 1988: 175), and at least nine diffeent languageswee spoken in these missions at the time.

Thee ae now seveal ethnogaphic monogaphs on the indigenous peoplesfom the geneal aea of the Bajo Huallaga, including Scazzachio on the LamistaQuechua (1978, 1979), Stocks on the Cocamilla (1981), and Fuentes on theChayahuita (1988). All ae maked by a consistent concen with histoy, andspecically with the econstuction of the histoical vicissitudes of the people

studied and how they came into being as a contempoay people. Thee is nothing paticulaly unusual about ethnogaphies stating with histoies, but it is unusualthat the subsequent ethnogaphy is seen to only make sense in tems of the peceding histoy. In the cases of Scazzachio, Stocks and Fuentes, the eade hasthe sense that the ethnogaphy could not have been witten without the histoy.



Native Christians36

That ethnogaphes of the Bajo Huallaga feel that they have to so situatethei ethnogaphies points to a distinctive vision of histoy, and of indigenoussocieties. It is not simply that such histoical contextualization is possible fo this pat of Peuvian Amazonia due to the compaative wealth of documentation, butathe that such contextualization in necessay because these societies ae felt to be inexplicable without it. This is because they ae ‘accultuated’: due to theilong inteactions with, and domination by, colonial and epublican foces, they donot constitute ‘whole societies’. They ae only ‘pat societies’, and to make up a‘whole society’ they have to be completed by histoy.

That ecent ethnogaphies of the peoples who live in the Bajo Huallaga shouldtake this histoy seiously seems unemakable, especially in the light of the‘histoical tun’ in anthopology, but they make me uneasy. My unease is with theesonances of a paticula event: the convesion of the peoples of the Bajo Huallaga

to Chistianity by the Jesuits. As Viveios de Casto has pointed out (1993), thisevent is not a neutal one fo anthopology, fo it was pecisely in the convesionof colonized people that the moden anthopological conception of cultue was bon in the meditation on the natue of belief. No is convesion a neutal histoicalevent, fo it encodes a vey distinctive vision of tempoal pocesses and henceof histoy: missionay activity as a pelude to the end of histoy in the SecondComing. It is in these un-analysed achaeological featues of the Jesuit missionthat the specic danges of histoical ethnogaphies lie.

The solution is in ethnogaphy qua ethnogaphy. If the poblem of histoicalethnogaphies of the Bajo Huallaga lies in the subodination of ethnogaphy tohistoy, the solution lies in using that ethnogaphy to aise questions about thathistoy. Clealy, ethnogaphies of Bajo Huallaga peoples in the late twentiethcentuies ae tempoally posteio to Jesuit action and witings, but they ae notlogically posteio. These ethnogaphies can be used to aise questions about thehistoy.

Histories of Jeberos

In a fascinating aticle, ronan Julou has aised this poblem in a paticulaly cleaand acute fom about the Shiwilu/Jebeo people. Jebeos was the st mission to be founded in the Bajo Huallaga, and continues to exist as a town to this day: it isinhabited by mestizo people who asset that they ae foeign to the town, and bythe Shiwilu people, who say that they have always lived thee since its foundation.Julou (2000: 189) is concened with answeing the following question: how does

an indigenous society, subjected to westen political, economic and symbolicdomination fo almost fou centuies, manage to maintain an identity distinct fomAmazonian mestizo society? He agues that the Shiwilu have, in thei naativesabout the oigins of thei social wold, a specic mode of appopiating histoywhich tansfoms a long peiod of accultuation into the mythic foundation of theiidentity. He gives an account of Jebeos since its foundation in the mid-seventeenth




until the twentieth centuy based on Jesuit and othe achival souces, and then twoShiwilu myths about the foundation and late histoy of thei town. These twohistoies ae both emakably simila and emakably diffeent. The Jesuit histoydoes not diffe geatly fom the summay povided by Stewad quoted above, so Ihee concentate on the myths.

The st myth, ‘The Fist Shawala’, tells of the foundation of the town. Aman of the shiwala kengma, ‘Shiwala tibe’ (identied with the Jívaoan-speaking peoples), leaves his people in the noth afte having killed his adulteous wife, andtavels south with his daughte whom he had escued fom a foest spiit. The man became the st Shawala, and seaches fo an unknown land whee he can founda new people. He efuses to live with the Aguauna o the Chayahuita becausethey ae violent savages (kengma). He nds a site in uninhabited foest which he populates with the childen he has with his daughte. Thei childen may each

othe in tun and fom a big village. The st Shawala teaches his oldest son, thest hua’an, ‘chief’, the ules of thei society: a taboo on adultey o maiage tosavages, a taboo on violence, and an injunction to always live in unity in the samevillage. Then the Smallpox Spiit aives, and calls to the people, one of whomesponds and so allows the epidemic to ente. The Shawala ee and live scatteedabout until the chief leans how to get id of the smallpox and convinces the peopleto etun to the village.

Julou notes that this myth is concened with the diffeences the Shiwilu hold

to exist between themselves and the kengma, ‘tibal people, savages’: livingconcentated in a single stable village vesus living in small mobile communities;and efusing violence vesus constant wafae. He then notes that the way of lifeof the kengma is pecisely how the Jebeo wee descibed by the Jesuits befoe thefoundation of the mission, and that it was the Jesuits who instituted the distinctivefeatues of Shiwilu society. Why then, Julou asks, do the Shiwilu not simply tellthei histoy as it actually happened, that thei society is a poduct of accultuationdue to missionay inuence? Julou agues that the myth pesents sedenteizationas a difcult but autonomous decision, one that has nothing to do with the aivalof mestizos in thei village. The myth assets the diffeentiation of the Shiwilufom both neighbouing indigenous goups and fom mestizos.

Julou then analyses a second myth, ‘The death of Sekpuchek’, which dealswith elations with huazan, ‘spiits/stanges/Spanish people’. In this stoy, theShawala hea about the Spanish people of the city of Moyobamba and one manvisits them, etuns home and then othe Shawala people begin to visit too. TwoSpanish men, Aputek and Sekpuchek, follow them back to Jebeos, and foce theShawala to wok fo Aputek, who also fobids them to pepae thei itual bee. An

old woman ignoes this ode, and Sekpuchek destoys he bee. Some Shawala,fuious with this act, then kill Sekpuchek. Othe Shawala efuse to get involved,allowing Aputek to ee. The kille Shawala then massace many of the non-killeShawala, and the suvivos ee to Cajamaca. The killes then defend the villagefo decades against the Spanish. One day, they hea about missionaies and theChistian eligion fom visitos fom those in Cajamaca. The kille Shawala then



Native Christians38

kidnap a piest fom Moyobamba, to potect them fom the Spanish and to getthe Cajamaca Shawala to etun. The Cajamaca Shawala, aleady Chistians andmixed with non-Shawala, emain afaid of the kille Shawala, so the piest’s houseis constucted in the middle of the village to sepaate the uppe moiety of thekilles, deilusak , fom the lowe moiety of the non-killes, deimbulusak . The piestthen decides to baptize the people, and places on the gound many saints’ images.Each peson chooses the one they like most and so eceive thei Chistian name.Fom then, the Shawala decide to call themselves Shiwilu.

Julou agues that this myth is based on events fom vey distinct histoicalmoments: contacts between the city of Moyobamba in the seventeenth centuy,and a ebellion against Spanish colonial authoities in the ealy nineteenth centuy.He agues that the eason fo this tempoal telescoping is to allow the Shiwiluto dene the images of the Spanish man, on the one hand, and the piest, on the

othe, and thei espective elations to Shiwilu society: the st chaacteized bydomination and exploitation, the second by potection. Julou then compaes thismyth to the st one as follows:

Contay to the ‘etiological’ myths, which use the image of a tempoal uptue to makin space a cultual distinction, the myth about ‘contact’ utilises the image of socialelations in space to evoke a ‘elation with the othe’ in time. (2000: 210)

Julou agues that the Shiwilu ae ‘pedatos’ of histoy, in so fa as they takehistoical events, mythify them, and use them fo thei own puposes.I think Julou’s data and analysis ae extemely impotant and inteesting, but I

have one majo doubt: Julou is unable to show that the Shiwilu myths ae actuallyin dialogue with the histoical account dawn fom the achive. Fo Lévi-Stauss,myths can comment on o suppess memoy of histoical events, but they cannot be made out of such histoical events, fo myths ae made out of othe myths,‘stoies head and emembeed’ (1970). To be fully convincing, Julou’s analysiswould have to show how Shiwilu myths tansfomed ove time to come to pedatethe colonial histoical pocesses in which they wee tansfoming. Since theachive pesumably does not ecod enough, o quite possibly any, olde vesionsof ‘The Fist Shawala’ o ‘The death of Sekpuchek’, that analysis would be eithedifcult o impossible. As such, Julou’s analysis simply eveals cetain inteestingcommonalities between Shiwilu myths of the late twentieth centuy and cetainaspects of thei colonial histoy.1

1

Thee is a futhe possibility hee, fo the Shiwilu myths belong to a boade myth-scape in the late twentieth-centuy Bajo Huallaga. The theme of new people emeging fom an

incestuous elationship in ‘The st Shawala’ is a tansfomation of the Cocama myth of the

ood (see regan 1993, and Gow 2003). Futhe, the myths ecoded by Julou bea emakable

esemblances to a Chamicuo stoy about the foundation of the town of Chamicuos (Pake

1987). The Chamicuo myth contains thee of the key themes of ‘The st Shawala’: the

seach fo a place to live well, a gil kidnapped by a foest spiit, and an epidemic.




Julou’s histoical focus contasts stongly with an impotant featue of his ownethnogaphy. He notes that the two sets of inhabitants of Jebeos, the mestizos andthe Shiwilu, have adically diffeent attitudes to the past as it elates to thei own pesence in the town. He wites:

A st categoy of discouse, held essentially by the descendants of the old-time bosses,consists in totally efusing a ‘Shiwilu’ identity. If they admit to being jeberino (theywee, in fact, bon in Jebeos), they do not admit any link with the histoy of the villageinscibed in Shiwilu oal tadition. Thei stoies of the histoy of thei family pivilegefacts and tales of one of the ascendant kin (fathe o gandfathe), foeign to theivillage. This voluntay focalization on a single aspect of thei genealogy pemits them todistinguish themselves fom the othe inhabitants of Jebeos in identifying themselvesas mestizo jeberino and in thei auto-exclusion fom ‘Shiwilu’ society.

Thei discouse includes geogaphical efeences beyond the famewok of thevillage. They evoke commecial links that connected, until ecently, the village to othemestizo towns of the Depatment, even neighbouing counties (Bazil, Colombia andBolivia) and descibe the hazads of the intenational maket that led thei ascendantkin to settle in Jebeos.

Thei identity claims theefoe eveal a cetain vision of the histoy of the villagethat is at once geate on the spatial plan (efeences to commecial axes connect Jebeosto the national and intenational cicuit) and much shallowe in time (efeence to onlythe ecent peiod of the exploitation of ubbe o of babasco). (2000: 198–9)

This suggests anothe, synchonic, context fo the Shiwilu myths, that they ae indiect dialogue with mestizo pesonal histoies. Howeve unfashionable synchonicanalysis is in contempoay anthopology, I think that the explanatoy possibilitiesof such synchonic contexts must be fully exploed befoe we appeal to histoicalexplanations.

This point is impotant given that the Shiwilu myths ecoded by Julou aegenuinely in dialogue with the mestizo pesonal histoies ecoded by Julou. Theyae speech acts within the same speech community. The same cannot be said of theelationship between the Shiwilu myths ecoded by Julou and the Jesuit ecodsead by Julou in the achive. Julou pesents no evidence that the Shiwilu mythshe ecods ae in dialogue with Jesuit souces, and such a dialogue stikes me ashighly unlikely. At most, the Jesuit souces ecod anteio states of the Shiwilu people, pio contexts of mythic naation, athe than the necessay oigins ofthose mythic naatives.

Humans and Other People

The Shiwilu myth, ‘The death of Sekpuchek’, ecods the impotance of convesionto Chistianity fo these people even if, following Julou’s account, it locatesthis convesion in a diffeent peiod to the foundation of the town of Jebeos.Julou notes that the Jesuits used the Shiwilu as the best local exempla of indios



Native Christians40

cristianos, ‘Chistian Indians’, as opposed to indios bravos, ‘wild Indians’ (2000:194). The tem cristiano, ‘Chistian’ now has a specic meaning fo people in theBajo Huallaga. Stocks denes the wod cristiano, as used on the Bajo Huallaga,as follows:

The Cocamilla use the tem almost in the sense of human. Fo example, they wouldsay of a foest demon that it is not cristiano. Tibal native people ae not consideedcristianos since, theefoe, ‘they ae baely human’. (1981: 158)

Pake ecods one Chamicuo wod fo ‘peson’ as klistyano. While this wodclealy deives fom the Spanish tem cristiano, ‘Chistian’, it seems to have beenfully assimilated into the Chamicuo language (1987).

The place of cristiano in a local system of social classication in the Bajo

Huallaga has been descibed in detail by Fanoise Scazzachio fo the LamistaQuechua people of the town of Lamas and its envions (1978). When viewingthemselves fom the point of view of awka, ‘othe ethno-linguistic foest peoples’,the Lamista conside themselves to be cristianos, ‘Chistians, humans’ like theimestizo neighbous. Howeve, when they view themselves fom the point of view ofthese same mestizo neighbous, they see themselves as sacha runa, ‘foest people’,like the awka (auca), as distinct fom the misti, ‘mestizos’ and wirakucha, ‘whites’.These two modes of identication, ‘Chistian’ and ‘foest people’, coespond to

two diffeent locations and phases of living: being ‘Chistian’ coesponds to lifein town with mestizos, and hence is opposed to the foest-dwelling awka, while being ‘foest people’ coesponds to life in gaden houses in the foest, and henceis opposed to town-dwelling mestizos. Scazzachio’s data suggest a tiadic systemcomposed of two ovelain dyadic oppositions, as shown in Figue 1.

(Wirakocha/Misti + Cristianos) / AwkaWirakocha/Misti / (Sacha Runa + Awka)

Figue 1

Othe ethnogaphes of the Bajo Huallaga ecod simila systems of socialclassication. Tessmann ecods that the Jebeo distinguish between themselves assewélo, and wáyã , ‘white people, dead people, souls’, and köngma, ‘“savages” whogo aound almost naked’ (1999: 231). This is conmed by Julou, with the wodsnow in the foms of Shiwilu, huazan and kengma. Again accoding to Tessmann,the Cocama distinguished awa, ‘humans, Cocama people’, mai, ‘souls, demons,

white people’, and tapuïya, ‘wild Indians’ (see also Espinosa 1989). Similaly, AldoFuentes ecods that the Chayahuita distinguish between themselves, piyapirosa,‘humans’, huayarosa, ‘mestizo people’ (which Fuentes suggests pehaps deivesfom huaya, ‘dead peson’), and aucarosa, ‘othe native goups’, such as theAguauna (fom Quechua auca, ‘waio’) (1988). This suggests a geneal BajoHuallaga system of identication composed of two ovelapping dyadic oppositions




geneating thee tems, as shown in Figue 2. The identication of the centalcategoy of ‘human’ with ‘Chistian’, suggests that Scazzachio’s ethnogaphyof the Lamista Quechua is moe geneal to the Bajo Huallaga: ‘Chistian’ wouldnecessaily have united ‘dead people’ and ‘humans’ against the ‘wild people’.While a specic sacha runa identication uniting ‘humans’ and ‘wild people’against ‘dead people’ is not epoted fo othe ethnogaphies, this would cetainlymake sense fom a wide egional pespective.

Dead people / Humans + HumansChistians + Chistians / Wild people

Figue 2

The identication of white people with dead people is not simply one of pueopposition between living and dead, but intoduces a key tempoal amatue tothat opposition. The movement fom living to dead is a tempoal pocess. This isconmed by the fact that the wod awka/auca, along with meaning ‘wild people’also means ‘unbaptised child’ (regan 1993). The scheme suggested above can be ened as shown in Figue 3. The thee poles theefoe become a tempoalsequence, and hence a potentially histoical sequence. Caneio da Cunha (1978),in he wok on the Cental Bazilian Kaho, agued that fo these people, os mortos

são os outros, ‘the dead ae the othes’, a conclusion that has been consistentlysuppoted by subsequent ethnogaphic eseach. This suggests that what united‘humans’ and ‘wild people’ against ‘dead people’ was an opposition between the‘living’ and the ‘dead’.

Wild people → Humans → Dead peopleUnbaptized → Baptized → Baptized people living dead

people people

Figue 3

These data suggest that, at least by the ealy twentieth centuy and pobably veymuch ealie, the people of the Bajo Huallaga had developed a vey homogenousand stable scheme of social identication, wheeby complex local schemes ofmultiple social identications could be easily tanslated into two ove-lapping anddyadic systems which fomed a global tiadic system with extaodinay intenal

dynamism. This, I ague, is a facet of the whole of Bajo Huallaga sociologic, andit coesponds to a seies of shaed featues of the social lives of the Bajo Huallaga people.



Native Christians42

Names and Places

The Bajo Huallaga was moe than a seies of missions and cristiano peoples, foit was also clealy a egional social system. Unfotunately, despite consideablehistoical documentation, including oiginal Jesuit souces and late commentaies,and despite the existence of seveal detailed ethnogaphies, the only consistentaccount of all Bajo Huallaga peoples fo any single histoical peiod is the accountgiven by Tessmann fo the ealy 1920s (1999). Given that Tessmann’s accounts ofnon-mateial aspects of local people’s lives ae based on shot visits and inteviewswith few infomants, I focus on those aspects of his ethnogaphy whee it is mostlikely to be accuate, and supplement it whee necessay with ne-gained datafom late-twentieth centuy eseaches.

The Shiwilu myth, ‘The death of Sekpuchek’, contains the extaodinay scene

whee the piest lays out the images of saints, which ae then chosen by Shiwilu people, who theeby acquie Chistian names, and then the entie populationchange thei collective name, Shawala, fo a new one, Shiwilu. This suggeststhat fo the Shiwilu, at least, being cristiano, ‘Chistian’, is fundamentally aboutnaming, and Tessmann’s data show clealy the high salience of naming fo theindigenous peoples of the Bajo Huallaga. His account shows that the ‘Chistianhuman’ categoy fo the Bajo Huallaga peoples was in tun segmented into namedgoups like cocamilla, jebero, chayahuita, and so on. Tessmann’s account shows

evidence that most of the Bajo Huallaga peoples at the time of his eseachidentied themselves with named pueblos, ‘towns’, in which they lived, thesetowns being fome Jesuit missions. Fo example, he ecods that the Jebeo calledthemselves sewélo (shiwilu in Julou’s tansliteation), which is clealy the Jebeofom of the Spanish name of the town of Limpia Concepción de Jebeos. 2 Julounotes that shiwilu has no futhe meaning in the Jebeo language, and shows that itis pat of a complex tempoal sequence:

Shiwala → Shawala → Shiwilu→ Shawala → ShiwiluShawala → Shiwilu→ ShiwiluShiwilu

Similaly, Tessmann ecods that the Chamicuo called themselves chamekolo, but judging fom Pake’s data this seems to be the name of the town of Chamicuosand its fome esidents, athe than a Chamicuo wod fo ‘people’ (1987). In onecase, that of the Aguano, identication with the town, Santa Cuz de los Aguanos,had become sufciently complete that, by the time of Tessmann’s eseach, itsinhabitants no longe ecognized the tem awano, and called themselves santacrucinos (1999: 144).3 In each case, the ‘tibal’ name has as a efeent, o even as

2 This is tue even if the name Jebeos was, as Julou claims, an hispanicization of This is tue even if the name Jebeos was, as Julou claims, an hispanicization ofShiwilu, fo he clealy demonstates that the Shiwilu think of this name as coming fom thee-foundation of the town and the acquisition of new names.

3 It is possible that this shift was connected to the loss of the Aguano language.It is possible that this shift was connected to the loss of the Aguano language.




the pimay efeent, a place, a fome mission. The exceptions to this patten aeCocama and Cocamilla.

This patten might seem to be explained by the Jesuit pactices of naming. Withone impotant exception, the Jesuits named missions afte the dominant nación,‘nation/tibal goup’, esident thee: Limpia Concepción de Jebeos, Santa Cuzde los Aguanos, and othes. The exception was Lagunas, which was dominated by the Cocamilla and Cocama. These peoples did not have missions named fothem except in the vey ealy Jesuit peiod. The stong identication with missionnames ecoded by Tessmann fo the ealy twentieth centuy might simply eectthe fact that those missions wee named fo the pimay tem by which the local population was aleady named. With the exception of Scazzachio’s study of theLamista, most anthopologists have imagined a simple continuity between pe-missionization peoples and contempoay peoples.

Howeve, this seems unlikely fo thee easons. Fistly, Espinosa has plausiblyagued that many of the tibal names used by the Jesuits wee dawn fom thelanguage of the Cocama and Omagua people, athe than being oiginal auto-denominations (1955). Secondly, thee is no eason to believe that thee wee peoples who thought of themselves as ‘Jebeo’, ‘Aguano’ o ‘Chamicuo’ befoethey came to eside on Jesuit missions. Ealy Jesuit souces mention many naciones

and parcialidades that had simply disappeaed by the twentieth centuy, and it is by no means cetain that this was due to physical extinction alone (see Fank

1991). Thidly, ethnogaphy fom the late twentieth centuy such as that of Fuentessuggests that local people pimaily think of names like Chayahuita, Cahuapanasand Balsapueto as places with which distinctive kinds of people ae associated(1988: 141–2). In no cases do the names of towns coespond to the tems fo‘people, humans’ in the locally-spoken language. This suggests that the peoplesof the Bajo Huallaga wee stongly identied with specic towns, but that thesetowns wee linked togethe by an inclusive identication as ‘Chistian’ towns, places inhabited by cristianos as opposed to ‘wild people’.

The stong identication with named towns was undoubtedly connectedto language. With the exception of Lagunas, each town was associated with aspecic language goup: Jebeo, Chamicuo, Munichi, and othes. In the case ofChayahuita, this language was spoken in thee sepaate towns, pobably in theesepaate dialects. In the case of Lagunas, the egional diffeentiation of Chistiantowns and thei identication with specic languages was locally eplicated in thestuctue of barrios, ‘neighbouhoods’. In some cases, such as Lamas and SantaCuz, aboiginal languages wee eplaced as eveyday languages by the Jesuitlingua franca, San Matín Quechua.

This issue of ‘tibal names’ as pimaily place names coesponds to a genealfeatue of pesonal naming among the peoples of the Bajo Huallaga ecoded byTessmann: all of these people used Spanish Chistian names as pesonal names.Tessmann’s data is less consistent on the use of sunames, but he does mentionthese fo the Lamista, Jebeo and Cocama: in all these cases, sunames aedistinctive to a specic ‘tibal goup’. A peson fom the Bajo Huallaga theefoe



Native Christians44

boe a set of names that, in the case of the st name, pointed towads a widesocial wold of Chistian people, and in the case of the sunames, pointed towadsspecic localities.

Obviously, this naming system is a function of being Chistian and the meaning of baptism, and it might be agued that it simply eects a Jesuit imposition. Howeve,Tessmann’s data efe to a peiod a centuy and a half afte the expulsion of the Jesuits,and many decades afte the end of effective Fanciscan pesence. The enduingimpotance of such names eects instead the stabilization of the system of socialclassication descibed above: Spanish pesonal names encode the status of thei beaes as ‘Chistians’ as opposed to awka/auca, in both the senses of ‘wild people’and ‘unbaptised childen’. Futhe, in at least two cases fo which thee is good data,the Cocamilla (Stocks 1981, see also Gow 2003) and the Lamista (Tessmann 1999:128), it appeas that sunames ae undestood to deive fom pe-Chistian ‘wild

people’ names and collective identications. The Bajo Huallaga pesonal namestheefoe encoded a pocess of tempoal tansfomation by combining collective‘wild people’ names with ‘Chistian’ pesonal names. The contempoay collectivenames, the names of towns, would encode the pocess of this tempoal tansfomationas the name of the place in and though which it is effected.

A majo function of the towns was as itual centes. Although Tessmann

consistently ecods the mission people as having few o no ituals, this is

contadicted by the ethnogaphies of Stocks and Fuentes, which show the cuent

o ecent impotance of many ituals to the Cocamilla and Chayahuita espectively.Clealy, Tessmann excluded specically Catholic ituals fom his account. Stocks

wites: ‘In the opinion of Cocamilla people, a community that does not have festivals

is close to being non-Cocamilla. Of some of the new Cocamilla settlements, it is

said, “They have no festivals. They live like anyone else.”’ (1981: 146) Fo the

Chayahuita and the Lamista Quechua in the twentieth centuy, towns functioned

pimaily as itual centes whee people engaged with the ‘Chistian’ sides of thei

lives in tems of itual and elations with white people, and wee opposed to gaden

houses whee people engaged with the ‘foest’ aspect of thei lives.

Anothe common facto among the Bajo Huallaga peoples noted by Tessmannwas that they all woe clothing. The paticula styles seemed to have vaied fomtown to town, but all the men woe shits and touses, a fom of clothing that isnot aboiginal to the egion. This fact may seem tivial, since it is a cliché of theliteatue to say that Chistian missionaies pefe thei convets to wea clothes, but I think it has a deepe signicance. Fistly, cloth was a vey impotant tadegood in the aea, and effectively functioned as a fom of money (raimondi 1942,Hendon and Gibbon 1991, Scazzachio 1978). As such, the mee fact of weaing

clothes of the type they did tied the Bajo Huallaga people into the egional tadesystem and condensed that tie as pesonal appeaance. Secondly, clothing seemsalso to have functioned as a distinguishing featue between ‘Chistian people’ and‘wild people’. Tessmann ecoded that the Jebeo tem fo ‘wild people’ is used fo‘“savages” who go aound almost naked’. In Peuvian Amazonia today, a commontem fo ‘wild people’ is calatos, ‘naked ones’ (fom San Matín Quechua: kala). It




is thus less the case that ‘wild people’ passively lack clothing, and moe that theyactively efuse the peaceful tade elations in which cloth ciculates.

This aises a futhe common featue of the Bajo Huallaga peoples ecoded by Tessmann, thei peacefulness. He says of the Jívao, the quintessential ‘wild people’ fo many Bajo Huallaga peoples,

I have often felt tempted to believe that wa, which in geneal among pimitiveindigenous peoples consists of supise attacks and killings, is the tue eligion of theJívaos. (1991: 198)

In contast, he consistently notes of the Bajo Huallaga peoples thei lack ofany developed technology o ituals of wa. This is not because the Bajo Huallaga people did not engage in aiding, fo Hildebando Fuentes noted in 1906 that

ubbe bosses employed Chayahuita, Lamista and Jebeo youths fo slave aidsagainst ‘savages’ and noted that Jebeo wee the ‘best element’ fo this kind ofwok (1906: 305). By contast, Tessmann wote, ‘… the Jebeos have neve beenaggessive, and they say that they only eve defended themselves.’ (1999: 238)Even if such peacefulness is a self-seving half-tuth, it is clea that the BajoHuallaga peoples did not use wa as a cental social institution, o as pat of theiself-image (see also Julou’s account discussed above). Obviously, peacefulness isnot that supising among ‘Chistian’ people, but the willingness of Jebeo people

to aid ‘wild people’ fo captives suggests that peacefulness was esticted toelations with othe ‘Chistians’.The ethic of peacefulness was cetainly connected to Jesuit indoctination, but

it seems to also have been connected to the damatic elaboation of shamanismthat chaacteizes the Bajo Huallaga peoples, a pocess that cetainly cannotexplained by the missionaies’ teaching. Fo example, Scazzachio discusses theimpotant ole played by Lamista shamans in the wide egional tading systemsuounding Lamas (1978), while Fuentes shows the impotance of shamanism inthe elations between the ‘Chistian’ Chayahuita and ‘wild’ Aguauna, such thatmost violent attacks by the latte on the fome ae in esponse to suspected soceyfom Chayahuita shamans (1988). Futhe, the shamanism of the Bajo Huallaga peoples is cuently egionally famous fo being paticulaly poweful: Lamistaand Cocama shamans ae espected and feaed thoughout Peuvian Amazonia.As I have agued elsewhee, this system of shamanism, which is cuently thedominant one in Peuvian Amazonia, pobably initially evolved in the Jesuitmissions of the aea in explicit dialogue with Jesuit eschatology (Gow 1994).

Tessmann’s data suggest that the Bajo Huallaga peoples fomed a lage-

scale egional system chaacteized by a complex mixtue of homogeneity andheteogeneity. The Bajo Huallaga peoples wee homogeneous in tems of stnames, clothing, and itual life, while heteogeneous in tems of language, theisunames and thei attachments to specic named towns. The whole systemwas chaacteized by an intenal ethic of peacefulness connected to a damaticdevelopment of magical violence.



Native Christians46

The Origins of ‘Christians’

Thus fa in my account of the Bajo Huallaga I have esisted histoical analysis, inline with my stess on the pioity of ethnogaphic analysis. Instead of asking, ‘Whatdid the Jesuits do to the people of the Bajo Huallaga?’ I want to shift the questionto, ‘What did the people of the Bajo Huallaga do with the Jesuit mission?’ Jesuitaccounts of the Bajo Huallaga ae dominated, natually enough, by the scheme ofconvesion to Chistianity, a scheme that has been adopted uncitically into theanthopological liteatue. My account hee of what it means to Bajo Huallaga people to be cristianos, ‘Chistians’, the densely inteconnected emphases onnaming, tade, itual, peacefulness and magical violence, based as it is in twentieth-centuy ethnogaphy, suggests that what the Jesuits and anthopologists thought othink Chistianity might be is vey fa fom what it might mean to be cristiano

fom an indigenous pespective in the Bajo Huallaga, which in tun suggests thatthis may always have been tue.

One of the conundums of the Bajo Huallaga is that while its indigenous peoplesdeed attempts at Spanish conquest, many accepted peaceful esidence on Jesuitmission with elatively little obvious coecion. Key to the pocess of becomingcristianos was the pocess of reducción, ‘eduction’ to mission life. Clealy, mostappoaches to such ‘eduction’ focus on Jesuit agency, as in accounts of the ‘success’o ‘failue’ of missionization. Such appoaches have two seious poblems. Fistly,

they ae answes to Jesuit questions, not histoical o anthopological questions.Secondly, they ignoe the obvious fact that the Bajo Huallaga was not the sole poduct of Jesuit action, fo it was equally, and pobably ovewhelmingly, the poduct of indigenous action. Hee I want to ask what ‘eduction’ could possiblyhave meant to indigenous people in the Bajo Huallaga.

One of the most inteesting featues of Julou’s analysis of the Shiwilu is hisaccount of thei damatic ‘ip’ fom wa to peace. He wites:

The ease with which the Shiwilu ageed to install themselves in the midst of the Jesuitmission seems at st sight to be vey supising. The contast between thei fomemode of life (semi-nomadism, dispesed population, head-hunting) and that odeed bythe Jesuits in the midst of the mission seems to ende incompehensible the easonswhy the Shiwilu accepted the pesence of the piests in thei teitoy.

Two explanations have been advanced. That of Lucas de la Cueva himself, as a manof awae of subtle shading, hesitates between thee hypotheses: fea of the Spanish, thegood eputation of the missionaies o the chaisma of the messenge of God.

The moe ecent hypothesis of A. roth stikes us as completing the opinion of Dela Cueva:

The Xebeo poted fom coopeating with the Euopeans since they could dominateand take evenge on thei enemies – especially on the Mayna who had always beenmilitaily supeio to the Xebeo…. (2000: 193–4)




‘reduction’ and peacefulness, in this view, tun out athe paadoxically to be amode of continuing wafae by othe means.

The geneality of such a ‘ip’ between peace and wa in indigenous Amazonia,and the manne in which tade and wa ae the two faces of the same elation withthe othe, was long ago noted by Lévi-Stauss in a seies of impotant aticles. Hewote:

We have tied pecisely to show in this aticle that wa and economic exchange donot consist solely, in South Ameica, of two types of coexisting elations, but moe pofoundly the two aspects, opposed and indissoluble, of one and the same social pocess. The example of the Nambikwaa eveals the modalities though whichhostility makes way fo codiality, aggession to collaboation, o the contay. But thecontinuity pope to the element of the social whole does not stop thee. The facts on

[dual oganization] show that pimitive institutions have available to them technicalmeans to make hostile elations evolve beyond the stage of peaceful elations, andknow how to utilize these latte elations fo new elements, pofoundly modifying theistuctue. (1976: 338–9)

As such, the ‘ip’ fom wafae to peace and tade is something that indigenousAmazonian peoples ae expets at doing, and does not equie scutiny of theJesuits o thei mission to explain. Indeed, the failue of conquest and the success

of the Jesuit mission simply eect the unfoeseen consequences of two modes ofcolonizing indigenous Amazonian societies: violence beeds moe violence in anescalating cycle of evenge killings, while peacefulness beeds moe peacefulnessin an escalating cycle of tading.

Analogy

A full appeciation of the Bajo Huallaga as a social system has, I think, beenobscued by consistently viewing it fom only one of its facets, as a fome Jesuitmission system. As such, the Bajo Huallaga social system would be held to becompaable to Jesuit missions elsewhee, to othe mission systems in PeuvianAmazonia, o to othe mission systems anywhee, but not to othe non-Chistianindigenous Amazonian social foms. Howeve, I think it beas some emakablesimilaities to cetain well-known egional systems in Amazonia, and especiallyto the Alto Xingú social system in Cental Bazil. This point is impotant insofaas nobody, to my knowledge, has eve agued that the distinctive egional system

of the Alto Xingú is the diect poduct of the ‘Euopeanization’ of that aea. If theBajo Huallaga and the Alto Xingú have featues in common, this suggests that theyae both immanent social potentialities of indigenous Amazonian social foms.

An obvious paallel between the Bajo Huallaga and Alto Xingú is in the tiadicand tempoalized categoization of people. The Bajo Huallaga people’s ‘human’categoy coesponds to the Alto Xingú foms such as Kalapalo kuge (Basso



Native Christians48

1973), tems which cove all Alto Xingú peoples to the exclusion of othes. TheBajo Huallaga ‘wild people’ categoy coesponds to Alto Xingú foms such asKalapalo iñikogo, and has an almost identical content. As is the Bajo Huallaga,many Alto Xingú villages ae said to be ex-‘wild people’, and to have become‘humans’ duing a pocess of pacication by people aleady within the Alto Xingúsystem. Futhe, contempoay Alto Xingú social classication is tiadic: ‘white people’ ae not assimilated to eithe the ‘human’ o the ‘wild people’ categoies, but instead assigned to a thid categoy (Kalapalo, kagaifa). It would be inteestingto speculate whethe such a tiadic system existed in the ‘pe-contact’ Alto Xingú(see Fanchetto and Heckenbege, 2001).

Anothe obvious similaity between the Bajo Huallaga and the Alto Xingú isthei combination of local heteogeneity and global homogeneity. As in the BajoHuallaga, the Alto Xingú is chaacteized by a high level of intenal linguistic

divesity matched by a high level of egional homogeneity. Each village isassociated with its own language o at least dialect, but each village is moe-o-lessidentical to evey othe one. Similaly, the Alto Xingú as a whole is chaacteized by an ethic of peacefulness, both pesonally and between communities, althoughviolence towads peoples outside of the system was and emains sanctioned. Such peacefulness has two concomitants: an emphasis on tading as the key elation tothe othe, and a damatic development of modes of magical violence.

In a discussion of Awetí histoy, Coelho de Souza wites:

Following in pat Bastos and Menget, I have tied to ague that socey in the Xingutakes the place of wa – o bette, it is wa, a wa that cannot speak its name (althoughit uses the same weapons). The Alto Xingu people, fo thei pat, say that what is in the place of wa is westling (the huka-huka), and moe widely intetibal itual. Which isa way of saying that what is in the place of wa ae the chiefs: ‘We don’t make wa:we have festivals fo the chiefs at which all the villages attend. We sing, dance, tadeand westle.’ (Gego,…). Without doubt this is a vey diffeent situation fom that pevalent, fo example, among such achetypical waios as the Tupinambá, fo whom

wa was institutionally cental insofa as no othe mechanism competed with it to assuethe viability of the lage villages (Viveios de Casto,…) – fo in the Alto Xingú wa assocey is not institutionally cental, opeating as a countepoint to ‘mechanisms’ suchas chieftaincy and its itual. (2001: 388)

Coelho de Souza’s point about the Alto Xingú hee could pobably be tanslatedinto the Bajo Huallaga situation with vey few changes. In the Bajo Huallaga,the ole of chiefs was pefomed by Jesuit piests and late by mestizos, whileshamanism (both cuing and socey) fomed a countepoint to such mechanisms

of communal viability.Thee a majo diffeence between the Alto Xingú and Bajo Huallaga. Thee is

no evidence, fo the Bajo Huallaga, fo the patten of inte-community festivals, andin paticula fo the place of institutions such as westling as a substitute fo wa.Bajo Huallaga towns wee pimaily itual centes, oiented towads themselves,athe than towads othe communities. But in fact, thee is an impotant sense




in which these towns wee inteconnected by mechanisms focussed explicitly on peacefulness, fo this was the intinsic natue of the Jesuit mission as a mission, andof late mestizo pesence. That the Jesuits wee dedicated to univesal peacefulness,and that mestizo tades wee and ae committed to a functioning, and hence pacic, tade system seem almost banalities to us, but we should ask what theseappaently tivial and self-evident facts might mean to Bajo Huallaga people. Ifwe emembe the manne in which a tansition fom wa to peacefulness is soimpotant in Shiwilu images of thei past, social agents committed to peacefulness between towns would have a poweful impact both locally and egionally.

Analysts have tended to view the emegence of a complex egional systemin the Bajo Huallaga as the exclusive poduct of Jesuit action, but the analogyhee with the Alto Xingú suggests that it was also a social fom immanent withinexisting indigenous societies. It is conceivable that the pe-Jesuit Bajo Huallaga

social system aleady had many chaacteistics analogous to the Alto Xingú, andthat the eason that the Jesuits wee successful at all was that they wee able toelease such social potentials. If this is coect, the Bajo Huallaga looks less like a poduct of Jesuit action and moe like anothe indigenous Amazonian ‘audaciousinnovation’ (Lévi-Stauss 1976, Gow 1991) in esponse to the Jesuits’ pesence.

From Cristiano to Christianity

In conclusion, I want to e-iteate one key point about my analysis hee: myagument is based on ethnogaphy, not on histoy. I am not a tained histoian, andmy agument is histoical insofa as it demands the kinds of histoical hypothesesthat compaative ethnogaphic analysis thows up. It would please me immenselyif some fully-tained histoian with a sympathy fo anthopology took myagument hee and tested it with efeence to the available achive, which seemsto be unusually ich fo this pat of Amazonia. As Santos-Ganeo has pointed out,the poblem of Amazonian histoy is less the shotcomings of its anthopologists,and moe the utte lack of its pofessional histoians (1988). An anthopologically-infomed histoical account of the pocess of convesion in the Jesuit missions ofthe Bajo Huallaga stikes me as vey pomising eseach poject, but no histoianhas done it yet.

As I noted above, Viveios de Casto has agued that the Chistian notion ofconvesion undelies ou cuent, and notionally secula, concept of ‘cultue’. If,as I discussed in the pape on Pio Chistianity (2007), asking questions aboutthe impact of Evangelical Potestantism on Pio cultue is to ask missionaies’

questions, it is equally tue that to intepet the impotance of being cristianos foBajo Huallaga peoples as a histoical poduct of Jesuit action is to etun to a Jesuit pespective on convesion. If histoy fom a Chistian pespective is pimailyabout convesion, then the signicance of being cristianos fo Bajo Huallaga peoples is only evidence fo that Chistian position.



Native Christians50

My pesent analysis suggests an altenative. The histoical possibilities ofelations with the Othe fo the indigenous peoples of the Bajo Huallaga was achoice between wafae and tade. Having elected fo peaceful tade elations withthe Jesuits, fo whateve complex histoical easons, these indigenous people weeconfonted with a non-negotiable aspect of such peaceful elations: becomingChistians. rathe than seeing this pocess of ‘becoming Chistians’ as a puelyeligious phenomenon, these indigenous people saw it as the sign of thei new peaceful elations with the Jesuits and othe Spanish people. Being cristianos

became what these two sets of people had in common. But these Jesuits andSpanish people wee not the only Othes that the Bajo Huallaga peoples had todeal with, fo thee wee also all the indigenous peoples who efused peacefulcontact with the Jesuits, the kengma/auca/tapuïya/and othes.

Chistianity and convesion to it, I suggest, acted as an histoical ‘elease’ of

a specic set of social effects fo indigenous people duing the Jesuit peiod inthe Bajo Huallaga. It seems unlikely to me that the Jesuits would have identiedthese social effects and the new social wold they ceated as the fullment of theimission. Of couse, specic facets of this new social wold, such as esidence inmissions, weaing ‘civilized’ clothing and the expulsion of wafae to the ‘wild’ peiphey of the system must have been congenial to them, and they cetainlyconceived of these featues of this new social wold as histoical evidence ofthei agency in the wold, to use language popula in moden social theoy. Othe

aspects would have been less congenial to them, and even distubing, such as thelocal people’s identications of them as ‘dead souls, demons’, and such aspectswee efeed to the agency of a non-Chistian element in the wold, the Devil,an element with no place in the secula language of moden social theoy (seeEspinosa 1989: 47 fo discussion). But I do not think that this intelligibility ofthe new social wold of the indigenous people of the Bajo Huallaga to thei Jesuitmissionaies was paticulaly impotant to that social wold other than as one ofits many ongoing conditions of existence. Local people had to keep the Jesuits on boad thei own poject, much as they had to keep the ‘wild people’ on boad aswell. Like the Jesuits, the Bajo Huallaga people had a mission too.

Acknowledgments

The pesent chapte is pat of lage poject tying to efashion the concept ofaccultuation as an ethnogaphic and analytical tool fo undestanding the ecenthistoy of Peuvian Amazonia. I thank Apaecida Vilaa and robin Wight fo

inviting me to fomulate pat of that poject as a specic question about Chistianity,and Luisa Elvia Belaunde, Tania Stolze Lima, Macio Goldman, Evan Killick,Conad Feathe, Jaime regan and Eduado Viveios de Casto fo enlighteningcomments. My eldwok on the Bajo Uubamba between 1980 and 2001 wasfunded by the Social Science reseach Council, the Bitish Museum, the NufeldFoundation, the Bitish Academy and the London School of Economics, while




a bief visit to the Bajo Huallaga in 2005 was funded by the Univesity of StAndews. Tanslations fom souces in Spanish, Potuguese and Fench ae myown, as ae the mistakes.

References

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Caneio da Cunha, Manuela 1978. Os mortes e os outros: uma análise do sistema funerário e da noção de pessoa entre os índios krahó, São Paulo: EditoaHUCITEC.

Coelho de Souza, Macela 2001. ‘Viando gente: notas a uma históia aweti’, in

Fanchetto and Heckenbege (eds): 358–400.Espinosa, Lucas 1955. Contibuciones lingüísticos y etnogracas sobre algunoes

pueblos indígenas del Amazonas peruano, Madid: Consejo supeio deInvestigaciones Cienticas/Instituto Benadino de Sahagun.

———. 1989 Breve diccionario analítico castellano – tupí del Perú, Iquitos:CETA.

Fanchetto, Buna and Michael Heckenbege, 2001. Os povos do Alto Xingu:história e cultura, rio de Janeio: Editoa UFrJ.

Fank, Ewin 1991. ‘Etnicidad: contibuciones etnohistóicas a un concepto dicil’,in P. Jona, L. Malave and M. Oosta (eds) Etnohistoria del Amazonas, Quito:Abya-Yala: 63–81.

Fuentes, Aldo 1988. Porque las piedras no mueren: historia, sociedad y ritos delos Chayahuita de Alto Amazonas, Lima: CAAAP.

Fuentes, Hildebando 1906. ‘Apuntes geogácos, históicos, estadísticos,1906. ‘Apuntes geogácos, históicos, estadísticos, políticos i sociales de Loeto’. InIn Colección de leyes, decretos, resolucionesi otros documentos ociales referentes al Departamento de Loreto. CalosCalosLaabue i Coea (ed.), Vol. 16: 139–56. Lima: La Opinión Nacional.Lima: La Opinión Nacional.

Gow, Pete 1991. Of Mixed Blood: Kinship and History in Peruvian Amazonia ,Oxfod Studies in Social and Cultual Anthopology, Oxfod UnivesityPess.

———. 1994. ‘rive People: Shamanism and Histoy in Westen Amazonia’, inC. Humphey and N. Thomas (eds) Shamanism, History and the State: 90–113,Ann Abo, Univesity of Michigan Pess.

———. 2001. An Amazonian Myth and its History, Oxfod Univesity Pess. ———. 2003. ‘Ex-Cocama: Identidades em tansfomaão na Amazônia Peuana’

MANA 9(1): 57–79 ———. 2006. ‘Fogetting Convesion: The Summe Institute of Linguistics

Missionaies in the Pio lived Wold’, in Fenella Cannell (ed.), The Anthropologyof Christianity, Duke Univesity Pess: Duham and London.

Hendon, W. Lewis and Ladne Gibbon1991.1991.1991. Exploración del valle del Amazonas.CETA/Abya-Yala:Iquitos & Quito.



Native Christians52

Julou, ronan, 2000. ‘Les “pédateu” d’histoie ou la econstuction du passé pales indiens Jebeo’, Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Études Andins, 29 (2):189–214

Lévi-Stauss, Claude 1970. The Raw and the Cooked , London, Jonathan Cape. ———. 1976. ‘Guea e comécio ente os índios da Améica do Sul’, in Egon

Schaden (ed.) Leituras de Etnologia Brasileira, São Paulo [oiginal1942].Pake, Stephen (compile) 1987. Kana acha’taka ijnachale kana chamekolo:

vocabulario y textos chamicuro, Lima: Ministeio de Edcucación/InstitutoLingüístico de Veano.

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regan, Jaime 1993. Hacia la tierra sin Mal: La religión en la Amazonía (secondedition), Iquitos: CETA.

Santos Ganeo, Fenando 1988. ‘Avances y Limitaciones de la HistoiogafíaAmazónica: 1950–1988’ in F. Santos (ed.) 1 Seminario de InvestigacionesSociales en la Amazonía, Iquitos, CETA: 89–162.

———. n.d. Ethnohistoria de la Alta Amazonía: siglos XV-XVII , Quito: Abya-Yala.

Scazzachio, Fanoise, 1978. ‘Cuae Kills, Cues and Binds: Change andPesistence of Indian Tade in response to the Colonial Situation in the Noth-westen Montana’, Cambridge Anthropology, 4 (3): 30–57.

———. 1979. ‘Infome Beve sobe los Lamistas’ in Albeto Chiif (ed.) Etnicidad y Ecologia, Lima: CIPA: 137–56.Stewad, Julien H. 1948. ‘Tibes of the Montaña: An Intoduction’ in Julien H.

Stewad (ed.) 1946–59 Handbook of South American Indians, Washington,D.C.: Smithsonian Institution/Bueau of Ameican Ethnology.

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Viveios de Casto, Eduado 1993. ‘Le Mabe et le Myte: De l’inconstance de leâme sauvage’, in A. Becquelin and A. Molinié (eds) Mémoire de la tradition, Nantee: Société d’Ethnologie: 365–431.



Chapte 3

‘Befoe We Wee All Catholics’: Changing

religion in Apiao, Southen Chile1

Giovanna Bacchiddu

Introduction

Seveal sociological suveys and anthopological studies epot that evangelicalChistianity is a gowing foce actively inceasing its numbe of followes, paticulaly in Latin Ameica, which has been descibed as a ‘Catholic continenttapped in an inceasingly Potestant wold’ (quoted in Stoll 1993: 1). Chile is oneof the Latin Ameican counties whee Potestantism has been ouishing. The2002 national census ecoded a total population of appoximately 15 million, ofwhich 70 pe cent declaed to be Catholic, and 15 pe cent evangelical Potestants.2

This chapte is concened with issues of convesion to evangelical Potestantism

in a emote pat of insula Chile, the achipelago of Chiloé and specically theisland of Apiao. Apiao is a small island of 13 squae kilometes, inhabited byappoximately 700 people who subsist though agicultue combined with shing,shell collecting, and the eaing of domesticated animals.

In his substantial study of Chiloé, published in 1984, the Fench humangeogaphe Genie eiteates in seveal hunded pages his theoy of the Chiloéinhabitants as submissive, maginal and dependent. Submission, indolence andlaziness contibute to the fundamental chaacteistics of these people and theisociety: immutability and epetition. Genie is just one of the voices that havehistoically potayed Chiloé people as easily tamed and quickly conqueed,unlike thei nothen neighbous the Mapuches, who famously esisted Spanish

1 This chapte is based on ethnogaphic eseach conducted in Chile duing theThis chapte is based on ethnogaphic eseach conducted in Chile duing theyeas 2000–2003. Funding has been povided by the regione Autonoma della Sadegna(Assessoato della Pubblica Istuzione – Assegni di studio post-laueam pogamme) andis gatefully acknowledged. I am gateful to Magnus Couse, Massimiliano Mollona andJoseph Tendle fo comments on ealie dafts of this chapte, and to paticipants in seminasof the depatments of Social Anthopology and Divinity at the Univesity of St Andews, aswell as paticipants to the symposium ‘Modes and Effects of Chistianity among IndigenousPeoples of the Ameicas’ of the 52 ICA, whee this wok has been pesented. I thankfullyacknowledge the editos fo thei invitation to be pat of the symposium and the book, andfo thei useful comments.

2 Instituto Nacional de EstadísticaInstituto Nacional de Estadística – INE, http://www.ine.cl/, 25 Mach 2005.

http://www.ine.cl/

http://www.ine.cl/



Native Christians54

and Chilean admission until the end of the nineteenth centuy (see Bacigalupo’schapte, this volume).

Given the aggessive and geneally successful activity of the evangelicals, itwould be expected that a egion like Chiloé – descibed as the cadle of submission – would easily tun into a Potestant haven. Yet ethnogaphic data – pace Genie –eveal a diffeent stoy. In this chapte I intend to pesent a summay of the activitiesof two evangelical Potestant missionaies on the island of Apiao, and the effectof thei poselytising on the population. The chapte will exploe diffeent steamsof opinion and eaction within a elationship: that between Apiao people, mostlyCatholic, and the missionaies, evangelical and newcomes, and those familieswho decided to follow them in thei eligion. I will descibe naatives of ApiaoCatholics on thei fellow islandes who decided to ‘change eligion’. I will then biey descibe a sevice in the evangelical temple. Despite seveal yeas of had

wok, the young missionaies have managed to convet only a vey small minoity(about 5 pe cent of the population). The possible easons fo what looks like afailue will be exploed: is it because the pohibitions that evangelism imposes aein complete contast to the basic social ules of the island, o is it because deepcommunication and exchange is deemed possible, in Apiao, only between ‘alike’ people? O, is it much moe than that?

In a ecent book by Fenella Cannell, both Cannell and Olivia Hais (2006:25ff; 51ff) emaked how difcult it is, when descibing popula Chistianity, to

avoid a cetain ambiguity: what can be consideed othodox, and what idolatyo supestition? And how to dene a good Chistian? A way to escape thisconundum, they suggest, is to exploe the specic ways the descibed peopleexpeience thei Chistianity, something I will do hee.3 This pape does not dealwith issues of ‘tue’ convesion.4 Indeed it would be difcult to decide whethethose Apiao people who made the decision to follow the missionaies and theiteaching did tuly convet to evangelism, as Stoll points out fo Latin Ameicanevangelical chuches in geneal (1993:8ff). rathe, it concentates on descibingthe dialectics of the encounte between two diffeent sets of beliefs and lifestyles,in the backgound of the small island of Apiao.

3 A semantic note: in Apiao the wodA semantic note: in Apiao the wod cristiano is geneally used to mean ‘peson’.Similaly, Gow (2006: 226ff) epots that amongst the Peuvian Pio cristiano is used tomean ‘human’ as opposed to ‘animal’. Gow’s chapte in this book elaboates futhe onthe meanings of this tem. Howeve, the Apiao evangelical missionaies have intoduced anew meaning fo this wod, which they use to indicate ‘evangelical Potestant’ as opposedto ‘Catholic’.

4 Thoughout this chapte I use ‘convesion’ and ‘convets’ fo a pactical eason.Thoughout this chapte I use ‘convesion’ and ‘convets’ fo a pactical eason.It must be said that Apiao people themselves neve used these expessions, and alwaysefeed to those who stated attending the evangelical temple as ‘los evangelicos’ o ‘losque se cambiaron (de religión)’, [the evangelicals] o [those who changed (eligion)]. Themissionaies efeed to them as ‘los hermanos’, [the bothes], and they efeed to eachothe in the same way.



‘Before We Were All Catholics’ 55

‘Before, on the Island, We Were All Catholics’

Apiao, like the whole Chiloé achipelago, had been colonised and conveted enmasse to Catholicism by the Jesuits in the seventeenth centuy. People in theegion ae ovewhelmingly Catholic, and thee is a gowing Potestant minoity.Evangelical chuches ae sending missionaies to vaious pats of the achipelago,and, in typical evangelical fashion, they wok had to bing moe and moe peopleto what they call ‘the tuth’.

Apiao people, like most Ameindians, ae not inteested in the past unless theyhave an expeiential, and often visual, knowledge of it.5 Thee is no notion of a past without Catholicism because, in fact, it would deny the vey existence ofthe people themselves. Befoe the aival of the Potestants, Apiao people neveneeded to declae they belonged to a eligion. Thee was only one eligion, one

chuch, and one God – and, to thei knowledge, it had always been that way. Nowthings have changed and they have to dene themselves against the evangelicalconvets, they have to distinguish between two eligions, and two chuches.

‘Befoe, on the island we wee all Catholics. Now thee ae some evangelicals, but geneally we ae still all Catholics. Catolismo [sic] hee is vey stong’ donJulio told me, at the beginning of my eldwok .6 All of a sudden, people that hadneve been pesented with a eligious choice wee now given the chance to opt foanothe faith. Quite unexpectedly, some of them did.

In Apiao some people tuned to evangelism following the aival of a maiedcouple of missionaies belonging to the evangelical banch known as La Iglesia delSeño (The Chuch of the Lod). In 2001 the missionaies, in thei late twenties,had been living on the island fo ve yeas, and since thei aival they had beenactive in poselytising and in tying to attact people to thei eligion. The familyof the missionaies lived on a salay paid to them by thei congegation, and nevetook pat in much of the island’s social wold, deeply intetwined with habitsthat ae heavily condemned by the evangelical chuch, such as dinking alcohol, paying and dancing.

Catholics on Evangelicals

‘ Los que se cambiaron’, [those who changed (eligion)] wee objects of discussionamongst the est of the island population. They wee somehow appeaing to haveaccepted this enomous change within thei goup, and at the same time tended todismiss those who had chosen to change eligion, as if thei choice could not be

5 See fo example Descola (1997: 67), Gow (1991: 151), and, fo Chile, Couse (2005:See fo example Descola (1997: 67), Gow (1991: 151), and, fo Chile, Couse (2005:175). In Gow’s book it is agued that histoy coincides with expeienced and emembeedkinship. Also see Hais (2000: 33), that epots how in the Bolivian Andes espect fo themotal emains of elatives is contingent on human memoy.

6 All the names have been changed.All the names have been changed.



Native Christians56

taken seiously. Also, thee was some cuiosity on thei side, towads what eallyhappened in the temple.

On Sundays I attended the moning celebation in the evangelical temple, andthen poceeded to the Catholic Chuch to attend the paye meeting thee. Thisshifting was consideed to be amusing, and people I was close to joked about it,alluding to a switch of eligion in a matte of hous. The joke was in fact a efeenceto what had eally happened with the convets, albeit in the opposite diection.

One of the commonly head opinions on evangelical convets voiced by theest of Apiao people was that thei convesion was an act of convenience andoppotunism. As pat of thei inteaction with the islandes the missionaiesoffeed them some mateial goods, and the pospect of acquiing some moe wasa stong incentive to convet. A teapot, a piece of funitue, even a stove wee saidto be acquied though the missionaies, togethe with clothes. A family was said

to have conveted because they wee pomised a band new stove. Appaently,afte eceiving the stove, they left the congegation following a disageement withfellow membes, but neve etuned the stove. This episode was often mentioned,to exemplify the natue of the convesion. Often the convets happened to beamongst the pooe people, and the chance of getting fee clothes fo childen wasone of the easons why they decided to follow the teaching of the missionaies – atleast accoding to people’s opinion. All seemed to agee mateial gain was oneof the main easons fo convesion. ‘They know how to speak well … they talk

about the doctine, and ae insistent, so that people with weak pesonalities aeeasily won’, one of the scales told me.7 Anothe woman was not so diplomatic,and on seveal occasions she told me that the goup of convets was made out of a bunch of foolish people [‘los que se cambiaron son unos cuantos lesos no másmás’].].‘They ae so ignoant, that is why they ae easily convinced, they have no sense ofeality’ someone else added. Eithe poo, o ignoant, o with a weak pesonality:these wee the typical convets in people’s opinion.

One day my fiend Maia got paticulaly animated while telling me a stoyabout he childhood. She was woking in the eld once with he family, and theywee busy sowing potatoes, when suddenly a goup of evangelical missionaiesappeaed, caying guitas and othe instuments. He paents told them that theywee busy and could not attend them; nonetheless, the missionaies asked them ifthey could stay, and stated to sing and play thei instuments. While the familycaied on woking, the missionaies went on singing thei songs besides the landthat was being cultivated. Eventually, duing havest time, they ealised that thateld had not been fuitful. ‘All ou wok was useless, and the havest was nonefo that eld! Wheneve I emembe that, I get so angy! And all because of those

evangelicals!’ she told me, fuious, suounded by the giggling of he gown-

7 TheThe scales ae local chuch epesentatives. Fo the impotance of speech, and paticulaly, of a specic hetoic used as a ‘soul-winning technique’ amongst evangelicalChistian peaches, see Hading (1987), whee it is agued that hetoic, not itual, is the pimay vehicle of convesion. See also Coleman (2006).




up childen. Then she added that ecently, duing summe, she had eceived avisit fom some evangelical missionaies, and she had invited them to come info teatime; having eceived food and dink they seemed eluctant to leave, andeventually she had to ‘almost thow them away’.

Both these episodes eiteate once again the basic social impeative fo Apiao people: offeing dink and food in the household. Sociality equates with the offeingand the eceiving of food and dink, and the efusal to do so is consideed the anti-social act par excellence. The st episode sees the family being unable to fullthei ole as hosts (offeing hospitality to newcomes), and having to pay fo theconsequences of thei anti-social act. In the woman’s wods, it was clea that shewas attibuting the esponsibility of the unpoductive havest to the intevention ofthe evangelical stanges. The denial of hospitality was etuned with a subsequentdenial of the elds to be poductive. In the second case, the woman had offeed

hospitality to the stanges, but they had somehow abused he time, and weeeluctant to go, afte having allowed the main social ule to be acted out (offeingand eceiving food).

Not Like All the Others

Why ae ‘those who changed eligion’ diffeent fom the majoity? Thoughout

my stay in Apiao, wheneve I met people on a path, they geneally eplied tomy geetings, but always kept a espectable distance, and hadly eve stoppedfo a chat. In fact, it also happened to me that people who had welcomed meand attended me in thei households, tended to ignoe me when we met on theisland’s path. I often noticed a shap contast between the kind attitude if I wasa visiting guest, and the eseve that I obseved in a public situation. Howeve,if I met some evangelicals, thei geeting would always be distinctive, and loud:‘ Hola señorita! Que Dios la bendiga!’ [May God bless you!]. If I asked: ‘Howae you?’, The eply would be: ‘ Bien, con el favor de Dios’ [Fine, with God’sfavou!]. This, no othe Apiao peson would eve tell me. Admittedly, though,such a welcoming geeting would be utteed loudly and clealy only if thee wasno one else aound, especially non-evangelicals. Othewise, the geeting would bewhispeed, o diectly avoided.

While people who did not know me well made few and geneally neutalcomments about the island’s evangelicals, sometimes jokes about them weevoiced. Humoous comments wee often made on the supposed estaint of theconvets fom dinking alcohol, and at the special language that they seemed to

have adopted, including boowings fom the city, which sounded out of contexton the island. 8

8 Hading (1987: 169, 178) states that convesion can be conceived of as a pocessHading (1987: 169, 178) states that convesion can be conceived of as a pocessof acquiing a specic eligious language. Apiao convets cetainly acquied a peculiaeligious language that stongly diffeed fom the standad Apiao way of speaking.



Native Christians58

‘Detached’ Families

What Apiao people eally esented was the efusal to patake in the wishes ofthe community, in concete situations. The convets wee geneally peceivedas willing to sepaate themselves fom the goup. ‘It’s been a while since thosefamilies have been detached fom the community’, the scal told me once. This‘detachment’, o sepaation, he said, was clealy visible on the occasions of twoimpotant eligious festivals. Twice a yea evey family contibutes an offeingof a xed amount of money to oganise the festival and to attend to the piestand pilgims who aive fom a neaby island. By efusing to take pat in thecontibution they wee ofcially and publicly showing thei efusal to be pat ofthe community in an explicit way. Still, the peson in chage of collecting the smalloffeing would call on evangelical families, just in case they would contibute.

Being fom Apiao means foming a community that at st glance may not appeateibly cohesive, but eligious solidaity has always been a matte of pinciple.And, as we have aleady seen, hospitality and attending someone is one of thecucial and most saced ways in which sociality is expeienced.

One of the comments that I often head, to suppot this idea of the convetsas voluntaily sepaating themselves fom the community, was the fact that theywanted to have a sepaate cemetey, as if they efused to be buied in the existingone, togethe with the Catholics. I late found the infomation to be false, but the

widespead misepesentation seems to indicate a clea peception of the convetsas a sepaate mico-community, on the pat of the othe island inhabitants.The topic of death and buial of those who changed eligion is obviously an

impotant one to Apiao people. One day duing a eligious festival a man madea joke that was deemed to be quite funny by those pesent. The man, a Catholic,had acted as a patrón fo a saint statue in the festival, becoming esponsible fothat paticula statue fo that yea. At some point the convesation tuned to theconvets, and someone wondeed what was going to happen to them in case ofdeath. Would they be admitted in the cemetey afte thei death? They must ask pemission, someone eplied. ‘What ae we going to do with all those people on theisland then? We will hang them and we will smoke them, so that we can stoe themup!’ The man was efeing to the egula smoking pocess of fesh meat and shto keep it in stoage. The tems he used ae those used to efe to animal slaughteand subsequent pocessing. The joke was eceived with loud laughte, and it wasepeated seveal times and told to fiends and family on seveal occasions. Whatwas deemed hilaious was the fact that the patrón, who had committed himselfto obseve a (Catholic) eligious obligation, had his mothe and bothe amongst

the ‘convets’; they egulaly attended the evangelical temple. ‘That was a veygood joke!’ said the man who told us the stoy, ‘as if he did not emembe thathe was talking about his own mothe!’ Tue o untue, the notion of evangelicals’self-exclusion fom the island cemetey seemed to peoccupy Apiao people. Itis signicant that in a joke people could poject the image of the slaughteing ofan animal onto a human being, setting up an invesion that sees men suddenly




become animal-like (eithe pigs o cows). The image evokes complete suende,and it is easy to think of the acquiescence and the acceptance of the convets in thetemple. To imagine the evangelical dead as if they wee animals, and to potaythem in the shape of died and smoked meat is a gaphic way to eveal a stong peception of thei diffeence. By joking about his own bothe and especiallyhis own mothe, the man was somehow symbolically detaching his family fomhimself, and was at the same time alluding to thei own detachment fom thecommunity. Though a joke, he was exaggeating in images what the convets haddone in eal life: showing the est of the people that they wanted to be diffeent.Howeve, wheeas the image of the joke evokes the butche’s table and is in factquite butal, what is at stake hee is much moe than an invesion (with the elativehumiliation) of men-animals.

‘The evangelicals don’t even believe in the dead’, an old woman once told me,

almost whispeing, as if she had just made an almost sacilegious statement. Apiao people take the dead seiously, and they ae caeful not to disespect them, eithe inwods o in behaviou. They can come back and teify, they can appea in deamso duing the day, they can theaten and obsess the living fo seveal easons. Oneof these easons, and cetainly the most impotant, is not having given the dead adecent funeal, then a pope paying session afte death, and again on the occasionof the st annivesay of the death.

The dead ae consideed fightening and poweful, and as such ae espected

and honoued. Just like God and the local miaculous saints, they have double-edged powes: they can be benevolent and vengeful at the same time. The deadmust be emembeed and payed fo, by thei living elatives. Wheneve thee is afuneal, when someone commemoates a deceased elative, o honous a pomisemade to a saint, the peson in chage oganises paye meetings to be held in theihousehold. These ae called novenas and last up to nine days. Whilst, theoetically,the sessions ae offeed to the deceased o a saint, the community’s paticipationis cucial. A successful paye meeting is attended by many people and the hostswould notice, appeciate and caefully emembe the pesence of neighbous,elatives and paticula people. Novenas ae always held at night, and often peoplewalk though heavy ain, caying infants o little childen, and sit fo hous insatuated clothes. Duing novenas thee sets of osaies ae payed and sung, andfood and dink is offeed. While a dinne is seved evey othe night, alcohol(usually chicha, the local apple cide) is offeed evey day at the beginning, at theend, and in between osaies. Attending novenas, paying and dinking, is donein the name of eithe the deceased, o the saint; the pesence of those assembledin the house is meant to ‘accompany’ (acompañar ) the peson who oganised the

novena, theeby showing thei solidaity. They attend the sessions, and ae in tunattended by the host with dink and food. At some point it might be thei tun, andthe favou will be ecipocated.

The novenas imply attending many people and spending vast amounts ofmoney to honou the dead and the saints. The celebations that accompany the payes – itual consumption of food and alcohol – allow individuals to stengthen



Native Christians60

thei alliances with othe individuals complying with the stict ecipocity ule thatgovens social inteaction in Apiao. Offeings and novenas epesent the chancethe living have to negotiate with the supenatual, offeing something in exchangefo something else, such as peace, tanquillity, and potection. These celebationsalso enact the fundamental value of actively emembeing, a way to pepetuateelations.9 The epetition of xed-text payes and the consumption of alcohol aevehemently opposed by the evangelical missionaies. Those who changed do not paticipate in novenas anymoe. In changing eligion they made a public statementof sepaation. Suddenly thei pesence at the vaious novenas celebated eveyyea is not obvious anymoe: not only ae they not pemitted to dink alcohol, theyae also taught that the Catholic paying style is pointless. The efusal to take patin novenas implies the negation of ecipocity and mutual solidaity. In fact, whateally made the families of convets somehow sepaated fom the est was thei

denial of ecipocity, togethe with the ejection of alliance ties.

‘No-One is Free’ ‘ Nadie esta Libre’

To be fom Apiao means to live like Apiao people do, to be engaged in the sameactivities, to shae the same concens, the same values. These same values shapethe view of sociality, expessed in thei eveyday lived wold. One of these

cucial values is ecipocity, that lies at the basis of Apiao life, and it aticulateselationships with both human and supenatual beings. All that is obtained must be etuned, because nothing is given fo fee. Whateve is eceived, calls fo aetun. The etun can be delayed, but it must be espected, ‘ porque nadie estalibre’, [because nobody is fee].10 I head this expession seveal times on theoccasion of an accident that happened on the island duing my eldwok. A familylost thei house and all thei belongings in a e that had occued at night, whilethey wee asleep. They managed to escape; howeve they wee left with nothing.Immediately afte the accident, a neighbou welcomed them to stay with his familyuntil they could build a new house. The stoy moved the islandes, who went tovisit the family, offeing some clothes, kitchenwae, and money. Most of the peopleon the island went to see them, iespective of thei connection, and all boughtsomething to offe. ‘Because no-one is fee’ people epeated thoughtfully. ‘Anytime, any day, this could happen to us, it could be ou tun. One has to be geneousand give, because if one is good, people would emembe. And if one eve needshelp … if one has always given geneously, he will also eceive. Because no-one is

9 What I call ‘active memoy’, and what Apiao people mean with the expessionWhat I call ‘active memoy’, and what Apiao people mean with the expession‘acordarse de uno’, [emembeing someone], consist of constant acts of love and caetowads loved ones. These acts ae fundamental towads maintaining kin ties, as well associal elationships in geneal, active and ongoing.

10 TheApiao theoy of sociality is a pefect exemplication of the Maussian ecipocalThe Apiao theoy of sociality is a pefect exemplication of the Maussian ecipocalgift as a total social fact (1990 [1950]).




fee’. The episode of the buned-down house is just an example, useful to illustatethe dynamics at wok in people’s lives.

Given that ecipocity seems to be the leitmotiv of Apiao sociality, it is easy tosee how eligion is deeply intetwined with social life, to the point that withdawingfom Catholicism equates with dopping out of Apiao social life. religion andsolidaity ae intinsically linked – thee would not be eligious ituals withoutecipocal solidaity.

Denial of Alliance Ties

Sevee comments wee made about people who, as a consequence of thei change,had seveed thei ties with fellow islandes. My host family told me that one of

the convets, a man, made a point of not geeting them wheneve they met. Notonly was this geneally unacceptable: it was a seious fault given that the twofamilies had compadrazgo ties (my hosts, yeas befoe, had been asked to baptisethe childen of the family who subsequently ‘conveted’). I enquied about the possible eason fo this behaviou and they told me that it could have been that theman was ashamed. ‘They have oiled all thei childen, and they also have all thesacaments. And now, evangelicals?’ The expession Apiao people use to mean‘to baptise’ is a diect efeence to the act pefomed by the piest duing baptism,

to sign the coss on the infant’s head with blessed oil. The itual act is a symbolicwelcoming of the newbon into the Catholic community togethe with the cleansingof the oiginal sin. By using the veb oliar , which is chaacteistic to the localSpanish, Apiao people stess the seiousness with which they appoach the itualof baptism and the act of belonging to the Catholic Chuch. The use of the wodis a diect efeence to the ‘cicula missions’ oganised by the Jesuits who weein chage of the evangelisation of the achipelago since the seventeenth centuy.11

Due to the geogaphical distance fom the continent, even nowadays the island isvisited by piests only once o twice a yea. In the past babies wee baptised bythe scales, who could sign and bless the newbon with wate. Howeve, the piestalone could impat the oil blessing, o oliar .12 Hence the distinction between ‘to bless with wate’ and ‘to bless with oil’. The latte ended up being commonly usedto mean ‘baptism’ in a metonymic eduction.

Given that thei compadres had taken pat in the saced itual of the baptism,they could not possibly be ‘eal evangelicals’ in the eyes of my hosts. The ‘ealevangelicals’, los verdaderos evangélicos, they said, ae the missionaies, becausethey wee bon evangelical, and they have always been evangelical. That is like

‘the tue Catholic’. To be a ‘tue evangelical’ one has to be bon evangelical.Othewise, one is a fake evangelical. A change of eligion at this stage (as an adult)

11 Fo detailed accounts of the Jesuits’ activities in the achipelago of Chiloé see,Fo detailed accounts of the Jesuits’ activities in the achipelago of Chiloé see,among othes, Hanish Espíndola (1974) and Ubina Bugos (1983).

12 Milton Uibe, pesonal communication.Milton Uibe, pesonal communication.



Native Christians62

is fake and nonsensical. In fact, it is a lie, una mentira. All the people I spoke towee m in stating that the change of eligion was fake. In thei own wods, it isimpossible to change eligion when one is bon a Catholic. You cannot possiblychange eligion as an adult. They would not convet, they kept saying, becausethey wee bon within the Catholic eligion, and since this is an unchangeablestatus, a change of eligion is simply impossible.

Talking about one man who had conveted, along with all his family, peopletold me:

How can this possibly be tue? How can he convet, if he maied in chuch, his paentsmaied in chuch, all his childen eceived baptism and conmation? A couple of yeasago, despite having changed eligion aleady, he had his daughte eceive conmationin the chuch, and the next day they all went to thei temple! See now what kind of

people ae these?

In all these comments on the convets, the emphasis was always on the nonsensethat the whole phenomenon made to the majoity of Apiao people. What is cucialin the discussions concening the convets is the discouse of descent boughtfoth by Apiao people. Inteestingly, they aely discuss descent; kinship ties aenot necessaily pominent in social life, o in moal discouse. As I have aguedelsewhee, kinship ties ae made out of values that tanscend what ae commonly

thought of as blood ties (see Bacchiddu 2007). Instead, kinship is expeiencedas an emotional tie between people that cae fo one anothe and emembe oneanothe. Family connections ae easily ovelooked if emotional bonds ae notcontinuously enovated with constant love and cae. Descent and blood ties aeneve mentioned in convesation, except when issues of convesion come up.Discouses of belonging, hadly voiced in family contexts, emege in eligiousmattes. You cannot be something that, by way of bith, does not belong to you.You can only be what you wee bon.

In the Evangelical Temple

Apiao’s evangelical temple is just anothe moden building, in shap contast withthe old Catholic chuch of the island. Inside the spacious oom thee wee benchesand a capet. No candles, owes o saced images whatsoeve – just a painting ofa man in chains, pogessively feeing himself fom them, adoned the wall in fontof the congegation. Next to the painting, the Gospel quotation ‘And you shall

know the tuth, and the tuth shall make you fee’ (John 8:32) was inscibed.Each Sunday all evangelicals met in the temple and payed. The paying style

that all those who attend the temple pactice is called orar . This substantiallydiffes fom the one called rezar , used by Catholics, who pay using xed-textfomulas and payes including the osay and the litanies. The missionaies oftenepeated that it did not make sense to sit down and epeat fomulas fo hous, like




Catholic people do. Accoding to them, payes must be in the fom of a pesonaldialogue with God, whee each individual begins a spontaneous convesation withthe Lod.

The payes wee usually led by one of the Apiao faithful fom the alta. Thoseleading the paye sang into a micophone in a spontaneous ow accoding to theiown mood and wishes; eveyone else aound kept thei eyes closed and eveynow and then they all commented by saying ‘Yes, my Lod! This is it, my Lod!’,‘Gloy to God!’, ‘Amen!’ In fact all spoke aloud whateve they felt, and eveyoneseemed immesed in a pesonal, diect convesation with God. Some people aisedthei ams as well. The geneal effect, fom the point of view of a non-convet, wasslightly confusing and noisy. One woman got oveemotional and stated to sceam.I wondeed if the pasto was pepaed in case someone was unable to managethe emotional oveow developed in the temple context. I tuned towads him to

obseve his eaction, but he was sitting quietly, his eyes closed. When the pastogave a speech, with enegy and fevou, the people pesent commented aloud inthe usual way, nodding thei heads. Afte his speech the pasto invited anyonewho was inteested to go to the alta, which seemed moe like a stage, and talk;a woman volunteeed and was handed the micophone. She seemed quite at easeand spoke vey spontaneously, giving thanks fo the beautiful day, fo the foodshe had, and fo being at the temple with he bothes. She was used to doing this,and smiled and danced, holding the micophone with one hand while keeping the

cable with the othe, between two nges. I was somehow eminded of the staletsthat cowd the Chilean TV shows evey hou of the day, quite popula with Apiaoteleviewes.13 Nothing could be futhe fom what I had so fa seen on the island.People ae not happy to be the cente of attention; when they ae in the householdthey athe shyly hide beside thei stoves and speak little and only wheneve stictlynecessay, especially in font of people with whom they ae not familia – like Iwas fo all of them. Emotions, eithe positive (happiness, satisfaction, appoval),o negative (disappointment, ange, pain) ae hadly eve expessed and people aewell accustomed to masteing thei eactions.

How could all this adical change of style appeal to some people? How couldthey cope with the diffeent way of expessing themselves in public? When theevangelicals meet in the temple, thei adical diffeence is conned to the inteioof the building. Thei singing could be head by passes-by, but in fact peoplehadly take that path, unless going to the temple. Howeve, what could denitely be peceived even outside of the temple walls wee the social implications of beingevangelical, o, athe, of having changed eligion.

Speaking with some of the convets, what was immediately noticeable was

the adoption of opinions and attitudes that clashed with the local commonsense. Negative comments about the attendance of paye meetings fo funeals, o fo

13 In Apiao thee is no electicity and geneally people watch TV daily, fo one o twoIn Apiao thee is no electicity and geneally people watch TV daily, fo one o twohous, by plugging thei TV set into ca batteies that they egulaly echage evey fewmonths at the neaby small town.



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San Antonio novenas (the immensely popula main local Catholic cult) weeegulaly voiced, as well as comments on people’s dinking habits. These opinionseected the missionaies’ hetoic on dinking: they vehemently condemned andopposed the consumption of alcohol and the hermanos wee expected to followthis ule. Howeve, in Apiao dinking has a saced aspect that goes beyond meeconviviality. Taking pat in novenas, celebated eithe fo San Antonio o on theoccasion of funeals, implies offeing and eceiving food and alcohol, as a tokenof espect towad the saint, the dead and the Apiao individuals who ae hostingthe paye meeting. The ecipocity ule ensues that these events ae always wellattended.

The efusal to take pat in much of island social wold was a choice theconvets made: this entailed some damatic changes in thei social life. In fact oneof the most impotant aspects of Apiao sociality is eligious solidaity. In making

a choice of eligion, the convets wee actively stepping out of a moal univese,made out of obligations both towads the community and the supenatual beingsthat populate Apiao people’s expeience of thei wold.

Chachi and his Pact

One summe Sunday moning, on my way to the chuch I met don Enesto,

bette known as Chachi. Chachi was a chaacteistic gue on the island: oftencompletely dunk, he used to spend the nights on the path, whee he had fallenasleep afte heavy dinking. Chachi was nonetheless an excellent woke andwas egulaly employed by islandes who needed help eithe with boat building,o woking in the elds. When I met him that day we had a long convesationand I eventually asked him if he had any intention of changing eligion. He saidthat it was impossible fo him to change eligion, because he had aleady made pomises to the Nazaeno (a Spanish life-size statue of a Chist, on the neabyisland of Caguach, to which Chiloé people ae paticulaly devoted). ‘It’s like a pact between me and him, I cannot possibly step back now’. Apiao people weaveelationships with miaculous saints and these elations ae quite dynamic. Theydo not hesitate to ask fo miacles and favous of vaious sots, and they alwaysoffe something in exchange – something that implies an effot, a sacice, andgeneally a sound expenditue of money. At the same time, if the saints do not givewhat is asked, people feel fee to withdaw thei offeings. By negotiating with the poweful beings, in a sense they eplicate the patten of social elations accodingto which they live in eveyday contexts with thei fellow islandes.14

14 The elationship Apiao people entetain with the miaculous saints diffes, fo The elationship Apiao people entetain with the miaculous saints diffes, foexample, fom the situation descibed by Cannell (1991) fo the Bicolanos, who engagewith the poweful Ama Chist though a seach of intimacy that they ty to achieve byimitation and identication.




Two months late I met Chachi again and he told me that he had given updinking; he told me that he had been attending the evangelical temple fo a coupleof Sundays and that he felt welcomed. He vehemently disappoved of those whodank and sold alcohol, and he seemed to be willing to adapt to the new lifestyle.

The Cult of the Images

To etun to Chachi’s pact with the Nazaeno, seveal Apiao people paticipate in anovena and feast in honou of the Nazaeno Chist, held twice a yea in the neabyisland of Caguach. The Nazaeno feasts attact thousands of people fom the neabyegion and vaious othe locations, and Apiao people, following a tadition that goes back to the eighteenth centuy, actively contibute to the feast and the novena.15

Seveal families make pomises to the Chist and in ode to full them they spendthe whole ten-day peiod of the novena and the feast camping in Caguach.

Duing one such novena peiod, a damatic episode occued to one of theApiao pilgims. The main Caguach festival is held in August, in the middle ofwinte – and the weathe is often stomy and the sea extemely ough. This wasthe case one night, so much so that one of the Apiao pilgims decided to move his boat, anchoed in font of the beach, to a moe secue position. Once he eachedthe boat, though, he made the mistake of lifting the ancho befoe tuning the

engine on, and when he tied, the engine did not wok, leaving him at the mecyof the stom fo a whole night. Yet, the next moning we head the good news:the man had eached a neaby island in the middle of the night; he was alive. Thisepisode aised inteesting comments on the missionay’s side, once back in Apiao;comments that, while showing the diffeent attitude towads a popula eligiousfestival in which Apiao people ae actively involved, do in fact shed light on thediffeent natue of the evangelicals’ life poject.

In the missionaies’ view the festival was a hell in miniatue that God wasgoing to punish. ‘Evey time they go to that festival, something teible happens,’they commented. ‘They just go thee to have fun, enjoy themselves, get dunk.The Bible says clealy that the cult of the images comes fom the devil.’ The manhad been saved by God’s mecy: he got punished fo his hubris, and he almost losthis life.16

15 Moe exactly, this tadition oiginated on 10 May, 1778. A detailed histoical epotMoe exactly, this tadition oiginated on 10 May, 1778. A detailed histoical epotof the events that made Apiao one of the ‘ve people’ (cinco pueblos) to oganise andcelebate the Nazaeno of Caguach festival continuously since then, is given by Cadenasand Tujillo (1986).

16 The discouse of God’s evenge is aticulated in a way that is eminiscent of theThe discouse of God’s evenge is aticulated in a way that is eminiscent of thehubris/tisis/nemesis dynamic in classic Geek tagedies. The men (heoes) commit the sinof aogance and pide (hubris) and, thinking that they ae simila to the gods commit allsots of violations; this causes the gods’ wath (tisis) and the gods punish such insolence andself-condence with a teible and inexoable divine etibution, the nemesis.



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The cult of the images – what the evangelical missionaies name idolaty – isa cucial aspect of Apiao people’s eligious beliefs and, ultimately, woldview.By engaging with the saint, enclosed in a saced image, they engage in a popesocial elation: goods ae offeed in exchange fo othe goods and pacts mademust be honoued fom both sides, othewise the elationship will end. The saintsare the statues, it is to the statues that visits ae made, payes addessed, equestsfo miacles made, and money o pesents ae offeed. The statues ae bought to places, whee people physically engage with them, touch them, hold them whilecaying them, and even have them in thei own households. This is especiallytue of the most cheished saint in Apiao, the little San Antonio de Padua, boughtegulaly to the island fom neaby Caguach to be given novenas in exchangefo miacles. Saints, in thei statue fom, ae teated like people: they acquienicknames, and ae attibuted agency. The elationship between Apiao people

and thei saints is entwined with eveyday life and months, even yeas, ae spentgetting oganised to full a pact. The aival of a statue, o the appoaching of afestival ae fequent topics of convesation in Apiao.

Evangelical doctine condemns the cult of the images. The missionaies aguethat people that ae devoted to images ae ignoant, and that they ‘adoe a piece ofwood’. They ae ‘tied to a lie’ (están amarrados a una mentira): devotion to saintsis idolaty, and idolaty is to adoe the devil. The payes addessed to the little SanAntonio ae blasphemous; the only tuth is the one of the Bible. Those who do not

follow that tuth will lose themselves and go to hell.

Freedom

To be ‘tied to a lie’ bings us to the vey idea of feedom sponsoed by themissionaies. This was, in fact, the concept potayed in the only image thatadoned the evangelical temple. People ae ‘tied to a lie’, and this lie peventsthem fom undestanding the tuth, and keeps them pisones.17 Knowing the tuthwill make you fee. ‘If you only knew the tuth, you would cy out of happiness’,the Apiao pasto told me one day. The lie and the chains that ae tying up Apiao people’s lives, in the evangelicals’ opinion, ae what happen to be pillas of theisocial life, and the gounding of thei moal wold. Devotion to saints (in the fomof statues), the epetition of xed-text payes fo the dead and fo the saints,engaging in dinking alcohol duing the same paye meetings: these ae the liesthat tie Apiao people. Tuth makes people fee – and thei ignoance makes themslaves.

17 Once again, the missionay’s hetoic bings to mind a classical souce: the well-Once again, the missionay’s hetoic bings to mind a classical souce: the well-known cave allegoy illustated by Plato in the republic. Men ae depicted as pisones keptin a cave whee they see only pojected shadows of what happens outside the cave. Giventhei status they cannot enjoy the eal life that is out thee, and ae foced to mistakenly believe that the shadows they see coespond to tue eality.




The missionaies embaked on a tuth-dissemination task, to fee moe andmoe Apiao people fom the chains of ignoance and paganism, but by ‘feedom’those same Apiao people seemed to undestand something of a diffeent natueentiely. ‘No-one is fee’ is a statement that poclaims that all people belong toa social goup. No-one is a detached individual, all ae pat of a wide goup, all belong to a unit and – although eveyday life in Apiao is seemingly expeiencedin individualistic tems, wheneve thee is a damatic event in someone’s life,the community always shows stong solidaity. To efuse to take pat in a cicleof mutuality is a non-existent option, fo it would deny someone’s existence asmembe of a goup. Duing cucial events in people’s lives the pesence of thecommunity is essential and a sine qua non condition fo the pepetuation of lifecycles. Funeals, novenas and othe pivate celebations to honou the dead o pomises to a saint ae goup events that, by denition, involve a big potion of the

community. Most people would not be inteested in giving up goup membeship;no one would voluntaily step back fom the community, because nobody is fee.The statement of Apiao sociality as a collective, mutual expeience does not stopthee: it goes a step futhe by indicating an extended poject of social commitmentto fellow islandes. It is the consciousness of ongoing community life and the poject of the continuation of that social life, the pojection of that ideal into thefutue. Something that the evangelicals ae actively changing, by poposing adiffeent kind of sociality, based on diffeent pemises. With thei eligious zeal and

enthusiastic peaching, they ae actively denying what Apiao people demonstateto be the stuctues of thei sociality. In fact, evangelism is a poject that wouldende social life (as conceived in Apiao) unnecessay.

Conclusion

This aticle is concened with issues of convesion and its meaning fo Apiao people. The impact of evangelical missionay pesence on the island is evealingin that it shows how eligious afliation, fa fom being a sepaate sphee of life, isstongly tied up with notions of descent, tadition, identity and community. Thesenotions ae actual values, fundamental in the constitution of the moal peson inApiao, and they ae enacted in eveyday life in all sots of cicumstances, notnecessaily limited to mee eligious pactice.

In half a decade the missionaies could convet only a small pecentage of theislandes. This is because of what being evangelical entails fo the convets: theadoption of a new lifestyle, special ules in the inteelations with fellow islandes,

as well as a diffeent elation with one’s own body.18 All this sits ill-at-ease with thedelicate exchange system that suppots the social politics on the island. Inteestingly,the opposition between the Catholic majoity and the evangelicals foced both sides

18 As seen in the section descibing the meeting at the evangelical temple.As seen in the section descibing the meeting at the evangelical temple.



Native Christians68

to mutually dene themselves one against the othe.19 Those who decided to convetwee pinpointed as lias and foolish, on the basis that eligion, like blood, is inheitedand theefoe unchangeable. Yet, those families who adheed to Potestantismchanged adically in such a way as to somehow cut themselves out of the community.The ethnogaphy shows the e-making of identity, lifestyle and concept of the self ofa small goup of convets, and the eactions of the Catholic majoity to this damaticchange. It is agued that, despite the attactiveness epesented by westen-oientedmissionaies and thei mateial and spiitual offes, people consciously esistconvesion on the basis of attachment to tadition, identity and a peculia sense ofthe peson, inheent in thei being Catholic. This is because evangelism goes againstsome of the cucial ules govening both supenatual beliefs and sociality in theApiao lived wold, and eventually actively denies the vey community.

Epilogue

About a yea afte my pevious encounte with Don Enesto, bette known asChachi, hee he was again, one aftenoon, visiting someone at the same time as me.He had not been to the Catholic chuch fo a while; theefoe the pasto had askedhim to peach the evangelical cedo to his fellow islandes and he happily accepted:‘I have been sent as a missionay by the pasto, since I have not been to the Catholic

chuch at all, so I am eady to go aound inviting people to come to the evangelicalcult’. He was telling of his missionay activities, and he said that he used to goaound with the Bible, but that one of ou neighbous had kept it to ead.

Yesteday I went to see Luis, and I ended up spending the night thee! … Claro que notendría que tomar …. Of couse I am not supposed to dink, but still with my fiend Josewe talked about the Bible, while dinking a bit of chicha to accompany us …. and so thenight came! Now I’ll go back home, wash, and will go staight to the temple,

he said, while accepting the food and mate dink that he was offeed. Then headded, as if to justify himself to his fellow islandes,

Sue that one changes eligion fo inteest moe than anything! Yes, because … foeligious mattes, not eally! It’s because they give vaious things! Eveything! Look atmy clothes: shits, touses, when have you eve seen me with such a good shit? Andfood as well: noodles, ice, and othe things as well. Someone even got a boat engine!

Look: the eligion is almost the same. One has to sit down, and stand up, and then

kneel when they say it, just like in the Catholic Chuch. The only eal diffeence is thatin the evangelical chuch one has to cy. But that is not a poblem, eally. Of couse one just bends ove and cies, even if he has to foce himself to that. Eventually teas come

19 As Cannell (2006: 25) points out, this is an histoical phenomenon that oiginatedAs Cannell (2006: 25) points out, this is an histoical phenomenon that oiginatedwith the refomation, and continues to date.




up and that’s it. Also, the fact that we have to espect them, let them speak when theyspeak without inteupting, keeping silent. That’s all, eally.

He thanked his hosts fo the food and dink eceived, took his hat and left. ‘Don’t pay too much attention to him’, I was told once he was gone, ‘he’s just a bit nuts’.I was left pondeing about the univesality of the child that ‘can only see thingsas his eyes show them to him’ and points out that the empeo is not weaing newclothes: he is stak naked.

References

Bacchiddu, Giovanna, Gente de Isla – Island People. An Ethnography of Apiao,

Chiloé, southern Chile (Univesity of St Andews, Unpublished PhD Thesis,2007).

Cannell, Fenella, ‘The Imitation of Chist in Bicol, Philippines’. Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S.), I (2) (1991): 377–94.

———, ‘Intoduction: The Anthopology of Chistianity’ In Fenella Cannell (ed.),The Anthropology of Christianity (London: Duke Univesity Pess, 2006).

Cadenas, renato, and Tujillo, Calos, Caguach Isla de la devoción. Religiosidad popular de Chiloé (Santiago: LAr Ediciones, 1986).

Coleman, Simon, ‘Mateialising the Self. Wods and Gifts in the Constuction ofChaismatic Potestant Identity’. In Fenella Cannell (ed.), The Anthropology ofChristianity (London: Duke Univesity Pess, 2006).

Couse, Magnus Edwin Geoge, Mapuche Person, Mapuche People. Individualand Society in Indigenous Southern Chile (London School of Economics,Unpublished PhD Thesis, 2005).

Descola, Philippe, The Spears of Twilight: Life and Death in the Amazon Jungle

(London: Flamingo, 1997).Gow, Pete, Of Mixed Blood. Kinship and History in Peruvian Amazonia (Oxfod:

Claendon Pess, 1991). ———, ‘Fogetting Convesion: the Summe Institute of Linguistics Mission in the

Pio Lived Wold’. In Fenella Cannell (ed.), The Anthropology of Christianity

(London: Duke Univesity Pess, 2006).Genie, Philippe, Chiloé et les Chilotes: marginalité et dépendence en Patagonie

chilienne: étude de geographie humaine (Aix-en-Povence: EDISUD, 1984).Hanish Espíndola, Walte, Historia de la Compania de Jesus en Chile, 1593–1955

(Buenos Aies: Editoial Fancisco de Aguie, 1974).

Hading, Susan, ‘Convicted by the Holy Spiit: The rhetoic of FundamentalBaptist Convesion’. American Ethnologist 14 (1987): 167–82.

Hais, Olivia, To Make the Earth Bear Fruit: Essays on Fertility, Work and Genderin Highland Bolivia (London: Institute of Latin Ameican Studies, 2000).



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———, ‘The Etenal retun of Convesion. Chistianity as Contested Domain inHighlind Bolivia’. In Fenella Cannell (ed.), The Anthropology of Christianity

(London: Duke Univesity Pess, 2006).Mauss, Macel, The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies

(London: routledge, 1990 [1950]).Stoll, David, ‘Intoduction. rethinking Potestantism in Latin Ameica’ In

Gaad-Bunett and Stoll (eds), Rethinking Protestantism in Latin America

(Philadelphia: Temple Univesity Pess, 1993).Ubina Bugos, rodolfo, La periferia meridional indiana: Chiloé en el siglo XVIII

(Valpaaiso: Ediciones Univesitaias de Valpaaiso, 1983).



Chapte 4

Money, Loans and Faith: Naatives and

Images of Wealth, Fetility, and Salvation in the Nothen AndesEmilia Feao

The st time God visited Abigail – a middle aged indigenous midwife and aheale – he was disguised as a man weaing a long dak cloak, his bae feet insandals; he had long hai, a long bead and white skin.

‘The man was in the backyad’ – Abigail elated to me – ‘thowing blessed wateon my cops and land and eciting “In the name of the Fathe, of the Son, and of theHoly Spiit” … He epeated it thee times. “In the name of God”’ – he addessed he – ‘give me something and in the name of God eceive a holy blessing’.

Abigail gave him some cheese and two eggs and he thanked he saying; ‘God

will pay you back and will give you moe; He will pay you with incease’, andwent away. She and he daughte followed him, but he had disappeaed aoundthe cone; howeve, she ealized that he had visited only he house and nobodyelse’s.

‘You see’ – she concluded – ‘God ties people, this is why He begs, and punishes those who efuse to give … but to those like me who have faith, Hegives geneously …. Do not eve close you hand to God! Always extend it wideopen, eady to give and thus to eceive’ – she waned me at the end of he stoy.Fom that moment onwad, God has visited he egulaly, always binging hesomething good.

This naative by Abigail condenses contempoay ideas of wealth, salvation,and fetility in Pesillo, a Quichua village of Nothen Ecuado. In this chapte Ianalyse these ideas in elation to Pesillo’s long tem domination by the CatholicChuch, that has always played a pominent economic, political, and moal ole inthe life of the indigenous peoples of the aea of eldwok. Pesillanos have ewokedthis histoical elationship of submission to the Catholic wold into local (Andean)foms, in a way that identies Chistianity with the souce of mateial wealth

and moal powe, and that has given shape to unique categoies of exchange andmoney. I shall discuss these topics though the ethnogaphy of two diffeent andyet vey simila pactices of lending money: a ual cedit scheme, implemented bythe local Catholic NGO, that belongs to the moden wold of nancial institutions,and the ‘taditional’ pactice of el castillo, a itualized boowing of money thattakes place once a yea, exclusively duing the celebation of San Juan, the majo



Native Christians72

‘litugical’ event of the indigenous festive calenda. It is my contention thatPesillanos make sense of the functioning, ules, and elationships involved in thesetwo lending pactices accoding to a simila logic, one that though the centuieshas been molded by the intimate hieachical elationship between Pesillanos andthe Catholic Chuch. The NGO cedit scheme is theefoe undestood accoding tothe moality of local pactices of boowing and lending. These ae pemeated byCatholic imageies of faith and salvation which, inteacting with Andean categoiesof the moality of ecipocity that equies a compulsoy etun ove whateve has been given, have given bith to a special categoy of money. Money involved inthese pactices becomes a metapho of faith, and both (faith and money) ae in thehands of the chuch and of the chaactes of the Chistian wold. In Pesillo, moneyis a means though which salvation is enacted.

The st pat of this chapte descibes the socio-economy of Pesillo, followed

by the ethnogaphy of the NGO’s cedit scheme and the pactice of el castillo. Adetailed analysis of the semantics of pago, that is, the local tem fo ‘payment’of both types of loans, and of local naatives of Pesillo histoy, will allow meto show the link Pesillanos have established between the wold of Chistianity,mateial wealth, money, faith and salvation.

The Context

Pesillo is a Quichua community in the nothen Andes of Ecuado, in the paishof Olmedo, canton of Cayambe. One eaches the village though the old nothPan-Ameican oad linking the town of Cayambe to the town of Ibaa, the capitalof the nothen povince of Imbabua. One’s eyes ae liteally stolen by this thinsnake-like oad among small hills emboiled with all the possible existing nuancesof geens, coveed by a coloued patchwok that wams the eyes and the heat alike.Dominating this landscape is the cone of the Cayambe Nevado that Pesillanosdescibe as a uid, mysteious and jealous woman who hides constantly behind aveil of clouds which – people whispe – opens up only to those whom she eallyloves. Below he shelteing and matenal shadow, the life of Pesillo and its peoplehas unfolded fo centuies.

Once the administative, ceemonial and itual cente of a lage hacienda,Pesillo lies in an inte-Andean valley, with a typically Andean climate, withtempeatues vaying between 5 degees and 22 degees centigade thoughout theyea, dopping damatically at highe altitudes and at night. Located on the equato,Ecuado has only two seasons; winte, chaacteized by wame tempeatues and

abundant ains; and summe, with daughts, chill dy winds, and fosts whichtheaten cops. The lowe aeas ae pimaily cultivated with potatoes, maize and boad beans, while in the highe aeas wheat, and especially baley, ae poduced.Pesillanos make thei living fom a vaiety of activities, of which agicultue is justa mino one; these include seasonal migation to othe egions of the county, local



Money, Loans and Faith 73

wage labou, and a vaiety of small businesses suppoted to a geat extent by theCatholic Chuch, the most active NGO of the aea which hee I shall call CC.

The Catholic Church Credit Scheme

The CC was stated in the late 1980s by the Catholic ode of the Salesian Fathes.It is cuently opeating in the indigenous communities of the whole Canton,with seveal pojects on health, education, poduction and commecialisationof taditional poducts. All the pojects ae suppoted by a cedit scheme thathas been in opeation since 1988. The scheme offes diffeent types of loans,accoding to specic needs, including ‘emegency’ loans – usually needed fohealth poblems – and ‘one-off’ loans in suppot of non-taditional poduction

activities o infastuctue, such as hygienic sevices, iigation schemes and thelike. The cedit scheme is consideed highly successful because thee ae vey fewdefaultes and the volume of capital loaned and epaid is ove 90 pe cent monthly,with only 1 pe cent in aeas.1

The Imperative to Repay

Pesillanos emphasise the moal impeative to etun the money boowed fomthe CC scheme. This is in clea accodance with the logic and moality ofAndean taditional exchanges that dictate the compulsoy etun of whateve has been eceived, be it money, food, o sevice. The beaching of this law bingsabout sevee sanctions not only fo the individual defaulte, but fo the entiecollectivity.

Taditional exchanges ae undestood as binding contacts that imply mutualtust and cedibility; non fulllments ean the mistust of the entie community.When an individual gains a eputation as unfullling, they will not nd manydoos open to futue equests, and any potential ally (kin, fiend o neighbou)will avoid them. The sanction fo not especting the ageement involves thesuspension of all exchanges with said peson. This epesents an economic lossthat few can affod given that the whole of economic and social life hinges on potential alliances among villages. Theefoe, especting an ageement is the bestguaantee of futue access to boowings.

In the case of the CC cedit scheme, the delivey mechanism is designedin such a way that those communities whose esidents have defaulted on fou

installments cannot eceive new loans until the defaultes have bought thei payments up to date. Since it is the entie community that suffes the consequencesof individual defaultes, ‘bad payes’ ae the subject of a stong pessue fom the

1 Fo a thoough analysis of the CCFo a thoough analysis of the CC cedit scheme, its economic and social aspects,see Feao 2004c.



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whole community. The following case is exemplay. A vey popula and well-thought-of couple in the village, whose position as Catholic catechists gave them pestige and moal authoity to make suggestions and give advice on individualand community mattes, thei opinions being much appeciated and espected,took loans fom the CC and othe NGOs opeating in the aea. They wee not ableto epay them, due, they claimed, to health poblems suffeed by the husband,which meant high expenditues in teatment and medicine, futhe complicated byhis inability to wok and ean money. Thei neighbous did not believe them andsaid that they wee ‘iesponsible’ and did not woy enough. When asked aboutthei loans, people always expess concen about epayment and say that they willdo eveything possible to make payments in time. They look fo tempoay jobso boow money fom family membes o neighbous. But this couple was ‘wokshy’. Consequently, people told me, they fell into disgace and lost thei honou in

the eyes of the community. The situation got wose when the couple, in a despeateattempt to defend themselves and to get thei debt witten off, spead malevolentgossips about the head of the CC and announced thei intention to take legal actionagainst him fo usuy. Thee was no basis fo a lawsuit, so the matte ended thee, but at that point the village ostacized the couple and the social pessue was suchthat they decided to move to a neaby village.

Pesillanos call the epayment of the CC loans pago and attach to it the honouof the boowe. In the wods of r.I., an indigenous woman who, explaining why

some people do not want to apply fo CC loans, said that ‘people of honou aeafaid of taking loans’. Implied hee is that they ae afaid of being unable to epaya loan and thus of losing thei honou. The moal impeative to epay loans andcedits is used and einfoced by the CC though its own adio. Besides suppotingthe oganization’s pojects, the adio publicly encouages the image of the ‘good boowe’ though advetisements, congatulations and geetings to those who aeup to date with payments. Sometimes the community diectoates use the adioto name those who ae epeatedly late with epayments and to emind them thatthey have a epayment pending. People geneally espond to these calls binging

pagos (payments) up to date pomptly. It is not unusual to hea people who ae paying declae loudly that they ae doing so and thus they must not be named onthe adio. The tone in which this statement is made foces eveyone in the ofceto take notice, almost as if they wee called upon to witness the epayment. If bymistake someone who is on time with thei pagos is named on the adio, stong potests ae made in the pesence of witnesses who may be asked to conm thewonged paty’s vesion.

It is my contention that this stong commitment to epay the loan, which to a

geat extent detemines the success of the CC scheme, is einfoced by its natueas a Catholic institution, which places its cedit scheme, and indeed the whole ofthe institution’s wok, within the ealm of the saced, as a deepe analysis of pago

eveals.




Pago: Money and the Realm of the Sacred

Pago is the Spanish tem fo ‘epayment’, but wheeas its oiginal meaningdoes not imply any specication about eithe the natue of the tansaction othe epayment (if in money, kind, o sevice), in Pesillan Spanish pago is inmoney and efes to vey specic types of tansactions. Beside the money boowed fom the CC cedit scheme, the tem pago is used also to efe to theepayment of anothe type of loan in money, locally known with the name ofel castillo.

El Castillo: a Ritualized Loan of Money

El castillo, that Pesillanos also call el aumento (the incease) is a itualised boowing and lending of money that takes place only and exclusively on the 24June, duing the celebation of San Juan which in Pesillo is the main festive andeligious event of the whole yea. Substituting the pe-Hispanic festivity of theInti raymi celebation of the sun, the coe of the temendously complex Catholiccelebation of San Juan still etains its oiginal meaning of a thanks-giving and popitiatoy ite.2 The celebation is spead ove the whole summe, with a seiesof ituals and events, all of which popitiate fetility and abundance. Among them,

the itual of el castillo is one of the most signicant.The el castillo loan has two unique chaacteistics: it must be epaid in doubleand it must be etuned only and exclusively one yea late, duing the celebationof San Juan. Pesillanos epeatedly told me that the main eason why they ask foa castillo is that ‘we like the guinea pig and chicha, we like the feast’. Guinea pigs and chicha (femented maize bee) ae the constitutive elements of any itualand celebation in the Andes. Castillos ae immediately einvested in the feast,to incease its popotions: ‘in geneal’ – my indigenous fiend Estela told me – ‘castillos ae taken to celebate and not out of a need, because once people havetaken a castillo they must epay it dancing’ (that is, celebating).

The lende, called the ‘owne’ of el castillo, eceives equests of money in hishouse whee the deal with boowes is sealed with a dink. It is when castillos aeetuned, one yea late, that a eal feast takes place. On the day of its epayment,castillo payees, accompanied by a goup of close kin and fiends, gathe in thelende’s home, whee the castillo owne offes alcohol and sometimes a bowl ofsoup. The lende sits at a table, his back to the wall so that he can see the wholeoom. Hanging on the wall in a pictue behind him, o standing in the shape of a

statue, San Juan pesides ove the exchange of money. Fom a list, the castillo’s owne eads the names of his debtos: as each one is called, he stands and gives

2 Fo a detailed analysis of this celebation in Pesillo see Feao 2004a and 2004b.Fo a detailed analysis of this celebation in Pesillo see Feao 2004a and 2004b.Fo diffeent intepetations of this celebation in neaby aeas, see Cain 1989 and Gueeo1991.



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his due. When the exchange of money is ove, the owne and his wife give to each payee the obligación (liteally, the ‘obligation’), consisting of a huge quantity offood and dinks that the payee will shae with his goup once back home. Thefood is of an extaodinay type, not pat of Pesillanos’ daily diet but eaten onlyon special occasions elated with the epoduction of individual and collective life,such as maiages, the celebation of the dead, and baptisms. The quantity of foodis diectly popotional to the amount of the money epaid: the bigge the castillo

etuned, that is, the highe the amount of money paid back, the geate the quantityof food eceived, and the bigge the feast that will take place in the house of the payee. Each payee bings with them a goup of playes and dances, and the houseswhee castillos ae given and eceived become the cente of a feast. As one womancommented, ‘whee thee ae castillos, people go in and out all night long … sinceone goes dancing to ask fo a castillo and goes dancing to epay a castillo’.

Castillo loans involve a small amount of money that is not enough to beinvested in poductive activities and thus poduce a signicant change in a peson’slife. Beaing in mind that it is available only once a yea, its economic impact ishadly signicant fo the boowe. On the contay, the expenditues it impliesfo the lende ae signicant, given the huge quantity of food and dinks involved,fo which he must use a vast popotion of the annual havest and of the domesticanimals eaed duing the yea. This is why, accoding to some, the pactice is indecline. Yet, in Pesillo evey yea thee ae moe households and even associations

of people ganting castillos, and vey ecently, castillos have been oganized alsoat Chistmas time, in font of the Nativity.Pesillanos have neve complaint about castillos’ epayments; on the contay,

they have always made vey clea to me that without castillos no feast fo the Saintcould eve take place. Not epaying a castillo is simply an inconceivable possibilityfo Pesillanos, and nobody has eve head of such a case. People emphasise that theimage of San Juan must be pesent when giving and eceiving castillos because,Pesillanos made vey explicit to me, the eal owne of the castillo is San Juanhimself: it is to him that castillos ae asked fo, and it is to him that they have to be given back.

In the whole of the Olmedo paish, San Juan is vey espected, loved, andfeaed. He is a highly pesonalised and humanised saint whom people dess, keepwam and feed thoughout the yea. San Juan is vey ‘domestic’, as his pemanent pesence and paticipation in the household space and life demonstates. He isappoached with affection, efeed to as el santito o San Juanito – dea little SanJuan. His benevolence is constantly sought afte, and his ange avoided at anycost. San Juan is, indeed, vey poweful and miaculous. He stands at the apex

of an odeed indigenous univese, epesenting the stuctual equivalent of theMountain Spiits that inhabit Andean shines. People ask him fo potection andhelp with all types of poblems, needs and geneal mattes concening humans,animals, cops and business. Like many othe chaactes of the Andean Catholic pantheon, San Juan’s powe is two-edged; his positive o negative attitude dependson people’s behavious towads him. Theefoe, people’s devotion (devoción) is




an essential notion in stuctuing the elationship with the Saint: he will espond positively to equests if and when the faithful pove thei devotion, and pove it inthe pope way, that is, with ituals pefomed pefectly.

Devotion must be demonstated in mateial ways in ode to avoid punishment;as is the case fo all Supeio Beings in the Andes, San Juan is also conceived of asthe owne of human life. He can send ain and make the land fetile, o withholdit and make it steile. He can send diseases to animals, cops and humans, o sendabundance and pospeity. As anywhee else in the Andes, in Pesillo too human pospeity is a function of Supeio Beings, in this case of San Juan (as shown in:Bastien 1978; Nash 1975; Sallnow 1989; Hais 1989, 1995; Gose 1986, 1994;rösing 1994).

Boowing and lending money in the fom of castillos is, theefoe, one way

among othes to show paise and devotion to the Saint, but one that the Saint

appeciates geatly. If pleased with the way the castillo has been pefomed, theSaint will make sue that both the boowe and the lende will always benet fom

it and will have the esouces to affod its expenses. To those who show thei faith

and devotion, the Saint always gives moe, so in the shot tem the lende eceives

the double of the money he had lent, and the boowe a huge quantity of food

popotional to the size of the debt; in the long tem, the Saint will send pospeity

and wealth to both of them. The Saint’s benevolence tansfoms the castillo into an

incease – hence the eason fo its name. In fact, castillos ae inceasingly being used

as ‘pope’ cedits, by boowes who need cash to cove small odinay expenses,and by lendes as a way to invest money. Fo example, the most popula women’s

goup in the aea decided to invest all the oganization’s savings in castillos ‘because

it is good, the aumentos3 are better than from money put in a bank. The savings of

the organisation have been turned into castillos’, its leade told me, and a woman

and a widow decided to invest in castillos pat of a loan taken fom the CC cedit

scheme. Not epaying the castillo would be not only a signicant economic loss, but

also an unfogivable offence to the Saint whose punishments Pesillanos fea above

anything else and each the entie collectivity. Indeed, duing one of my stays in the

village, a bus belonging to the local coopeative named afte San Juan, had a teible

accident in which the dive died. It was taken as a matte of fact that the accident

had happened because the head of the coopeative had efused to sponso some

events in honou of the Saint.

Local Notions of Christianity and the Origins of Wealth

Making a compaison between the castillo and the CC types of loans is beyondthe scope of this chapte, but fo the sake of my agument hee it is impotantto emphasise that thei eligious natue gives the money boowed fom them a

3 This tem means liteally ‘inceases’ but in thisThis tem means liteally ‘inceases’ but in this case it is used as synonymous with‘pots’.



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‘special’ quality. Unlike money coming fom othe souces, the money boowedfom the Chuch cedit scheme and el castillo belongs to the ealm of the saced;moeove, it comes fom the wold of Chistianity, a wold that Pesillanos identifyas a majo souce of fetility and wealth. In ode to fully appeciate this connection,we must look back at the natue of the histoical elationship between Pesillo andthe Catholic Chuch, especially as it comes out fom local naatives.

History of Pesillo

In 1560 Pesillo was ganted by the Spanish Cown to the Mecedaian Fathesas an encomienda.4 Like many othe ealy colonists, the ownes of Pesillo weeLike many othe ealy colonists, the ownes of Pesillo weealso ganted a pemanent assignment of indigenous people to wok fo them, and

had access to additional indigenous labou though the geneal foced labou daftknown as mita,5 a pactice the Spanish adopted fom the Incas, and that povidedlaboues (mitayos) fo non-agicultual tasks such as constuction. Though thecentuies, the oiginal Catholic estate gew, thanks to gifts of suounding landsfom the Spanish Cown, and to puchases by the Ode itself. By the close of thecolonial peiod, the hacienda of Pesillo equalled the extension of the pesent day paish of Olmedo (Cespi 1968: 37–9).

Pesillo was a theocatic hacienda. At that time the only ecognized authoity

was epesented by the Chuch pesonnel, especially by the esident Fatheswho consideed themselves esponsible fo the eligious education and spiitualguidance of the hacienda wokes. The life and daily tasks of the esident indigenous peons wee theefoe oganized accoding to the eligious schedule of the Fathes,stating vey ealy at dawn with the collective payes of the osay followed bythe mass, afte which the catechism class would take place. Those who efusedto attend wee seveely, even physically, punished (compae with: Feao 2000a;Yanez del Pozo 1986; Cespi 1968).

4 Unlike theUnlike the corregimiento that was a teitoial division administeed diectly bya Cown-appointed ofcial esponsible fo collecting indigenous tibute and oganizinglabou fo the Cown. The encomienda was a pivate concession ganted by the Cown toimpotant individuals and/o institutions, such as colonists, ofcials and eligious odes.The ecipient (encomendero) was entitled to indigenous labou and tibute, a potion ofwhich went to the Cown. The encomendero was swon to seve the Cown and to povidefo the physical and spiitual well being and potection of the indigenous population (Cespi1968: 36).

5 The peculiaity of the nothenThe peculiaity of the nothen encomiendas was that they ceated neithe a diffeent poductive space (like fo example the mines) no a diffeent stategy of poduction (likethe obrajes in the cental Andes). On the contay, the existing poduction stategy waseinfoced accoding to the demand and the intenal appaatus e-odeed accodingly.(ramón 1991: 416. In the same aticle the autho offes an inteesting analysis of thetansition fom the encomienda to the hacienda system in Cayambe Canton).




In 1908 the then Pesident Alfao Moeno expopiated all the popeties ofthe Catholic Chuch and Pesillo, fom then on a popety of the State, was dividedinto ve smalle haciendas, each ented out to pivate tenants (arrendatarios), whomanaged the haciendas keeping the taditional social oganization of labou andhieachical stuctue. It was not until 1964, unde the militay Govenment, thatthe Agaian refom took place when, though a moe equitable edistibution ofland via coopeatives especially fomed fo this pupose, the taditional social andcultual system of the hacienda was disaticulated. In Pesillo, which had aleady been divided into seveal State popeties, the land was ganted entiely to thelocal indigenous peasanty.6

Native Narratives of Local History

Pesillanos divide thei histoy – which I summaise below7 – accoding to thesuccession of ownes and manages of the land. In local accounts, theefoe,Pesillo’s past unfolds chonologically though a ‘time of the Fathes’, a ‘time ofthe Tenants’ and a ‘time of the Coopeatives’.

Oal accounts sets ‘the time of the Fathes’ as the stating point of Pesillo

histoy. Thee is hadly any mention of the native pe-Inca inhabitants of the egion,

the Caanquis-Cayambis, and although the Incas ae acknowledged as ‘ancestos’,

Pesillanos’ knowledge and elaboation on them is vey sketchy. These native vesionsstat with an ‘oiginal’ time pio to the aival of the Spanish and the Fathes,

when diffeent aces (indigenous and mestizo peoples) fom diffeent geogaphical

places, and with a diffeent status (esident indigenous peons [huasipungueros] and

shaecoppes) used to live side by side. Late, a settle of Inca oigins came to live

in Pesillo. Since he had no ion tools but only wooden and stone implements, he

was unable to cultivate the land whee only weeds could gow.

The Mecedaian Fathes established the boundaies of the pesent-day paish;they stated the hacienda, and within it they fomed the indigenous communities. They bought ode and law whee thee had been chaos and confusion. They sepaated thediffeent aces (mestizos fom Indigenous peoples) and established diffeent status between them accoding to the position they occupied within the hacienda hieachy.They stated agicultue; taught people the Spanish language and eligion; establishedthe institutions of maiage and the mass8 and initiated the feast of San Juan.

6 The Agaian refom had complex and contadictoy effects, one of which was the

fomation of additional divisions among the indigenous peasants (see: Gueeo 1991; Cespi

1968; Yanez del Pozo 1986; Pieto 1978; Matínez 1995; Fuche 1980; Landázui 1980).7 I summaise and wite in chonological ode the local vesion of the histoy of the aea,

as it comes out fom the inteviews with some of my oldest indigenous fiends, complemented

by the testimonies collected by Yanez del Pozo in his book Yo Declaro con Franqueza (1986).

8 In the Andes the mass is extemely impotant in dening the human state as againstIn the Andes the mass is extemely impotant in dening the human state as againstthe non-human.



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Theefoe, the Fathes povided Pesillanos with the pincipal means of mateialand social suvival. When they wee expelled by the Govenment in 1908, the potatoes became sick – people say – and the land no longe poduced as much as itused to do when the Fathes ‘used to go hand in hand with the Almighty’ and theewee good and abundant havests. If thei pesence had made the land bea fuits,thei depatue povoked misfotune and death.

These naatives establish a stong association between the Fathes (membes andepesentatives of the Catholic Chuch), fetility and mateial wealth. The Fathescame with the Spaniads in seach fo gold; in some accounts they themselves aeSpanish. In seveal vesions the Spaniads/Fathes used local gold to make money.The Fathes aived in Pesillo blessing the land and the people; they visited the settlesand pefomed thei weddings and celebated masses. As a pago fo these sevices,the Fathes took the land fom the natives, and this is how the initial hacienda of

Pesillo became so big and the Fathes ich and poweful. Afte they left, thei fotunewas inheited by the tenants, who in this way could buy othe haciendas and inceasethei wealth (see: Yanez del Pozo 1988: 58, 60–62; Feao 2000, 2004a).

The association between the wold of Chistianity and fetility is futhe evidentin the following account by Abigail about he expeience of dying and coming backto life. Abigail is a middle-aged midwife and heale, who is well known in the aeafo having a special connection with God. Duing one of ou many convesationsaound the heath in he house, she told me that immediately afte deliveing he

second baby gil, she had died. He spiit (espiritu) left he body.9

‘As in a deam’she saw ‘this spiit of mine’ leaving the house, walking away along an old pathfull of plants, some of which he spiit used in ode to mak the way. He spiitaived at a vey ich and pospeous hacienda, as the many cows gazing the pastues indicated. Among the wokes thee, she ecognised thee villages whohad been dead fo some time. ‘It was like hee in this life’ – she continued – ‘Thisspiit of mine ealised that it was moning and geeted them. They wee as in lifeand dessed in white’. In esponse, looking at he, they said: ‘We ae cuentayos,10

we ae looking afte this popety’, and told he to go back home, but he spiiteplied that she wanted to go on. Once she eached the hacienda house, the spiitknocked at the doo, no one eplied, and so she stated looking aound when sheealised that ‘He was coming. He woe sandals without socks and a long cloak ...It must have been God Himself, with a thin face, a long delicate nose and blackhai. He spoke to me in an angy manne [and said] “Go away! Go back home!

9 relating the stoy Abigail always used the thid peson singula to efe to he spiit,relating the stoy Abigail always used the thid peson singula to efe to he spiit,as if talking of someone else.

10 In the hacienda system theIn the hacienda system the cuentayo was the peon in chage of the animals. Moethan a shephed, a cuentayo was a sot of accountant, esponsible fo the well-being ofanimals in his chage. The wod comes fom the Spanish cuenta, that is, ‘account’ and also‘bill’. When the peon took his tun as cuentayo, the animals unde his cae wee counted atthe beginning and the end of his watch and if an animal went missing, he had to pay, usuallyin days of labou.




It is not yet time fo you to be hee!”’. So the spiit went back following the pathshe had been making on he way thee, eached he home, enteed he body, andAbigail woke back to life.

Afte this expeience, Abigail eceived the suerte (good fotune): he gadenouished with all sots of medicinal hebs and cops; and she eceived the poweto heal people who stated to aive fom all ove the aea and neve stopped, ‘andyou see’ – she concluded – ‘I have not let anyone die’. It was afte the expeienceof dying and coming back to life that Abigail stated to eceive God’s visits.

Afte the Mecedaian Fathes left, fo many yeas thee was no esident piestin Pesillo. residents who wanted to attend mass and othe eligious seviceshad to go to the Canton seat, Cayambe. It was not until the establishment of theCatholic NGO, in the late 1980s, that the Catholic pesence in the aea has becomevisible again. The Fathes have come back to Pesillo in the moden guise of an

NGO. The NGO pogammes play an essential ole in impoving the economicconditions of Pesillanos; its head is a piest whom Pesillanos call padrecito, thatis, ‘dea little fathe’, and has a pominent ole in people’s social and cultuallife. He is, in fact, the peson who celebates masses fo San Juan, fo example,equiem masses fo the dead, maiages and funeals, amongst othe things. Theappeciation Pesillanos feel fo him is exemplied by the wods of one Pesillanowho told me: ‘What wee we befoe? We wee nothing. No one would cae fo us, but now thee is the dea little fathe, and now we ae what we wee meant to be’

(J.M.). Befoe the CC and its head/fathe stated woking in Pesillo, people hadfelt abandoned and neglected, but now the CC has put them back ‘on the ighttack’. Even nowadays, then, the Catholic Chuch keeps playing its histoical oleof souce of mateial and social well-being. It is within this long-tem patten thatthe CC cedit scheme must be undestood.

Money, Sin and Salvation

Pago aticulates the elationship between Catholicism and wealth. In this section Iwill show that pago also expesses the elationship between money and salvation.Pago, in fact, efes also to the payment in money fo a equiem mass (el pagode una misa) and the payment in money fo a teatment by local medicine men/women (el pago de la curación).

Pagos for Healing and Pagos for a Requiem Mass

The quichua medical system is vey complex and aticulated. It includes an aetiology,

a diagnosis and a teatment of illnesses classied accoding to thei peceived causes



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and thus teated by specialists (Estella 1997).11 Illnesses ae odeed hieachically,

accoding to the degee of isk to which the patient’s life is exposed, the moe

dangeous ones being those that lead to death. Pago, then, is equied fo the

teatment of those illnesses that may cause death. Caused by supenatual and stong

entities, the teatment of these potentially fatal illnesses equies the intevention of

equally poweful entities and the pesence of money is compulsoy. The amount of

money equied fo the teatment is popotional to the degee of dange to which

both the patient and the heale ae exposed. The highe the esponsibility involved in

teating these illnesses, the highe the pago equied, that is, the highe the amount

of money involved. A few examples will claify this point.

The huatucayashqua is an illness caused by a spiit called duende enteingsomeone’s body. The teatment aims at sepaating the duende fom the body ofthe patient, and it implies seveal stages, one of which is the offeing of food to

the duende; food that must be left in the place whee the duende has enteed the peson’s body. If this is not effective, then the patient must be taken to a chuch to be teated by a piest though a teatment called conjuración, a quichua adaptationof the Spanish curar con, that is, ‘to heal with’, but also fom conjurar that is,to make an exocism.12 This teatment equies a compulsoy pago to the piest.Money is also an impotant pesence in the teatment of those illnesses caused bythe splitting- up of the soul (shungu) fom the body. This splitting may have sevealoigins, and accoding to its specic cause, the peson affected may eventually die

o ecove.The money to be paid in these types of teatment, heales told me, is fo thederecho, the entitlement to be cued by those who have the powe to do so: God,the Vigin May, and seveal saints, each in chage of a specic illness. Pago cannot but be in the fom of money. If the patient does not have any money, and leavesa token, not only will the healing be ineffective, because ‘He does not defend the peson when the derecho has not been paid’, but the patient will also catch the malaire, anothe and moe seious illness (compae also Balladelli 1989: 108, 112).

At the top of the hieachy we nd illnesses caused by socey. Thebrujeashcamanta, a quichuism of the Spanish wod fo socey (brujería), is thewost illness of all, because it is caused by an explicit intention to kill the peson

11 Thee ae seveal medicine men, each with thei own tasks, specialization andThee ae seveal medicine men, each with thei own tasks, specialization and powes. The yerbateros know the medicinal plants and how to use them. The fregadores can teat poblems of bones factues and dislocations, though massages. The ‘healesof the bad ai’ teat the illnesses attibuted to the ‘bad ai’. The ‘calles of the shadow’teat the illnesses caused by a sudden fight o astonishment (espanto). The yachac ae themost poweful and may teat o cause socey. Thei closest companions ae the duendes o Spiits, bad o good accoding to what they do. Midwifes (sp. parteras) teat eveythingconcening pegnancy and the bith, but they can also heal fom the espanto o can ‘call back the soul’ if these illnesses ae not too seious.

12 A medicine man has dened the conjuación as a ‘sacament’ to be given afte theA medicine man has dened the conjuación as a ‘sacament’ to be given afte the baptism and conmation, in ode to take the devil out of the body (Balladelli 1989).




in question though the intevention of a socee (brujo),13 who calls to his aidsome stong spiits including cetain Catholic Saints. The following pocedue iscaied out. The socee wites down the name of the taget peson on a piece of pape; then he spinkles on it some salt – a sign of bad luck – and some hai of the peson to be bewitched. Then he waps it.14 The peson who has commissioned thesocey, o one of the spiit companions of the socee, o a piest who is willingto do so, must leave this pacel in a ‘bad’ place: a busy oad whee it will walkedon by people and animals; a ive; the sea o a chuch, especially one that hosts an‘appopiate’ saint such as Saint Benad fo example, whom people dene as theSaint of Death (Balladelli 1989: 143).

The socee and the spiits who ‘do the favou’ each need an individual pago fo the ‘entitlement’. The money must be eady when the socee’s agentcomes back afte leaving the pacel, and this is why it is nomally put on the

alta at the beginning of the ceemony. The highe the esponsibility of the agentsinvolved, the highe the demand of the peson commissioning it, and the highe the payment fo the ‘entitlement’. Socey can be counte teated by a ‘good’ socee,a yachac. The yachac likewise heals though the intemediation and help of hiscompanions who, besides the Mountain o the Lake Spiits, ae mainly fom theCatholic univese: saints, the Vigin May o God Himself. The pefomance ofthe healing is simila to the bewitchment: the yachac pepaes the table, calls oneof his companions and asks them to help ecove the pacel, so that the witchcaft

will be cleaed and the patient healed. Once back, the agents ask fo thei pago,and the yachac pescibes the necessay emedies. A usual emedy in teatmentsfom socey is the payment of 12 masses in 12 diffeent chuches. Hee ae thewods of M.B., a 42 yea-old woman who told me that on one occasion she feltvey ill and weak, unable to do anything. So, he childen took he to a heale to be teated. The heale asked he to bing a few things necessay fo the itual, suchas pefume, alcohol, cigaettes, suga amongst othe things. He healed he but inode to: ‘be able to take the lth away, I had to pay $10, and anothe $60 fo thehealing’. Pesillanos efe to all of these payments as pago.

Any such teatment includes the laying out of an alta, that Pesillanos call‘table’. A cloth is daped on the gound, on top of which the heale puts owes,food and money. Tables/altas of this sot ae also pepaed fo the Novembecelebations of the dead, with food fo the dead who, on the night of All Souls,come back to visit thei kin (compae with Feao 2008). A table/alta is also pemanently laid out fo San Juan, with his image, candles and owes; andfequently a simila table/alta is pepaed to emembe a ecently dead kin. It iswoth noting that the Spanish wod fo table is mesa, but, due to the gammatical

and phonetic peculiaities of Pesillan Spanish, heavily inuenced by the Quichua

13 AA brujo is always a yachac, that is a medicine man of the highest ank. He can begood o bad; brujo howeve, nomally implies a negative consideation.

14 In the aea of my eldwok, socey of the highest level is usually pefomed byIn the aea of my eldwok, socey of the highest level is usually pefomed bymen, and the most poweful heales to teat it ae also usually men.



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language,15 mesa is actually ponounced misa which is the Spanish wod fo theCatholic mass, a itual also pefomed on an alta laid with offeings to God, andthat people attend in ode to ask fo benevolence and help, as well as fo theetenal est of the dead (see Gose 1994).

This linguistic detail highlights moe clealy that healing teatments and theCatholic Mass belong to the same wold, and that the pagos they equie aestuctually equivalent. Indeed, Pesillanos believe that estless souls who, fo avaiety of easons, cannot nd peace, wande aound at night, cying and botheingthe living. The pefeed way to assue thei etenal peace is the celebation of amass, fo which a pago is compulsoy. An old indigenous man made this connectioneven moe explicit to me when he said that ‘in the old times, when thee was nomoney, we had to pay the heale in cops o labou, in the same way as we used togive the diezmo16 to the piest to pay fo a mass o to pay fo the dead’.

The Devil’s Money

restless souls ae also closely associated to money and highlight the ambiguitythat suounds it. These souls ae, in fact, found wandeing especially aound thesites of the ‘buied money’ ( plata de los entierros).

The belief in ‘buied money’ is widespead acoss all Andean egions whee

people explicitly date it to the time of the Incas (see Hais 1995). Howeve, inPesillo this money is explicitly elated to the Catholic fathes. It is believed thatthe Mecedaian Fathes buied thei teasues when foced to leave Pesillo, andwent away cusing the land and eveything they left behind. Thee is no evidencethat these teasues have eve existed, o that someone has eve found any. Yet, people still look fo it. When I st aived in the aea, in 1991, thee was a lot ofcommotion at the (goundless) news that duing some wok in the chapel of the oldhacienda house – now belonging to the village – these teasues might have beenfound unde the alta.

The ‘buied money’ has an ambiguous chaacte. It is believed to bing ichnessand wealth to the one ‘lucky’ peson to whom it is destined, but it also causesillnesses of such a magnitude that they deseve a sepaate chapte in the indigenousmedical system, and thei teatment equie the highest pagos (Balladelli 1989).Pesillanos fea it because it beas a vey dangeous association with the wold ofthe devil and of evil spiits. In the wods of a medicine man: ‘[the buied money]is always on the devil’s side, since God has not ceated ichness. This is why thismoney is extacted by the devil’ (also Balladelli 1989: 133). The sites whee the

Fathes’ teasues ae buied ae always looked afte by the Cucu (q. huacai siqui)

15 Quichua is the Ecuadoian vaiant of the Quechua language.Quichua is the Ecuadoian vaiant of the Quechua language.16 Duing the hacienda time, theDuing the hacienda time, the diezmo was a tibute that peasants had to pay to the

local piest. The tem comes fom the Spanish wod fo ‘ten’ (diez) because the tibute hadto coespond to the tenth pat of the whole cop.




which, unlike the majoity of Andean spiits who ae double-edged, is exclusivelya negative one. Vey often the Cucu is the devil himself, and he makes sue thatonly the ‘ight’ peson and no one else nds the teasue. If someone else nds it,some one fo whom the teasue had not been destined, and if this peson insistsand succeeds in taking it home, despite all the attempts of the devil to impedeit, then he will have toubles and will die suddenly.17 Afte a few days, the devilwill appea to this peson and give him an ultimatum which is also a poposal: toexchange the teasue fo his life.18 These ‘devil contacts’ ae vey well knownthoughout the Andes (see Nash 1975; Taussig 1980; Hais 1989; Cain 1991,1994). In Pesillo they ae also called ‘the money contact’ (sp. el contrato de la

plata). ‘If the one who nds the teasue wants to enjoy this wealth, then he willgive his life away’, one of my indigenous fiends told me. If this is the case, thenafte the time conceded expies the devil will claim his pat and will take the life

of this peson away. He will suddenly die; ‘he must die’ – my fiend continued – ‘and pobably of a bad death because these ae the tems of the contact he hadaccepted’ (see also Balladelli 1989: 92).

Conclusion

My ethnogaphic data highlight that money in Pesillo is closely associated

to the Catholic wold. Native naatives seem to indicate that like gold in pe-Hispanic times, in Pesillo contempoay money aticulates the mundane with thesupenatual wold. Money has two impotant chaacteistics: it is ambiguous because the tempoal and supenatual powe it channels is ambiguous, but it alsoconveys fogiveness, healing and salvation.

The diffeent contexts whee pagos ae compulsoy suggest that money can buy sevices and favous beyond human each, and these ae in the hands ofthose foces who hold the powe of life and death. To achieve the benevolenceof these foces, people must necessaily pay, in ode be entitled to thei sevices.This seems to t hamoniously with the geneal Andean patten of hieachy andsacices to the Supenatual Foces (see Nash 1975; Bastien 1978; Hais, 1989;Sallnow 1986, 1989; Gose 1986,1994; rösing 1994 among othes).

Money is, theefoe, stictly linked to the agents and intemediaies of thesupenatual wold. This is the wold of the poweful ‘othes’: the Fathes, thedevil, the Saints, the yachac. The potagonists of the Catholic wold (saints, theVigin May, piests) belong to the same sphee as the spiits of the mountains

17 The potagonists of these naatives ae always men. Women, moe than men, tellThe potagonists of these naatives ae always men. Women, moe than men, tellthem (see also Cain 1991).

18 Kohn-Hansen (1995) epots of these devil pacts also fo the Dominican republic.Kohn-Hansen (1995) epots of these devil pacts also fo the Dominican republic.To the aleady known citicism by seveal scholas of Taussig’s mateialistic and ‘class’view of the devil loe (see Pay and Bloch 1989), Kohn-Hansen adds also the point thatthese naatives may aticulate a moality of alteity.



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and of the lakes (Gose 1994), of the duendes and of the yachac. Thee ae badand good spiits, bad and good yachac, bad and good piests, bad and good saints.Being the agents and the intemediaies of life foces, they may be bad o good because thei powe may be of a negative o positive natue. ‘God seems to be agood spiit’, a peasant told Balladelli (1989: 87).

Money channels the faith and devotion that humans have fo the supeio beingsupon which thei geneal well-being depends. At the same time, it is the meansthough which healing, fogiveness and salvation ae enacted. This gives money avey stong but also ambiguous potency. It is used in the teatment of fatal illnessesand in the healing fom socey, but at the same time it is used to cause socey, andto ham. As with many othe manifestations of the supenatual in the Andes, themass and the healing ceemonies can be both positive and negative; they can saveo cause death, thei powe being put in action by money. Money is associated

with God and the Good, but also with the devil and evil. It is a means thoughwhich the Divine opeates in its seveal positive and negative manifestations.

The link between money and Catholicism is vey fetile fo the whole West, but it is paticulaly elevant fo Pesillo consideing that the diecto of the local NGO is also the peson who celebates the mass fo San Juan, the mass fo theestless souls, the mass fo teatments against socey. The piest/head of the NGO,theefoe, aticulates the thee sphees of the saced that equies a pago. Whatmakes this especially elevant fo the success of the CC cedit scheme is that the

piest visibly holds the monopoly of those elements necessay fo salvation. Inthe eyes of Pesillanos, faith and salvation ae put in motion by a pago in money,and with faith and salvation, money has always been in the hands of the CatholicChuch.

References

Balladelli, P.P., Entre lo mágico y lo natural (Quito: Abya-Yala, 1989).Bastien J.W., Mountain of the condor: metaphor and ritual in an Andean ayllu (St

Paul: West Publishing Co., 1978).Bethelot, L.,‘The extaction of pecious metals at the time of the Inkas’, in: J.

Mua, N. Wachtel and J. revel (eds), Anthropological history of Andean polities (Cambidge: Cambidge Univesity Pess, 1986).

Benson, E.P. (ed.), Pre-Columbian metallurgy of South America (WashingtonD.C.: Dumbatan Oaks Libay and Collections, 1979).

Bay, W., The gold of El Dorado (London: Times Newspapes Ltd., 1978).

Cain, M., ritual, Memoria popular y proceso político en la Sierra Ecuatoriana (Quito: Abya-Yala – C.E.N., 1990).

———, ‘Poetics and politics in the Ecuadoian Andes: Women’s naatives ofdeath and devil possession’, American Ethnologist , 19,1 (1991): 67–89.

———, ‘Opening Pandoa’s box. A plea fo discusive heteoglossia’, AmericanEthnologist , 21(1994): 208–10.




Cespi, M., ‘The Patons and peons of Pesillo’ (Ph.D. Thesis, micolm, AnnAbo Univesity, 1968).

Estella, E., Etnomedicina (2 vols, Quito: Abya-Yala, 2nd ed.,1997).Feao, E., ‘The hidden factes of debt. Owing and owning in the Ecuadoian

Andes’ (Ph.D. Thesis, Cantebuy: Univesity of Kent at Cantebuy, 2000). ———, Reciprocidad Don y Deuda. Formas y Relaciones de Intercambio en los

Andes Ecuatorianos. La comunidad de Pesillo (Quito: FLACSO-Abya-Yala,2004a).

———, ‘Owing and being in debt. A contibution fom the Nothen Andes ofEcuado’, Social Anthropology 12 (2004): 77–94. 2004c, 2008

———, ‘El elemento socio-cultual en los poyecto de Micocédito. Un estudiode caso’, in H. Jácome (ed.) Micronanzas en la economía ecuatoriana: una

alternativa para el desarrollo (Quito: FLACSO-Ecuado, 2004).

———, ‘Kneading life. Women and the celebation of the Dead in the EcuadoianAndes’, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.) 14 (2008): 262– 277.

Fuche, C., ‘Lógica de funcionamiento inteno y acionalidad económica enempesas campesinas asociativas: el caso de dos coopeativas en el cantónCayambe’, in AA.VV. Ecuador: cambios en el agro serrano (Quito: FLACSO-Ceplaes, 1980).

Gose, P., ‘Sacice and the commodity fom in the Andes’, Man 21 (1986): 296–

310. ———, Deathly waters and hungry mountains. Agrarian ritual and class formation

in one Andean town (Toonto: Univesity of Toonto Pess, 1994).Gueeo, A., La Semantica de la dominación. El concertaje de Indios (Quito:

Libi Mundi, 1991).Hais, O., ‘The eath and the state: the souces and meanings of money in Nothen

Potosí, Bolivia’, in J. Pay and M. Bloch (eds) Money and the morality ofexchange (Cambidge: Cambidge Univesity Pess, 1989).

———, ‘The souces and meanings of money: beyond the maket paadigm in anayllu of Nothen Potosí’, in B. Lason and O. Hais (eds) Ethnicity, marketsand migration in the Andes (Duke Univesity Pess, 1995).

Isbell, B.J., To defend ourselves: ecology and ritual in an Andean village (Austin:Institute of Latin Ameican Studies, Univesity of Texas, 1978).

Kohn-Hansen, C., ‘Magic, money and alteity among Dominicans’, Social Anthropology, vol. 3, 2 (1995): 129–46.

Landázui, C., ‘La hacienda estatal y su tansfomación en coopeativas agaias:el caso de Pesillo’ 1913–1977 (Dissetation, Quito: Univesidad Católica

(PUCE), 1980).Matínez, L. ‘Familia campesina y compotamiento demogáco. El caso de las

coopeativas indígenas de Cayambe’ (Colección Avances n.1, Quito: Asoc.Ecuatoiana de Población, 1995).

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Nash, J., We eat the mines and the mines eat us (New Yok: Columbia UnivesityPess, 1975).

Pay, J. and M. Bloch (eds), Money and the morality of exchange (Cambidge:Cambidge Univesity Pess, 1989).

Pollock, Donald, ‘Convesion and “community” in Amazonia’, in robet W.Hefne (ed.) Conversion to Christianity. Historical and anthropological

perspectives on a great transformation (Bekeley: Univesity of CalifoniaPess, 1993): 165–97.

Pieto, M., ‘Condicionamientos de la movilización campesina: el caso de lashaciendas Olmedo-Ecuado (1926–1948)’ (Dissetation, Quito: UnivesidadCatólica [PUCE], 1978).

ramón, G., ‘El espacio Ecuatoiano en el contexto de los Andes’, in AA.VV. Los Andes: el camino de retorno (Quito: FLACSO, 1990).

rösing, I., ‘La deuda de ofenda: un concepto cental de la eligión Andina’, Revista Andina n. 1 (July 1994): 191–216.

Sallnow, M., ‘Pecious metals in the Andean moal economy’, in J. Pay andM. Bloch (eds) Money and the morality of exchange (Cambidge: CambidgeUnivesity Pess, 1989).

———, ‘Pilgimage and cultual factue in the Andes’, in J. Eade and M. Sallnow(eds) Contesting the Sacred. The anthropology of Christian pilgrimage

(London: routledge, 1991).

Silvet, K.H., Churches and States (New Yok: Ameican Univesity Field Staff,1967).Taussig, M., ‘he devil and commodity fetishism in South America (Chapel Hill:

The Univesity of Noth Caolina Pess, 1980).Yanez del Pozo, J., Yo declaro con franqueza. Testimonio oral de Pesillo (Quito:

Abya-Yala, 1986).



Chapte 5

The re-Invention of Mapuche Male Shamans

as Catholic Piests: Legitimizing IndigenousCo-Gende Identities in Moden ChileAna Maiella Bacigalupo

Fabián (a machi initiate): Male machi – Mapuche shamans – ae not like othe Mapuchemen. They can’t have positions in the community. They can’t dink and get into ghts.They can’t have women, because it takes away thei powes.

Maiella: Ae male machi men?Fabián: Of couse they ae men. They ae special men, like piests who don’t have afamily because they dedicate themselves to God. Piests can’t ght. They can’t havewomen. But they ae still men.Maiella: Some Mapuche say male machi ae moe effeminate.

Fabián: The men that ae chosen to be machi by the spiits of God have cetain specialfaculties. They ae sensitive, intuitive, like women. That is why they have to be moeeffeminate. Moe exquisite.

By dawing on the paallel between Mapuche male machi’s special gendeidentities and those of celibate Catholic piests, male machi have stuggled tolegitimate themselves and thei pactices in Chilean majoity discouses and toavoid being labeled homosexuals and witches. Duing the colonial ea, malemachi wee co-gendeed males who moved fom and between masculinity andfemininity and combined the identities, pefomances, occupations, modes of dess,and sexualities associated with Mapuche women and men. Both Spaniads andMapuche established paallels between the gende identities of celibate Catholic piests and male machi. Jesuits associated male machi with thei own spiitualmilitias and machi pojected thei co-gende identities onto Jesuit piests.

Contempoay male machi actively e-invent themselves as ‘celibate Mapuche piests’ to legitimate thei co-gende oles and itual tansvestism and potectthemselves fom accusations of homosexuality, justify dedicating thei lives to

thei spiitual calling, and incease thei pestige at a national level. The celibateCatholic piest is an acclaimed male gue of authoity in Chile who is neitheheavily masculinized no sexualized but holds social pestige. Piests ae likemale machi in that they mediate between the natual and supenatual woldson behalf of humans and hold moal authoity but also wea skits and have asexuality distinct fom that of odinay family men. Although many Mapuche now



Native Christians90

Aea of reseach in Chile



The Re-Invention of Mapuche Male Shamans as Catholic Priests 91

subscibe to the belief that thee is a elationship between male gende invesion,tansvestism, and homosexuality, they do not odinaily view Catholic piests inthei soutanes in those tems.

I daw on ethno-histoical and ethno-gaphic eseach with Mapuche machi insouthen Chile between 1991–2001 to exploe the oots of the male machi-celibate piest connection, to show how male machi daw on the agument of celibacy and piestly obes to legitimate thei pactice, and how male machi’s oles as ‘Mapuche piests’ allow them to expand thei spiitual and healing pactices.

Colonial Legacies: Machi Co-gender Identities and Jesuit Priests

When Spaniads aived in Chile and cossed the Bio-Bio ive into the Mapuche

homeland, they pojected thei classicatoy schemes onto Mapuche ealitiesand used them as a ationale fo domination. Colonial agents used contastingSpanish peceptions of Mapuche men to advance diffeent political agendas.Thei depictions of Mapuche waios as bave, masculine, babaic, anddangeous helped to explain Spanish militay defeats and justify the enslavementof Mapuche. The Spaniads’ sexualizing and demonizing logic was a hetoicalstategy and a weapon against machi and polygamous Mapuche chiefs. If maleMapuche spiitual and political authoities led lives of sexual excess, sodomy,

and pevesion, then Spanish colonization and evangelization wee ‘justied’.The discouse of sexuality and evil became a Spanish tool fo molding Mapuchesubjects to colonial powe. Judgments about sexuality ae deeply embedded in thehistoy of scholaly explanations of who acquies powe, who deseves it, and whogets to keep it (Weston 1998: 20). Lust and leisue ae attibuted to those ‘untto ule’; domesticated sexuality and managed sensibilities ae attibuted to thosewho stand above – and who label – those toubled categoies (Stole 1995: 194). InChile, male machi wee foced to confom to Spanish notions of sexual popiety,modesty, and decoum and to become Chistian to avoid pesecution.

Spaniads and Mapuche associated spiitual and political powe with gendein ways both simila and diffeent, and both paties used thei gendeed lenses toepesent the pactices of the othe in thei own tems. In Spain, men held the einsto institutions of powe. Spaniads viewed pactices of politics and wafae asmasculine, held by masculine kings and knights. They often associated piety andspiituality with femininity and women, yet celibate male piests held institutionaleligious powe. The Jesuits consideed themselves ‘soldies of Chist’ who battledagainst the devil and against the vices and sins of the Mapuche (Olivaes 1864–

1901).1 The Spaniads believed that Chistian foces had paticipated in the spiitual

1 The Jesuits claimed that the devil was esponsible fo the Mapuche’s esistance toThe Jesuits claimed that the devil was esponsible fo the Mapuche’s esistance tocolonization and evangelization and insisted that the Spaniads pactice ‘defensive wafae’.The Fanciscans blamed the Mapuche fo this esistance and agued that the Indians could be ‘saved’ only though violence, punishment, and slavey (Pinto 1991: 68–9).



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conquest of Chile. They descibed the Apostle Santiago leading the Spaniads into battle with his coss, and the Vigin May blinding Mapuche waios with lightand dust (Acosta 1894 [1590]: 246; Ecilla y Zuñiga 1933 [1569]; rosales 1989[1674]: 387–8; Sosa 1966: 180).

In Mapuche society, co-gendeed males held pecedence. Nevetheless,Mapuche political powe was consideed masculine and was taced though themale line. It was associated with waing, hunting, cattle heding, and men’s dess.

Mapuche spiitual powe was consideed feminine, and though it, too, was tacedthough the male line, it was associated with healing, hoticultue, and women’sdess. Co-gendeed male machi combined feminine spiitual powe and masculine political powe, contay to Spanish assumptions about how men contolled bothsocial and spiitual odes.

The special co-gendeed identities of male machi allowed them to combine the

male oles that the Spaniads valued most: oles in wafae and spiituality. Foone thing, male machi pefomed spiitual wafae against the Spaniads. They popitiated the spiits of Mapuche waios and machi spiits (spiitual waios)who continued waing against Spanish souls in the sky, using as weapons lightning,thundebolts, and volcanic euptions (rosales 1989 [1674]: 155–61). With cuses,male machi blew tobacco towad enemy land. They divined the locations ofSpaniads and detemined the outcomes of confontations by pefoming magicin bowls of wate (rosales 1989 [1674]: 135). They invoked the moon, the sun,

and the planets duing militay divinations to gain powe to cue the wounded andtake vengeance on thei enemies (Ecilla y Zuñiga 1933 [1569]: 45, 147; Oña 1975[1596]: 15, 21). Male machi consistently advised Mapuche chiefs to eliminate theSpaniads (rosales 1989 [1674]: 384). It is unclea whethe male machi actuallyfought alongside waios like the co-gendeed Native Ameicans that Fenchand English colonizes called ‘bedaches’ (Callende and Kochems 1983; Katz1976), but they accompanied Mapuche waios to the battlee1eld and pefomedspiitual wafae fom the sidelines. They pieced thei tongues and penises withwooden spindles and offeed thei blood to the spiits (Viva 1966 [1558]: 134),equesting spiitual potection fo Mapuche waios in exchange.2 Male machiemployed wods as weapons, too. Many of them wee enowned public oatos(rosales 1989 [1674]: 159–60) who used discouse to call on the powes of theiancestos and belittle Spanish waios.

Today, Mapuche spiitual wafae against enemy spiits is an essentialcomponent in the itual healing of bodies and communities and a political toolused in contempoay Mapuche esistance movements. Machi kill evil wekufe

spiits using spiitual wafae duing exocisms pefomed at all healing, initiation,

and collective fetility ituals (Bacigalupo 1998).Mapuche ideals of co-gendeed sexual waios and sexual-spiitual male machi

clashed with the Spaniads’ polaized notions of eligiosity. These wee embodied,

2 The contact-peiod Maya, too, had a dance of the waios in which penis pefoationThe contact-peiod Maya, too, had a dance of the waios in which penis pefoationand bloodletting wee damatized (Landa 1941; Taube 2000).




on one hand, in the ideal of a hype-masculine Spanish soldie who should esistsensual pleasue and, on the othe, in the pupotedly celibate Catholic piest.Yet thee wee also instances of identication with the othe. Both Spaniads andMapuche established paallels between the gende identities of celibate Catholic piests and the celibate boquibuye who caied saced foye banches as symbolsof peace duing wa paliaments and lived isolated in caves, which the Spaniadslabeled ‘monasteies’. They woe long cloths wapped aound thei waists in placeof beeches, but the Spaniads saw these as ‘piestly obes’, not as the gaments of putos. They woe long hai, like male machi, o wigs made fom seaweed (Nuñez1863: 361–2; rosales 1989 [1674]: 168, 209, 1154). The Spaniads consideedthis haistyle piestly, not effeminate.

The Jesuits associated boquibuyes with thei own spiitual militias, in whichobedience, povety, and chastity on the pat of men of the same ank encouaged

homo-social cohesion and homoeoticism while peventing same-sex pactices(Geiola 2000: 160–61). The Jesuits saw thei fiendships and those betweenboquibuye as taditionally masculine, because they ejected eveything feminineand womanly. Mapuche in tun pojected the co-gendeed identity of the boquibuye

onto Jesuit piests. Chief Guaquimilla potayed a Jesuit piest beaing a foye banchas a boquibuye whose co-gendeed qualities wee thought to gant well-being toanimals, people, and natue in geneal: ‘They called him father and mother andlled him with compliments and gifts …. His happy coming was not limited to

the people to whom he bought this enomous good. The animals, hebs, owes,steams, and books, too, wee leaping with pleasue’ (Ovalle 1888 [1646]: 292;emphasis added).

Mapuche constucted Jesuits as poweful machi, and piests often playedwith this image to gain Chistian followes. Fathe Alonso del Pozo, fo example,claimed that his holy wate healed the sick, and he told chueca playes they wouldwin if they went to mass. When Fay Alonso evived a dying boy, the Mapuche believed his powes wee supeio to those of the machi (rosales in Pinto 1991: 55,58), undemining thei pestige. Machi counteed that the Jesuits wee witches whoused baptism and confession to hex and kill Mapuche (Olivaes 1864–1901: 289).Some Mapuche destoyed Jesuit obes and Chistian images because they weeafaid of thei ‘magical powe’ (Pinto 1991: 57); othes assassinated them (Salinas1991: 108). Contempoay male machi have fed the piest – machi coelationto asset thei masculinity and to aspie to positions of male powe and national pestige by legitimating themselves as celibate Mapuche piests. As ‘celibate piests’, male machi ae elatively potected fom the labels of homosexual owitch.

In the eyes of colonial Spaniads, howeve, vaginas wee ideally linked towomanhood, skits, and ‘passive’ sexual intecouse, wheeas penises wee ideallylinked to manhood, beeches, and sexual penetation. Because Spanish soldies andJesuit piests saw gende, dess, and manne as ideally linked to bodies and sexualacts, they sometimes labeled tansvestites and gende invets hemaphodites, and



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they associated both categoies with ‘deviant’ sexuality. The Iish Jesuit piestThomas Falkne (1774: 117) noted:

The male wizads ae obliged (as it wee) to leave thei sex, and to dess themselves infemale appael, and ae not pemitted to may, though the female ones o witches may.They choose fo this ofce those who at an ealy time of life discove an effeminatedisposition. They ae clothed in female attie.

The body and its dynamics ae sites fo the most deeply entenched beliefs held by a cultue. The Spaniads peceived Spanish male bodies, dessed in men’sclothing, as natual and coect. Native bodies had to be made to confom, to leanthei Spanish gende, in ode to be consideed pat of society.

Twentieth-centuy Chilean national gende ideologies and thei epesentations

of male machi developed fom the Spanish colonial association between gende pefomance and sexuality. If a man displays dess o behavio consideedinappopiate to men, it aises doubts about his heteosexuality because it standsoutside the steeotype of masculinity and the heteosexual binay model. Scholasthoughout the twentieth centuy depicted male machi as ‘invets’, ‘tansvestites’,‘effeminate’, and ‘homosexuals’ (Hilge 1957: 68, 128, 249; Latcham 1915: 281).Matin Gusinde (1917: 97) wote that machi ‘follow the custom of sexual invesion,which can be poved by thei pefeence fo jewels and womanly adonments’.

Machi juggle these majoity epesentations with itual gende bending.The colonial Mapuche constucted Jesuits as poweful machi. Piests often played with this image to gain Chistian followes. Fathe Alonso del Pozo, foexample, claimed that his holy wate healed the sick, and told chueca playesthat they would win if they went to mass. When Alonso evived a dying boy, theMapuche believed his powes wee supeio to those of the machi (rosales inPinto 1991: 55, 58), undemining thei pestige. Machi counteed that the Jesuitswee witches who used baptism and confession to hex and kill Mapuche (Olivaes1874: 289).

The Feminization of Spirituality

The elationship between gende and political and spiitual powe shifteddamatically in the mid-eighteenth centuy as missionay zeal and sociopoliticaland economic change tansfomed Mapuche communities. As othe Mapucheinstitutions gained political powe, machi wee stipped of thei inuence and

wee e-gendeed as solely feminine and spiitual. Vaious cicumstances ledto the epudiation of male machi oles and inceasingly aised females to these positions of spiitual authoity. Local Mapuche clans disappeaed, and political powe became unied and concentated in the hands of a few pemanent,macoegional sociopolitical oganizations with a pan-Mapuche identity (Boccaa1998). The line of male ancestal spiits whom the male machi invoked fo the




benet of a small, lineage-based community became ielevant. Socio-politicalinteests eplaced the co-gendeed waio ideal as the Mapuche became sedentayagicultualists, suffeed militay defeat by the Chilean amy in 1881, and wee placed on esevations in 1884. The Mapuche then became seconday citizens ofthe Chilean nation-state. The numbe of male machi deceased substantially aftethe nal ‘pacication’ of the Mapuche in the late nineteenth centuy; spiitualwafae and male militay divination wee no longe needed (Faon 1964: 154).Missionization by homophobic Catholic odes (Foeste 1996; Pinto 1991) thatejected ‘un-masculine’ male machi also contibuted to the decline in thei numbesand the ise of female machi (Bacigalupo 1996). Missionization was facilitated bythe division of Mapuche patilineages among diffeent esevations, so that theyno longe had ancestal spiits in common.

Female machi pedominated thoughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuies

as land fetility became a majo concen fo Mapuche (see Augusta 1934 [1910];Coope 1946: 750; Faon 1964; Guevaa 1908: 245; Hilge 1957: 112; Latcham1922: 630; Moesbach 1929: 330–49; Smith 1855: 234–6). With pacication,the Mapuche wee elegated to small plots of eoded teitoy, and agicultual poduction became cucial fo suvival. Collective nguillatun ituals wee now pefomed pimaily to ask deities fo bountiful cops and fetile animals. Bothfemale machi and male machi wee consideed ngenkuyen – ownes of the moon – who contolled the powes of geneation and fetility and who wee gifted in

dealing with poblems between the sexes, infetility, and menstuation (Latcham1922: 433). Sex-based notions of gende, howeve, and the ejection of effeminatemale machi wee gadually incopoated into Mapuche gende ideologies. Theidea that female machi, who can give bith fom thei bodies, ae moe effectivein ensuing land fetility became genealized thoughout the twentieth centuy. Asmachi pactice has become inceasingly associated with domesticity, land fetility,and women’s wok, some Mapuche have also begun to eject male machi whowea women’s clothes.

Although female machi today ae consideed to be both masculine spiitualwaios and poweful feminine women, it is thei female bodies that give themauthoity ove the fetility of the land. Female machi also hold cedibility as healesin the ealm of spiits, illness, and witchcaft. The Mapuche believe that femalemachi ae less invested in the male ancestal spiits of competing patilineageswithin a community than ae male machi. Theefoe, they ae bette suited to bespiitual epesentatives of the body politic. Female machi have begun to invokethe pan-Mapuche deity Ngünechen on behalf of a much lage itual community beyond the patilineage.

The switch to pedominantly female machi was gadual, but it poduced a shiftin the way Mapuche conceived of gende and spiituality. When Chile became anation-state in 1818, national discouses that divoced spiitual and political powe became inceasingly impotant to machi pactice. Machi wee then stipped of theifomal political powe and egendeed as feminine and spiitual. Machi esponded



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to this pocess by expanding colonial Mapuche notions about the elationship between femininity, spiituality, and powe.

Chilean peceptions of spiitual and political powe as contasting ways ofviewing the wold had a majo effect on the way machi peceived thei oles andgende identities. By the beginning of the twentieth centuy, the spiitual poweof machi was seen as conicting with the political powe of male chiefs. Malemachi’s legitimacy as spiitual intemediaies was theatened by the impositionof Chilean ideals of male oles as political and public. Machi spiitual powe,associated with femininity, became independent fom political powe and was passed down though the female line, often though a matenal gandmothe. Whenmachi lost thei political powe, female machi’s spiitual powe and bodies aloneaccoded them status and pestige in othe ealms of Mapuche society – somethingthat was much moe difcult fo male machi to accomplish. With the advent of

democacy in 1990, machi spiitual oles ae inceasingly politicized. This esultedin a damatic incease in the numbe of male machi who pefomed oles as itualoatos in collective ituals and who suppot diffeent political ideologies o paticipate in Mapuche esistance movements against the Chilean state.

Current Male Machi as Celibate Catholic Priests: Transvestism and

Homosexuality

Majoity discouses and some Mapuche, too, stigmatize tansvestism andhomosexuality as ‘deviant’, but male machi still need to become feminineto be possessed by spiits. Male machi faced with this pedicament stugglefo legitimacy and paticipate in majoity-gendeed discouses of powe byassociating themselves with national male positions of pestige while etainingthei taditional co-gende identities. Mapuche who ae not machi also negotiatecontasting national and taditional Mapuche gende ideologies. They gudginglyaccepted male machi’s vaious itual gendeed identities, patial tansvestism, and pefomance of womanly oles fo the sake of itual efcacy. But they also expectedmale machi to legitimate themselves in tems of the pestigious male ole of thecelibate piest. Although many Mapuche now subscibe to the belief that thee isa elationship between male gende invesion, tansvestism, and homosexuality,they do not odinaily view Catholic piests in thei soutanes in those tems.

Mapuche intepet male machi’s co-gendeed identities though the lens ofnational peceptions of homosexuality in divese ways. Machi rocío, fo example,in an inteview in late 2001, explained that male machi inheit machi spiits fom

women on the mothe’s side of the family and that thei gende pefomances become feminized in the pocess: ‘Male machi inheit the spiit of a gandmothemachi and then they have to become like women … because they say that malemachi, one month they ae like men, but anothe month they ae like women. Ifthey have a woman they have to sleep with the woman. They have to sleep withthei patients.’ Longko Melinao ageed: ‘When men become machi they become




moe like women, and men don’t like that. … It is looked down upon and that’swhy men avoid that pofession.’ rocío, too, claimed that male machi’s co-gendeeditual identities led them to desie both women and men. ramón compaedcontempoay male machi who wee ‘single and like men’ with histoically knownco-gendeed machi.

But rocío, ramón, and Fabián also stessed that machi wee men in theieveyday lives. Fabián efeed to male machi as ‘special men’ chosen by thespiits, and ramón constucted male machi as homosexual men. rocío believedthat male machi etained the ‘sexual appetite of men’ and wee sexually moeactive than female machi.

Mapuche sometimes distinguish between machi’s co-gendeed itual identities,effeminacy, tansvestism, and homosexuality, and at othe times they lump themtogethe. Fabián chaacteized male machi as sensitive and effeminate. He believed

that they should not have women because they would lose thei powes, but thatnot all male machi wee homosexuals. ramón, in contast, agued that being amachi was a punishment, because most of them wee homosexuals. He used thetem homosexual to efe to all same-sex pactices by male machi.

Male machi’s actual sexual pactices ae as vaied as those of othe Mapucheand non-Mapuche men. Some have male loves, some female, some both; someemain celibate, and a few ae maied. Sexual acts between machi of eithesex ae taboo because they shae a itual co-gendeed identity. Male machi ae

awae of the powe dynamics involved in the labeling of sexual acts and gende pefomances. They do not assume pemanent homosexual identities, and theyeadily contest Mapuche o national eadings of them as maricones (faggots) ohomosexuals (homosexuals). Male machi self-identify as masculine, heteosexualo celibate men in thei eveyday lives, egadless of thei gende pefomances andthe sexual acts they pefom with othes.3 By legitimating themselves accodingto national discouses of gende and sexuality, male machi attempt to avoid beinglabeled maginal and deviant.

Below, I shall exploe how thee male machi have econciled thei itual co-gendeed identities, patial tansvestism, and special sexualities with the need tomasculinize themselves in thei daily lives. I analyze how male machi einventthemselves as celibate piests in ode to deect accusations of homosexuality

3 Holdes of Euo-Ameican biologically eductionist views of homosexualitiesHoldes of Euo-Ameican biologically eductionist views of homosexualitiesefuse to encompass the vaiety of cultual specics that stuctue sexual behavios coss-

cultually. Callende and Kochems (1986) acknowledged that male bedaches did not havehomosexual identities, but they still efeed to the genitally oganized activities betweenmale bedaches and men as homosexual acts. Lesbians and gay men in the west dawon biological explanations as a cultually authoized and politically potent justication(Blackwood 1986; Weston 1991), but anthopologists should see such claims as a Euo-Ameican folk exegesis on the meaning of homosexuality that speaks to, and though, Euo-Ameican cultual contexts and political dynamics (Elliston 1995).



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o witchcaft and how these newfound oles allow male machi to legitimate theispiitual and healing pactices.

Male Machi and the Argument of Celibacy

Male machi potect themselves fom accusations of effeminacy and homosexuality by identifying as maied and heteosexual (two machi named Pedo and JacintoPedo and Jacintowee examples) o as single and celibate like Catholic piests, as in the cases ofMachi Segio and Machi José. Because Segio and José had had gilfiends in the past, most Mapuche viewed thei decisions to become celibate as the esult ofdemands fom thei espective machi spiits athe than as cove-ups fo same-sexdesies. One Mapuche man, nevetheless, told me that Segio was an effeminate

homosexual who had secet elationships with men, like many Catholic piests.Machi Segio became vulneable to spiit attack when one of his fome

gilfiends spuned him. He subscibed to the dominant Catholic male notion ofwoman as temptess and believed that his machi spiit had enabled him to enouncewomen. He thought his machi pactice was incompatible with maiage:

Befoe I became a machi I had a deam whee I was walking up a path and nakedwomen wee beckoning to me, tying to tempt me. I looked at them and then continued

my path. This was a test that God had put to me. … Machi must go aound taking caeachi must go aound taking caeof othe people and love them like thei own family. … I can’t have a family of my own.Can you imagine having kids and a wife and coming back late, o not at all? How couldthey gow up popely o be happy?

Machi José, similaly, had concluded that God did not want him to have a gilfiend, because he became ill when his high-school sweetheat cheated on him. Sincethen, he had viewed all women as deceitful, evil ceatues, ‘like Eve,’ and had become celibate. He claimed that male machi should neve may:

A piest does not may, a monk does not may. A good machi, who has moe powesthan a piest, moe powe than a mothe, moe powe than the pope, moe powe thana bishop, does not may. … The Bible says that a peson who adoes God should notmay. It is totally pohibited. … Ou ancestos in the time when the Bible was wittenwee unmaied. Jesus did not may. My inheitance comes fom Noah and Jesus. … Iwould like to have childen but thee ae cetain impositions that tell me ‘no’. I have towok fo God and fo my fellow humans.

At the same time, José did not ty to dispove a umou that I was his gilfiend, inode to asset his heteosexual masculinity in his community and to dispel anotheumou that he had a elationship with a young man.




Male Machi, Transvestism, and Priestly Robes

In Chile, male machi’s clothing and gende pefomances have been intepetedthough multiple lenses. Some Mapuche view male machi’s itual tansvestism andwomanly oles as demands fom the spiits, not as manifestations of effeminacyo homosexuality. ramio told me duing an inteview in Decembe 2001: ‘MachiJacinto is maied and has childen. He is like any man. People become scandalizedwhen a machi weas women’s desses to wok. That’s the issue. Mapuche menmake cuel jokes [about homosexuality] without thinking of the consequences.’Othe Mapuche view male machi’s tansvestism as an indication of effeminatehomosexuality. In ode to potect themselves fom this label, male machi emainonly patially tansvestite in itual contexts and dess in men’s clothes in eveydaycontexts. A machi’s maital status inuences the way his clothing and gende

pefomances ae ead. Maied male machi ae assumed to be heteosexual andcan wea moe women’s clothes and pefom moe womanly tasks than singlemale machi without being viewed as effeminate o homosexual.

Dominant Chilean notions of manly gende pefomances have also inuencedthe way machi’s clothes ae ead by othes. ramio told me that non-Mapuchecoded all Mapuche taditional clothing as womanly: ‘In olden times Mapuche mendidn’t wea pants, they woe chiipas [taditional pant-skits]. Now, when menmachi wea chiipas, people say they ae weaing women’s clothes. Chileans think

that taditional Mapuche clothes ae feminine. In ode to be teated like a man onehas to dess like a Chilean.’ Male machi have tied to espond to these multipleexpectations. Thei pactices involve a complex layeing of Mapuche and Chileansignies of masculinity, femininity, and ethnicity, ochestated though theclothing of thei bodies. In thei daily lives male machi wea westen-style pantsand hats and Mapuche men’s makuñ (ponchos), which mak them as masculine.Yet thei bight scaves and silve bacelets fo wading off evil show them to bediffeent fom odinay Mapuche men.

Male machi’s gende pefomances ae indeed diffeent fom those of otheMapuche men. As boys, male machi aely paticipate in national signies ofmasculinity such as ghting and playing socce. Typically, machi spiits do notallow male machi to pefom ual Mapuche men’s tasks such as woking the land,cutting wood, and doing wage labou. No do the spiits allow them to dink in public. Some Mapuche undestand male machi’s special gende oles, wheeasothes citicize them fo being effeminate because they do not pefom ‘masculine’oles. Some Mapuche use the tem maricón to efe to male machi’s effeminategende pefomances, even though they do not see them as homosexuals. Paulina

efeed to Machi Abel as mariquita (little maicón) because he did not cut wooddid not cut woodo wok the land, although she believed that he liked women and would eventuallymay. Male machi espond to such peceptions by pefoming some ual Mapuchewomen’s oles, such as collecting and pepaing hebal emedies and cooking, but avoiding othes, such as spinning, weaving, sewing, and making pottey, thatwould clealy mak them as effeminate.



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Sergio

Segio and I waited at the bus stop afte two aftenoon healing ituals. He woeHe woemen’s pants, a Mapuche man’s makuñ ove a shit o sweate, and a hat. His silve bacelet and the coloued scaf aound his neck signalled that he was no odinayman. While he was healing that aftenoon Segio had won multiple colouedscaves aound his neck and head, two choyke (Patagonian ostich) feathes inhis hat, and a puple silk cape that he descibed as ‘piest obes’. I asked himwhy he did not wea a killa (woman’s shawl) duing his ituals, as Machi Jacintodid. He esponded: ‘I am like a piest. I wea taditional machi clothes that aelike piests’ obes. I don’t wea women’s clothes. I am not like machi Mata. …She is eally a male machi who weas a chamal [woman’s woollen wap]. Thatis only fo women’. Male machi do not appove of exceptional male machi likeMale machi do not appove of exceptional male machi like

Mata, who dessed in women’s clothing evey day and assumed the identity of awoman. By constucting his itual clothes as taditional machi clothing o piestlyobes, and not as women’s clothes, and by citicizing Mata’s tansvestism andgende-cossing, Segio distanced himself fom possible umous about his owneffeminacy o homosexuality (fo an in-depth discussion of machi Mata seeBacigalupo 2004).

Segio had not played socce o fought while in high school: ‘I would see the boys my age un afte the ball and I thought how dumb they wee. … I just didn’t

want anyone to yell o sceam at me, I didn’t want any ghting. I wanted peaceand quiet.’ Now Segio dank at home: ‘Being out of one’s house makes it easie toBeing out of one’s house makes it easie tohave evil thown to one, especially if one gets dunk. That’s why I eat at home, andif I dink, I dink at home.’ He focused on the estictions his machi spiit placedfocused on the estictions his machi spiit placedon him athe than eecting on how tasks wee gendeed: ‘I can’t do any physical‘I can’t do any physicalwok. I feel dizzy and faint. I have to keep my stength fo cuing. The othe malemembes of my family plough the land.’Segio cooked occasionally and pepaedSegio cooked occasionally and pepaedhebal emedies, but he pefomed none of the othe choes consideed womanly.

Jorge

Joge was like a typical uban Chilean man in that he an his household and wasits main povide. His othe family membes pefomed domestic tasks, tendedthe animals, and woked the land. Joge dedicated himself exclusively to hismachi pactice and pefomed neithe men’s no women’s choes. His dinking in public with othe men did not enhance his masculinity. Othe Mapuche viewed itas a tansgession of his spiitual ole, which einfoced the notion that he was a

witch.Joge’s masculine eveyday clothes and his patial tansvestism duing ituals

wee ead as signs of his changing sexuality, his moal ambivalence, and hisengagement with both positive and negative spiits. Joge woe men’s pants, asweate, a woollen makuñ, and a man’s hat as eveyday gab. Duing ituals heeplaced the hat with coloed head kechiefs and feathes, changed his makuñ fo a




women’s shawl, and added a silve coss and bacelets to wad off evil. His itualclothing was simila to Machi Segio’s and moe masculine than Machi Jacinto’s;the latte woe an alteed vesion of a woman’s chamal and a killa duing ituals.Othe Mapuche, howeve, intepeted Joge’s itual clothing as effeminate, but notJacinto’s and Segio’s clothing. Segio avoided being labeled a homosexual bysuccessfully constucting himself as a celibate piest and by dawing on his family’s pestige. Jacinto avoided it because he was maied, had childen, and eceived thesuppot of his community. Joge’s family, on the contay, was maginal, and hiscommunity viewed him as sexually and moally ambivalent because of his allegedelationships with young men and his inability to constuct himself accoding tosocially acceptable men’s oles.

José

At ve o’clock on the moning of Apil 21, 1995, Machi José and I dove tothe peviously Evangelical community of Chanco to pefom the st collectivengillatun itual held thee since 1960. José boowed my man’s makuñ and tied a blue scaf aound his neck. ‘You ae not going to wea a killa (women’s shawl)?’ Iasked as I pinned my killa on ove my black dess and oweed apon. ‘No,’ Joséeplied, ‘they need to know that I am a Mapuche man with special powes. If Iwea a killa like you o too many scaves, then people talk badly. They say male

machi ae like women. They need to lean to espect us. They need to undestandthat we [male machi] heal and give blessings like piests, like Jesus, with oukultrun (dum) and ou payes.’ In this context, José looked like a taditionalJosé looked like a taditionalMapuche man.

Machi José masculinized and ubanized his eveyday dess and mannes to suchJosé masculinized and ubanized his eveyday dess and mannes to sucha degee that it affected some Mapuche’s belief in his ability to engage spiits. Hewoe a paka o leathe jacket when he was in the cities of Temuco o Santiago: ‘Idon’t want them to look at me and know that I am a machi and that I am diffeent.’Julio, who late became José’s dungumachife, emaked that ‘most people don’t believe in male machi like José because they ae not feminine enough.’

José was like Segio in that he had not played socce in high school. Butwas like Segio in that he had not played socce in high school. ButMapuche viewed him as masculine because he woked the land and had undegonehe woked the land and had undegonetaining to be an electician and a mechanic – men’s jobs in Chile – pio to hisinitiation. José justied leaving these masculine jobs by associating himself withJesus: ‘Jesus Chist did not plough, he planted a spiitual seed. I must do the same.’José was not accused of being homosexual although he emained single and oftenwoe a women’s killa and a puple headscaf duing divinations. José believed

that ‘alcohol is the devil’ but dank at home with his family and fiends like otheMapuche men.

Mapuche view male machi’s gende identities and sexualities ambivalently because of the tension between thei spiitual and eveyday oles and identities.Mapuche evee male machi as people chosen by the spiits yet citicize themif they abide fully by thei spiits’ demands that they wea women’s clothing o




engage in womanly oles. Mapuche may constuct male machi as homosexualsand witches yet expect them to have some degee of sexual o gende vaiance,like piests, in ode to be legitimate machi. If a male machi’s gende pefomanceand sexuality is too masculine – as in the case of José – then Mapuche may thinkhe has lost his spiitual powes. Male machi’s clothing, gende pefomances, andsexual identities ae balancing acts designed to satisfy the contadictoy demandsof Mapuche spiits and humans.

Machi Practice as Priestly Roles

Male machi who econstuct themselves as celibate Catholic piests to justifydedicating thei lives to thei spiitual calling, hold moal authoity and inuence

community decisions. These male machi compete with psychologists and piestsin ganting advice about self-impovement, elationships, and spiitual and moalmattes. Male machi also use pogessive, empathetic, and involved healingtechniques which they associate with piestly behavio, while female machiclassify the same healing techniques as ‘motheing models’.

Male machi pefom collective ngillatun ituals on behalf of a itualcongegation in the same way piests conduct mass. Machi Noa’s son Jaime said,‘The ngillatun is the same as the [Catholic] piests who have thei chuch, only the

Mapuche do thei eligion once evey fou yeas.’ Longko Daniel added, ‘Doinga ngillatun without a machi is like a mass without a piest, like an Evangelicalmeeting without a pasto. Thee always has to be a machi to diect it.’ Segio, José,and many othe male machi ofciated as machi-piests in the collective ngillatun

ceemonies in thei espective communities.

Sergio

Machi Segio adheed to a Catholic moality and pefomed his ole as Mapuche piest accodingly: ‘I must dedicate myself to God and to paye. God gives a littlelight and tells us to follow that path and you will nd God, but all of this is guided by God.’ He believed that altuism, humility, self-impovement, and fogivenesswee cucial fo machi pactice and opposed witchcaft, itual evenge and lovemagic. Segio initiated thee machi into his machi school of pactice, which heviewed as a monastic ode involving discipline and sacice. He expelled evilfom patient’s bodies and souls but did not denounce evil-does o pactice itualvengeance, because he believed that ‘those who wish evil on othes only bing evil

back unto themselves.’Segio thought Catholicism was a complement to machi pactice. He found

geat similaities between machi ituals and the Catholic mass. He was neveodained, but he began conducting mass in Mapudungu, togethe with the bishop,to pay fo peace when Chile was on the vege of wa with Agentina in 1978.In Decembe 2001 he said, ‘The bishop still comes and invites me to go to mass




with him. He wants the mass to be played with Mapuche musical instuments. Igive people the host; I play my dum in the chuch.’ At the same time, Segio used pedominantly Mapuche symbols, not Catholic ones, when healing. He woe anAchiepiscopal coss aound his neck as a conta, to potect himself against evilspiits, but kept no images of saints, the Vigin, o Jesus in his house, no didhe invoke them fo healing. Segio demonstated that male machi wee unlikeodinay men in that they had special insights into women’s illnesses and poblemsand could heal them by using an empathetic, elational model and abiding by thegendeed constaints of the social system. At the same time, he demonstated thatmale machi wee diffeent fom female machi by ejecting love magic.

José

Machi José had wanted to be odained as a Catholic piest. He eceived hisst communion in 1964 at the age of nine and visited the Catholic Chuch inQuilmawe fequently. He ead the Bible thoughout high school and applied toente the seminay at twenty-one but was ejected. The chuch keepe thew himout, claiming he made the chuch dity. José did not etun to the chuch but instead began to daw on Mapuche notions of spiituality: ‘Ou ace has its own chuch.They ae always tying to impose on us, saying that only the Catholic Chuch othe Evangelical Chuch is the eal one, but no. God has the face of a Mapuche.’

José buned his cucix because he opposed the use of Chistian images, but hedew on the concepts of sin, heaven, hell, and divine punishment. He linked hisown illness and suffeing to that of Jesus Chist and dew on the Catholic doctineof Chist as God and man. In this way he synthesized the paadox of divine spiitand human body.

By 1995 José identied himself as a ‘Mapuche piest’ and ‘biblical machi’, because he ead the Bible and was possessed by the Holy Spiit. He ejected thechuch and its authoities but believed God had made him a Mapuche piest: ‘Ihave a lot of authoity. I can baptize and may people … nobody knows what Godleft me. Only I know.’ José believed he was supeio to othe machi because heead the Bible, and supeio to piests because of his spiitual powes:

A good machi like me has moe powes than a Catholic piest, because they ae chosenhee on eath, they decide to take on that ole. … Machi come fom the spiit woldand ae odained diectly by the ceato of all of us. Ou payes ae stonge. Whenhave you eve seen that a Catholic piest can make it ain o stop aining? But a machiwho pays in the ngillatun (collective itual) can, because God is in natue and listens

to the machi. … I am a tue Mapuche piest. Not the kind that killed Jesus. (Inteview,Decembe 17, 1995)

Like piests, José exocised evil spiits, viewed Evangelical pactices asdevilish, and believed in fogiveness. José emphasized the oles of God and spiitsin healing and illness, which potected him fom accusations of witchcaft:




I can see the powe that God gave me in the uine, in the clothes, in the blood, and inthe heat. The heat suffes to adoe God. Sometimes one does not ealize, and we takeemedies to lowe blood pessue when in fact the eo is that we have not adoed ouFathe.

José could see who had caused evil to a patient o family, but he did not eveal theidentity of the evil-doe, take itual evenge, o pefom love magic; he consideedthese pactices to be witchcaft.

Jorge

Machi Joge, too, claimed a piestly identity fo himself, but not altogethesuccessfully. He told jounalists that he was “like a piest, an authoity” ( Diario

Austral, Septembe 27, 1987). But he was not celibate, no did he act like a piest.Joge was not invited to pefom as machi-piest in his community’s collectivengillatun ceemonies, although he was often a paid pefome at othe ones.

Wheeas José dew on Jesus as a model, Joge viewed himself as the MapucheJesus Chist, which won him the eputation of being agrandado – supeio,contemptuous, o aogant. ‘I want to enew my powes the day Jesus was bon[Decembe 25]. I am the Mapuche Jesus Chist,’ Joge told me. He enewed hismachi powes on Chistmas Day and changed his fou-step ewe fo a lage, seven-

step one to demonstate that he was the most poweful and pestigious of machi.Joge believed that his identication with the healing powes of Jesus would gainhim espect and legitimacy in his Catholic community, but his neighbos couldnot econcile his aggessive, authoitaian, and changeable chaacte with that ofa Jesus-like gue. One woman said, ‘It is a sin that he says he is Jesus. He is notGod. Jesus was giving and saciced himself fo his people. Joge does none ofthis.’ Mapuche engage in diect, ecipocal elationships with spiits; they ejectthe idea of one poweful Mapuche messiah who epesents the entie ethnic goupand becomes the sole negotiato between Mapuche and the divine (Foeste 1993:145–7).

In summation, Segio and José sought diffeent types of legitimacy in theioles as ‘Mapuche piests’. Segio wanted the suppot of the chuch and the bishop,and he adapted his itual pactices to t the fomat of the mass. José despised thechuch and its authoities but believed he had spiitual and piestly powe ganteddiectly by God. Wheeas Segio embaced piests and piestly oles, José used thediscouse of piesthood to gain ecognition but believed that Mapuche spiitualitywas supeio. Joge – standing in contast as usual – was not ecognized in his

piestly ole because instead of seeking legitimacy fom the Chuch o the Biblehe dew solely on his self-peceived expeience as the Mapuche Jesus.




Conclusions

Male machi who ae able to take on co-gendeed piestly ones effectivelylegitimate themselves without theatening thei healing pactices. As celibate piests, male machi can justify thei itual co-gendeism, thei tansvestism, andthei tendency not to may. But ionically, they simultaneously eiteate theChuch’s condemnation of all same-sex pactices and its belief in the natualnessof sex and gende, the vey system that stigmatizes thei co-gendeed identities.By incopoating the Catholic moality of fogiveness, male machi legitimate theiown empathetic, elational healing pactices, and they justify thei exocism ofevil spiits on the model of the exocist piest. But Catholic moality has been penicious to the taditional pactice of itual evenge. Although itual evengemakes evil-does accountable and gives victims some contol ove evil spiits,

many Mapuche now view it as witchcaft. Male machi may gain legitimacy byassociating themselves with the Chuch, the Bible, and payes to God. If a malemachi claims to be God o Jesus himself, howeve, Mapuche believe he is a witch(Joge) o cazy (José).

Male machi’s pefomances of Chilean masculinity must be caefully balancedwith thei taditional spiitual oles. Male machi who masculinize themselves toomuch ae believed to have lost thei spiitual powes o even to be witches. Inode to maintain his status as a shaman, a male machi must boast his unique

ability to divine and heal spiitual illnesses and to heal holistically, as no doctoo piest can. The long tem impact of the celibate piest model on male machiidentities and pactices emains to be seen.

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Chapte 6

Potestant Evangelism and the

Tansfomability of Ameindian Bodies in Notheasten Amazonia1

Vanessa Elisa Gotti

Introduction

In this chapte I will discuss how Cental Guianese Ameindians elate to eachothe’s bodies and how thei elations can be analysed in the context of a pocessof long-tem sedentaization and evangelization, which was initiated by a netwokof Potestant missionaies in the late 1950s. Although my case study focuses onmateial collected in Suiname, it is useful to think of the wide egional context,which is both highly divese and deeply inteconnected.2 The Caib-speaking Tio,

whom I shall discuss hee, exemplify this divesity as they live acoss the tiple bode aea sepaating Suiname, Bazil and Fench Guiana and, since the ealy1960s, have clusteed aound health and education povides in pemanent villagesten times lage than thei past settlements; wheeas the Suinamese villages wee

1 This chapte is based on my doctoal eldwok among the Tio, Wayana and AkuiyoThis chapte is based on my doctoal eldwok among the Tio, Wayana and Akuiyoof Southen Suiname and Fench Guiana, funded by the ESrC; Tinity College; the GatesCambidge Tust and the Smuts Memoial Fund. I would like to thank robin Wight and

Apaecida Vilaa, the convenos of the symposium ‘Modes and effects of Chistianityamong indigenous peoples of the Ameicas’ at the Congess of Ameicanists (Seville 2006)fo inviting me to pesent the ideas developed heein. I am gateful to Pete rivièe foshaing the missionay epots on the contact expeditions. Many thanks to Cees and InekeKoelewijn fo thei eminiscences of the Akuiyo’s ealy yeas in Tëpu. This chapte has beneted geatly fom comments on ealie dafts by Apaecida Vilaa, robin Wight andMac Bightman.

2 This Guianese inteconnectedness has been descibed as ‘netwoks of elations’This Guianese inteconnectedness has been descibed as ‘netwoks of elations’elsewhee (see Gallois 2005); although I boadly agee with Gallois’ appoach to the egion as

a netwok and he emphasis on histoicity, I disagee with the theoetical denition of socialelations which conates sociality with sociability and the pemise that social elations havealways existed to thei pesent level of intensity. As I shall ague in this chapte, histoicalcontingency, most notably in tems of sedentaization and evangelization, has geatlymodied the social and physical landscape of the Guianas (Feie 2002). Long-distancesocial elations have always existed, yet in vaying degees and levels of cosmologicalintegation and quality (Gotti 2007; rivièe 2007).




founded by Potestant missionaies, the lage Tio village of Missão in Bazil wasfounded by Fanciscans. Meanwhile the pedominantly Wayana villages in whichthe Tio live in Fench Guiana, attact populations aound secula state schoolsand clinics.

The multiplicity of foms and expessions of Chistianity in the egion isfundamental to my analysis of the pocess of convesion fom the point of viewof the body, because, as I shall ague, the Tio equate convesion to evangelicalChistianity with the adoption of cetain bodily pactices, which they associate with pocesses of sedentaization.3 As we shall see, this is linked to thei undestandingof humanity as a state deeply embedded in the body and theefoe constantlyfabicated; humanity, among the Tio, is moe than a concept, it is athe a wayof being and an on-going pocess. Accoding to the Tio, what denes them asChistians is located in the body.

Ove the past 30 yeas, the body has been developed as an analytical categoyin Amazonian anthopology,4 yet it is only ecently that it has become a focusof inteest beyond the context of ‘taditional’ Amazonian sociality to facilitateundestanding of elations with the wide wold of non-Ameindian society.Seveal anthopologists have ecently dawn attention to the mateiality of bodiesand elations between them such as objects, animals o non-Ameindians (Hugh-Jones n.d.; Kelly Luciani 2003; Mille 2007; Van Velthem 2003); howeve, theeemains a need to give futhe consideation to elations between human bodies

of diffeent kinds in a contempoay context, taking into account complex socialnetwoks which engage Ameindians and thei Othes such as ‘wild people’o ‘white people’. These kinds of categoies also depend on the fabication of bodies and thei humanity, but we need to examine the citeia by which they aediffeentiated. To this end I will analyse the elation between human bodies bylooking at how the Tio elate to the human yet ‘intinsically wild’ people. Mydiscussion will biey outline the context in which a numbe of missionay-ledcontact expeditions wee conducted, and then focus on how these esulted in theincopoation of thee goups of hunte-gathees now known as the Akuiyo withinTio villages of southen Suiname. I shall examine how these Akuiyo, now in thei

3 I would like to stess that when efeing to the Tio as being sedentaized, I do notI would like to stess that when efeing to the Tio as being sedentaized, I do notmean that they used to be nomadic hunte-gathees, but only that they have given up the pactice of migating to anothe location at the death of the founde of thei household, andhave developed altenative ways fo settling disputes than migation.

4 Seege, Da Matta and Viveios de Casto 1979 wee the st to popose a systematicSeege, Da Matta and Viveios de Casto 1979 wee the st to popose a systematic

analysis of the categoy of the body as a useful compaative tool on Amazonia, althoughrivièe had aleady pointed at the connection between bodily decoations and bodily fomas cental components of humanity in Amazonia (1969); Tune emphasized in tun theimpotance of the moulding of the peson, notably though bodily decoations and themodication of the skin (1995); on the instability of human bodily fom, see Vilaa 2005;on the elations between humans and animals and the natue of humanity in Amazonia, seeFausto 2007.



Protestant Evangelism and the Transformability of Amerindian Bodies 111

second and thid geneation as village co-esidents, and mostly concentated in the pedominantly Tio village of Tëpu in Suiname, emain a maginal social clusteconsideed to be undegoing a continual nutuing and educational pocess at thehands of thei Tio ‘guadians’, and how the Akuiyo’s failed social integationests on thei bodies’ incapacity to be moulded into Chistian bodies.

My focus is theefoe on a fabicated social diffeentiation which ests onthe body, and which has adopted the idiom of Chistianity. Accounts of contactexpeditions and esulting absoption of distant peoples, o fome enemies, thoughexogamy, which implies a shaing and eventual meging of substance, have usuallyassumed a homogeneous undestanding of the Ameindian body.5 I am going totake a diffeent standpoint, and examine how bodies can be attibuted diffeingdegees of stability and stength, diffeences which can be actively maintained by ceating a population of maginals, who can neve become commensals and

fellow Chistians (such as potential kin), but ae athe maintained as a sepaatesocial goup.6 I will suggest that though pocessual elations undestood in temsof Ameindian conceptions of the body and bodily development in a sedentaycontext, specic foms of social inteaction can be established between goups of people because of thei intinsic bodily diffeences. The existence of what we coulddene as distinct ‘copoeal aggegates’7 also challenges the fequent potayal ofGuianese societies as being based on a model of unifom egalitaianism.

These ‘copoeal aggegates’, as well as being based upon bodily distinctions,

may be dened in tems of social and bodily stability, and in elation to the popensity that each body has to tansfom. The tansfomability of bodily fomis a human capacity which, because of its association with wafae and eceness,the Tio have consciously neglected since they became sedentay and stated tolive in close physical poximity with thei fome enemies.

The Trio: Social Pacication as Human Transformation

The ‘Tio’ ae composed of diffeent histoical goups which have come togethethough sedentaization and intemaiage ove seveal decades. Those who havefully adopted the Tio language (tarëno ijomi8) identify themselves as Tio tooutsides although they have seveal deepe layes of identity which only appeawithin a local context and unde paticula cicumstances. The majoity of Tio inSuiname live in fou villages: Kwamalasamutu, Alalapadu, Tëpu and Palumeu.I will focus on Tëpu, a village of about 300 inhabitants, which oiginated fom a

5 Fo a detailed analysis of the Waiwai contact expeditions, see Howad 2000.Fo a detailed analysis of the Waiwai contact expeditions, see Howad 2000.6 This is eminiscent of the categoy of ‘tue’ afnity (Viveios de Casto 2002: 157)This is eminiscent of the categoy of ‘tue’ afnity (Viveios de Casto 2002: 157)

insofa as the Tio and Akuiyo, notwithstanding two exceptional cases I can think of, donot exchange spouses.

7 Afte Seege, da Matta and Vivieos de Casto 1979.Afte Seege, da Matta and Vivieos de Casto 1979.8 All wods in italic ae in Tio, unless stated othewise.All wods in italic ae in Tio, unless stated othewise.




mission station founded in the ealy 1970s by a missionay and some Tio factionsthat split fom Palumeu.

The inhabitants of Tëpu in Suiname speak in positive tems of thei pesentliving conditions as being maked by life at peace with esidential and distantafnes, and say that this condition esults fom a delibeate tansfomation foma past state maked by afnal avoidance and wafae.9 These two diffeing socialstates coespond to the adical change of lifestyle that was bought about by themissionay implantation in the Suinamese inteio.10

As elsewhee in Guianese Amazonia (Feie 2002; Kelly Luciani 2003),settlement pattens in Suiname ae diffeent today than they wee in the past: thevillages ae lage in size and moe distant fom each othe than they used to be. Theintoduction of moden communication technology such as ai tanspotation andthe shot wave adio netwok, along with the attaction of wage labou, has led to

a movement of people acoss geate distances than in the past, and thee has beena coesponding incease in maiages between people oiginating in vey distantvillages. Today’s social life is chaacteized by inceased afnal communication,extended conviviality, and a wide and moe divesied access to manufactuedgoods; in shot, incease in movement and inteaction between peviously sociallyand spatially sepaated bodies. It is tue that the Tio tek in the foest less thanthey used to, and villages ae pemanent, and fo this eason people feel moeooted and less mobile. But they also tavel and ae connected ove geat distances,

often following extended kinship paths which ae nutued moe than they couldhave been in the past, though extensive communication by adio, and thoughthe ciculation of lettes and objects (fo example, the sending of food pacels andtade goods by ai). With sedentaism, theefoe, the pattens of Tio movementand the quality of thei mobility have changed in thei eveyday lives.

In Tëpu, the way the Tio elate to each othe’s bodies is thus connected tohow they establish new foms of inteaction with diffeing souces of knowledgeand powe, such as that epesented by the missionaies, and how these soucesof powe can be actively sought and used by Tio kinship netwoks to edeneand stengthen thei inuence on a egional scale. In this context, the enthusiasmthat some Tio convets expessed fo taking pat in contact expeditions can best be undestood by discussing what they did with the ‘distant enemies’ whom they bought back to settle among them.

Befoe thei sedentaization, the Akuiyo lived in and aound a emote aeacoveing about 10,000 km², situated between the headwates of the Uemai in

9 Fo othe Amazonian cases see Gow on the Peuvian Pio (2001) and High on theFo othe Amazonian cases see Gow on the Peuvian Pio (2001) and High on theEcuadoian Huaoani (2006).

10 This change is not, howeve, stictly due to the evangelical missionaies alone; myThis change is not, howeve, stictly due to the evangelical missionaies alone; myWayana infomants living futhe to the east in Fench Guiana have a simila opinion aboutthei (secula) sedentaization pocess and the changes it implied on the longe histoicalscale (see also Chapuis and rivièe 2003). In this light, it can be seen as the latest in asuccession of such tansfomations which have occued since mythical times.




the east and the ceeks of the Oanje mountain ange in the west, in southeastenSuiname. They wee tacked, displaced fom thei settlements and sedentaizedin 1970–71, afte a st contact in 1968. They wee bought to Tëpu, the villagefom which the majoity of the senio and ‘tustwothy’ (Anon.b 1968: 7) Tiomen who took pat in these expeditions came, and in which the missionay ClaudeLeavitt, known as a ‘contact and bush specialist’ within missionay cicles, livedand woked. These expeditions wee oganized at the instigation and with thenancial and logistical backing of seveal Ameican Baptist missionaies wokingwith Unevangelized Fields Mission (UFM). This oganization, which specializedin the evangelization of emote peoples, was chaged by the Doo to Life Mission11

(which had stuck an ageement with the Suinamese govenment), to supevise thesedentaization pocess of the indigenous communities living in the Suinameseinteio fom the ealy 1950s onwads. It coodinated the povision of health cae

and education, in patneship with, espectively fo these two domains, MedischesZending12 and the Dutch refomed Chuch.

Cumulative Evangelism and the Incorporation of ‘Wild People’

‘Cumulative evangelism’ is a stategy of missionay expansion common toPotestant oganizations thoughout lowland south Ameica. In notheasten

Amazonia, afliated oganizations such as the West Indies Mission andUnevangelized Fields Missions, specialized in tageting populations of theinteio: conveted Ameindians joined missionaies to ‘contact’ and evangelizeothe communities (see Conley 2000). The method was st used in southenGuyana among the Waiwai (Howad 2001), whose case is elevant hee asWaiwai Chistians accompanied some of the Ameican missionaies who cossedthe bode into Suiname to settle and evangelize the Tio. A few yeas afte theWaiwai and the missionaies aived among the Tio, a seies of Tio expeditionswee oganized by the missionaies to contact the Akuiyo, who wee knownat the time as wajarikure (wild people). Wajarikure is still the name given byCaib-speakes acoss the Guianas to the eputedly mudeous peoples fom thefoest whose spiitual powe put them beyond the finges of humanity, equatedwith cannibalistic spiits. The Tio and Wayana descibe them in simila tems

11 The Doo to Life Mission was taken ove two yeas late by the umbella goupThe Doo to Life Mission was taken ove two yeas late by the umbella goupWest Indies Mission, which is today known as Wold Team.

12 Medisches Zending Suiname (MZ), today funded up to 80 pe cent by theMedisches Zending Suiname (MZ), today funded up to 80 pe cent by theSuinamese govenment, povides health cae fo populations of the inteio, includingAmeindian and Maoon villages. MZ gew out of the missionay medical netwok whichwas active in Suiname until the wa of the inteio of the 1980s. It still etains links with its pastoal oigins which ae manifested, fo example, in its attitudes to Ameindian healing pactices and epoductive health (see http://www.medischezending.s/).




to othe wild beings of the foest such as the pianokoto: aggessive, dangeous,cannibalistic, and epulsive because of thei thick body hai.

The Akuiyo wee a goup of seveal families of hunte-gathees who hadintentionally avoided developing bonds with neighbouing Ameindian andMaoon communities fom the Maoni ive system until the expeditions of thelate 1960s. Unlike othe distant peoples who had been contacted in the egion,they had entiely shifted to a foest nomadic lifestyle and did not actively cultivategaden poducts. Thei avoidance of othe people was ecipocated by the Wayanaand the Tio, who, when going deep into the foest and aound unknown ceeks tohunt, would always be on thei guad fo signs of the pesence of ‘wild peoples’to whom wee attibuted ‘eceness’ (ëire). Sightings of ‘wild people’ ae todaystill the object of gossip, but wee even moe so befoe any of the Akuiyo weeengaged with socially. Thoughout the 1960s, with the development of Fench

and Suinamese geological and geogaphical suveys in the bode aea of FenchGuiana, Suiname and Bazil, occasional incidents became the object of fantasticalaccounts (Cognat and Massot 1977).

Both ealy expedition naatives (Ahlbink 1956; Coudeau 1891, 1893;Cevaux 1879) and contempoay souces (Chapuis and rivièe 2003; Koelewijnand rivièe 1987; Magaña 1982 (in Jaa 1990) use seveal names when efeingto nomadic foest peoples of the egion: Wama, Acuias, Oyaicoulets, to nameonly the most ecuent.13 The ‘Akuiyo’ themselves distinguish between self-

denominated sub-goups, namely: turaekare, akuriekare and pëinjekeekare, andthe wod Akuiyo, commonly used as a xenonym by the Tio, comes fom thesecond of these.14

Today, the Tio say that, ‘befoe’, the Akuiyo used to be wajarikure, and thatthei peculia physical attibutes conm o maintain thei ‘wildness’ even thoughthei daily pactices have changed since thei sedentaization. When afte a fewyeas in Tëpu, the st Akuiyo man decided to pluck his facial hai (including hiseyebows) the way the Tio did, it was consideed by the Tio as a beakthough

13 ‘Oyaicoulets’ has often been tanslated as ‘long eas’ (Cognat and Massot 1977);‘Oyaicoulets’ has often been tanslated as ‘long eas’ (Cognat and Massot 1977);ealie souces mention ‘wild peoples’ with lage eas, fo instance: when on the Maoni,Hacout (17th C) head of Indians with pieced eas, cheeks, nostils and lowe lips who aesaid to be ‘of stength and statue fa exceeding othe Indians, having Bowes and Aowesfoue times as bigge: what the Indians also epot of the geatnesse of thei eaes’ (Hais1928: 86). The name Akuiyo was among those vaiously used to efe to ‘wild peoples’since the ealiest Euopean accounts: in the fteenth centuy, John Ley was told of peoplecalled ‘Acuio’ living in the mountains at the headwates of the Maoni ive (Loime1994). Howeve, it is difcult to assess to what extent these names can be taken as eliableefeences to paticula coesponding peoples.

14 The wodsThe wods tura, akuri and pëinjeke in Akuiyo, efe to capuchin monkey, agouti andcollaed peccay espectively; – kare can be tanslated as ‘people’ o ‘histoical goup’.




in his humanising pocess (Kloos 1977b).15 As thei physical appeaance (thei‘clothes’ in shamanic teminology: po) changed, they became moe like ‘pope’human beings. Howeve, despite these anecdotes epoting a gadual ‘socialization’of the Akuiyo to Tio conventional moality and sedentay lifestyle, the fomeemain in the eyes of the latte visibly and intinsically ‘wild’. This tuncatedtansfomation has oigins in the modes in which the contact unfolded and theAkuiyo wee incopoated into Tëpu.

The Contact Narratives and the Missionaries’ Point of View

As in southen Guyana (Howad 2001), the contact expeditions in southenSuiname wee oganized by US missionaies, howeve they wee tacitly

sanctioned by state authoities, which povided some logistical suppot, notably tohelp cleaing aistips fo planes fom the Missionay Aviation Fellowship. Someof the missionay epots which ae available today suggest that the oiginal planhad been to encouage the Akuiyo to settle aound the contact aea st, even bysending a goup of Maoons in, to ‘establish a manioc-poducing fam’ (Anon.a n.d.: 1), as it was believed that thei pesence poducing a new staple food andselling goods such as metal tools would eventually attact the Akuiyo to settle inthe vicinity. The initial Akuiyo settlement pojects on the Uemai neve came

to fuition howeve. It seems that the tempoay sedentaization of the Akuiyoat thei contact location gadually degeneated ove time, as the suoundingfoest was being depleted of its game, the supplies own in by MAF wee notsufcient to satisfy eveybody, and tensions stated to aise between Akuiyo andTio, as infectious diseases inevitably spead. Thee is a gadual change of tonein the missionaies’ accounts fom the initial exhilaation to inceasingly negativedesciptions both of the suounding landscape and of the Akuiyo, who seem alittle less enchanting and moe hostile and savage at each encounte. Eventually,only one long-tem solution could be envisaged. The Akuiyo wee to be boughtto existing Tio villages. By 1971, a signicant popotion of the Akuiyo had become gavely ill, and thei displacement became fo the missionaies the onlyviable solution to what they had by then acknowledged to have become a sanitayemegency (Schoen 1971). Once the hunte-gathees had been settled among theTio, the missionaies consideed thei duty to have been completed, and apatfom stict medical and eligious assistance, they let the matte of the education ofthe new villages est in the hands of the Tio.

Thee is a gadual shift in the missionay accounts fom a quite positive ealy

depiction of the Akuiyo in 1968 to a pogessively bleake desciption of many

15 The paiing of body hai and potential wildness is found among both Tio andThe paiing of body hai and potential wildness is found among both Tio andWayana. A pope peson, in thei view, is one who, since bith, has been moulded into kin,as a baby at bith can potentially gow into something else, a monkey in paticula: the Tiowod fo a mothe’s upbinging of a child means ‘to undo the spide monkey’ (arimika).




physical and moal ailments. Afte his initial 1968 expeditions, Schoen suggestedthat the seach fo honey, the only foodstuff that appeas to have been scace,could justify the Akuiyo’s mobility.16 The Akuiyo wee descibed as t andhealthy (Anon.a n.d.: 6). It is only fom 1969 onwads, afte the st tempoaysedentaization attempt, that signs of illnesses and physical deteioation appea tohave caught the attention of outside obseves. The missionay accounts emphasizethe geneally miseable state that the Akuiyo wee in by 1971 by egulalycontasting it with that of the Tio, who ae depicted as stong, healthy and well.Fo instance, in the 1970 account by Yohne and the 1971 epot of what was bythen called an ‘emegency’ expedition by Schoen, the authos use adjectives and phases which ceate a dichotomy between benighted Akuiyo and enlightenedTio. The latte ae ‘to be highly paised’, ‘humanitaian’, ‘magnicent’; theimotivation and devotion ae bought fowad: ‘these ne Chistian Indians’

(Schoen 1971: 8), ‘dedication to the task of evangelising’ (ibid : 10). Moeove,the Tio expedition membes ae efeed to in possessive tems: ‘ou Tios’, ‘ouIndians’ (Yohne 1970: 2–3), as if to ceate the stong sense of an invisible baiesepaating the ‘civilized’ paty fom the ‘wild’ people. The inuence they haveon the Akuiyo is emphasized especially in the willingness of the Tio expeditionleades to evangelize (ibid : 4, 6, 12).

The Akuiyo, on the othe hand, enjoy little clemency; fo the missionaies, itseems that a nomadic lifestyle is closely elated to a fom of satanic cuse which

dives humans into a state of savagey, of beast-like existence. As Leach and Aycocksuggested in thei stuctualist analysis of the Bible, thee is a stong coelation inthe Sciptues between wildness, animality and evil, and between domestication, pastoal life and inheent goodness (1983). As fundamentalist followes of theBible (rivièe 1981), the Potestant missionaies who took pat in these contactexpeditions did let this dichotomy expess itself in thei witings, in passages inwhich the Amazonian foest was descibed in almost visceally hostile tems. Asinhabitants of this dense foest, the Akuiyo ae given the attibutes of beast-likeexistence. They ae efeed to as ‘ceatues of jungle dakness’ (Yohne 1970: 11),‘Stone-Age Indians’ (Schoen 1971: 6), who ae ‘pallid’, ‘sallow’, ‘dity’ (ibid ),with a ‘[t]eible stench’ (Yohne 1970: 8). Thei lack of cleanliness is epeatedon seveal occasions: ‘neve seen them bathe’ o ‘dit stayed on them fo days’(Anon.b n.d.: 9, 11). The lack of hygiene is then coupled with lengthy and gaphicdesciptions of skin conditions and infections, to which the Akuiyo seemed to be oblivious. Wounds o cuts ae the occasion fo slipping in an illustation ofinhuman behaviou. Fo example, Yohne wote: ‘[the boy] has thee toes missingfom his ight foot, and buns on his thighs. He told us that his mothe got mad at

him and buned him. The cut maks on his body ae whee his fathe had cut him’(1970: 2).

16 In fact, like most nomadic foest peoples, the Akuiyo’s migations wee patlymotivated by a complex geogaphy of esouce locations of many kinds, patly by socialand political factos, and patly by inclination and taste (Jaa 1990; rival 2002).




In compaison to the missionaies’ point of view which highlights the bestialityof the Akuiyo, the Tio accounts which I collected fom old expedition membesgive a diffeing view. Unlike the missionaies, the Tio neve doubted the humanityof the Akuiyo: fo them, the Akuiyo belonged to the geneic categoy of human pesons (wïtoto) fom which non-Ameindians such as Maoons o white peopleae excluded. Howeve, they wee, and still ae, seen as not socialized, thei lack ofany fom of social exchange with thei distant Ameindian neighbous meant thatthey wee not consideed to be capable of conviviality towads afnes, a capacitywhich the Tio efe to as sasame.

Indeed, when ecalling the events of the contact in which he took an active pat, my Tio host epeatedly bought fowad the idea that he went to save theAkuiyo, not because of illnesses, o stavation (as missionaies claimed), but because they wee not popely sociable (sasameta), and theefoe had to be taught

to live popely. The evidence fo this was that the Akuiyo did not have gadens,o manioc bead. Togethe with the lack of this main staple, Tio desciptions oflife in the foest undeline the Akuiyo’s impope eating pactices: accoding tothese, the Akuiyo lived almost exclusively off meat, and oasted it, often badly,leaving blood in it, instead of boiling it. Due to thei lack of socialization, theiexteme distance fom what the Tio had become, the Akuiyo wee consideed asdistant enemies who could only be elated to though pedation, and my host alsodescibed to me how he and the othe Tio expedition membes ‘captued’ some of

the ‘wild people’, ambushing them as if hunting pey.It is signicant that the st staple food handed ove to the Akuiyo wasmanioc bead, and that the st exchange, despite the language baie,17 was,accoding to the missionaies, to peach. Wheeas the missionaies’ accountsfocus on the peaching, the Tio accounts I collected focused on physical captueand the handing ove of manioc bead. The Akuiyo’s fundamental diffeencewas expessed in tems of the body, by the missionaies as much as by the Tio,although in diffeent ways: the fome’s desciptions epoduce physical ailmentsaccompanied by uncivil social behaviou. Meanwhile, Tio accounts of thei stencountes with the ‘wild people’ focus on the stength of the latte’s bodies, theiwalike and condent beaing, and the fact that, in contast to the Tio who had been tading Euopean goods fo many geneations, the Akuiyo’s onaments and possessions wee made entiely of foest poducts, like the Tio’s own ancestos,fom whom they stongly diffeentiate themselves.

In shot, wheeas the missionaies wanted to humanize the Akuiyo byinculcating Chistian knowledge, the Tio wanted to socialize the Akuiyo byinculcating moal convention. But wheeas to the missionaies, the Akuiyo wee

like animals, to the Tio, they wee ‘ece’ human beings, with geat ability totansfom themselves in the foest. And it is this vey same bodily instability whichthe Tio set out to nutue in the Akuiyo. The socialization pocess was waped,

17 Akuiyo, now almost a moibund language, is vey close to Tio.Akuiyo, now almost a moibund language, is vey close to Tio.




so that the Akuiyo neve became fully integated and had to maintain some of the potent instability of the Tio ancestos.

Nurturing the Other: Sedentarization Without Conversion

In he study of the socialising pocesses that the Waiwai make thei ‘contacted peoples’ undego, Howad distinguishes thee levels of social inteaction thoughwhich education and ultimately integation ae achieved: st a pestation offoodstuffs, then of spouses though maital exchange of sistes and late coss-cousins, and nally of knowledge, mainly though the appenticeship of theWaiwai language, the making of gadens and the Bible (2001). Outsides ae thusgadually humanized, st by tansfoming thei bodies though the ingestion

of the quintessential civilising food, manioc, then by integating them thoughkin ties, and teaching what Howad agues ae the most ‘civilising’ and the mosthighly egaded aspects of Waiwai identity: language and Chistian pactice.

The case of the Tio contains both similaities and diffeences with this scheme.When the Akuiyo wee contacted, they too wee handed manioc bead togethewith othe gaden poducts. They wee also told about the Chistian God by the Tio.When they wee bought to the Tio village of Tëpu, they wee gadually taughtabout the making of gadens and the pocessing of its poducts. They wee given

the font benches in chuch and wee supevised in thei attendance at sevices toensue they would lean about becoming Chistians (Kloos 1977a). Indeed, whenthe Dutch anthopologist Pete Kloos aived in Tëpu and asked Tëmenta, oneof the village leades, if he could wok with the Akuiyo, he was asked by thefome ‘what he was going to teach (enpa) them’ (ibid .: 20). The tem is used bythe missionaies to descibe thei wok, as well as thei elationship to the Tio.Chapuis elates a simila use in Wayana of the concept of tuwantanïphe (meaningteaching and educating) (1998: 450) which the missionaies adopted to descibemost efciently within a Wayana famewok what the pupose of thei long-tem pesence in Ameindian villages was. Both Tio and Wayana tems, implying theidea of nutue, suggest an unequal elationship between two individuals, oneoften being younge and less expeienced than the othe. And it is in this mannethan my Akuiyo infomants egad thei pesent condition in Tëpu: as childen inneed of leaning and educating by the Tio.

But the sedentaization of the Akuiyo occued without thei convesion, andthis becomes salient in thei elation that the Akuiyo have today with Chistianity.Although thee have been no missionaies in Tëpu since the civil wa of the 1980s,

chuch sevices still take place, even if iegulaly, led by Tio ‘chuch eldes’(tamu). A elatively small popotion of the population attends; among the Akuiyothee is a geat deal of vaiation, although most Akuiyo attend aely, none ofthem have leaned to ead and wite, theefoe eading of the Bible emains anunattainable goal. Those Akuiyo who do go to chuch take geat cae of theiappeaance but often do so in an inconguous way; fo example, I was told that




the only Akuiyo living in Kwamalasamutu attends chuch sevices, but fo theoccasion adons himself with a full Tio ceemonial gab consisting of headdess,heavy bead necklaces and ed loincloth, wheeas the Tio wea fesh city clothesand cay a Bible to ente the chuch building (B. de Vies pes. comm. 2004). Fothis mistaken appeaance the Akuiyo is deided by the Tio, fo no Tio woulddeam of enteing the chuch building weaing beads and feathes; it is as if theAkuiyo has not fully gasped the basic social conventions of the village and isalways out of tune. This slip in social convention illustates that the Akuiyo aestill undegoing an educational pocess, an education fo which they ae willingto pay though sevice to the Tio families whose heads paticipated in the contactexpeditions and settled them next to thei households.

In his ethno-histoical study of tading netwoks, Mansutti (1986) has shownthat one of the most impotant tade ‘items’ acoss lage aeas of the Guiana egion

fo a long peiod was people: men who occupied an ambiguous status somewhee between sons-in-law and slaves o sevants. In this light the Akuiyo case maynot be as much of an anomaly as it might initially appea.18 The wok which theAkuiyo pefom fo thei Tio guadians is indeed simila to that pefomed bymen fo thei wife’s fathe, this bide-sevice being the only institutionalizedfom of subsevience among the Tio. It is thus aguable that the Akuiyo oweto thei Tio tutos what may be called bide-sevice without a bide: in this casethe exchange of spouses has vey aely occued. Two geneations afte thei

contact, the Akuiyo emain socially and moally distinct: thei knowledge ofthe Tio language and of the Bible is said to be poo, thei gadening skills aeegaded as infeio, and thei state of social integation has emained little bettethan it was in the ealy 1970s. Thei elationship to mateial possessions make thisvey clea; thei clothing is scace, the objects they own ae few compaed to Tiohouseholds and thei small thatched houses made of ough planks diectly on thegound contast with the moe imposing stuctues on stilts which chaacteizeTio houses. The Akuiyo appea to have at best an incomplete contol of objects,whethe eceived o, even moe signicantly, made by them.

In contast to what has been suggested in othe accounts of social absoptionin Amazonia, these captued peoples wee not gadually integated, ‘familiaized’within thei new host community; instead, they wee incopoated, as foeign bodiesinto the mission station. Why the Akuiyo ae so maginal, as sevants of ChistianIndians who teach them the Bible, is difcult to explain. Afte thei captue andelocation in Tëpu, with each family unit settled next to the house of an expeditionmembe in ode to supevise them closely, it seems that even though some ofthe Akuiyo’s physical appeaance changed, the humanizing tansfomation neve

fully occued. Thei not being Chistian is deeply associated with them not beingsocialized and capable of ‘pope’ sedentay life. I shall now focus on the body ofthe Akuiyo to suggest futhe possible ways to intepet thei peculia position.

18 See Bightman 2007 fo futhe discussion of this point.




Christian Bodies, Fierce Bodies

The pocess of pacication to which the Tio attibute pesent sedentay livingconditions is closely associated with the concept of sasame wehto, whichcould be tanslated as a state of social contentment; sasame wehto can only be felt communally and aims at suppessing individual ange (ëire). As such,commensality duing communal celebations, chanting and paying ceate asocial body, though a domestication of the co-esident afnes. Sasame wehto hastoday become closely associated with Chistianity, and is achieved in communal pactices such as chanting and dancing togethe, poducing and dinking bee;men and women ely on it to expess feelings of extended sociability in instancesin which unelated people come to gathe within the same walls o in the open,in close physical poximity. That is, social distance is minimized, shunk with

the eduction of spatial distance, in ode to extend bonds of consanguinity toafnes. Being Chistian and being sedentay ae conated fo the Tio: fo them,the Akuiyo’s failue to maste sociality by engaging in sedentay activities suchas attending chuch sevices and chanting hymns, o poducing manioc bee andcooking meat, eveal thei inheent incapacity to engage in convivial behaviouwhich is essential to eveyday village life.

The Akuiyo’s maginality is patly maintained though cetain socializing pocesses cented on foods and the teatment of the body. Fo instance, apat fom

one family, which has its own small udimentay cookhouse, Akuiyo familiesaely manage thei own households as autonomous units, and have to ely on thecooking space of thei Tio guadians. The absence of a cookhouse is a deteminingfact: game and sh, as well as gaden yields, cannot be pocessed autonomously by the Akuiyo, but ae in effect managed and edistibuted by Tio, who by doingso secue themselves with a constant souce of foods (the Akuiyo ae outstandinghuntes, bette than the Tio).

This dependence is in tun justied by appeal to the supposed incapacity of theAkuiyo to take chage of thei own cookhouse. Stoies of thei failues aboundand ae cented on thei poo cooking and eating pactices. Othe signs of socialmaginality ae to be found in othe eveyday pactices highly valued by the Tioand the Wayana as a sign of sociability: those involved in the cleansing of the inneand oute body. Olde Akuiyo do not go to the ive to bathe and enjoy a goodswim befoe meals in the moning and evening, but athe wash nea thei housewith a goud dipped in thei wate containe. The Tio complain that the Akuiyosmell bad; smell is a stong make of health, beauty and goodness (kurano), as wellas social popiety, and bad smells ae consideed to be polluting when inhaled.

One of the most poweful symbols of the Akuiyo’s social backwadness is thatthey do not know how to dink and egugitate manioc bee the way a Tio would;at dinking paties, individual Akuiyo occasionally give way to uncontolleddunkenness alone, befoe a geneal, communal feeling of socializing tipsinesshas spead thoughout the goup. Thei popensity to lone and quick dunkennessattests to thei moal incapacity to use this highly socializing substance.




So, these examples illustate diffeences in the quality of bodies, diffeences peceived as both inheent and induced and which intimately tie knowledge and bodily pactices. But these social inadequacies ae also paied with bodily stengthand tansfomability. This is acknowledged by the Tio who say that as soon as anAkuiyo entes the foest, he disappeas, he cannot be head anymoe and tunsinto an invisible pedato. This enviable capacity to emain physically unstableand to tansfom so apidly is acknowledged openly by the Tio with disamingsinceity. A elative of my host family in Tëpu once told me, mimicking the actionof pulling and ing an aow into the oof with his ams, that an Akuiyo hasstonge ams which neve fail him, he really knows. He did not just imply that anAkuiyo knows the foest, but that his body knows; his body matte is somehowmoe connected to the foest. The Akuiyo body’s extaodinay, tansfomationalstength is inheent to it, to an extent that Tio nutuing techniques do not seem to

have subdued. Wheeas Tio bodies have become less self-assued, thei stengthas well as thei sight having waveed by becoming sedentay Chistians, Akuiyo’s bodies emain infallible in the foest.

This was explained to me in tems of teatment of the body; in ode to havestong ams and a clea sight, a man equies egula scaication, applicationof plant pepaation and spiit chants.19 But the Tio ae not allowed to do thesethings anymoe, because cutting of skin, togethe with chams and chants weefobidden by missionaies due to thei eliance on ‘diabolical’ spiit powe. These

techniques wee also used in the past to pepae the body fo wafae, and pomotea eceness which cannot be toleated in the context of sedentay villages wheesocial dynamics ely on pinciples of conviviality and wafae is consideed a thingof the past. To the Tio, this is not because they ae sedentay, but because theyae Chistians, which means a specic fom of body constitution and pactices.Although simila stength and eceness ae inheent to the Akuiyo, they do notepesent a dange because of thei position of social dependence.

Akuiyo bodies ae diffeent, no matte how long they have been nutued bythe Tio; they emain diffeent in thei capacity to tansfom. In that sense, theyae close to the achetypal ancestos who wee known to be incedibly fast, light,so stong that they could make themselves invisible and kill thei enemies in theisleep without waking them. In mythical naative, bodily stength is descibedas intinsically shamanic, but also babaic and unsociable (Chapuis and rivièe2003; Koelewijn and rivièe 1987). The Akuiyo’s sophisticated shamanicknowledge of the ats of wafae had condemned them to a life of un-sociableenclosed endogamy, which contempoay Tio contast with thei own pacicationin ode to intemay and live by the side of ives, in lage villages.

19 Potions and chants ae likened to pefume and love songs used to seduce women.Potions and chants ae likened to pefume and love songs used to seduce women.




Conclusion: Protestant Evangelism and Bodily Transformations

In this chapte, I have agued that to the Tio of Suiname, convesion toChistianity is undestood above all as a change of body, which makes the bodymoe socialized but less tansfomational. They do not undestand Chistianity as aset of moal laws o cosmological pinciples but as a seies of bodily pactices thatchange pesons and how they elate to each othe. Among the Tio and Akuiyo, bodily stength o instability may be connected to an excess of humanity athethan a lack of it, efeing to a bodily ability to tansfom that is only achieved byhighly tained individuals such as shamans and ece ‘wild people’; in this light,the Akuiyo cannot theefoe stictly be undestood as subodinates in elationto the Tio. Thei poweful capacities come into thei own as soon as they leavethe socialized space of the village cleaing to ente the othe wold of the foest.

Stong, ece, tansfomable, they eect the ambiguous peception the Tio intun have of thei own histoical pocess, as deeply maked within thei bodies.The Akuiyo neve lose thei wildness although it is subdued by thei constantchildlike submission to nutuing pocesses. Childen too ae tansfomable, theisouls being egaded as not yet mly anchoed to thei bodies, but ae vulneable because of thei inability to contol this unstable state. Neithe can the Akuiyocontol thei tansfomability in a social envionment, which is why they need to be contolled by fully social guadians; it is only in the foest envionment that this

quality becomes an advantage.In lowland south Ameican ethnogaphy, the body is often shown to be a place ofincessant modication (Fausto 2007; McCallum 2001; Tune 1995), yet little has been said about diffeences among Ameindian bodies in a context of sedentaizationo Chistian convesion. Wheeas all bodies ae constantly subjected to nutuingtechniques, some ae attibuted diffeent levels of socialization, chaacteized byvaying popensities to tansfom. The Akuiyo epesent fo the Tio a futheabundance of people to contol, a pivileged souce of game, a display of theTio’s own inuence, and a way of beneting fom souces of shamanic powe towhich they as Chistians no longe have diect access. Fo Ameindians living ina histoical context of sedentaization and evangelization, the tansfomability of‘wild people’ can thus become a stategic tool in thei sustained management ofthe social, ecological and cosmological netwoks to which they belong.

References

Ahlbink, W.‘Op Zoek naa de Indianen’, Medeling 52 (Amstedam: KoninklijkInstituut voo de Topen, 1956).

Anon.a, ‘Notes fom two Telephone Calls between Ivan E. Schoen and William H.Cocke’ (tapuscipt, n.d.).

Anon.b, ‘repot on the Second Contact with the Akuio (Wama) Stone Axe Tibe,Suinam, Septembe 1968’ (tapuscipt, 1968).




Bightman, Mac, Amerindian Leadership in Guianese Amazonia (CambidgeUnivesity: PhD, 2007).

Chapuis, Jean, La Personne Wayana entre Sang et Ciel (Univesité d’Aix-Maseille: Thèse de doctoat, 1998).

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Chapte 7

The Skin of Histoy: Paumai Pespectives

on Convesion and TansfomationOiaa Bonilla

‘The animal follows the owne. So why don’t we obey too?’Paumai Evangelical leade commenting on the Bible, Cispim Village (14 June 2002).

The Paumai – an Aawá-speaking goup – live today on the middle Puus rivein the southwest of Bazilian Amazonia. The population is divided between theelage egions, located some distance fom each othe. The Maahã Lake egionis the most populous with aound 800 inhabitants. A futhe one hunded peoplelive in two small villages on the Ituxi rive, while oughly 200 people live on theTapauá rive, dispesed acoss thee lakeside aeas. The pesent text is the esultof eldwok conducted in the Maahã Lake egion.1

Fomely, the Paumai population lived along the entie couse of the Puus,occupying the ive’s beaches in the summe, and the lakes and terra rme duingthe Amazonian winte. Howeve, fom the mid nineteenth centuy onwads, thishythm of life was heavily disupted by the aival of the ubbe bosses, who focedthe Paumai to wok exclusively fo them to pay off the debts incued though the povision of industialized goods. As a esult, Paumai labou, peviously centedon swidden copping and shing fo family consumption, became alienated bythe bosses. Fom the 1990s onwads, the Paumai stove to e-establish the annualhythm of altenating between terra rme and the ive afte moe than a centuyof foced incopoation into the egional economic system.

The Paumai have expeienced the activities of two types of missions: Catholicssince the 1980s, though the pesence of the OPAN (Operação Amazônia Nativa)and the CIMI (Conselho Indigenista Missionário), and the Potestants since 1963.In this chapte, I seek to focus especially on thei elations with the Potestants,following the aival of the Summe Institute of Linguistics (SIL, known todayas the International Linguistic Society), fo the Paumai conceive of the aival

1 My thanks to Apaecida Vilaa and robin Wight, as well as ronaldo Almeida,My thanks to Apaecida Vilaa and robin Wight, as well as ronaldo Almeida,Ationka Capibeibe, Luiz Costa, Anne-Maie Losonczy, Patick Menget, ThamyPogebinschi, and Eduado Viveios de Casto fo thei comments and suggestions, andto David rodges fo the tanslation of this text. I am gateful to the Paumai, ShileyChapman, Meinke Salze, the Möck family and Gunte Koeme fo thei time and fo the patience they always demonstated in esponding to my questions.




of the latte as a mak of tansfomation.2 They say that, afte the aival of thePotestants, they became new pesons and came to efe to themselves and to the past as the time of the ancients. In this aticle, I seek to undestand the convesion ofa section of the Paumai population to Potestantism though the native conceptionof tansfomation. My intention is not to discuss the eality of convesion fom themissionaies’ point of view o the applicability of the concept, no to focus on itseffects o to judge its effectiveness and/o failue. Instead, I analyze the convesionto Evangelism within the context of Paumai cosmology, looking to show howit ts into a wide logic that includes othe tansfomations expeienced by thePaumai ove the couse of thei histoy.

Evangelicals and Catholics

The pesent-day Paumai descibe themselves as eithe Evangelicals (crentes,‘believes’) o Catholics and insist on saying that they ae diffeent fom theiancestos who had lived ‘in the old cultue’. Believes ae those who have ‘acceptedJesus’ and Evangelism. The majoity live in Cispim village. Catholics ae thosewho do not descibe themselves as believes: most live in Santa rita village, SãoClemente Novo and the suounding aea.

The modi opeandi of the two missions is not compaable since the Evangelical

wok is based on continual visits and stays in Cispim. The Catholic mission, todayepesented by the pogessive Catholic oganization named CIMI (ConselhoIndigenista Missionáio), ceated in 1972 afte the Second Vatican Council, ischaacteized by occasional visits by the institution’s main egional ofce to thePaumai villages. Its actions focus on welfae assistance, acting as a mediato andsuppoting the political oganization of the egion’s native peoples. As a esult,CIMI is moe often pesent in the local town (Lábea), duing the indigenousassemblies and taining couses un by govenment agencies fo indigenous nusesand teaches. Both missions claim to wok with the entie Paumai population, butthe fome’s inuence is concentated in Cispim and the suounding aea, whilethe latte’s impact is moe ponounced in Santa rita and othe villages.3

Moeove, thee is also a clea diffeence between the two Paumai goupingsin tems of eligious pactice and the adheence to eligious dogma. In the case ofCispim, the commitment to Evangelical Chistianity is collective and constantlyeafmed in discouse, but also in pactice though egula woship. On the othehand, the Catholics, in accodance with the pogessive view of the Chuch, aeactually ejecting the Evangelical ceed moe than afming thei adheence to

2 The Catholic chuch has been pesent in the egion since the seventeenth centuyThe Catholic chuch has been pesent in the egion since the seventeenth centuy(see Koeme 1985) though the action of missionaies of vaious odes, but we considehee the missions to which the Paumai ae elated at the pesent moment.

3 On similaities and diffeences between Chistian missions, see Almeida (2006). OnOn similaities and diffeences between Chistian missions, see Almeida (2006). OnCIMI’s activities in paticula, see runo (2006).



The Skin of History: Paumari Perspectives on Conversion and Transformation 129

the Catholic Chuch – an attachment that can be taced, in lage pat, to the wokundetaken by CIMI in these villages.

It theefoe seems appopiate, accoding to Paumai discouse, to call the‘Catholics’ non-believes, in contast to the ‘believes’, o Evangelicals. TheEvangelical Paumai, fo thei pat, explicitly eject the ‘old cultue’,4 and theyconsistently associate this ‘old cultue’ with the CIMI’s activities. Catholicism,on the othe hand, is afmed spoadically in discouses and is justied with theagument that it does not pevent people fom pefoming taditional ites. Thatkind of discouse is a consequence of the so-called philosophy of incultuationthat guides the Catholic missions afte the Second Vatican Council (Taylo 1981;Vilaa 2002a; runo 2006). This pinciple, the backgound to CIMI’s wok, is based on the idea that faith has been pesent fom pimodial times in all nativeeligions, and that the wok of the Catholic missionay is to eveal and expeience

this faith in ode to espect it moe deeply (Taylo 1981: 674). Consequently, theidea of ‘cultue’ has become somewhat sacalized, along with the elated actionsof ecoveing and peseving it. This patly explains the eticence displayed byEvangelicals vis-à-vis the ‘old cultue’, which has come to epesent geneicallythe ‘customs of the ancients’, both though the sacalization pomoted by Catholicagents and the opposition manifested by Evangelical missionaies.5 Cuiously,discussions concening the ‘old cultue’ ae less appaent in Santa rita villagewhee ituals ae egulaly held, although these ae not taken to be cucial to the

goup’s futue identity. The expession ‘old cultue’ is much moe fequently used by Evangelicals to distinguish themselves fom ‘non-believes’. In summation, the‘old cultue’ seems to woy the Paumai Evangelicals and CIMI much moe thanthe Paumai non-believes and the Potestant missionaies.6 Let’s examine nowwhat the Paumai mean when they efe to the old cultue.

The Time of the Ancients

As I said befoe, the Paumai efe to the life befoe the aival of the missionaies

as the time of the ancients. Until the aival of Sii (Shiley Chapman), only a few

of the Paumai had seen beings like he, Americanos, with pink skin and who did

not speak Potuguese, much less Paumai. These stanges coming fom afa ae

consideed among the most dangeous beings, coming fom futhe away than both

4 The Aawakan speaking Pio of Peuvian Amazonia also descibe the adoption of The Aawakan speaking Pio of Peuvian Amazonia also descibe the adoption ofPotestantism as a wate-shed making the beginning of ‘contempoay civilized life’ (Gow2006: 211).

5 OnthePuus,thisappliestothepefomanceofcetainitualsandtheuseofhallucinogenicOn the Puus, this applies to the pefomance of cetain ituals and the use of hallucinogenicsnuff, consideed emblematic of the egion’s indigenous cultues by Catholic wokes.

6 To avoid any ovegenealization hee, a moe detailed analysis is equied of theTo avoid any ovegenealization hee, a moe detailed analysis is equied of thediffeences between the vaiants of Catholicism and Evangelism with which the Paumaihave been in contact ove thei histoy. This I plan to undetake in a futue wok.




the Joima (wild Indians) and the Jara (egional population)7 who also teied

them. They wee famed fo captuing Paumai childen in ode to make tinned meat

that was late sold by the ubbe bosses and, theefoe, consumed by the Paumai

themselves.8 This is how one infomant descibed the aival of the missionaies:

The st people who aived wee Sii and Maia. They didn’t speak Potuguese. ...All the Paumai wee afaid that they had come to dop bombs on us .... Eveyone was

coveed in pinta up to the eyes .... The ancients wee vey afaid ... they thought that

people fom afa captued childen alive and took them to Poto Velho, whee they killed

them, made them into tinned meat and bought them back fo the Paumai to consume.

The pinta mentioned hee is a skin disease (caused by the bacteia Treponemacarateum), a type of non-veneeal syphilis that causes skin lesions on the face and the

body. It was endemic among the Paumai, who, by that fact, wee also identied bytavelles as Puupuu, which means ‘pintados’ (spotted) in Lingua Geal. Spix andMatius had descibed them with this skin infection as ealy as the beginning of thenineteenth centuy (Spix 1981). Futhemoe, the Paumai also fell victim to epidemicsof measles and othe deadly diseases. This peiod of pe-evangelization coincides withthe ea of submission to the ubbe bosses (kariva). Many men wee employed incolocações (wok placements) fo most of the yea, living in debt slavey.

The Paumai establish a diffeence between freguês o client ( pamoari: also the

Paumai autonym) and employee (honai abono). In a commecial context, a clientis somebody indebted to a boss who has to poduce something to pay off this debt.The debt is thei only connection. An employee, on the othe hand, has peciselythe same peogatives, but is moe closely tied to the boss, and vice-vesa. He isalso bound by a debt, but the latte is epaid hee by a fom of sevice (such as the povisioning of ‘poduction’).9 The employee places himself at the boss’s disposition,a elation involving vaious kinds of assistance fom the latte. Employees fequentlylive fo a long time close to the boss, woking continually fo him. This diffeence between client ( pamoari) and employee (honai abono) is not always explicit. Whenemphasized, though, it signals a diffeence in the intensity of the elation with the boss: moe intense fo employees, less intense (moe spoadic) fo clients.

7 The temThe tem Jara is geneally used to designate the egion’s non-indigenous population, but can be used to efe to non-indigenous Bazilians in geneal.

8 Despite this fea having diminished thanks to the long peiod of living togethe Despite this fea having diminished thanks to the long peiod of living togethewith the missionaies, anthopologists and othe visitos coming fom afa, one still heas, one still heasmuch spoken of the potential anthopophagic activity of the Americanos. Thus, one of thePotestant missionaies descibed to me the fea that the Paumai felt when they distibutedvaious pots of food pepaed fo the childen. Fo them, the pictue of the blonde baby onthe label indicated the human content of what was inside the can. Stoies about pieces ofhands, ngenails and nges found in canned meat cans ae fequently head today.

9 The Potuguese tem ‘poduão’(poduction) is used by the Paumai to efe to whatThe Potuguese tem ‘poduão’ (poduction) is used by the Paumai to efe to whatthey extact fom the foest, ive o lakes fo the puposes of exchange.




Illustation 7.1 Paumai man with the skin disease purupuru, o pinta (Spix andMatius, 1817–1820)




Most deaths duing this peiod wee attibuted to the high level of shamanicactivity – also one of the featues of the ‘old cultue’. The Paumai claim that, eventoday, shamanism emains thei only weapon, and continually stess thei oveall pacism and placidity.

When the missionaies aived, they met just a few highly suspicious andnevous men: eveyone else had ed into the foest. The two women missionaieswee gadually accepted afte establishing tade elations with the Paumai byexchanging clothing, utensils and othe manufactued objects fo foest poducts,sh, atwok and domestic sevices. They also pogessively intoduced money asa means of etibution fo those sevices endeed. Seveal yeas late, assistance inthe tanslation of the New Testament to the Paumai language would be emuneatedwith money. A shot time afte thei aival, they began thei linguistic studies, pepaing to tanslate the Bible and evangelize the goup, following SIL’s nomal

patten of wok (Almeida 2006).

The Skin of History

Undestanding the place occupied by the Evangelical mission ove the followingyeas means focusing on two key points: a histoical-cosmological fact andan ontological pemise. The st involves the cuing of the pinta infection by

the missionaies, seen by the Paumai as a landmak event, one which can becompehended as a diving foce fo tansfomation. The second is the Paumaiconception of themselves as pey/pets (igitha) – a conception closely elated to theclient/employee ( pamoari/honai abono) position (Bonilla 2005, 2007). These two points need to be undestood in elation to the Paumai conception of tempoalityand tansfomation. Indeed, when people efe to the past, they usually distinguishclealy between thee majo peiods of thei histoy, each ea inauguated by oneo moe foeign o mythological gues, and involving a tansfomation that is atonce social and copoal.

Today all the Paumai – Evangelicals and Catholics alike – take the aival of themissionaies as a histoical wateshed between the past and the pesent. Howeve,they had aleady expeienced a uptue of this kind much futhe back in time, an eventthat maked the passage fom ‘mythological’ time to the time of the ancients.10

Kahaso and the time of the ancients:

A myth tells how seven bothes – sons of Jakonio, the st mythological woman,

and aised by the jaguas – wee esponsible fo teaching the Paumai how to be eal people. Afte Jakonio is devoued by the jaguas, the bothes ae bon as small bids

10 Matius ([1831] 1981). Simila cases ae descibed by Gow (1991) fo the Pio, andSimila cases ae descibed by Gow (1991) fo the Pio, andCosta (2007) fo the Kanamai.




and fed by an old female jagua.11 Late they tansfom into supe-poweful beings andappea in thei human fom. Afte exacting evenge on the jaguas, they begin a longtek though the terra rme foest in seach of fuit capable of salving the wounds anditching of Kahaso, the youngest bothe. The skin infection and the seach fo a cueappea as a moto fo metamophosis and tansfomation.

The bothes – Kahaso in paticula – named the edible fuits found in terra rme

foest; they taught the Paumai to eat food and how to make aows and tools; andthey gave ise to the diffeent peoples inhabiting the wold today, as well as to the blemishes that maked the skin of the Paumai. Afte feeing Kahaso fom the bellyof an anaconda that had swallowed him, the seven bothes asked all the peoplesto bathe in the snake’s blood. Kahaso, vey small and peviously coveed in soes,had emeged fom the snake’s belly ejuvenated (in the fom of a newbon) with

clea, pale skin. The Paumai, though, found the idea epulsive and spead just asmall amount on thei bodies, efusing to submege themselves completely in the blood. This is why thei skin became coveed in pinta blemishes.

Some infomants add that befoe going to live in the sky denitively,tansfoming into the Pleiades, the seven bothes passed on all thei technicalknow-how to the whites, which explains the technological supeioity of the latte.Thus the anaconda’s blood cleans the skin of the mythological heo and that of alloutsides who ageed to bathing in it, establishes the time of the ancients and life in

society, and, by suppession o absence, povokes the skin blemishes that becomea visual make of Paumai identity.

Orobana and the era of the bosses

The time of the ancients is descibed today as a dangeous peiod duing whichthe Paumai wee elentlessly pusued by othe Indians and decimated by diseases,focing them to ely exclusively on thei poweful shamans. This lasted untilthe aival of anothe gue, today included in Paumai mythology as a heoesponsible fo inauguating a new ea. He begins pacication of the egionand enables the Paumai to suvive the incessant attacks of wild Indians and theegional population, teaching them to tade with the whites. The gue in questionis pobably the Bazilian Manoel Ubano da Encanaão, known as the‘pacie’of the Puus ive.

The Joima (wild indians) suounded us duing ou festivals and killed us. They also lieddown in canoes, hidden unde mats, waiting fo us to get close. When we appoached,

they ed thei aows and nished the job with clubs. Then they ate us.(T., 01/06/2001)

11 Bids ae conceived as the pototypical domesticable pey. Thus the wodBids ae conceived as the pototypical domesticable pey. Thus the wod igitha

[pey/pet] designates bids by extension (igitha raboki, ying pey).




Until one day a man aived. ... he was white, but could speak Paumai. He lived inManaus. His name was Oobana.

(G., 26/05/2001)

Manoel Ubano was a militay ofce sent to pacify the egion. He had jouneyedextensively along the Puus since 1845, exploing the ive fom its mouth to thePauini ive, extacting plant emedies and founding villages, ‘dagging’ fom thefoest ‘fouteen indigenous nations to the magin of the ive’ (Koeme 1985: 46–7). Late, the same exploe employed ‘600 Paumai and Jubei’ on the Aimãive to make ‘a lage plantation’ and build ‘a chapel’ (ibid: 60).

retuning to the native account, Oobana leans the Paumai languageafte dinking a cup of coffee offeed by a gue who appeas to be an ‘owneof animals’, since he possesses an enclosue that contains evey kind of animal

pey.12 Oobana is instucted by this man and disguises himself as a Paumai inode to appoach the latte: howeve, he gives himself away by bushing histeeth and using a manufactued blanket. He eventually succeeds in pacifying thePaumai by giving them industialized mechandise and tansfoming them intoemployees, establishing long-tem tade elationships, eceiving thei ‘poduction’in exchange fo mechandise. The Paumai say that Oobana taught them to weaclothes and use mosquito nets and that: ‘... fom this moment on, the whites beganto settle along the shoes of the Puus ive. The bosses began to sell things to the

Indians’ (F., 19/09/2001).The histoical uptue intoduced by Oobana enables thee to be an ea ofelative peace in day-to-day life, yet exposes the Paumai to dependency andthe sometimes violent abuses of bosses and mechants. Just as in the Kahasomyth, tansfomation and the acquisition of a new sociality is inscibed on theskin. Pominent among the objects bought by Oobana ae the mosquito netsand clothing: both potect against the insects that swam on the Puus (Chandless1866: 91; Eheneich 1929: 299–300) but ae equally elated to the body andmetamophosis. Hee we can highlight the contempoay ole played by mosquitonets duing female pubety seclusion. Indeed, the net has gadually eplaced thewoven matting taditionally used as a seclusion hut. Today, the gils emain insidethei mosquito nets thoughout seclusion in ode to sceen themselves fomsunlight and the male gaze (allowing ‘thei skin to become clea/pale’ befoe theday they nally emege). Bith similaly takes place beneath the couple’s mosquitonet. Like skin and clothing, the mosquito net and woven mat ae body wappings,sufaces that activate tansfomations.

The theme of swapping one’s skin, clothing o anothe body envelope as a way

of adopting an alien pespective o as an ontological tansfomation is a fequenttheme in Amazonia (Chaumeil 1983; Vilaa 1992, 1999; Viveios de Casto 2002).

12 Note the impotance given to knowing the language. Oobana is able to appoach Note the impotance given to knowing the language. Oobana is able to appoachthe Paumai because he leant thei language fom the owne of the animals. LikewiseShiley, the SIL missionay, ceased to fighten them when she began to speak Paumai.




Fo the Paumai, changing one’s skin enables ‘enewal’ (aja’diniki) of the ‘soul- body’ (abonoi).13 This idea can be found in vaious aspects of thei cosmology, suchas the posthumous magical bath that enables acquisition of a new body wapping(to’ba ja’dini), o in the itual seclusion that allows the peson’s symbolic ebith, paticulaly expessed in the exteme paleness of the young woman, whose skin iscompaed to a newbon’s.

Afte the passage of Oobana, the Paumai became, as the egional population put it, ‘tamed Indians’. This means clothed Indians (see Gow, in this volume), pefeably conveted and baptized with Chistian names, and able to tade – thatis, capable of being exploited without eacting violently. Hence, the acquisition ofmosquito nets and clothing led to the ea of mechandise and bosses.

The mission

Each gue inauguates a new sociality, povoking a cosmological and ontologicaltansfomation inscibed on the skin. The fact that these tempoal tansfomationshave effects on bodies helps explain the Paumai claim to be diffeent fom theiancestos and that the Evangelicals ae new Paumai. Hence it is unsupising thatthe Paumai evoke the cuing of the pinta skin infection14 by the missionaies as ahistoical-tempoal landmak that enabled the inauguation of a ‘new’ ea maked by compliance with Chistian moality, cultivated by the Evangelicals, and the

consequent uptue with the ‘old cultue’.15

As we have seen, copoal tansfomation is a ecuent theme and closelylink ed to skin whitening. Hence, the gil’s seclusion enables the enewal of he

skin and emoval of the esidues (imai daini) accumulated in he soul-body. On the

day she emeges, the gil is exposed to sunlight and the ‘aggessive’ male gaze. The

ingestion of foods is also conceived as a fom of eveyday mico-aggession. Indeed,

evey pedatoy elation leaves esidues in the pedato’s esh that gadually infest

the souls-bodies: meat leaves bones, hais and claws, while plants leave stones,

thons and husks. This excessive accumulation of esidues in the esh povokes

sicknesses, aging and death. Shamans must continually emove these items fom

the bodies of thei patients. The same pocess occus duing seclusion and afte the

aival of the soul-body at the Lake of renewal, the taditional posthumous destiny.

Moeove, the elation between blood, skin and tansfomation, and the passage

fom one state to anothe is made evident in the Kahaso myth.

By cuing the Paumai of pinta, the two female missionaies came to occupythe ole of mythological heoines. Inauguating a new ea, the mission enabled the

13 It is impotant to emembe that in the Kahaso myth, the blood of the anaconda (aIt is impotant to emembe that in the Kahaso myth, the blood of the anaconda (askin-changing animal) is the counte-vecto of the identicatoy mak.

14 Pinta was cued by injections of penicillin.Pinta was cued by injections of penicillin.15 The idea of uptue with the past, of abandoning cetain pactices and adoptingThe idea of uptue with the past, of abandoning cetain pactices and adopting

othes in ode to povoke bodily and social tansfomations is common in Amazonia and isnot foeign to the logic of Evangelical convesion (Wight 1999).(Wight 1999).




conditions fo a new sociality. Fistly, the mission offeed a viable altenative as atade patne, allowing the Paumai to escape the economic contol of the bosses.Secondly, its supply of medicines contibuted to the goup’s physical ecovey,meaning that the mission simultaneously opposed shamanic powe. And nally, themission offeed a new fom of ‘healthy life’ in line with the Evangelical intepetationof the Bible, which pobably also offeed a solution to the excessive accumulation ofesidues in the soul-body. Being a believe means adopting a ‘healthy’ lifestyle, withall that this implies fo the Paumai: access to healthcae, the ejection of shamanismand food estictions (paticulaly duing the couvade), withdawal fom itual life,easie access to goods (with the missionay as pincipal supplie) and submission tothe ‘Wod of God’, this efeing to the new domesticating boss/fathe.

Othe aspects of this new ea should also be mentioned. These include, foinstance, contemplation of a new posthumous destiny. In fact, only the Evangelicals

can choose between the Lake of renewal, the taditional destination, and the Houseof God, the celestial paadise. Afte death, the soul-body of believes follows the path to the House of God, ascending to the sky. Befoe aiving up thee, the pathof the believes splits between the Lake, the House of God and the Fie of Hell,which buns beside the House of God.16 The conditions fo aiving at the Fieof Hell ae somewhat unclea and aely evoked, since non-believes go to theLake of renewal instead. This altenative seems to me faily oiginal given theusually exclusivist natue of Potestant eschatology. Obviously, believes (that is,

Evangelicals) sometimes tell non-believes that they will end up in the Fie of Hell, but these assetions ae no moe than occasional theats. Even if both paths followcelestial outes, howeve, they point towads opposite poles .The taditional waythat leads to the Lake is a path ( Aja’di kahagihi) along the Puus going upive.This path is theefoe in the opposite diection to that which leads to the House ofGod, which follows the couse of the Puus downive ( Deus gorana kahagihi).The Fie of Hell which buns beside the House of God seems to be unpopulated,since non-believes do not go towads the downive side of thei cosmogaphy,tavelling, instead, upive towads the Lake though the taditional oute. Oncethee, they can choose between vaious types of posthumous existence.17 Believes,on the othe hand, do not explain what happens in the House of God, efeinginstead to its beauty, size and incompaable luminosity and billiance (vagaki).

The luminosity and billiance of Cispim village wee ecently descibed to theliving by a shaman, infomed by the soul-body of someone who had died.18 These

16 The location of the Fie of Hell in the sky is not exclusively a Paumai notion. TheThe location of the Fie of Hell in the sky is not exclusively a Paumai notion. TheWai’ also situate it on the same level as God (Vilaa 2003).

17 The deceased who follow the way to the Lake of renewal can choose betweenThe deceased who follow the way to the Lake of renewal can choose betweenstaying in the Lake, with the ancients, dancing and eating etenally, o be employed bythe Sun and rain bosses in ode to ensue the meteoological cycles and communication between the living and the dead (Bonilla 2007).

18 The luminosity of the House of God and the spaces occupied by believes, as wellThe luminosity of the House of God and the spaces occupied by believes, as wellas the billiance of the New Jeusalem, is opposed to the dakness of shamanism and the




qualities ae compaed to the dakness and tanslucence of the spaces inhabited bynon-believes. The latte ae closely linked to the modes of shamanic knowledge/ powe (kohana hiki), which mobilize dakness and tanslucence (rodges 2002:110–113; Viveios de Casto 2007), in contast to Chistian knowledge/powe,which continually deploys the themes of claity (cleanliness) and billiance(eection).19 Shamans explain that luminous eection not only fightens awayspiits, it also dazzles and impedes visibility and thus thei knowledge and thei powe to act.

Consideing that the believes declae that they do not know fo sue whatwaits fo them in the House of God, I asked them what they would do if they got boed. Believes eplied that one can always change one’s mind and go to theLake of renewal, whee moe ancient kin and non-believes eside. The question. The questionemains of how souls-bodies ae enewed in the House of God. Believes pobably

do not need to extact all the elational esidues accumulated in thei souls-bodiesduing thei lifetime, since the Chistian way of life, which they conside moe‘healthy’, peseves them fom any excessive accumulation.

Today the ‘healthy’ life of believes seems to be a way of peventing theaccumulation of esidues and theeby wading off sickness, without having toesot to shamans. Epidemics and common diseases have been neutalized thoughsystematic vaccination. The mission also allowed the Paumai to incease theicontol ove tade elations by leaning eading, witing and mathematics. Finally,

the pohibition of ites and shamanism povided an altenative fo those who foundshamanic powe excessive. In summation, the new ea is a time when shamanismand sicknesses can be contolled. The mission povoked a tansfomation onthe same scale as those naated in the Kahaso and Oobana myths. It adicallytansfomed social elations and conguations, allowing pat of the Paumai population to feel potected fom the afictions of day-to-day life.20

Christian Life

Today the ea of the ubbe bosses is descibed as a emote time, emembeed asa peiod dominated by shamans and contolled by the bosses, when the Paumaifelt unable to compehend adequately what happened when they woked to pay

tanslucence of the magical stones (ijori) that contain shamanic knowledge. The latteenable the shaman to ‘see’ the spiits and the hamful objects intoduced into Paumaisouls-bodies. An undestanding of this contast is pobably a fundamental element fo anycompaative study of Paumai shamanism and Evangelism.

19 Classicatoy concepts of this type ae fequently used by Evangelizes (see GalloisClassicatoy concepts of this type ae fequently used by Evangelizes (see Gallois1999), but hee ditiness/cleanliness ae appopiated by non-believes to distinguishthemselves fom believes.

20 Gow also mentions the uptue with shamanism and the fea that the latte imposedGow also mentions the uptue with shamanism and the fea that the latte imposedon the Pio befoe thei convesion to Chistianity (Gow 2006).




off debts o became the victims of unknown and deadly diseases. At that time,the Paumai knew too little about the life of the egional population to be able tocontol thei elations with the latte: they could not wite, ead o count, no usenon-indigenous medicines. Pinta stigmatized them vis-à-vis outsides. Above all,they wee ignoant of Jesus and the Wod of God ( Deus athi).

It should be noted that the elationship with the bosses is not descibed as ovelynegative due to the abundance of goods and the ease of access to mechandise,aspects valued today. Howeve, what is systematically taken as negative is the wayof life duing the peiod that the Evangelical Paumai associate today with the ideaof the ‘old cultue’.

We could say that what diffeentiates believes fom non-believes is not theiintepetation of the goup’s ecent histoy, since both goups evoke the goup’s‘salvation’; instead, the key diffeential facto is the Evangelicals’ adoption of a

lifestyle taken as ‘healthy’ and ‘good’ ( jahaki) and the accompanying epudiationof the ‘old cultue’ – that is, ituals, shamanism, and the consumption ofhallucinogens and alcohol. Questioned about the oots of thei convesion, oneinfomant eplied:

Being a believe is good fo me since, when I was younge, I always took pat in ituals,smoked and danced a lot. That’s why I was always ill. It was only afte I accepted Jesusthat I stopped becoming sick. ... Befoe Sii aived, many people died, especially fommalaia. Eveyone had pinta .... But they cued us, ... they cleaned ou blood ....(F., 25/06/2001)

These days, the powe of the Evangelical leades is compaed by the believes andnon-believes to the powe of the shamans.21 It is common to hea the Evangelicalsattibute to the shamans sicknesses that the leades of the Chuch wee not ableto cue. The contay does not seem possible, but the non-believes attibute the believes’ suvival fom vaious diseases to the powe of thei Evangelical leadesand thei payes. Howeve, they also claim that they can challenge the latte at anymoment: indeed, while I was in the eld, vaious socey accusations ciculated,indicating pobable challenges to the believes fom shamans.

The acquisition of eading and witing pecedes knowledge and ‘acceptanceof the Wod of God’.22 In descibing he life, the above infomant mentioned heinitial eluctance to become a believe. She st became inteested in the wok of themissionaies because of the chance to lean to ead and wite, only late becomingevangelized when she associated missionay action with the cuing of vaious peoplein the village though paye, peceived as an attempt to ensue the longevity of

the Paumai. This matches the explicit objective of the pubety itual, which is to

21 On the ambiguous equivalency of the positions of the shaman and the pophet/On the ambiguous equivalency of the positions of the shaman and the pophet/ pophet/ pasto, see Hugh-Jones (1996: 72–3).

22 I am efeing to the expession used in Potuguese by the Paumai fo ‘acceptingI am efeing to the expession used in Potuguese by the Paumai fo ‘acceptingPaumai fo ‘acceptingthe wod of God’.




povide the gil with a long, healthy and fetile life, potecting he soul-body fomthe constant extenal aggessions. She goes on to explain that she had also beenhesitant to convet because taking pat in ituals was he only chance of maying,given that matimonial exchanges geneally take place on these occasions.

The Old Culture and Evangelism

In fact, the inhabitants of Santa rita cite thei desie to continue pefoming theiituals and to live as thei ancestos did as thei main easons fo ejecting convesionto Evangelism. Howeve, othe motives should also be consideed, including thedifculty in spatially locating God and the impossibility of seeing Him. God’somniscience and omnipesence distub non-believes, and His invisibility even

to shamans is consideed highly suspicious.23 Shamans expess thei peplexityin being unable to see God, even when they take hallucinogens. Asked about the potential advantages of being believes, non-believes cited the appaent absenceof ghts and alcoholism in Cispim village and, in paticula, the easie access togoods bought by the missionaies.24 Nonetheless, all non-believes complainedabout the selsh attitude shown by believes, who nowadays chage thei kinmoney o ‘poduction’ in exchange fo food o goods.

Fom the point of view of non-believes, even the healthie life of the believes

is at stake. They asset that Evangelical gils become ill much moe fequently sincethey do not undego the pubety ite, and that Evangelical childen have poo health

because they fail to espect food taboos. Believes blame tobacco, alcohol and itual

pefomances fo the health poblems suffeed by non-believes. Today, though,

access to medicines is jointly contolled by FUNASA (National Health Foundation)

andOPIMP (Middle Puus Indigenous Peoples Oganization) athe than the mission.

Access to medications is theefoe moe o less equal in the two communities,

although the missionaies always possess eseves in case of emegencies.

Hence, although cuing the skin infection and diseases that once decimatedthe Paumai may have been the diving foce fo the convesion of many people,these events ae pimaily intepeted as a tempoal landmak that pemitted theuptue with the ea of the ubbe bosses and an even moe sweeping cosmologicaltansfomation. The epudiation of shamanism plays an impotant ole hee: by cuing the diseases that had assailed the Paumai fo yeas, the missionaiesassumed a position of powe peviously held by shamans, eventually eplacing

23 As is common in Amazonia, seeing and compehending ae closely connectedAs is common in Amazonia, seeing and compehending ae closely connectedmodes of knowledge. An Evangelical infomant explained to me that she had only statedto undestand the Wod of God afte expeiencing noctunal visions in which she saw Noah,Jonas and othe dead people.

24 The elation between adhesion to Chistianity and the seach fo the consume The elation between adhesion to Chistianity and the seach fo the consumegoods of the whites has been clealy delineated by Wight (1999) and Hugh-Jones (1996) inWight (1999) and Hugh-Jones (1996) inthe context of the nothwest Amazon messianic movements.




the latte as new illnesses emeged which the shamans wee unable to cue. 25 Themissionaies povided – and claimed to povide – anothe option fo those who hadlost childen and othe household membes in the hands of shamans. In Cispimvillage, shamanism was effectively supplanted by the Evangelical eligion,theefoe, and is explicitly ejected by its inhabitants.

The daily life of the Cispim villages is based on this new sociality. Believes pefe to may othe believes, even when the latte belong to diffeent localgoups. This edenition of matimonial stategies has signicantly alteed the panoama of elations between local goups that still conside themselves asideally endogamic.26 The payes led by Evangelical leades fo cuing a sick peson occupy a special place in Cispim’s daily life. When someone becomes illand no teatment seems to be woking, collective payes fo cuing ae oganizedin the chuch o the peson’s home. Although a bette desciption of these cues is

needed in ode to deepen the analysis, it is inteesting to note that non-believesvey similaly esot to auxiliay spiits duing shamanic cues when phytotheapyfails to cue the sickness o at least elieve the symptoms.

In both cases, the stength and intensity of payes and chants (moro), in thecase of believes, and the intensity of songs (ahi) and the powe of shamanicauxiliay spiits, in the case of non-believes, ae cucial to the cue’s success.Believes theefoe tun to the biblical knowledge of thei leades and to the potency – that is, the volume and intensity – of thei chants in ode to activate the

cuative powe of Jesus’ blood. Non-believes, meanwhile, esot to thei shamansand thei auxiliay spiits and to the potency of female songs in ode to negotiatewith the spiits fo them to elease the captued souls-bodies.27

Conversion and Adoption

The idea of feeling potected fom outside aggessions is elated to the Paumaiconception of themselves as pey/pets (igitha), o victims, in elational contexts.28

Elsewhee, I have showed how the Paumai insist on establishing elations withOthes in commecial and clientelist tems – that is, a elation between boss and client,

25 The Indians’ attibution of shamanic powes to the missionaies has been widelyThe Indians’ attibution of shamanic powes to the missionaies has been widelydescibed by tavelles, missionaies and anthopologists fo the case of the TupinambáTupinambá(Shapio 1987; Viveios de Casto 1993). See also the case of the Inuit descibed byLaugand, in this volume.

26 Fo a discussion on Aawá subgoups, see the ecent wok by Godon (2006).Fo a discussion on Aawá subgoups, see the ecent wok by Godon (2006).27 Today believes geneally consult the Health Post nuse st and then theToday believes geneally consult the Health Post nuse st and then the

missionaies. If thee is no impovement, they may go to the uban health distict and,nally, to the chuch leades. The non-believes go st to the shaman, then to the health post nuse. If symptoms pesist, they may then tun to non-indigenous heales (living alongthe ive) befoe equesting medical assistance in the town.

28 See also rival (1999) on Huaoani ‘peacefulness’ fo a simila conception.See also rival (1999) on Huaoani ‘peacefulness’ fo a simila conception.




o boss and employee, with a clea pefeence fo the employee position (Bonilla2005; 2007). I went on to show how a Paumai subaltenity can be intepeted as atansfomation of the Amazonian conception of adopting and familiaizing animalsand pesons, aguing that, by placing themselves systematically in the position of pey/pet (igitha) o client/employee ( pamoari/honai abono), the Paumai ended updominating, to a cetain extent, the elationship with the intelocuto, focing thelatte to adopt the position of domesticating boss, o adoptive paent, and theefoeassume esponsibility fo supplying them with food and mechandise and fo theigeneal well-being.

To undestand this point, we need to ecall the diffeence between the positionof employee (honai abono) and that of freguês o client ( pamoari). The fomelagely coesponds to the position of pet, which is moe poductive fom theelational point of view, but moe constaining than the latte ( pamoari), which is

less compomising but moe isky and exposed, coesponding to the position of pey. As noted ealie, pamoari is also the Paumai auto-denomination. When theintelocuto is a non-indian stange ( Jara o Americano), the Paumai theefoelook to shift fom client/pey-type positions ( pamoari/igitha) to employee/pet-type positions (honai abono/igitha), adopting a postue that is moe defeential but that guaantees moe commitment to them fom the domesticating boss.

This idea can be usefully compaed to the Paumai foms of adoption and kinshipelations. The pactice of adopting childen is commonplace in Amazonia (Menget

1988, Viveios de Casto 1993, Jounet 1995, Fausto 2001). The Paumai ae noexception: in thei case, the pactice is typically found between gandpaents andgandchilden, o uncles/aunts and nephews/nieces, whethe eal o classicatoy.The elationship established between adoptive paents and childen is vey oftendescibed in the same tems as the elationship between boss and employee.Adopting childen o animal young also means aising, teaching, feeding, cuing,clothing, giving affection and caing (Viveios de Casto 1986; Gow 1991, Vilaa2002b, Fausto 2002). In the Paumai context, this familiaization applies byextension to employment. Thus, the Paumai may use the tem kodihonai abono(my employee), o my aised child (kodinavijava) to descibe thei elationshipwith the adopted child.

The positions favoued by the Paumai also help us to undestand theidesciption of themselves as etenally abandoned. In othe wods, by allowingthemselves to be adopted by anothe, they also see themselves as abandoned anddefenceless when this othe depats. This applies to the thee majo histoicaluptues, expeienced by the Paumai as adical social tansfomations povoked by potentially dangeous and extemely poweful beings that pass though the

wold, leaving a seies of tansfomations in thei wake.The Paumai descibe the depatue of Kahaso to the sky as an abandonment by

a fathe who had tansmitted knowledge and new expeiences to them. Likewise,Oobana’s depatue is descibed as an abandonment: the Paumai becameophaned and unpotected following his etun to Manaus. They wee also leftunpotected afte the depatue of the SIL missionaies Shiley and Meinke. Hee




the feeling of abandonment is moe intensely evoked, pobably since it is stillecent. The Paumai say that they became ‘motheless ducks’. This is obviously ametapho, but it suggests the feeling of dependency geneated by this systematic positioning as pey and adoptive childen in elations with extenal othes. Eachabandonment geneates a new demand fo adoption. As a esult, we can conceiveof Paumai convesion as, among othe things, a collective decision to submitto a new domesticating boss, who is expected to povide attention and cae in popotion to his knowledge and powes.

This idea appeas to be conmed when we examine the chuch sevicesheld today by Paumai Evangelical leades. The latte constantly peach againstthe laziness of chuch membes, descibing them as childen, undisciplinedappentices. The emphasis on liation, obedience and submission undoubtedlycoesponds to Chistian themes, but it also evokes the polaity between employee/

pet and domesticating boss. Paumai Evangelical leades typically addess chuchmembes with biblical passages that efe to the theme of familiaization, wokand obedience, as we see in the epigaph to this text. The moalizing discouses ofthese leades condemn bad followes, in contast, fo thei lack of self-contol.

The efeence to the missionaies and God as adoptive paents is also a ecuenttheme in day-to-day life. Indeed, the majoity of believes ask the missionaies oEvangelical leades fo advice when taking a decision with potentially impotantconsequences on thei lives – though this does not necessaily mean that the

poffeed advice will be followed.As ethnogaphes have shown extensively elsewhee in Amazonia, beinga believe means adopting a ‘healthy’ lifestyle, with all that this implies fo thePaumai: the ejection of shamanism, withdawal fom itual life and submissionto God, this new domesticating boss/fathe. The patenalism expessed in theelation between all Chistians, missionaies and Indians is cetainly not exclusiveto the Paumai (Taylo 1981; Stoll 1983). Howeve, I believe that it has found paticulaly fetile soil hee in tems of its expession in native concepts.

When the Paumai depict themselves as the adoptive childen of themissionaies, they ae undoubtedly descibing a hieachical elationship typicalof patenalism.29 But in so doing, they ae also asseting thei way of seeing theelationship. Conceiving themselves as pey capable of being adopted, they notonly submit to anothe elationship imposed on them fom the outside, they alsoafm thei capacity to tansfom the elation into thei own mode of paasiticallyappopiating extenal knowledge, powes and goods. Making themselvesdesiable, the Paumai, in thei own way, continue to be the ownes and mastes ofthei histoy, foeve eady to change skin and develop new foms of sociality.

The situation expeienced by the Paumai is eplicated by the missionaies whoae God’s – the divine boss’s – employees. Hence, one inhabitant of Cispim, who

29 Which is not vey diffeent fom the elations that occu with foeignes in genealWhich is not vey diffeent fom the elations that occu with foeignes in genealwho come into thei aeas (be they missionaies, nuses, employees, NGO membes o anthopologists).




had ‘deviated’ fom Evangelism many yeas ealie, explained to me one day: ‘Weae “poduction” fo the missionaies, and God is thei boss. Thei poduction is binging people into the fold’ (A., 09/08/2002).

Following this logic, a cucial question emains: why was convesion toEvangelism limited to pat of the Paumai only, leaving the est of the populationvitually unaffected? Pehaps non-believes have pefeed to maintain an unstableelation with the new ‘bosses’. Indeed, Catholics establish spoadic elationshipswith the Evangelical missionaies, visiting them on ‘sale’ days to swap foest andive poduction fo mechandise, but without assuming the position of adoptivechilden; instead, they conseve thei position as clients/pey, moe isky, but lessconstaining. I have yet to discove a eply to this complex question. An answedemands, I believe, a moe in-depth desciption and analysis of vaious dimensionsthat had to be left out of the pesent text: Paumai Catholicism, itual kinship and

modes of adoption, as well as shamanism and the elations between the gue ofthe shaman and that of the Evangelical leade.

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rodges, David. 2002. ‘A soma anômala: a questão do suplemento no xamanismoe mentuaão Ikpeng’. Mana 8 (2): 91–125.

runo, Macos Peeia. 2006. ‘O código da cultua: o Cimi no debate daincultuaão’. In: P. Monteo (ed.). Deus na aldeia: missionários, índios emediação cultural. São Paulo: Globo: 235–75.São Paulo: Globo: 235–75.

Shapio, Judith. 1987. ‘Fom Tupã to the Land without Evil: the Chistianizationof Tupi-Guaani Cosmology’. American Ethnologist , vol. 14, n° 1: 126–81.

Spix, Johann Baptist von. 1981 [1831]. Viagem pelo Brasil: 1817–1820. BeloHoizonte: Ed. Itatiaia; São Paulo: Ed. da Univesidade de São Paulo. Volume3, book nine, chaptes II and III.

Stoll, David. 1983. Fischers of Men or Founders of Empires ? The Wycliffe Bible Translators in Latin America. London: Zed Pesse and Cambidge,Massachusetts: Cultual Suvival.

Taylo, Anne-Chistine. 1981. ‘God-Wealth: The Achua and the Missions’. In: Noman E. Whitten J (ed.). Cultural Transformations and Ethnicity in ModernEcuador . Ubana, Chicago, London: Univesity of Illinois Pess: 647–76.




Vilaa, Apaecida. 1992. Comendo como Gente: Formas do canibalismo Wari’.rio de Janeio: Editoa da Univesidade Fedeal do rio de Janeio.

———. 1999. ‘Deveni aute: chamanisme et contact inteethnique en Amazonie bésilienne’. Journal de la société des américanistes, No. 85: 235–60.

———. 2002a. ‘Missions et convesions chez les Wai’. Ente potestantisme etEnte potestantisme etcatholicisme’. L’Homme, 164: 57–80.

———. 2002b. ‘Making Kin out of Othes’. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 8 (2): 347–65.

———. 2003. ‘Big Bothe Wai’: The Effects of the Idea of God in a PepectivistCosmology’. Pape pesented at the 51st Intenational Congess of Ameicanists,Santiago (Chile), 14–18 July.

Viveios de Casto, Eduado. 1986. Araweté: os deuses canibais. rio de Janeio:Joge Zaha/Anpocs.

———. 1993. ‘Le mabe et le myte : de l’inconstance de l’âme sauvage’. In: A.‘Le mabe et le myte : de l’inconstance de l’âme sauvage’. In: A.Becquelin and A. Molinié (og.). Mémoire de la tradition. Nantee: Société Nantee: Sociétéd’ethnologie: 365–431.

———. 2002. ‘Pespectivismo e multinatualismo na Amazônia’. A inconstânciada alma selvagem – e outros ensaios de antropologia. São Paulo: Cosac &São Paulo: Cosac & Naify: 345–99.

———. 2007. ‘The Cystal Foest: On the Ontology of Amazonian Spiits’. Inner Asia, special issue ‘Inne Asian Pespectivism’ (rebecca Empson, Caoline

Humphey & Moten A. Pedesen, ogs.): 13–33.Wight, robin M. 1999. ‘O tempo de Sophie: históia e cosmologia da convesão‘O tempo de Sophie: históia e cosmologia da convesão baniwa’. In: r. Wight (og.).In: r. Wight (og.). Transformando os Deuses: Os múltiplos sentidosda conversão entre os povos indígenas no Brasil. Campinas, SP: Editoa daCampinas, SP: Editoa daUnicamp: 155–216.



Chapte 8

Convesion, Pedation and PespectiveApaecida Vilaa

Introduction

The convesion of native peoples to wold eligions is fa fom being a new phenomenon, although only ecently have anthopologists become tuly inteested

in the topic and poduced detailed ethnogaphies on paticula cases. A numbe ofeasons can be suggested fo this elision. Authos looking to explain anthopology’sgeneal disinteest have pointed to the Malinowskian model of the pimeval savageand the histoical ivaly between anthopologists and missionaies (robbins 2004,Van de Geest 1990, Hading 2001). In the case of Chistianity, the situation is futhecomplicated by the fact that this eligion is the pedominant faith in the countiesfom which most anthopologists oiginate: the inteest in the exotic is incompatiblewith the study of Chistianized natives (robbins 2007; Cannell 2006: 8; see also

Gow, this volume).The situation in South Ameica is no diffeent. Thee, as in othe ethnogaphicaeas (see, fo example, Comaoff and Comaoff 1991 on South Afica; Laugand1997, 2006; Buch 1994 and Fienup-riodan 1991 on the Actic), Chistianity hasalways been an integal pat of the pocess of conquest and domination, a esult of theassociation consistently made by state agents between civilizing native peoples andconveting them. Fo many indigenous peoples, missionaies wee the st whitesthey encounteed (see Pollock 1993). In Bazil, Catholic missionaies wee the mainepesentatives of Chistianity fo centuies, the st aiving a few decades afteCabal. Today the scenaio has changed somewhat due to the impact of Potestantmissions, especially noth Ameican fundamentalist chuches that began theiactivities in Bazil in the 1940s, eventually supassing the Catholic missions in temsof effective pesence among indigenous goups. In contempoay Bazil, indigenous peoples without any kind of contact with missions fom a small minoity.

I should stess that my inteest in Chistianity as an ethnogaphic topic wasnot immediate. In Januay 2002, I evisited the Wai’, a Txapakua-speaking people of southwesten Amazonia, fo the st time afte a ve-yea absence.

Thee I expeienced something of a cultue shock, though not the kind that usuallyaccompanies the st phase of the anthopologist’s wok among a people. In fact,my ecent expeience was the complete opposite. This time I found the Wai’ ofthe rio Nego, whee I have been woking fo 20 yeas, fa too much like mycompatiots, fustating my thist fo diffeence that they had once so eadilyquenched. Most of the population had become believes. All they talked about




whee Bible stoies, while the most eagely anticipated event was the next chuchsevice, conducted entiely by native peaches.

This was not the st time the Wai’ had conveted. In contact with thefundamentalist Potestant missionaies of the New Tibes Mission since‘pacication’, which took place between 1956 and 1962, they lived as believesthoughout the 1970s, de-conveting at the stat of the 1980s. When I aivedthee in 1986, few people called themselves believes, though eveyone talkednostalgically about the peiod of convesion (see Vilaa 1996, 1997).

A few apid outbeaks of convesion, always collective, took place in the 1990s.These wee all pompted by fea of the wold ending fom looming catastophes(such as an eath temo that stuck the egion in 1994). In 2001, a fesh evivaloccued, one which has lasted until the pesent, this time motivated by the 9/11attacks in the US. The Wai’ wee able to watch the Wold Tade Cente being

destoyed on community television, as well as the news of wa that followed. Assoon as I aived in Januay 2002, I was quizzed heavily about the state of wa,about who the Taliban wee, whethe they had aleady eached rio de Janeio, andwhethe the cities whee eally being destoyed. Even today, the Wai’ still expessthei fea that the end of the wold could catch them unpepaed – that is, living as pagans o non-believes (see robbins 2004 on the same fea among the Uapmin).In this case, thei cetain fate would be the es of hell.

Once my initial supise had faded, and as the eseach pogessed, I began

to ealize that these Wai’ expeiences allowed a deepe undestanding of cucialaspects of thei thought. Pusuing this insight, I intend to examine the phenomenon of

convesion fom a wide pespective of indigenous social and cosmological foms.

Illustation 8.1 Pesentation of new convets in Wai’ Potestant sevice(Vilaa, 2007)



Conversion, Predation and Perspective 149

Continuity and Rupture

Anthopological studies of convesion have tended to focus on the continuity between native thought and the expeience of Chistianity, an appoach citicized by some students of eligion (see Wood 1993: 305–307). Hefne (1993: 5) aguesthat although Chistianity has indeed shown the capacity to assume diffeent fomsin diffeent localities, it is clealy moe than a set of local taditions, evealingstiking continuities acoss time and space.

As othe authos have ecently agued (see robbins 2007), the focus oncontinuity can be attibuted to the fact that the theoetical tools of ou discipline, paticulaly the cultue concept, ae founded on the idea of pemanence andstability (see Viveios de Casto 2002: 191–6 and Wagne 1975: 20–34).1 robbins(2007:7) notes that these pemises of cultual continuity ente into diect conict

with Chistian ideas, ‘oganized aound the plausibility of adical discontinuitiesin pesonal lives and cultual histoies’.

Moeove, discontinuity and uptue ae pecisely the aspects highlighted bynative peoples, who insist on the oiginality of Chistianity – that is, its diffeence inelation to what is conventionally called taditional eligion. And this is not just thecase of the Wai’, who nowadays tend to eject the veacity of myths in favou of biblical stoies. Among the Ewe of Ghana, accoding to Meye, the Pentecostals

undestand Chistianity as a eligion which has nothing in commons with ‘heathendom’and which sepaates its adheents fom the past. Indeed, fo the Pentecostals, theattaction of Chistianity lies in the fact that it is a new and stange eligion opposed toAfican eligion and cultue. (Meye 1999: 139)

This is also the view of the Uapmin of Papua New Guinea studied by robbins.In his wods: ‘They did not adopt Chistianity in bits and pieces seized upon as‘They did not adopt Chistianity in bits and pieces seized upon assyncetic patches fo a taditional cultual fabic ... rathe, they took it up as ameaningful system in its own ight, one capable of guiding many aeas of thei lives... a case in which people seemed to gasp a new cultue whole’ (robbins 2004: 3).

Moeove, native peoples have begun to descibe themselves as moe Chistianthan ouselves. Mailyn Stathen (1998: 109) elated that she was appoached bya Luthean pasto fom Hagen with a message he wished to tansmit to England.Papua New Guinea, he suggested, ‘is now one of the most Chistian counties inthe wold, and I [the anthopologist] should etun to England whee, he knew,thee wee few believes, and lead the people back to God’.2

My objective in this aticle is to econcile the notions of continuity and uptue

though my analysis of convesion among the Wai’. I aim to show that, in this case,the adoption of Chistianity as something new and extenal does not contadict theidea of a continuity between this eligion and the native cultue if we take as ou

1 I etun to this discussion in the conclusion.I etun to this discussion in the conclusion.2 See Velho 2003: 1.




basic pemise the inteest of the Wai’ and othe Ameindian peoples in captuingthe pespective of the Othe, whethe animal, enemy o white.3 In othe wods,indigenous society is constituted though a pocess of continual diffeentiation(Wagne 1975: 45–8), which in Amazonia takes the fom of successive adicalalteations involving the tansfomation into the Othe and the adoption of thelatte’s pespective. Adopting the viewpoint of missionaies is one moe instanceof this continual attempt to captue extenal pespectives.

My use of the notion of pespective is based on the fomulations povided by Viveios de Casto (1996, 1998) and Lima (1996). To explain the agumentthat follows, it sufces to epeat Viveios de Casto’s point (1998: 478) that a pespective is not a epesentation in the sense attibuted to the tem in ou cultualelativism, which supposes ‘... a divesity of subjective and patial epesentations,each stiving to gasp an extenal and unied natue, which emains pefectly

indiffeent to those epesentations. Ameindian thought poposes the opposite: aepesentational o phenomenological unity ... indiffeently applied to a adicallyobjective divesity. One single “cultue”, multiple “natues”’ (Viveios de Casto1998: 478). Instead of a multicultualism, theefoe, we nd a multinatualism(ibid: 477).

In pespectivism, thee is no mateial efeent o pe-given univese. It is thespecic pespective that ceates the wold and detemines its substance. Moeove, pespectives, in contast to epesentations, ae not elated to the spiit and the

mind, but to the body. Those who shae the same pespective by denition possessthe same type of body, fomed though a continuous pocess of constitution andtansfomation though the exchange of bodily substances, commensality andthe shaing of affects and memoy. This makes them consubstantial, theefoe,and means that they peceive each othe as human (see Vilaa 2002a, 2005). Thetheme of pespectivism is discussed again in the conclusion.

I tun now to what seem to me to be the coe aspects of Wai’ convesion, lookingto situate the expeience of Chistianity within a wide model of tansfomation.

Wari’ Conversions

I wish to begin by naating a myth that is clealy about convesion, though not toChistianity. My inteest hee is to identify the points of convegence between thisnaative and those that thematize the convesion to Chistianity, emphasizing the

3

The impotance of outsides fo the constitution of society is obviously not exclusiveto Amazonian systems. Analyzing the natue of political powe in vaious egions of thewold, Sahlins 1985 (73–103; 2007) exploes the impessive ecuence of the theme ofthe stange: typically this gue aives fom afa and is attibuted with geat powes (inaddition to bellicose and violent qualities); though an alliance with the autochthonous people, fequently in the fom of maiage, he founds society popely speaking and beginsto goven it (see also ruthefod 2006 fo a simila pocess in Biak, Indonesia).




adoption of the enemy’s pespective and the institution of humans as pedatos ofanimals.

The Lizard Myth

They only eat lizad. They called it white-lipped peccay. They said: “Let’s eat peccay!”They killed them. They whistled (with the aival of the game). “We killed peccay!”“Oh, eally?” ... They oasted it. .... When it was eady they gave it to the othes.The child knew. A Wai’ child. “Why ae you eating lizad? I don’t want it! The peccayon’t want it! The peccayn’t want it! The peccaymy fathe used to kill was diffeent. Lizad is one thing; peccay is anothe.” The childsaid he didn’t want to eat it.[Was the child kidnapped by the Wai’? I asked]They took him fom his house and aised him. He gew. He saw and said: “You didn’tsee the peccay that my fathe killed. That thee is lizad.” But the Wai’ insisted: “Thisis peccay.” He gew and gew. He made aows. He wandeed the foests. An agoutiwas on the path. He killed the agouti, a eal one. He caied it back. The othes said:“release this damned jagua! Put it down! It’s a jagua!” And he etoted: “No, no it’snot. It’s an agouti. My fathe used to kill agouti fo thei teeth.” They fell silent. ...He washed it. “Leave him alone”, said the woman who had aised him [his adoptivemothe]. The intenal pats became cooked. “Give me pamonha [maize pudding],mothe.” “Okay.” And he ate it.[Was he the only one to eat it? Wee the othes scaed? I asked.]They wee afaid. Fo them, it was jagua. When the meat was cooked, he said to

eveyone: “Come to eat! Eat, boys.” “Don’t eat,” people said. “This is going to makeyou sick.” “It’s not jagua,” he said. “Jagua has spots. What you all eat is lizad. Youeat anything. What you eat ae lage lizads.”The Wai’ said: “Thee’s peccay! Let’s go, let’s go!” And the Wai’ went afte them.Shot them and killed them ....“No, that’s lizad!” he said. “I’m going to hunt.” He went alone. He killed a capuchinmonkey. He caied it back. “That boy has killed a jagua, he killed a jagua” [peoplesaid on seeing him].[Did it look like a jagua? I asked]

It was a jagua. The ancient ones did not see well (kirik pin/ecognize). The peson whosaw well was the child who ate popely. The ancient ones ate anything. Thei childenand thei wives too. They wee the ones who ate lizad.He whistled (when he aived back home with the monkey). “Cook the monkey!”“Okay,” said the woman who had aised him. ... His mothe and fathe saw popely.They ate. “Ah, this is eal game son!” They ate. His bothes ate. The othe Wai’ didn’twant any. They ate thei lizad.His fathe ate well. ...“I want to eat game, fathe. Let’s go hunting!” “Let’s go!” So they went and saw a

jagua. They called white-lipped peccay jagua, collaed peccay jagua, spide monkey jagua, guan jagua, tinamou jagua. The ancient ones wee tuly stange.The fathe had neve seen a jagua. He an away, eeing fom the jagua. He went tond his fathe. “This is jagua, fathe. I killed it! White-lipped peccay, agouti, collaed peccay, ae diffeent. This is the tue jagua, fathe. Come and look. It’s dead.” “Okay,”he said. He looked. “I think the jagua is beautiful, son. Ae you going to leave it thee?”




“No. I’m going to take it, so they can see it.” “Okay, go ahead then. You know the way.Cay it.” “Okay!”They caied it all the way back. “Go in font and let them know, so they won’t un off.”

“Okay.” He aived and announced: “My son killed a jagua. You called eveything jagua

when it was collaed peccay, dee, agouti. You’ve neve seen one befoe. It has spots. Its

teeth ae vey big. [Sounds]. That’s what the jagua is like. Come and see the jagua. Youcalled evey kind of animal jagua. Spide monkey, capuchin monkey, saki monkey, guan,

cuassow. You called them all jagua. Look what a eal jagua is like.” They aived. They

all looked. They didn’t like it. They cut it up. They bunt the fu. They divided it. They

[the othes] didn’t eat it. Just them, the fathe, the bothes, ate it …

They ate eveything, just a little bit was left. Thee wee Wai’ who killed game and otheWai’ who still ate lizad. They (those who hunted) leant. They abandoned lizads.

... In othe villages they still ate lizad. Like those fom hee (rio Nego village) toGuajaá [the neaest town, about 12 hous by boat]. ...

The ancient ones did not see (ecognize) the animals popely. They only ecognizedthei lizads. Those that they ate. They did not see (ecognize) all the foest animals popely. It was he, the Wai’, who taught us to eat popely.

We can now examine how the adoption of Chistianity by the Wai’ can becompehended as a pocess of adopting the enemy’s pespective analogous to thatof the myth, enabled by the bodily identication implied in the ceation of ties ofconsanguinity.

I stat with a bief pesentation of the missionaies who conveted the Wai’,the Ameican fundamentalist potestants of the New Tibes Mission.

The Missionaries as Consanguinized Enemies

The New Tibes Mission (NTM) was founded in 1942 in the United States anddenes itself as ‘a non-denominational agency that sends out fundamentalistmissionaies, with the aim of evangelizing and establishing chuches among un-contacted tibal peoples. It woks in linguistics, liteacy and tanslation of theBible’ (Mission Handbook, cited in Fenandes 1980: 134; see also Gallois andGupioni 1999).

Its st mission was in Bolivia, in the yea the NTM was founded, while itsenty into Bazil in 1946 took place pecisely on the bodes of the Wai’ teitoy,which extends to the Bazilian fontie with Bolivia. The missionaies took anactive pat in pacifying the Wai’ between 1956 (the date of peaceful contact withthe st subgoup) and 1961. Fo many Wai’, the missionaies wee the main

agents of pacication. They quickly established themselves at the attaction posts,suppoted by the govenment agency esponsible fo contact with indigenousgoups, the Indian Potection Sevice (SPI). The dominant ideology of thelatte oganization, which equated indoctinizing and civilizing, meant that themissionaies wee seen as key agents in the pocess of civilizing native peoples, as well as supplies of essential esouces, such as boats, medicines, and medical




and educational assistance. They constucted houses, whose suoundings weesoon occupied by the Wai’, and lived closely with them, concentating thei initialwok on leaning the language in ode to subsequently peach God’s message andtanslate the Bible.

The fatenization intinsic to the constitution of a Chistian community povedto be a key facto in the pocess of enteing the Wai’ wold. The missionaies calledthemselves bothes of the Wai’, and insisted that the latte wee also all bothesto each othe, theeby instituting a new moality that condemned all the taditional pactices elated to afnity, such as usuy, maital indelity, physical aggessionsand socey. They also pomoted ituals of commensality that involved the entiegoup of convets. Since, fo the Wai’, commensality poduces consubstantiality,this pomoted a genealized consubstantialization. This aspect immediatelyinteested the Wai’ since the suppession of afnity enabled by genealized

bothehood meant the latte was an ideal always pusued by them, albeit one peviously only expeienced in posthumous life. The missionaies attacted themwith an effective way of making this ideal achievable in life (see Vilaa 1996,1997; 2002b).

Since the missionaies continued to be classied as enemies like all othewhites, despite being bothes, thei position can be likened to that of the captued boy in the myth. In othe wods, although consanguinized, thei enemy’s oigin isalways ecalled just like the boy, whose mothe is called ‘the woman who aised

him’ by the naato, which is how the Wai’ efe to adoptive mothes in contast totue mothes, who ae ‘those women who gave bith’. The similaity in teatmentis the initial condition fo the compaison that I intend to pusue hee betweenthese two pocesses of convesion.

We can tun, then, to the tanslations of sections of the st chapte of Genesismade by the missionaies with the help of Wai’ intepetes, and to some ofthe comments of the Wai’ on divine ceation. Like the actions of the captued boy, these imply the establishment of a new elationship between humans andanimals.

God and the Creation

Genesis 1.1. In the past thee was no sky. In the past thee was no eath. Thee wasnothing, nothing, nothing, and so in the past God made. (Bible text in English [KingJames Bible]: In the beginning God ceated the heaven and the eath.)

Genesis 1. 24. He also said: All the animals will stay on eath. All the animals, the

stange animals (which ae not eaten), the tue animals (which ae eaten), all the stangeanimals that cawl acoss the eath. So it happened. (Bible text in English: And Godsaid, Let the eath bing foth the living ceatue afte his kind, cattle, and ceepingthing, and beast of the eath afte his kind: and it was so.)

Genesis 1. 25. This was how God ceated all the animals. He looked again. That’s it! It’svey good! This is good, I think. This is what he said. (Bible text in English: And God




made the beast of the eath afte his kind, and cattle afte thei kind, and evey thing thatceepeth upon the eath afte his kind: and God saw that it was good.)

Genesis 1. 26. He also said: Let’s make people. Who ae simila to us. He will be theleade/chief (taramaxikon) of all the sh and bids and all the stange animals. He will be the leade of all of the eath too. He will be the leade of all the stange animals whocawl acoss the eath. This is what he said. (Bible text in English: And God said, Let usmake man in ou image, afte ou likeness: and let them have dominion ove the sh ofthe sea, and ove the fowl of the ai, and ove the cattle, and ove all the eath, and oveevey ceeping thing that ceepeth upon the eath.)

Genesis 1. 28. He spoke contentedly. repoduce youselves many times […] Speadacoss all the othe lands. Be leades. Be leades of the sh, the bids and all the animals.(Bible text in English: And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fuitful, andmultiply, and eplenish the eath, and subdue it; and have dominion ove the sh of

the sea, and ove the fowl of the ai, and ove evey living thing that moveth upon theeath.)

Genesis 1: 30. Eat all the animals, all the bids, and all the stange animals that cawlacoss the eath as well. (Bible text in English: And to evey beast of the eath, and toevey fowl of the ai, and to evey thing that ceepeth upon the eath, wheein thee islife, I have given evey geen heb fo meat: and it was so.)

Although by compaing the Wai’ and English vesions, we can immediately make

a numbe of obsevations, these will become moe clealy evident if we add a thidaxis to the compaison: namely, the oal vesion of Genesis naated by an old Inuitman and analyzed by Laugand (1999). Like the Wai’, the Inuit ae a hunting people (though not hoticultuists) fo whom the notion of subjectivity extends beyond the human species to vaious types of animals, including thei pefeed pey. Although Laugand was woking with an oal account, while hee I am usinga widely-distibuted witten tanslation poduced by missionaies with the help ofWai’ intepetes, it seems to me that, just as in the Inuit account, elements of theWai’ cosmology affected the intepetation of the biblical text, though these mayhave gone unpeceived by the missionaies (Laugand 1999: 94).

Fist of all, we can note that, diffeent to the English vesion, the Wai’tanslation of the st vese has to emphasize an oiginal void in ode fo theact of ceation to become possible. As thei peplexity duing the initial peiodof catechism makes clea, the idea of ceation is foeign to the Wai’, fo whomthings, animals and people always existed in the wold. Among the Inuit, emphasisis given to the indiffeentiation of the pimodial wold, whee humans and animalsappeaed like each othe and lived togethe (ibid: 96). Hence, in thei vesion of

Genesis, the pimodial wold emeges ‘vey smoky’ (ibid: 95) and dak until Godceates light. We can obseve that, diffeent to the Wai’, the notion of ceationthough wods is not stange to them: the Inuit have a myth telling how light wasceated by the wod of cow, tied of cashing against the cliffs as he seached fohis nest, theeby outwitting the wod of fox, who, as a noctunal hunte, did notwant light (ibid: 95).




We can also notice that the diffeence between wild and domestic animalsfound in the ‘oiginal’ biblical text makes no sense whatsoeve. The Wai’ eplacedthis diffeence with the opposition between edible and inedible animals, while theInuit eplaced it with the diffeence between land animals and those of the sea,a cental dimension of thei expeience (ibid: 97). Nonetheless, Laugand (ibid:98) highlights a point that eveals an impotant diffeence in elation to the Wai’vesion: in the Inuit naative, the pat efeing to the submission of all animalsto humans is omitted entiely, since, the autho wites, this would imply a adicaltansfomation of the status of animals fo the Inuit, a ‘complete tansfomation ofthe ontological and cosmological systems’ (ibid: 98).

In the Wai’ vesion, the elationship with animals is indeed modied, since men become leades of all animals, whethe edible o not (the stange animals to whichthe Wai’ efe). Hee we can tun to the Wai’ comments on divine ceation.

Surprised by Creation

The Wai’ supise with the idea of ceation duing the initial phase of catechism becomes evident in thei comments on this specic moment of contact with themissionaies. Paletó, a man of about 75 yeas, descibes thei astonishment asfollows:

royal (a missionay of the New Tibes Mission) was singing. The Wai’ askedthemselves: “What is he singing?” We just staed at him. He said: “It was ou fathewho made us.” The Wai’ emaked: “What’s he on about?” The OoNao of the Whites(the st Wai’ subgoup to have contact with the missionaies and with the whites ingeneal) did not undestand this stoy of God eithe. And royal said: “Ou fathe madeus. He made you, myself too, my wife, you women, the sh, fogs and ants and all theanimals. God made the snakes. He made ou thoat and ou tongue so we could speak.”And the Wai’ continued to ask themselves: “What on eath is this about?”

The same man explained to me on anothe occasion:

We don’t know fom whee ou ancestos came. The oldest ancestos did not know fomwhee they came. When the youngstes asked the eldes: “Whee did we come fom?”“I’ve no idea.” “Who made us?” “Nobody made us. We exist fo no eason.” … Weneve thought about God. We neve thought: does God exist? No, neve.

And his daughte Oowao Kaaxu added:

In the past nobody knew that it was God who had ceated eveything. We met the whitesand leant about him. Fo the eldes, the animals always wandeed aound pointlessly.Thee was no eason fo the animals’ existence, they thought.




Today, aound 40 yeas afte missionization began, the constant afmation ofdivine ceation in the chuch sevices eveals that the idea of ceation still appeasstange to the Wai’ – meaning that they must eafm this idea continually,especially in the payes spoken aloud at the stat of the sevice. I povide theeexamples given by thee diffeent people in the same sevice:

“Had thee been a wari’ [peson] who knew how to make … all the fuits, all the sh,all the bids. The stas in the sky, the sun as well….”

“We ae vey happy with you wod. All the animals that you made on eath. The eldesdidn’t know. This is why we eat. Wee it not fo the animals that you made....”

“Who was the peson (wari’) who made things? Why does honey exist? We admie Godfo this. This is his wok.”

In this same sevice, the nal paye utteed by the peache said: “My fathe God.We adoe you fo all the animals that you made on eath. All the animals that weeat, all the sh that we eat, all the fuit that we suck.”

Finally, Paletó emaked while chatting with me one day: “It was God whomade us speak. He is the one who makes babies in the womb. The Wai’ don’tknow how to sculpt with clay. It was God who knew how to make us.”

The fact of ceation in itself implies the imposition of the pespective of theceato, God, who made men the mastes of animals – that is, pedatos. In Paletó’s

wods:

They used to avoid amadillo, coati. When we encounteed the whites, the believestold us to eat eveything, since it was God who had made them. They didn’t causesickness. Pegnant women eat amadillo, eagle. The latte animal became a tue bid(pey) fo us. They eat electic eel and nothing happens. Why? “I ceated the animals,”said God. “Oh, so that’s the way of things, then,” we said.

Predation

As with God, the enemy child in the myth ceated animals by adjusting the vision ofthe Wai’ so that they could see them popely. God ceates the wold by xing theWai’ in the position of pedatos, just as the captued enemy adjusts the viewpointof the Wai’, tansfoming them fom pey (when all animals wee jaguas) into pedatos (see Bonilla, this volume, fo the same model, albeit inveted).

We can conclude, theefoe, that the convesion to Chistianity was not the st

convesion expeienced by the Wai’ and that both convesions ae chaacteized by a change of pespective, involving the adoption of a foeign point of view.Futhemoe, a point cucial to both convesions is the alteed elation betweenhumans and animals.

By conceiving humanity and animality as essentially evesible positions –given that both the Wai’ and thei pefeed pey may be located in the position of




humans (wari’), dened as pedatos, o in the position of animals (karawa), denedas pey – the Wai’ expeience life as a constant stuggle to dene themselves ashuman and emain that way. As a esult, the edenition of pedation in a diectionthat favous them (situating them as pedatos athe than pey) matches whatthe Wai’ seek out in thei daily life, a movement analogous to the genealized bothehood o ‘de-afnization’ also pomulgated by Chistianity. Compaison withthe myth enables us to conclude that, fo the Wai’, this edenition is conceived asa switch of pespective instituted by a ceative act of enemy oigin.

Alteration

As we have seen, a ecuing featue in Wai’ discouse concening the intoduction

of Chistianity is that the existence of a God who ceated the wold was completelyunknown to the ancient ones. In contast to some othe goups, the Wai’ have notewoked thei pe-Chistian histoy by claiming that they aleady knew of God(see Gow 2006). The infomation bought by missionaies was completely newand is still seen to be so today. Although both the missionaies and the captued boy wee consubstantialized in some fom, thei enemy oigin is continuallyecalled. In this sense, the convesion of the Wai’ in both cases meant theiadoption of the enemy’s point of view, which inteested them pecisely because

of its stangeness.Howeve, we need to emembe that the possibility of incopoating thisnew pespective depends on the pocess of bodily tansfomation implied inconsanguinization (see Gotti and Bonilla, this volume, fo the same view of (see Gotti and Bonilla, this volume, fo the same view ofconvesion as bodily change). Just as the boy’s point of view was st incopoated. Just as the boy’s point of view was st incopoated by his paents and siblings, subsequently by his neighbous and only late by moeemote people (at a distance such as the rio Nego and Guajaá, specied in themyth), convesion also involved the mediation of kin – although it occued insudden fashion (see Vilaa 2002a, 2005) – who enteated othes to convet toensue they would not go to hell.

It is impotant to add that the pespective’s extenal oigin does not explain allthe inteest that it aouses (see robbins 2004: 319). Just as the teachings of the boy in the myth would fail to succeed if the new game animals wee not tasty, thewod of God would not have attacted them had it not opened up the same kind of possibility: of eating moe, of eveything, without fea.

In the case of Chistianity, the new point of view has also involved the possession of new technologies and powes that poved to be highly effective ight

fom the outset. I efe in paticula to metal objects, eams and medicines. Theexpeience of sevee epidemics, extemely common duing the st contacts withwhites (who in Amazonia, and in the Wai’ case in paticula, wee vey oftenmissionaies), was nomally devastating, undemining taditional theapies, notonly in tems of thei objective esults, but pimaily in elation to the cosmologicalmodels on which such theapeutic pactices ae based.




By this I do not mean to lend suppot to those models that explain native inteestin Chistianity and convesion as an outcome of distubances to the woldviewcaused by contact with the west. Accoding to these models, taditional conceptualschemas ae unable to deal with the questions povoked by these new expeiences,including the expanded woldview implied by contact. In contast, these authosague, wold eligions such as Chistianity offe a moe univesalist and ationaldoctine suited to dealing with this new lived wold and its distinct issues (seeWebe 1956, 1987; Bellah 1964; Geetz 1973; Hoton 1975; also see Hefne 1993see Hefne 1993and Pollock 1993 fo citical comments).).

In the case of the Wai’ and vaious othe Amazonian goups, taditionalcosmological models wee systematically weakened not because of theiiationality o limited scope, but because of thei ineffectiveness in a specichistoical context. In summation, if people died in lage numbes, despite complying

with all the necessay taboos and ituals, this suggested that the taditional spiits odivinities wee impotent. And if the medicines supplied by whites cued them, theyattibuted thei efcacy to the powe of God, paticulaly since the missionaiesthemselves made this association explicit (see Fienup-riodan 1991; Laugand1997; Hugh-Jones 1994; Taylo 1981; Viveios de Casto 1992a; Wight 1999).Consequently, the missionaies wee in many cases taken to be poweful shamans, pompting indigenous shamans to ty to communicate diectly with this God in thesame way as they did with thei auxiliay spiits.

While keeping in mind all these nuances, we can obseve that the coe questionin the Wai’ case, undelying the diffeent inteests elated to Chistianity, emains

the same: the constant attempt to stabilize themselves in the position of humanity.

Although it may have become moe acute duing this peiod, its oigin pecedes the

so-called disuptions of contact. In the same way as eating divese kinds of animals,

the possibility of suviving diseases, having moe childen (thanks to the end of

post-patum sexual estictions) and using moe efcient tools allows the Wai’

to maximize the type of poduction that inteests them and makes them human:

namely, the poduction of people and elations (see Wagne 1975: 20–26).

Hell as the Place of Prey

The Wai’ inteest in secuing the position of pedatos in the pedato-peyhe pedato-peye pedato-peyelationship not only explains the two examples of convesion (involving theenemy boy and the missionaies and God) but also the cucial ole played by theantithesis of Chistianity’s ideal wold – that is, hell (Vilaa 1997; 2002b). Indeed

the fea of hell is much moe of a diving foce fo convesion than the inteestin heaven, a stange and steile place, fomed by individuals who have no contact between themselves. The Wai’ seem to pefe this heaven to thei undestandingof hell, a place whee people ae oasted fo etenity (they say: “ou soul is leftto oast ove the e”). The hoo of hell seems to deive fom the fact that theethey ae xed foeve in the position of pey, in pecisely the opposite diection to




God’s act of ceating the wold. The same fate of pey-hood is eseved fo pagansat the end of the wold, when those who have not isen to heaven with God will beeaten by the jaguas who will populate the eath.

Howeve, the Wai’ desciption of heaven etains a paticula inteest, if notfo themselves, then at least fo ou analysis of thei undestanding of Chistianity.Thee eveyone is young and beautiful, but each peson has thei own housesepaate fom the est. Eveyone weas new clothes and shoes, and spends theiwhole time witing God’s wod. They call each othe by consanguine kinshiptems, even those who wee husband and wife o siblings-in-law while alive.Howeve, the acts that dene consanguine elations ae completely absent: they donot look afte each othe, do not sleep togethe, do not exchange food and do nottalk with one anothe. They ae kin without elations; a pe-given kinship, distinctfom the type that exists in the lived wold of the Wai’, whee these elations

only exist when poduced by daily acts (Vilaa 2002a, 2005). Instead, we ndindividuals of the kind that, as Dumont (1983) has shown, have chaacteizedChistianity since its beginnings: pesons who exist pio to elations – as thoughthe complete and denitive elimination of afnity esults in the absence of anyelation and the poduction of steile beings who ae not eally human. The Wai’seem to have fully compehended that this idea is a cental aspect of Chistianityand that it would be incompatible with thei elational wold, pompting them toconne individuals to the sky, a place of little inteest to them. The contast with

the Uapmin case (robbins 2004) is evealing, since the latte people expeiencea shap conict between thei elational values and Chistian individualism. Bydisplacing the individual fom thei wold, the Wai’ also id themselves of thiskind of conict (see Vilaa 2007b).

Conclusion

robbins (2004) agues that those theoetical models which seek to explain nativeinteest in Chistianity as the esult of distubances to the indigenous woldviewcaused by contact with the west fail to addess one main poblem: namely, thatcompehension of the popely intellectual aspects of Chistianity is not immediateand that the initial inteest deives pimaily fom a desie to esolve issues elatedto the taditional cultue.

Noting the evident dichotomy between utilitaian and intellectualist explanatoymodels in the liteatue on convesion, robbins (2004: 84–8) in his monogaph onthe Uapmin poposes a theoetical model fo the convesion to Chistianity that

combines the stuctualist models developed by Sahlins (1981, 1985) and Dumont(1983) to explain social change. In his combined model, robbins poposes twotypes of motivation, located in two distinct phases. The initial phase can beundestood though Sahlins’s notion of assimilation whee the new events andactos ae intepeted via the native cultue. In the case of the Uapmin, the divingfoce fo thei inteest in Chistianity was the humiliation they expeienced in




elation to both the Austalian colonizes and neighbouing Min goups, whofo cicumstantial easons had geate access to westen goods and knowledge,displacing the Uapmin fom thei impotant position in the egion’s itualhieachy. Subsequently, the goup ealized that making close contacts with theseagents by adheing to Chistianity would enable them to ecupeate thei itual pestige (robbins 2004: 20). The pocess of tansfomation descibed by Sahlinsfoms a second moment within this st phase. Native categoies and the elations between them ae tansfomed when applied to the new context, yet it is still thenative cultue that continues to guide thinking and action.

This is followed by the second, popely intellectualist, phase, which in theUapmin case occued with a evival, when Chistian cultue began to oganizevaious aspects of Uapmin life (robbins 2004: 30). Inspied by an aticle in whichSahlins deals with moe adical cultual tansfomations (Sahlins [1992] 2005),

robbins (2004: 11) intepets this as a case of adoption, in which a new cultualsystem is adopted as a whole and ends up coexisting with the native system.

Dumont’s model of a hieachy of values is used to compehend the elation between the taditional cultue and Chistianity via this notion of adoption. Chistianvalues and moality pogessively encompass taditional values, the contadiction between them meaning that the Uapmin live in a constant state of moal conict.Thee ae two cental pais of conicting values: the valoization of will and desiein native cultue, and thei condemnation in Chistianity; and the conict between

Chistian individualism and Uapmin elationalism (robbins 2004: 291–3). Theindividualism vesus elationalism dichotomy is closely inspied by Dumont’sopposition (1983) between individualism and holism. robbins notes that – asDumont (1983: 231) had aleady obseved – we cannot speak of holism in thecase of the Uapmin o Melanesia in geneal since, unlike India, the encompassingvalue is not that of society as a whole, but elations themselves (see Leenhadt1979, Stathen 1988 and Gell 1998 on the pimacy of elations ove individualsin Melanesia).

I have gone into some detail in explaining robbins’s model as his is the stattempt to constuct a theoetical model fo convesion, gounded in a detailedethnogaphy (but intended fo wide application), in which the concept of cultueemains cental, and which looks to econcile the appaently opposed cultualmovements of continuity and uptue. I theefoe believe it is inteesting to testthe applicability of this model to the Wai’, since this will allow us to moe clealydene the specicities of the pesent ethnogaphic case and, potentially, those ofAmazonia as a whole.

The distinction made between these two phases, one utilitaian, the othe

intellectualist, makes little sense in the Wai’ case. Taking the utilitaian phase inits naowe and moe geneally accepted sense, the inteest in the missionaies’objects and medicines cannot be dissociated fom the inteest in thei alteity. Theeffectiveness of these goods is intinsically linked to the powe inheent in theothe. Seen in these tems, the utilitaian phase is still ongoing: the objects aemateializations of capacities, which must be evealed continually. Even if we




assume the wide sense of the tem utilitaian attibuted by robbins, whee theinteest in Chistianity is based on cultual pemises foeign to it (such as theUapmin concen fo thei ole in the egional itual system), we cannot asset thatthe Wai’ at any point passed fom one phase to anothe. The inteest in Chistianitywas always based on a poblem intenal to Wai’ cultue and independent of theaival of the whites, as we have seen by tuning to myth, linked to the equation theymake between humans and pedatos and the attempt to secue this position.4

If the utilitaian phase, in robbins’s tems (2004), is still ongoing, it can also be said that the intellectualist phase compised by the inteest in Chistianity asa distinct cultual system has ovelapped the fome fom the vey beginning. Itis pecisely because it foms a system apat, anothe woldview, that Chistianityinteested the Wai’, making it an intinsically poweful tool fo esolving intenalquestions. When we ae dealing with a cultue whose fom of epoduction is

diffeentiation (Wagne 1975: 45–52), continuity and diffeence ae, as Sahlinsobseved (1981: 68), insepaable.

Consequently, we cannot compehend convesion in the Wai’ case thoughthe adoption model developed by robbins fo the Uapmin, whee two cultualsystems coexist though a hieachical oganization of thei values. What we faceinstead is a system whose cental stuctue contains a place to be occupied by anothe which is objectied diffeently at each moment, as Lévi-Stauss showed(1995) in analyzing the opening of Ameican native peoples to the colonizes at

the moment of invasion. Accoding to this autho (1995: 220), ‘...the place ofthe Whites was aleady maked in the fom of a hollow space within systems ofthought based on a dichotomous pinciple that at each stage foces the tems to become double, so that the ceation of the Indians by the demiuge necessitated aswell the ceation of non-Indians’.5

This obsevation is the stating point fo Viveios de Casto’s analysis (1992;2002) of the convesion of the seventeenth centuy Tupinambá. Discussing themissionaies’ supise at thei apid convesion, the autho asks: ‘So why didthe savages want to be like us? … which eligion and which system of beliefswee these that contained within themselves the desie fo thei own pedition?’

4 Note that robbins contemplates this possibility. He agues that it was his decision to Note that robbins contemplates this possibility. He agues that it was his decision tofocus on the domain of the moal, in which the changes become conscious, that enabled thedesciption of the Chistianization of the Uapmin via the adoption model. Had he focusedon anothe domain of Uapmin cultue, such as magic, fo instance, Sahlins’s models ofassimilation and tansfomation would have poven moe suitable (robbins 2004: 316).The autho explains that the focus on moality is gounded in the ethnogaphy: ‘moaltansfomation is the oveiding peoccupation of contempoay Uapmin’ (ibid: 317).This is not a contingent peoccupation, he agues, but one detemined by the fact that thedomain of moality is whee change becomes conscious. In addition, ‘the cultual contentof Chistianity foegounds the question of moal change’ (ibid: 317).

5 See Viveios de Casto (2000: 49–54) fo an exploation of Lévi-Stauss’s analysis,See Viveios de Casto (2000: 49–54) fo an exploation of Lévi-Stauss’s analysis, based on indigenous naatives of the encounte with the whites.




(Viveios de Casto 1992a: 26; 2002: 193–4). Fo Viveios de Casto, the easonwhy this cultue so quickly embaced the theology and cosmology of the invadeswas not just the ecognition of the technological supeioity of the stanges, o anycoincidence between native mythology and aspects of the invading society. At ootwas a moe fundamental pinciple, the ‘opening to the Othe’ (Lévi-Stauss 1995),which chaacteizes Ameindian thought. In the case of the Tupinambá discussed inhis text, ‘the othe hee was not meely thinkable – he was indispensable’ (Viveiosde Casto 2002: 194–5). Howeve, this involved – and this is an essential point – adesie to be othe ‘in thei own tems’ (ibid: 195).

This peculia and appaently suicidal way of teating one’s own cultue leadsthe autho to question the notion of cultue dominant in anthopology – a notionfounded, as I mentioned at the stat of this aticle, on the idea of continuity. Thus,while ‘We believe that evey society tends to pesist in its own being – cultue

being the eexive fom of this being – and that violent and massive pessue isneeded fo it to become defomed and tansfom. … pehaps fo societies foundedon the relation with the other , athe than coincidence with self , whee elations pedominate ove substance, none of this makes the least bit of sense’ (1992a: 27;2002: 195).6

Elsewhee, Viveios de Casto povides anothe citique of the applicability ofthe anthopological concept of cultue to Ameindians based on othe ethnogaphicdata and othe poblems, which seems to me even moe decisive in tems of

highlighting the limitations of the notion of Chistian cultue used by robbins (2004)fo the analysis of Wai’ Chistianity. In developing his notion of pespectivism,Viveios de Casto (1996, 1998, 2002) agues that native Amazonian peoples tendto invet the Euo-Ameican model of the natue/cultue elation. If, as Wagne poposed (1975: 41), evey cultue poceeds fom a denition of the given andthe constucted (that is, the effective esults of human action), in Amazonia, asin othe pats of the wold, cultue is the given and natue the constucted. Thismeans that the ules detemining social and cosmological elations ae consideedto be the outcome of actions that pecede the existence of pesons in the pesent.

This given cultue is still common to all those beings consideed to be human,including divese animal species, spiits and enemies. In the case of the Wai’, both they and these othe beings live in houses, have families, cae fo theichilden and kin, hold festivals and classify beings via the categoies of pedatoand pey. Geneally speaking, each being sees itself as human and pedato, andthe othes – beings of othe species – as pey, whethe animals o enemies. Thediffeence between them esides pecisely in the mateial wold pojected by thei pespectives, not in thei pactices. While all human beings dink chicha (tockwa),

the chicha of the Wai’ is maize bee, the jagua’s chicha is blood, the tapi’s is clayand the whites’ is sugacane um. And as I obseved at the beginning of this aticle, pespective is an attibute of the body. Hence, it is because the jagua (as a species)

6 See Cliffod (1988: 344), Tooke (1992) and Vilaa (1999, 2007a). Also see TaussigSee Cliffod (1988: 344), Tooke (1992) and Vilaa (1999, 2007a). Also see Taussig(1993b) on the mimetic compulsion of indigenous Ameicans.




has a paticula type of body, constituted by specic foods and cetain habits andaffects, that it sees blood as chicha.

Acquiing anothe pespective implies adopting new copoal habits.Consequently, the idea of tansfomation in Amazonia is based on bodymetamophosis, athe than the cultual absoption pesumed by classical westenmodels of accultuation (see Viveios de Casto 1998: 481 and note 14; Vilaa 1999;2006; 2007a). In the case of Chistianity, by consubstantializing with missionaiesand though them with God (who acts as a fathe), the Wai’ ae able to expeiencea completely new wold – that is, a new natue – although not a new cultue. In this new wold, animals ae no longe humans, and afnes ae consanguines.As a esult, pedation, which peviously took place in two diections, becomes acapacity exclusive to the Wai’ and diected towads the exteio only, with thesuppession of the intenal aggessions associated with afnity. Chistianity is, fo

them, at least at this moment, pimaily a new pespective on elations, instituted by an act of ceation of enemy oigin.

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Unicamp: 155–216.



Chapte 9

Shamans and Missionaies: Tansitions and

Tansfomations in the Kivalliq Coastal AeaFédéic B. Laugand and Jaich G. Oosten

Illustation 9.1 The igloo Chuch of rev. Amand Tagoona as it can be seentoday in Bake Lake, Nunavut

Introduction

Using achival and oal souces collected in ecent yeas, we examine the adoptionof Chistianity by the Inuit of the Canadian Cental Actic fom the vey stcontacts to the 1970s. Since the ethnogaphical mateial is quite ich and sincewe have aleady documented the case of south Bafn Island elsewhee,1 we willhee concentate on the Kivalliq coastal aea, fom Chuchill to noth Bafn. Wewill discuss eligious changes fom a histoical as well as an anthopological

pespective. We will show how Canadian Inuit fom this aea eceived andnegotiated Chistianity. We will focus on angakkuit , shamans, and missionaiesand exploe how Inuit integated shamanism in the context of Chistianity.

1 See Laugand, Oosten and Tudel (2006) and Laugand, Oosten and Kakkik (2003).




We will show that shamans could become missionaies and missionaiescould act as shamans. As such, the Inuit case confoms to a model which is quitecommon in the Ameicas (see Viveios de Casto 1997). But we also ague thatInuit convesion cannot be undestood adequately if tansfomation and tansitionae not consideed as two simultaneous dynamics opeating at diffeent levels.These dynamics make it possible fo contempoay Inuit to claim that they aeChistians in thei own way without losing thei taditions.

The Adoption of Christianity

First Contacts Between Inuit and Missionaries

The vey st contacts between Inuit and Chistian missionaies ae difcult todate but they pobably took place at the end of the seventeenth centuy with theaival of the Jesuit missionaies. Since missionaies on the boats did not speakInuktitut, and the Inuit did not speak Fench o English, little esulted fom thesest meetings.

Duing the ealy nineteenth centuy, especially afte the Chuch MissionaySociety (CMS) stated opening its mission posts in nothen Canada in 1820, theInuit began to encounte Anglican missionaies on an occasional basis. In the

summe of 1822, the vey st Anglican missionay fom the CMS, reveend JohnWest, met with Augustus, an Inuk intepete who had just accompanied CaptainJohn Fanklin on his tip to the noth. Fom 20 July to 20 August, West may have been the st one to give eligious instuction with some effect to Inuit. Achivalmateials indicate he taught the Gospel to Achshannook, a big family leade, aswell as to othe Inuit coming to the post to tade thei fus. In the 1860s Chistianideas wee thus aleady speading amongst the Inuit. The Inuit came into contactwith Catholic missionaies when they tavelled south to Fot Chuchill, CaibouLake, o Athabascan Lake.

Duing a tip made inland fom Apil to Novembe 1868 fom Caibou Lake toDoobant Lake, a Fench missionay fom the Oblate ode, Fathe A. Gasté, epotedmeeting a poweful Inuit chief who aleady knew about God (Gasté 1960 [1869]: 2).

The lette witten by Fathe Gasté indicates that the Inuit had welcomed himas ‘a new kind of shaman’: ‘It appeaed that my gand black coat, its numeous buttons, as well as the cucix that I woe on my belt, intigued them vey much.They could not take thei eyes fom them.’ Fathe Gasté epots: ‘this chief (theshaman) consideed as the geatest magician and the most poweful socee of his

nation, immediately wanted to compae his powes to mine’, and he descibes the pocedue followed by the Inuit leade:

Ou magician wished to convince himself (of the gandeu of my chaacte.) To that pupose he insisted on sleeping in my tent despite all my effots to change his mind.Although I did not know his eal motive, I saw no point in esisting futhe; theefoe



Shamans and Missionaries 169

I let him sleep in my tent in the company of one of my sevants. The next moning ouEskimo chief told anyone who was willing to listen that it was evealed to him duinghis sleep, that I was not just an odinay guy, but something much geate. (Gasté 1960[1869]: 6; ou tanslation)

Duing this tip, and though intepetes, Fathe Gasté did his best to instuct theInuit he met, celebating mass evey day, paying with women and childen duingthe long walks in the tunda and teaching the Chistian values as much as possible(Gasté 1960 [1869]: 12–14).

One evening, Fathe Gasté even accepted to take pat in a shamanic feast,unawae of its shamanic natue. The feast stated with dum dances that he saw assign of God’s pesence (Gasté 1960 [1869]: 12).

The Anglican Mission Post in Churchill

At the end of the nineteenth centuy, but especially between 1883 and 1894 whenthe CMS opened a pemanent mission, Chuchill gadually became a place wheeInuit could be in diect contact with Chistian ideas, pactices and values. The stcontacts between a missionay fom the CMS, J. Lofthouse, and the Inuit took place in 1886, when a few Inuit came in to tade thei fus to the Hudson BayCompany post.

Lofthouse soon ealised that he needed moe and longe contacts with the Inuitto peach the Gospel to them.2 Fo half a yea Lofthouse tied to convey the Gospelto Inuit families visiting the post to tade. Gadually he eceived moe esponse but the missionay still faced many poblems in following the CMS ‘Native Chuch policy’ focusing on the taining of native people to spead the Gospel. Lofthousemight had some esults in the evangelization of women and childen and he could baptize a few people, but it was difcult fo him to nd a suitable Inuk to be instuctedin ode to spead the Gospel among the Inuit. Inuit enjoyed leaning the syllabicsystem as well as the hymns. And these activities obviously povided a goodcontext fo teaching the Gospel.

Duing the summe of 1888, Lofthouse eceived some assistance in the languagefom William Ollebuck 3 and succeeded in nding a young gil, ‘Ahugsak’, toassist him. Appaently wod of his mission was speading aound and in 1890 alage paty aived to see him. That same winte, Lofthouse elated that even Pauk,a conjuo, ‘is anxious to lean and begged fo a book so that his childen mightlean to ead’ (Laugand 2002: 89). In June, he epoted fo the st time aboutInuit especting Sunday as a day of abstention.4

2 NAC/CMS/reel A. 114–119/Jounal fom J. Lofthouse fom Januay 1st to NAC/CMS/reel A. 114–119/Jounal fom J. Lofthouse fom Januay 1st toDecembe 30, 1886.

3 NAC/CMS/reelA. 116/Jounal fom J. Lofthouse, fom June 21 to Decembe 31, 1888. NAC/CMS/reel A. 116/Jounal fom J. Lofthouse, fom June 21 to Decembe 31, 1888.4 NAC/CMS/reel A. 116/Jounal fom J. Lofthouse, June 1st to Decembe 31, 1890. NAC/CMS/reel A. 116/Jounal fom J. Lofthouse, June 1st to Decembe 31, 1890.




respecting Sundays appaently was one of the st Chistian pactices pickedup by the Inuit. In 1892, Lofthouse nally managed to make a tip to the noth,to Mable Island. His impessions eect how Inuit wee aleady speading theGospel among themselves and pobably combining it with thei own beliefs and pactices. Duing his tip, Lofthouse met Powow, who had a seious inteest inChistianity.

In 1905, when the CMS gadually ended its funding of missions in nothenCanada, Lofthouse and many othes felt disappointed, but no Anglican missionaieswee to be sent back to this pat of the easten Actic befoe the ealy 1920s.5 It ishad to assess the impact of Lofthouse missionay activities in the Kivalliq as theCMS did not build futhe on his wok. Lofthouse’s jounals and lettes suggestthat afte initial scepticism the Inuit developed a geat inteest in his peaching.Appaently Inuit stated especting the Sundays and they pobably adopted moe

Chistian pactices and beliefs such as using payes.

The Missionaries in Kivalliq

In 1912, a roman Catholic mission was founded in Chesteeld Inlet by FatheTuquetil and Fathe Leblanc. Catholic missionaies tageted the shamans,angakkuit, as thei main opponents consideing them as socees and cheats.

Duing the st yeas of the new mission, the roman Catholic missionaies

wee not vey successful in conveting the Inuit. They wee even accused ofmaking the game ee fom the huntes. The situation gadually impoved afte afew impotant local families and local shamans conveted in 1917.

Even in aeas whee missionaies wee not yet pesent, many Inuit camp leadeshad aleady decided to convet thei families. The wod of God spead apidlyand eached the aeas futhe noth at geat speed. Inuences of both the CatholicMission in Chesteeld Inlet and the Anglican Mission in Blacklead wee at wok. Noth Bafn eldes who emembe this peiod indicate that at the time they weenot able to clealy distinguish Anglican fom Catholic ideas but that they eceivedall these new ideas with enthusiasm. Inuit especially welcomed new Chistian pinciples and ules integating them in thei own taditions. Membes of the FifthThule expedition such as rasmussen, Mathiassen and Feuchen wee well awaeof the apid developments in the aea. Feuchen (1935: 389–90) epoted:

We taveled with an old couple, Awa and his wife, and thei adopted boy, … We spentan inteesting time along the Melville Peninsula as the natives embaced Chistianitywhile we wee thee. … The convesions took place at a meeting, and immediately

all the old estictions fell by the wayside. In fact, it was a geat elief to the nativesto be able to sew all sots of skins at any time of day o night, to be pemitted to huntwhicheve animals they needed, etc.

5 Anglican Chuch of Canada (ACC)/Geneal Synod Achives (GSA) /VII g(ii). Lette Anglican Chuch of Canada (ACC)/Geneal Synod Achives (GSA) /VII g(ii). Lettefom J. Lofthouse to Peck, Novembe 23, 1905.




Siqqitirniq

In some egions in Bafn Island and the nothen pats of the Kivalliq and Aivilikaeas – especially in the Melville peninsula –, a new itual, called siqqitir(niq) fothe tansition to Chistianity was developed. A meeting would be held by the campleade o a shaman and the heat of an animal, usually a fesh seal, would be dividedinto pats and eaten by all the paticipants. As the eating of a heat was pohibited by taditional customs, especially to women, the itual expessed the tansition to anew way of life fee fom the estictions of the old ways (see Laugand 2002; seealso Iqugaqtuq 1978: 16). Noah Piugaattuk fom Iglulik ecalled:

Shamans (angakkuit ) wee losing thei powe though siqqitiq. Befoe Chistianity,they could not eat cetain things fom cetain animals (uumajuit ), but afte eating they

can now do anything they want to. That’s how they stated Chistianity. Back then Iwent though siqqitiq too. Somebody went hunting beaded seal. The man came backwith a seal. He bought us a heat (uummati), they cut it into pieces. Those people whowanted to go though siqqitiq confessed what they did and what they didn’t like fomthe past (qaqqialiq). Some even cied while they wee confessing. … Befoe siqqitiq

some people could eat heat, but othe people, mostly women wee not allowed to eatheat. If a woman’s elatives died, she couldn’t eat some meat fo about a yea. Afte siqqitiq, huntes would stop to give wate to the seal they shot, because that would beSatan’s ules ( piqujait ). At that time we did not know what baptizing was.

Fo Piugaattuq the tansition fom the old to the new life ceates a distinction between Chistian ules and Satan’s ules. What may have been good in the pasthas to be ejected now. In etospect, siqqitirniq appeas to be peceived as anequivalent of baptism.

rose Iqallijuq ecalled how she celebated siqqitiq with he in-laws in thecamp of Ittusadjuat and he accounts connect the siqqitiq not to baptism but to aHoly Communion that libeated Inuit fom the ules of the past:

As we went inside, the tent was full of people. The whole camp was in thee and Isaw a plate with walus meat (aivirminiq), like heat (uummati), guts (inaluat ), live(tinguq) and bain (qarisaq). Thee wee vey small pieces on the plate (mikittukuluk ).Fist somebody ate, then all ate, and we nished it. Then we said a paye to God( Nunaliurti), that we wanted a new life and that we wanted the good spiit to comedown. We wee all Inuit thee. Thee was no Anglican ministe and no Catholic piest.We wee all togethe, we wee using siqqitiq. I was baptized late on. ... A lot of peopledid siqqitiq at that time. The plate was eally full of meat such as heat, live, intestines,tongue (uqaq) and a lot of people gatheed in thee. They all ate and they nished thewhole plate. They just took the meat togethe and ate it by themselves. Befoe, thewomen could not eat some pats of meat, like tongue, head, o some pats of seal. Butwhen they did siqqitiq, they ate this fobidden meat fom the plate saying ‘let me eat a piece of the body of Chist’, and then somebody gave them eligion. Now they could eateveything they wanted. Afte they did this, they said a paye to God.




rachel Uyaasuk ecalled that people wee asked why they wanted to pefom theitual:

Afte they head of eligion, it was when they wanted to tun towads Chistianity.When they decided they wee going to siqqitiq, they went to the windbeak. … They bought a seal to the wind beak. They cut the seal open and took out the intestines, thelive, heat, the eyes, the tongue and they wee all cut to small pieces. They did not have plates in those days, so they placed them on the seal. They wee cut into tiny pieces and put togethe. In the end, the people wee in a line, and each was given a piece of meatto put into the mouth. People wee asked why they wanted to go though this ceemony.Evey one of them eplied,

‘We ae going though this because we want to take Chistianity.’ My mothe told me,if I wee asked, to say, ‘I want to go to Jesus’. When the peson giving the meat came

to me, that peson gave me an eye and a piece of intestine. It was cut small enough tochew. I was asked why I wanted to take eligion. Hee I was, just a child. I was oldenough to speak. I eplied as my mothe instucted me ‘Because I want to go to Jesuswhen I die.’ Eveyone of us was given a piece of meat. The meaning of this was that allthese pats of a seal, the meat, the heat, the intestine wee all pats of the pittaili – thetaboos. And they wee no longe going to be used o obseved. Thee would be no patof the seal that people would have to efain fom eating. This was not just the case foseal, but fo all othe animals as well. Thee wee not going to be any moe efainingsfom eating any pats of any animal. This is why we wee given bits and pieces of

eveything. (Oosten and Laugand 1999: 123)

In all accounts the ejection of the old food estictions, pittailiniit , was the coe ofthe tansition to Chistianity. Clealy some elements fom the Chistian taditionwee quite meaningful fo the Inuit. Hee, the itual evokes the Paulinian contast between the Law of the Old Testament and Chist, but the eldes do not efe tosuch a connection.

Inuit Parousial Movements

While competition fo souls between Anglican and roman Catholic missionaiesompetition fo souls between Anglican and roman Catholic missionaieswas intense, eligion apidly spead fom the st missionay centes to aeasthat wee neve visited by missionaies. The Inuit adopted thei own vesions ofChistianity combining Chistian and shamanic ideas and pactices. Angakkuit played an impotant pat in pepaing the tansition to Chistianity and vaiousattempts to combine Chistianity and shamanism wee made. God, Chist, angelsand even the Holy Tinity might appea to people.

A membe of the Fifth Thule expedition, Pete Feuchen (1935: 389–90) elatesa epot of Awa about seeing the Holy Tinity:

Awa told us that only last summe he had had a emakable expeience, …. He wassitting outside his tent caving a walus tusk when he saw thee men appoaching thesettlement. He did not know who they might be, but suddenly ecognized them as




the new gods of the Tinity, the Fathe, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Awa shouted foeveyone to come out and eceive the dignied guests. And then, when a cetain littlegil discoveed they woe pants of abbit skin and vey tall caps, she had to laugh. Thismade the Tinity angy, and, while they smiled fogivingly, they alteed thei couse sothat they passed by without stopping o even speaking a wod in geeting. The natives

had been geatly disappointed, but they said the Holy Ghost pesented such a laughableaspect fom the ea that they all gave way to thei mith. His posteios cuved ininstead of out. The Tinity had neve been seen again.

Feuchen appeas to conside Awa’s account as a funny anecdote, but fo Awa it was pobably quite a seious matte elating a missed oppotunity of being instucted by the Holy Tinity itself. The pohibition to laugh at a spiit is well-known withespect to Ululianaq, the woman with the knife, who cut out the entails of theshamans who could not estain themselves fom laughte duing thei visits to

the land of the moon spiit. The same pohibition can be found in vaious itualcontexts such as the winte feasts.

Duing the winte of 1921–22 moe than 35 families among the Inuit in thecamps of Ingnetoq, Pingeqalik and Iglulik wee conveted ‘in a ash’ (Mathiassen1928: 235) to Umik’s eligious movement. It was thus an Inuk leade and shamanwho founded the st Chistian goup in the aea. The new eligion spead apidlyand eached the Aivilingmiut camps of Ava and Apaq in Itibdjeiang (Mathiassen1928: 236) in sping 1922. Mathiassen (1928: 235) gives a detailed desciption of

the movement:

At Iglulik we met the pophet Uming (Umik) himself, an eldely, intelligent man,who uled thee absolutely. Besides the hand-shake and the ag, his eligion includedabstention fom wok on Sundays, gatheing now and then in his snow house andsinging hymns which he had taught them, and, what is moe, the huntes wee to bingthei booty to him and he would distibute it. … When people aived at the settlemento depated fom it, all the inhabitants gatheed and sang a hymn, afte which thehand-shaking commenced; even the dog’s paws wee taken. Uming was also a libeal

man, pemitted polygamy, offeed to ‘lend’ us his wife duing ou stay at Iglulik andcontinued to exchange wives fo a yea at a time with anothe man.

Umik developed its own distinctive pactices such as the itual of handshaking,which included the tiniest child and even the dogs, and the use of ags. When aCatholic mission was founded in Iglulik in 1933, people aleady wee thus aleadyfamilia with many basic Chistian tenets.6

6 See Blaisel, Laugand and Oosten (1999), fo a moe detailed discussion of themovement of Umik.




The opening of new mission posts

In the ealy twenties, many new missions opened in the Kivalliq aea. Anglicansopened missions in Eskimo Point (1926) and Salliq (1926) and then BakeLake (1927) and Mittimatalik (1929) wheeas Catholic missionaies based inChesteeld Inlet opened posts in Cap Esquimau (1924), Salliq (1926), BakeLake (1927), Mittimatalik (1929), Naujaat (1933), Iglulik (1933) and Pelly Bay/Aviligjuaq (1935).

Although the missionaies usually felt they wee enteing pagan teitoy, inmost aeas, Inuit themselves pepaed and facilitated the spead of the Chistianideas. In Chesteeld Inlet, Tuni, Ajauaq and Paapak and thei families soon became Catholic poselytes. Qillaapik in Salliq and Pudlo in Qamanittuaq playeda cucial ole in establishing stong Anglican communities.

In some aeas both Anglicanism and roman Catholicism acquied stong oots.A good example is Iglulik whee in 1933 a mission was founded at the equest ofCatholic Iglulingmiut. Anothe example is the case of Kugaauk mission founded by Fathe Heni at the equest of Catholic Inuit living in that aea (see remie andOosten 2002).

Duing his tip in the Chesteeld Inlet aea in the late foties the Swissethnologist J. Michea (1949: 99–101) elated that Chistian symbols and itualsquickly eplaced taditional symbols and pactices. Thus Chistian paye came

to be consideed as moe poweful than the taditional shamanic fomulas butseving the same puposes. When roman Catholic Bishop Tuquetil (1954: 322)emphasized the use of paye fo hunting, he in fact conmed the shamanictechnique of pocuing game. Now that God was consideed as the owne ofanimals, the Chistian paye was consideed as a new poweful fomula. Shamanicintepetations of Chistianity wee thus common and convesion to Chistianitydid not necessaily imply fundamental changes in the Inuit peceptions of the powe of wods, and many shamanic taditions wee etained.

Missionaries and Angakkuit

Missionaries Competing with Angakkuit

As soon as they had aived, the missionaies began to focus on conveting the

shamans, angakkuit . They consideed them thei main opponents and wee often

afaid of them. Bishop Tuquetil fo instance would be athe uncomfotable when

he would tavel to an aea nea Pomise Island, 40 miles noth to Chesteeld Inletthat he descibed as a ‘nest of socees’. Tuquetil (1955: 20; ou tanslation) also

acknowledged his appehension when he would meet the well-known shaman

Talleiktoq: ‘This man was to be feaed … He was an opponent, always laughing

at people, I wish not to meet. … Thee was no chance to discuss things with such a

man.’




In Aviligjuaq, fathe Heny was quite feaful of dealing with the angakkuq

Iksivalitak: ‘Meeting him was not without fea. He would ask: “What ae youdoing among us, you don’t have tobacco no ammunition to give us?”’ (Laugand2002: 420).

Public conict with angakkuit was avoided, but sometimes occued as in thein thecase of Iksivalitak, the son of the famous shaman Allakannuak. Iksivalitak woethe kigluraq, a little tattoo between the eyebows that signied that he had slaina tupilaq (a bad spiit), and he constantly challenged the eligious authoity ofFathe Heny. Finally, he enounced the Catholic faith by saying that he didn’twant to be epimanded by Fathe Heny (Van de Velde 1981: 241).

In fact, the shamans wee often quite open to Chistianity but it was not easy fothem to give up the pactices that had poven thei value in the past. rose Iqallijuqemembeed that Qimuksiaaq was tying to be a Chistian as well as a shaman.

Sometimes, Inuit shamans wanted to test Chistian ideas and compae the poweof the new spiits with the old ones. In August 1923, a shaman paticipated in ameeting oganized in honou of the visit of the Catholic Bishop Ovide Chalebois, because he had in mind to ‘compae his powe to the powe of the Catholic Bishop’‘compae his powe to the powe of the Catholic Bishop’compae his powe to the powe of the Catholic Bishop’(Tuquetil 1954: 325, 1955: 22).

The missionaies themselves also engaged in competitions with the shamans inode to defeat them with thei own weapons. Thus Fathe Duchame (1954: 7–10)tied to impess an angakkuq by his use of magnesium as a ashlight to pove that

his ticks wee supeio to those of the angakkuit . Fathe rio outan an angakkuq in a unning contest to show that the amulets of the angakkuq did not avail againsthim. Kopak fom Naujaat elated: ‘Talleiktoq and Fathe Papion wee competing.‘Talleiktoq and Fathe Papion wee competing.Talleiktoq and Fathe Papion wee competing.He would use the abundance of caibou to challenge Fathe Papion. “I can ndcaibou? Can you?” Fathe Papion said, “All I have to do is pay and thee will bemoe than you can give me”’ (Kopak 2001).

But the piests did not always get the bette of thei opponents. Pisuk elated:

Thee was a piest called Mikilaaq [Fathe Lionel Duchame]. Thee was an old womanwho had a qallunaaq (a white peson) fo a tuurngaq (a helping spiit). When shemissed going to chuch, he went to he and told he she had committed a sin. Then hetuurngaq punched him and he almost fell. The bishop told him late that he should not be scolding people who wee so much olde than he was. He stopped doing that aftethat (Kolb and Law 2001: 191).

But Pisuk fom rankin Inlet did acknowledge the powe of the missionaies:

Fathe Thibet told people not to constantly pay fo animals. He said that just payingonce would be enough. Thee is a place called Sattiumanittuaq. Fathe Thibet waswaiting thee to see if we got any caibou, and payed fo my fathe. He said that hehoped he would get enough. He said that when my fathe shot his ie, none of thecaibou would ee. It seemed as though it was the piest who was doing the manilirijjuti[pocuing of game]. (Oosten and Laugand 2002: 109–10).




As a consequence Inuit consideed piests as angakkuit . The missionaies weeawae that they wee often consideed as angakkuit and did not mind too much aslong as it helped them in thei competition fo souls with the Anglicans. Tuquetilobseved: ‘These Inuit conside us as shamans and think we could kill them ifwe’e unhappy about them. When they see us peaching outside, they believe we pactice some sot of shamanic ituals’.7

Thity yeas late, in 1956, Fathe Van de Velde wote:

I think that to the Eskimo mentality thee is a vey close link between thei conceptionof the socee and the piest … and that the acceptation of the piest in place ofthe socee is usually easily accomplished, eithe consciously o unconsciously. Amissionay, an expet on the Eskimo language, one day said that the tue tanslationof the wod piest should be ‘angakok’, that is socee, and not ‘iksiadjua’ the

expession actually used and which, when liteally tanslated means ‘the geat wite’(Van de Velde 1956: 8).

Confession and The Power of Seeing

Uyaasuk elated that when she met a piest at Mittimatalik, she expected him to be able to discen all he faults and tansgessions just as an angakkuq would do(Oosten and Laugand 1999: 137). Once people discoveed that the piests wee

not able to see the tansgessions, they tended to hide them. Van de Velde aguedthat the Inuit accepted the sacament of penance with ease, not only because theywee accustomed to making confessions, but also because unde Catholicism theelement of fea, intinsic to the shamanic confession, was absent:

Now that he knows that the piest is unawae as to whethe o not his confession isgood o bad, he may make an incomplete confession, because he is no longe incited toconfess though fea and because he does not clealy undestand the consequences ofan incomplete confession (Van de Velde 1956: 8).

Today, eldes stess the powe of the shamanic vision and its efcacy inevealing tansgessions. Aupilaajuk fom rankin Inlet obseved:

Befoe that, we had angakkuit who could see if we had done something wong. Even ifwe didn’t want to talk about it, it was impossible to keep a wong-doing hidden. We hadto confess it. If I only confessed pat of it he would know thee was still some left, andI had to tell eveything until thee was nothing left. This would not be bought up again.

This is how we wee. That is how an angakkuq would iqqaqtui, question, you. Now wekeep things hidden. Only God knows. These things will all come out on Judgment Day(Oosten, Laugand and rasing 1999: 22–3).

7 Tuquetil,Tuquetil, Les Cloches de Saint Bonniface (1914: 134), quoted in Moice (1935:102). See also Michea (1949: 99 and 101).




Pisuk, fom rankin Inlet pointed out the supeioity of shamans ove the neweligious goups. He emembeed the famous angakkuq Qimuksiaaq inteviewed by Fedeiksen in the 1960s:8

If I wee to go to an Evangelical o Anglican o Catholic Chuch sevice, even if Ieally wanted to be made to see something, I wouldn’t see anything. I was able to seeQimuksiaaq’s tuurngaq (helping spiit). It was in the shape of an Actic hae. He wouldgo and get it fom outdoos afte we head the sound of it moving on the gound. Heheld it in his ams and bought it inside. It was alive. The tips of its eas ween’t blackat all, just like a qallunaat abbit. He would put it in his paka as though he was goingto take it with him. Nowadays when I go to chuch and I want to see something, I don’tsee anything at all (Kol and Law 2001: 46).

This capacity of shamans to see and make non-human beings visible is essential toundestand the value of shamanism and its continuity.9

Although shamans might become Chistians, this does not necessaily implythat they gave up all thei pactices. Pisuk was tained as an angakkuq, althoughhe neve became one. Duing all his life he obseved specic ules to potect hislife:

One time I was sick and I wasn’t getting any bette. This was afte thee was the Gey

Nuns hospital in Igluligaajuk. Qaviajak cued me, and then she said, “If you want todie, eat a caibou live o heat.” Fom then on I believed in he wods and I have neveeaten caibou live o heat. Sometimes I could have thought, ‘Those wee just wods,’ but I believed he. I didn’t want to die. Not wanting to die, I have neve eaten caibouheat o live to this day.

In fact, many people appea to have followed specic ules. Qalasiq fom rankininlet mentions the case of he bothe Itinnuaq.

My bothe Itinnuaq had many things he had to follow because he was cued by an

angakkuq. Even though he had a qallunaaq fathe [a white peson], thee wee many

things he had to follow. Nobody could boow his clothing. I have neve boowed any of

his clothing at all. I have neve even put on his mitts as I was not supposed to. Even afte

we became Chistian and Catholic, even today, we still follow this. Even though it’s been

a long time since ou paents died we still follow thei wods. (Kolb and Law 2001: 62)

Qalasiq emphasizes that now they have to move to paye and Chistianity.

8 See Saladin d’Anglue and Hansen (1997).See Saladin d’Anglue and Hansen (1997).9 See fo instance Vilaa (2002: 75) fo the Wai’ and Viveios de Casto (2007). SeeSee fo instance Vilaa (2002: 75) fo the Wai’ and Viveios de Casto (2007). See

also Oosten and Laugand (2005–2006) fo an analysis of Inuit Non-human beings thoughthe visual code.




Some angakkuit wanted to hang on to thei powes. Thei powes stated to diminish with

the intoduction of paye. The pittailiniit [i.e. the ules] that ae attached to Chistianity

ae diffeent than the pittailiniit imposed by shamanism. The Chistian way of life is so

much moe comfotable (Kolb and Law 2001: 41–2).

Shamans and Preachers

Even though Chistian missionaies spent much enegy in ghting shamanism,they often accommodated these shamanic taditions. Many angakkuit continuedthei pactice afte the convesion to Chistianity.

A few enties in vaious Codices Historici and othe missionay accountsshow that the missionaies wee awae that some angakkuit wee still pacticing.10

remie (1983), witing on the pesistence of taditional eligious beliefs and pactices among the Aviligjuamiut of Pelly Bay, povides ample evidence thatthe shamanic ideology was still vey much alive in Pelly Bay in the 1950s and1960s. recouse to old beliefs and pactices fequently occued, paticulaly incisis situations (sickness and death, bad hunting, and seious conicts in socialelations).11 The examples of Suluk and Tungilik ae signicant.

Donald Suluk

Donald Suluk was pobably bon aound 1925 in Chesteeld Inlet. He gainedquite a eputation as a musician and a peache. He became apidly became acontovesial gue in the Kivalliq.

In Kangisludjua, in 1945, Choque (1985: 117–18) epoted the actions of

an Inuk called Suluk, who was consideed as a shaman by some and a Chistian

peache by othes. Suluk would ask people to pay. He would use a cucix and

bibles and at the same time pefom shamanic ituals claiming to be an agent sent

by God. A few Inuit families followed him in Kangisludjua putting a Chistian

cucix in font of each igloo. Duing a tip made in the aea fom 31 Octobe to 14

Novembe 1946, Fathe Buliad epots the success of Sulutna, anothe name fo

Suluk, which he found difcult to oppose12 In a lette dated 20 Novembe, 1949, he

10 See Codex Histoicus of Igluligaajuk: Januay and July 1944; see also the CodexSee Codex Histoicus of Igluligaajuk: Januay and July 1944; see also the CodexHistoicus of Mittimatalik (20 June 1952) efeing to the case of Kautainum. Inuit andmissionaies attibuted about six mudes to him.

11 Simila obsevations have been made fo othe aeas in the Kivalliq by SteenhovenSimila obsevations have been made fo othe aeas in the Kivalliq by Steenhoven(1959), Vallee (1962), Balikci (1967) and Williamson (1974). See also Oosten, Laugandand remie (2006).

12 Achives Deschâtelets (AD)/HEB 1933 J83C 10b, Jounal du pèe Joseph Buliad,Achives Deschâtelets (AD)/HEB 1933 J83C 10b, Jounal du pèe Joseph Buliad,17 octobe 1945 au 20 juillet 1949.




seems even a bit depessed about the situation descibing the movement as a mixtue

of Potestantism and shamanism and the followes as illuminated people.13

Dominic Qasaluaq ecalled:

I know he would pefom by making something visible. As a young peson I sawsomething I tied to un away fom. I have leant fom him that thee is a good way ofliving and a bad way of living. Although the people would often say that he is not anangakkuq, I have seen him teaching people about the good and the bad path. He toldus that thee is Satan, the evil, and he would show us what evil looks like if we do evilthings. Fo him, Satan was the maste of people who do evil things.

Sulutna [i.e. Suluk] explained to the people who wee at the dum dances that if we doevil, the maste who makes us do bad things would come in so the people would seehow it looked. It was a big tuurngaq, a tuurngaqjuaq [a big shamanic helping spiit].

When I saw this being, I jumped to the back of the bed ight at the edge of the igloo.Sulutna told us neve to get involved with this being. Seeing this being the way itlooked made you wish to have a good life. That being had a tail and hands. I could seeit, it was vey close fom me. Then Sulutna called othe good helpes that cast this evilspiit out. These spiits tied something aound his neck and sucked it out, cast it awayof the igloo. (Qasaluaq 2006)

Accoding to Noman Atungalaq fom Bake Lake (Atungalaq 2006), Sulutna

would use his dog to make people confess in the Chesteeld aea. Suluk met a lotof esistance fom some Inuit and missionaies, but today many eldes speak withespect about him and emphasize his deep involvement in Chistianity.

Victor Tungilik

The late Tungilik fom Naujaat also pacticed as a heale and as an angakkuq foseveal yeas. His paents wee Anglicans and told him he should be aised as aroman Catholic. His fathe also was an angakkuq. Afte his fathe died, Tungilik became an angakkuq too.

I don’t know how I became an angakkuq. It was not that somebody made me into anangakkuq. I don’t know how it happened. In the evenings thee would be a bightnesson the gound behind me and it would follow me. It tuned out that this was my ikajuqti [my helpe]. When I mentioned to someone that I would see this when I was alone, Iwas told that it had been my fathe’s ikajuqti. I wasn’t scaed of it. I didn’t think about being scaed of it. It was given to me by someone. It would come to me wheneveanyone was sick. I would heal people who wee ill. (Oosten and Laugand 1999: 89)

13 AD/HEB 1933 J83C 10b, Jounal du pèe Joseph Buliad, 17 octobe 1945 au 20AD/HEB 1933 J83C 10b, Jounal du pèe Joseph Buliad, 17 octobe 1945 au 20 juillet 1949.




Tungilik elates that his tuurngait , helping spiits, did not oblige him to obseveitual ules:

When my tuurngait would help me they did not have me obseve any time of abstaining.They did not have me abstain fom eating o doing any type of wok. Because of this, Ifelt I was diffeent fom othes. It seemed like my tuurngait wee simila to the Chistianeligion, they did not make me abstain fom anything. When I was given an item to helpsomeone, then it was up to me to heal the peson. That’s the way it was (Oosten andLaugand 1999: 94–5).

He pacticed fo seveal yeas, but nally he decided to stop. As a child he hadhead a semon by a piest stating that sinnes would be thown into a geat e.This made a geat impession upon him and contibuted to his decision to stop his

pactice as a shaman even though he was quite effective as an angakkuq.

Afte I had got id of them, thee was a time that I egetted it fo my two in-laws diedat the same time … That was the only time I felt eget. I thought that maybe if I had notsent away my tuurngait , one of them might have emained alive, and I would continueto see him. … If I continued to be an angakkuq, I would end up in Hell in the geate. Because I didn’t want this to happen, I let my tuurngait go. (Oosten and Laugand1999: 11)

The missionay pespective that shamanism and Chistianity wee incompatiblewas clealy at wok hee and had long tem consequences as well. Such a peception became paticulaly stonge afte the few Inuit eligious movements combiningthe two taditions wee epessed. Late on, Tungilik discoveed that not all piestsejected his shamanic activities out of hand but that was too late:

I told a piest that I had been an angakkuq in my past. I told him that I had sent awaymy tuurngait even though they wee thee to help me. The piest told me that what I

had done was wong because they wee thee to help me heal people, and that any wayof assisting and healing people was a gift fom God. When the piest told me this, I believed him. But, as I had aleady sent my tuurngait away, I was not going to equestthei etun. (Oosten and Laugand 1999: 109)

Tungilik himself neve doubted the powe of shamanism, but acknowledged thatthe powe of God was geate:

As I undestood moe about eligion, I let go of my tuurngait who wee eally powefuland eally helpful, because I knew thee was someone who was even moe powefuland even stonge than my tuurngait . That made me decide to follow eligion. (Oostenand Laugand 1999: 75)




But Tungilik was sue that the tuurngait had potected him and because of themhe was still alive. The accounts elated by Tungilik suggest that shamanism wasnot ejected by Chistian Inuit, but subodinated to a Chistian famewok. ThusTungilik could ague that the good tuurngait come fom God and the bad tuurngait fom Satan (Oosten and Laugand 1999: 93). The continuity of shamanism was tosome extent based on a continuing belief in its efcacy. People felt that without itthey would be helpless. Accoding to Uyaasuk:

I head one peson who went though the siqqitirniq itual say that he was going to letgo of all his healing powes that he used when he was an angakkuq. Someone else saidwe would be helpless, because thee would no longe be anyone to nd out the causesof illness. I emembe someone saying this.

Missionaies felt they had to eadicate shamanism so Inuit could become goodChistians. Inuit felt much moe the need to etain fom shamanism what was goodand to integate it into thei Chistian tadition. The incompatibility of the twotaditions, postulated by the missionaies, emained a point of debate among Inuit.Even today many eldes feel that the good pats of shamanism should be integatedinto thei Chistian faith (see Oosten and Laugand 2002).

Conclusions

1. Inuit began to eceive Chistian ideas once the poblems of language andundestanding wee solved. They wee attacted by the new ideas and adoptedvey easily the syllabic witing system intoduced by the missionaies when theyst tanslated the Bible. Some Chistian ideas wee clealy attactive to the Inuit.Fo example:

– the possibility fo people to see thei dead elatives afte death. The stChistians wee called the majulajuit , ‘those who can go up in heaven’; – a moe comfotable life, without too many ules and without fea sinceshamanism was always – and still is – closely elated to fea, ambiguity,evenge and dange; – the conviction of the supeioity of Chistian payes and hymns oveshamanic fomulas in contexts of hunting o healing.

2. Inuit leades and shamans played an impotant ole in speading the Chistianideas and conveting othes befoe and afte the missionaies came. Theyintepeted the Chistian ideas (see Blaisel, Laugand and Oosten 1999 on paousial

movements) and adapted them to thei own taditions. The naming system whichis so essential in Inuit cultue (one’s full identity depends on the names connectinga peson to the deceased as well as living namesakes) was neve abandoned. Onthe contay, new Chistian names wee intoduced and used. But the pactice oftattooing elated to the tansfomation of the body in the context of maiage andto the sea woman inua in the context of shamanism was quickly left behind. Now




that God was consideed as the owne of all the animals, the sea woman lost hecental position in Inuit cosmology. The winte feasts (tivajut ) wee abandonedand Chistmas gadually became the most impotant celebation.3. In the siqqitirniq ituals, Inuit shaped thei own convesion. Eating the live, foinstance, was usually a pactice intended to avoid evenge fom a peson in caseof a killing o fom the inua (the owne) of the animal afte a successful catch(see the common pactice to eat the live afte a fesh seal had been killed). In thesiqqitiq itual, Inuit ate the heat o the live of the sea mammals as in the old days but also tansgessed impotant ules. Since especially shamans and women weeusually not allowed to eat cetain pats of an animal such as the live o the heat,they wee given these vey pats of the animals.14 Thus the siqqitiq itual connectsand disconnects. In the past, abstaining and efaining ules known asIn the past, abstaining and efaining ules known as pitailiniit ,tirigusuusiit and maligait , pimaily had to do with animal poducts such as skins,

bones, meat, entails and sinews and often applied to people facing tansitionalstates such as bith and death, menstuation, shamanic initiation. Though thesiqqitiq itual, most of these pohibitions elated to animals wee lifted. Inuitate the fobidden pats of the meat, tansgessing openly thei most fundamentalcosmological ules. But duing this pocess, they also adopted new ules, such asthe pohibition of wok on Sunday.15

As Inuit integated new pactices, new discouses and values emeged.Siqqitirniq not only enounced the notion of inua (owne) of the animals, but

instituted a new connection with God who is now consideed as the main owne ofthe animals. Though this tansfe the idea that animals should always be teatedwith caution and espect was not alteed.

Today, afte moe than a hunded yeas of Chistian inuences, contempoayInuit still identify as huntes and conside animals as close to humans, the maindiffeence being that animals – with the exception of dogs – do not have atiit (names) like human beings (see Tookoome 1999).(see Tookoome 1999)..

respect fo the pey is a coe value in moden Inuit society. As Aaju Pete andhe Inuit co-wites put it with espect to the seal, ‘The seal, howeve, povides uswith moe than just food and clothes. It povides us with ou identity. It is thoughshaing and having a seal communion that we egain ou stength, physically andmentally’ (Pete et al. 2002).

14 It also invets ules connected to death and shamanic initiation and also to theIt also invets ules connected to death and shamanic initiation and also to theaisepoq pactice which is descibed by rasmussen (1929: 175) in the following tems:

On the st occasion of eating aw meat afte childbith the woman must, if he childis a boy, aisepoq, i.e. a piece of intestine about 1. ½ metes long, and a piece of live, ae placed in he cooking pot, taken out again quickly, so as to be hadly moe than dipped inthe boiling wate, and the women must then swallow the intestine whole, without cutting it,and immediately afte eat the live, which must likewise not be masticated, but swallowedapidly (she must not cut eithe one o the othe).

15 See Uyaasuk’s statement and details in Oosten and Laugand (1999: 34–5).See Uyaasuk’s statement and details in Oosten and Laugand (1999: 34–5).Oosten and Laugand (1999: 34–5).




Hunting is still peceived as the foundation of Inuit existence and eating andshaing game emain essential pactices as eve. Today, like in the old days, Inuitand animals ae consideed as connected in a cosmic cycle maintained by hunting,shaing and vaious abstaining ules.16 Old ules still apply in some families17

but new ules ae now pedominant. Society, howeve, is not possible withoutespecting ules, and the fea of the end of the wold if we do not espect the ulesis vey pesent in Actic communities.

The tansition fom shamanism to Chistianity was peceived as a beakwith the past by missionaies as well as Inuit. Howeve, it was a gadual pocesslagely contolled by Inuit themselves. The tansition to Chistianity allowed fotansfomations as well as continuity. Although today shamanism is less visiblein tem of pactise, it emains vey much alive in the discouse. Eldes take itfo ganted that in despeate need people will take ecouse to the well-poven

shamanic knowledge of the past. They emphasize that shamanism continues andthat each community will have its shamans until the end of time, as stated byKappianaq, and elde fom Iglulik. Indeed, some shamanic beliefs and valuesemain vey much alive. Divination and healing pactices such as the qilaniq, omeeting and expeiences with non-human beings ae good examples of pacticesthat continue.

Today, Pentecostal movements such as the Glad Tidings Chuch ae completelyopposed to shamanism. Yet they emind the eldes of the old shamanic taditions.

This may patly explain its attaction to the Inuit. In these movements they can,as in the old shamanic tadition, closely associate thei daily life and pactiseswith eligious ules, expeiences and values, and expess thei deep emotionscollectively and openly (see Laugand and Oosten 2007).

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16 Imauittuq explained, ‘If you legitimately hunt wildlife and don’t cause them toImauittuq explained, ‘If you legitimately hunt wildlife and don’t cause them tosuffe, if you espect them, then it is ne. Thee will be suffeing on occasion but you haveto ty and minimize this out of espect fo the animal. We should not even make nastycomments about wildlife. We shouldn’t quael about them amongst ouselves. Wildlifehas been placed on this Eath fo us to use, but we must teat them with espect.’ (Oosten,Laugand and rasing 1999: 38).

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Moice, Adien Gabiel. 1935. Mgr Turquetil OMI apôtre des Esquimaux et lemiracle de ses missions, Winnipeg/St Bonniface: chez l’auteu/Junioat desOMI, 283 pp. (taduit en 1943 pa May T. Loughlin, Thawing out the Eskimo,Boston: Society fo the Popagation of the Faith, 241 pp.).

Oosten, Jaich and Fédéic Laugand (eds). 2000. The Transition to Christianity.Inuit Pespectives of the XXth Centuy, vol. 1. Iqaluit: Nunavut Actic College/ Notext.

———. 2002. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: Shamanism and ReintegratingWrongdoers. Inuit Pespectives of the XXth Centuy, vol. 4. Iqaluit: NunavutActic College/Notext.




Oosten, Jaich and Fédéic Laugand. 2004/5. ‘Time and Space in the Peceptionof Non-Human Beings among the Inuit of Notheast Canada’. Folk , 46/47:85–120.

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Esquimaux de la Baie d’Hudson’. Prêtres et Missions, vol. 12, 7 et 8, 29èannée, juillet-déc.: 312–38.

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Chapte 10

Baniwa At: The Baniwa Potestant Ethic

and the Spiit of Sustainable Developmentrobin M. Wight

Baskets ae pat of a vey ancient weaving tadition that clealy links the Baniwaof the nothwest Amazon to thei natual and spiitual envionments. Fo seveal

geneations now, the Baniwa (pop., appox. 12,000) have sold these basketson the maket, to puchase the things they need; ecently, they ceated a wholenew fom of oganization to commecialize these baskets, though a sustainabledevelopment poject called ‘Ate Baniwa’, o Baniwa At, with the assessmentof the Socio-Envionmental Institute (ISA), a majo NGO in Bazil. The goalsof this poject wee to enhance the value of the Baniwa basket-making tadition,incease poduction within the limits of the sustainable use of natual esouces,geneate income fo indigenous poduces and thei political associations, and tain

indigenous leadeship in the skills of business management. This vey successful poject was initiated shotly afte the ceation of the Indigenous Oganization ofthe Iana rive Basin (OIBI), and essentially involves 16 of the moe than 100Baniwa communities of the Iana rive and its tibutaies in Bazil.

Illustation 10.1 Baniwa baskets in diffeent shapes and sizes make excellenthome and ofce decoative pieces (Wight, 2008)




The Baniwa At poject was an initiative of Potestant evangelical communitiesin patneship with the ISA. Although Baniwa baskety was sold on the maketwell befoe the ceation of the OIBI and Baniwa At poject, it was often thoughan exploitative system contolled by ive mechants. Following the egional, pan-indigenous political movement of the 1980s and the expulsion of the ivemechants, Baniwa evangelical communities both assumed contol ove thelocal indigenous association, initially founded by young Catholic leades, andthe poduction of Baniwa baskety. Since the implantation of the Baniwa At poject, young evangelical leades, suppoted by the NGO, have apidly isento powe.

This chapte eects on how evangelicalism has encouaged the ise ofindividualism, as well as the intoduction of westen values of economic and political success. This has geneated conicts with moe ‘taditional’ values and

pactices of egalitaianism and witchcaft accusations. The case of a young Baniwaleade who coodinated both the political association and the At Poject illustatesextemely well the sots of gave conicts that emeged. This chapte will alsoeect on modications in human/spiit elations following the intoductionof evangelicalism and sustainable development pojects. Fo this, I shall citeextensively fom a ecent inteview I conducted with a Baniwa political leadeegading his peceptions of the elations between evangelicalism, the politicalmovement, and the notion of ‘sustainable development’.

This case study clealy illustates the interpretive/heuristic value oftaking the Baniwa cosmological famewok seiously pio to and duing theimplementation of such pojects. It is not simply a case of how a set of ‘capitalist’elations ‘went bad’ o ‘failed’ as a esult of native ethics. My agument isthat, had the development plannes – in paticula, the NGO – seiously takeninto account the notions (discussed hee) of ‘egalitaian’ elations, ‘powe’,‘inequality’ and the pobable outcome of exacebating pe-existing eligioustensions between Potestant and Catholic communities, as well as the activeand aggessive ole of the spiits of natue in eacting to human excesses, – pehaps the leade would not have suffeed such attacks. Pehaps it wouldhave esulted in a poject that was moe sensitive to the natue of balance theBaniwa stive to keep amongst themselves, and thei potential foes (be theyival clans o spiits of natue).

Context

Anthopological analyses of ‘development’ pojects and so-called ‘sustainabledevelopment’ have a long tadition, going back to at least the 1970s and 1980s.

This aticle daws fom these discussions as well as my own wok in intenational

NGOs in the ealy 1980s, such as the Anthopology resouce Cente (ArC, Inc.),

one of the st intenational NGOs to link the question of indigenous peoples’

ights, envionmental potection, and the human consequences of lage-scale



Baniwa Art 189

‘development’ pojects in the Amazon. It also focused the question of ‘altenative

models fo development among indigenous peoples of the Amazon’. (See my

aticle in the Annual Review of Anthropology, (v. 17: 365–90, 1990).fo a moe

complete analysis of this histoy.) ‘Altenative models’ o ‘ethnodevelopment’ had

been the subject of discussions among Latin Ameican anthopologists (rodolfo

Stavenhagen, robeto Cadoso de Oliveia) since the 1970s, while indigenous

peoples wee oganizing intenational confeences on this subject in the ealy

1980s.

A key acto in the situation we will be discussing was the NGO in Bazil,known in the 1970s as the Ecumenical Cente Fo Documentation and Infomation(o CEDI), a consotium of social, envionmental, and pastoal pojects connectedto vaious Potestant chuches in Bazil. The most impotant of thei pojectswas called ‘Indigenous Peoples in Bazil’ (Povos Indigenas no Brasil) o ‘PIB’

pogam which, much like the ArC, was dedicated to documenting the situationof indigenous peoples (a damatically poo situation in the late 1970s), publishingan encyclopedic seies of volumes on thei situation, and assessing vaiousindigenous peoples on thei land ights, contol ove natual esouces, amongstothe things. With the fast-gowing envionmentalist movement on the globalscene in the late 1980s, the PIB Pogam began seiously discussing the possibilityof changing its stuctue and fom, by sepaating fom the CEDI consotiumand setting up its own base in the city of São Paulo. It changed its focus too,

by explicitly allying its intenationally-known and espected tadition of eseachand indigenist activism with lage Euopean NGOs and funding oganizationsinteested in suppoting local-level effots in Bazil and othe Latin Ameicancounties connected to indigenous peoples and the envionment (fo example theEuopean Community, Alliance fo the Climate, Hoizont Foundation, Nowegianrainfoest Foundation, Gaia Foundation, and many othes). The new oganization became known as the ISA, o Socio-Envionmental Institute – which is today, oneof the most successful and poweful NGOs in Bazil, opeating on a budget of ove13 million reais (o 7.5 million US$) pe yea. Its slogan maked the new alliance – ‘Social and Envionmental ae witten togethe’. The histoy of AmazonianIndians and Eco-politics in Bazil can only be patially undestood without takinginto consideation the citical ole of the ISA and its allies. In some aeas of theAmazon, it actually pefoms the ole of the state govenment itself in assessingindigenous affais, such as in the nothwest Amazon. In this egad, the ISA, alliedwith a few impotant indigenous NGOs of the nothwest Amazon (the Fedeationof Indigenous Oganizations of the rio Nego, o FOIrN, and the IndigenousOganization of the Iana Basin, o OIBI) ceated a ‘middle-gound’1 though

which a diect link was foged between tansnational and local-level politics. As I

1 Fo a good analysis of the emeging ‘middle-gound’ between eco-politics andFo a good analysis of the emeging ‘middle-gound’ between eco-politics andindigenous people in Bazil in the ealy 1990s, see the aticle by Beth Conklin and LauaGaham, ‘The Shifting Middle-Gound: Amazonian Indians and Eco-Politics’, American Anthropologist 97(4): 695–710.




shall show in this aticle, this ‘middle-gound’ was shaky in many ways becauseof the symbolic dominance of cetain key gues in the politics, and the impositionof a model that pivileged and shaped specic indigenous oganizations, whileexcluding othes.

The case study and inteview with native leades pesented hee illustate whatConklin and Gaham have pointed to as the ‘stuctual tensions in tansnational-local alliances that view indigenous aims though westen lenses and ely on afew bicultual individuals as leades’. (1995: 704) This aticle seeks to go beyondthis obsevation by: stly pesenting native analyses of this shaky tansnational/local alliance; and secondly citically analyzing the constuction of a system ofsymbolic dominance in which cetain NGOs, indigenous and non-indigenous,ae pivileged ove othes, and the poblems this has poduced. While the ISAshould be paised fo its exemplay commitment and achievements on behalf of

the indigenous peoples, nevetheless it does not escape a moe citical lens fo itsnot dealing adequately with pe-existing ivalies and tensions and in fact – by pivileging some oganizations – has exacebated these tensions.

In 1997, I was invited by a local association of Baniwa Indians, called theACIrA (Association of Indigenous Communities of the Aiay rive) to assistthem in pepaing a book of thei saced taditions and stoies of ceation. Thiswas pat of a lage poject to publish the taditions of all the 22 ethnic goups ofthe nothwest Amazon egion, in a seies called ‘Indigenous Naatos of the rio

Nego region’, oganized by the ISA and the egional pan-Indian oganizationcalled the FOIrN, and funded by seveal Euopean foundations. By that time,the ISA had conducted a massive suvey of all the indigenous communities in thenothwest Amazon egion, as well as diected the opeation of demacating theentie indigenous aea. It was then discussing with the FOIrN the citical questionof what sots of sustainable development pojects might possibly be implantedin the egion which could utilize o geneate esouces with which the native peoples could sustain thei economic, nutitional, and educational needs. Seveal pilot-pojects had aleady begun by that time: aquacultue (sh-aising) in sevealcommunities; altenative schools in othes; and the sale of indigenous atwok. Fothe Baniwa, who had had many yeas of expeience in the latte, this was of mostinteest to them.

It seems to have been the stategy of the ISA that, once the community suveyshad been done, the coodinatos in consultation with the local leadeship, wouldselect cetain communities whee such pojects fo sustainable development could be tested, as in ‘pilot pojects’. Amongst the Baniwa communities, the communitiesof Pamhaali on the middle Iana rive, fo easons which I will explain below,

wee selected to be on the eceiving end of the line of a massive input of nancialand mateial esouces which would pesumably attact othe Baniwa communitiesto paticipate and establish thei own local pojects.

Seveal yeas afte nishing the book of Aiay taditions, I began to eceivetelephone calls fom the Baniwa with whom I had woked expessing sinceedisappointment that they wee not pat of any of the pojects and asking me



Baniwa Art 191

to help them set up thei own schools and aquacultue tanks. It was thus thatI etuned to woking on this subject with Baniwa communities who had not paticipated in the Baniwa At Poject, but have sought to set up a simila poject on thei own. Many of the citiques which these communities havevoiced to me about the Poject ae, in lage pat, the justication fo witing thisaticle. These ‘outside’ communities wee exactly those who defended thei‘taditions’ (myths, shamanism, ituals) against the attacks of Potestant pastos,and who wee excluded fom the gowing political movement coodinated by pedominantly evangelical communities. My oveall question, then, seeks toelate the eligious tensions to the undeniable political and economic success ofthe Potestant communities.

This aticle is divided into two main pats: the st discusses the elationof Baniwa economic histoy and eligion beginning with the intoduction of

evangelical Chistianity in the 1950s and the exploitation of basket-weaving by outside mechants in the 1970s. The second pesents a bief desciptionof the objectives and stuctue of the BAP, its successes and poblems. These poblems aose fom social and political setbacks pimaily affecting theindigenous leade. These setbacks can be seen in tems of an imbalance inthe ethic of ecipocity in human-animal-spiit elationships, and the ise ofindividualism in the pophetic, evangelical, and – now copoate – movements.I shall illustate these points by analyzing how the young indigenous leade

and coodinato of the poject – whom I shall call Mauilio – stuggled thoughgave attacks by witches against his leadeship and success; and by pesentingthe eections of a leading Baniwa intellectual and political gue, whoseeal name is Gesem Santos, who, at my equest, discussed his peceptions of‘sustainable development’ pojects in geneal among the Baniwa, and the AtPoject in paticula.

History

While Baniwa baskets have had an impotant pesence in egional makets sinceat least the 1970s, it has only been since the late 1990s that the pincipal Baniwa political oganization, called the OIBI (Oganization of Indigenous Communitiesof the Iana rive Basin), in collaboation with the Socio-Envionmental Institute(ISA), sought to stimulate poduction within envionmentally sustainable limits,oganize commecialization of the baskets along fundamentally diffeent economicand social pinciples fom the pedominantly exploitative system of the past, and

encouage the pofessionalization of the basket-weaving economy.2This entepise has been vey successful – and may gow even moe in the

futue – lagely due to the extaodinay collaboative effots of two individuals,

2 I have witten about Baniwa eligious and economic histoy extensively in numeousI have witten about Baniwa eligious and economic histoy extensively in numeous publications but see especially my two monogaphs – Wight, 1998, 2005.




the coodinatos of the indigenous oganization and the NGO – whose vision,competence, and skills tuned the Baniwa At Poject (BAP) into a viable andsustainable entepise. Thee is stong eason to believe that eligious and sociopolitical easons also shaped the ways in which the poject was conceivedand evolved. The indigenous leade, an evangelical Chistian, is a membe ofa cultue which has a well-established pophetic tadition,3 and I believe it is possible to show how he was stongly inuenced and affected by his eligious beliefs and his people’s tadition in the manne in which he negotiated theBaniwa At Poject. In some ways, the pogams of spiitual efom advocated bythe pophets of the past bea similaities to the sustainable development pojectadvanced in the BAP. Both of them had among thei objectives, political andeconomic autonomy; both, howeve, confonted stong obstacles fom withinBaniwa society that have to do with imbalance in the individual’s elation to

society and natue, as expessed in cosmological tems and specically notionsof sickness.

About a geneation afte the Baniwa had conveted to evangelical Potestantism

in the 1960s, I and a Fench ethnogaphe Nicolas Jounet conducted ou doctoal

eld eseaches in the nothwest Amazon, he on the Colombian side of the bode,

I on the Bazilian side. Both of ou ethnogaphies sought to econstuct fom the

memoies of the eldes what seemed to us eithe to have disappeaed altogethe

fom eligious pactice o had gone undegound and was only pacticed in

secet.

3 regading Baniwa ‘pophets’ (see especially my books 1998 and 2005, but alsoregading Baniwa ‘pophets’ (see especially my books 1998 and 2005, but also‘The Wicked and the Wise Men’, in Whitehead and Wight, 2004 (Duke), and ‘PopheticTaditions in the Nothwest Amazon’, in Hill and Santos-Ganeo, 2002), I am efeing to acontinuous tadition that dates to at least the mid-19th Centuy. We may speak of ‘pophets’ because each of them led a movement consisting of Baniwa and othe Indians (and mestizosin some cases) of the Nothwest Amazon who sought pofound changes in moality andsocial life, though the eadication of undesiable pactices especially assault socey,

who wee consideed miaculous heales (all wee shamans), who foresaw imminent greatchanges in the world (one pophet spoke of the cataclysmic end-of-the-wold though eand the descent of God to eath; anothe spoke of the denitive end to witchcaft and socey;anothe spoke of the imminent coming of the whites to Baniwa lands; anothe spoke of theend of sickness among humans). All of them maintained constant communication withthe ceato divinity who would advise them of events about to take place in the wold ofhumans, and with the deceased. These ae pophets, by any dictionay denition.



Baniwa Art 193

One of the st things to stike both of us was the enomous amount of time theBaniwa and Kuipako4 wee dedicating to basket poduction fo sale. Mostly, but not exclusively, the men wee deeply engaged in this activity in the majoity of thevillages. Seveal hundeds of dozens of baskets wee being poduced evey theemonths fo sale to Colombian tades. Following the aviamento system typical ofthe Amazon economy, the Indians would buy goods on cedit, which was noted inthe mechants’ ledges. In one of my st eld notebooks, I wote (1976):

In most villages whee they stopped, the mechants left ‘collection notes’ fo basketswhich, they claimed, people owed. Sometimes these notes, I was told, wee meely oldand paid-off debts ewitten on new pape and handed out by othe mechants. Each basket – which takes 2–3 days of wok to poduce – was puchased at about 50–60 centsapiece egadless of size and quality. It was common fo people to stae in shock at the200–300 dozen baskets loaded up in specially-igged canoes, and say, ‘they’e obbingus’.(Fieldnotes, I)

4 On the Bazilian side of the bode, the people ae known as Baniwa; in Colombia,On the Bazilian side of the bode, the people ae known as Baniwa; in Colombia,they ae Kuipako and speak a diffeent but mutually intelligible dialect; and in Venezuela,Wakuenai, an ethnonym meaning ‘Those of Ou Speech’. Anothe ethnonym used on theBazilian side is Walimanai, ‘Ou Descendants’.

Map of Nothwest Amazon/Bazil egion




Jounet ecoded his views aound the same time that:

since 1972, they [the Kuipako] have had such success on the national and intenationalmaket that the basket-weaving has tuned into a pemanent occupation among theKuipako and at the same time, has extended to neighboing Cubeo, Wanano, andTucano goups ….

In 1975/76, the maket povoked a feve of poduction. This feve has diminished now[1980] and the poduction of baskets is consideed by the Indians to be vey unlucative.It is woth noting that the pice fo the baskets has not changed in moe than ten yeas,while the mechandise sold by ive mechants has gone up fom 30 to 100 pe cent.(my tansl. 1980: 172)

Jounet analyzed the consequences of inceased maket poduction among the

Kuipako of Colombia at the beginning of the 1980s: the Kuipako had developeda new poductive secto, exclusively commecial, which was intefeing withtaditional subsistence activities; the Kuipakos’ puchases wee not estictedto poduction objects but athe consume goods the enewal of which poduceda constant dependence on the nancial maket; the debt that govened mosttansactions intoduced a system of deadlines and xed quantities that contibutedto disoganizing subsistence activities; and the calendical natue of the model ofacquisition and appopiation of white goods fomented unequal accumulation of

goods which wee not getting edistibuted.Jounet concludes by obseving that:

what we can see clealy is a deep contadiction between the development of new mateialvalues and old cultual values …. The new eligion plays a kind of intemediay ole between the two, given that it equies cetain aspects of sociability but it also comesfom the same oigins as the white mechandise and pomotes its valoization.(ibid.)

Thus the citical tansfomation that the Kuipako faced was one of values: ‘acontadiction exists among the Kuipako between the development of poductionfo intenal use and commecialized poduction’. Jounet’s outlook at that timewas negative on the issue of commece in Kuipako lives fo in his view it couldonly lead to the paupeization of the Indian.

By the mid-1990s, Potestant missionaies in Colombia had clealy madeinoads to implanting a Potestant ethic and spiit of capitalism. Commece andsalaied labou wee the activities that most inteested convets and the missionaiessuppoted them in numeous ways (taining mechanics, cattle-aising, fo example),

paticulaly if they wee individual initiatives.On the Bazilian side, the intense poduction of baskets in the 1970s was

eplaced by gold pospecting in the 1980s. Violent conicts maked the elations between the Baniwa, pospectos, and gold-mining companies (see Chapte VII,Wight, 2005). Potestant missionaies did little moe to contol these conicts



Baniwa Art 195

than to advise the Indians to seek the help of the FUNAI which was notoiously insuppot of mechanized gold-mining at that time.

It was in this context and the gowing militay pesence in the nothwestAmazon as a esult of the ‘Pojeto Calha Note’5 that the indigenous peoplesmobilized politically though the fomation of the FOIrN (Fedeation ofIndigenous Oganizations of the rio Nego), the pioities of which wee landdemacation, health, education, and cultual ights. The FOIrN was stategicallysuppoted fom the beginning by the ISA, and both witnessed the extaodinay pocess of the fomation of ove 50 local political associations to epesent thediffeent ethnic goups and communities of the aea. At the Geneal Assemblywhich ceated the FOIrN, the young Baniwa leade Gesem dos Santos voicedthe objection of his people to the abupt changes in Indian policy and impositionof lage-scale development pojects in the aea without pevious consultation with

the indigenous leadeship:

Why this new change, and why the unclea denition on the pat of the authoities and pincipally of this new indigenist policy? Why such ugency at a moment when wealso ae being confonted by seious poblems with egad to the mining companiesand mineal woks?6 Ou community that is hee, which is seeking the well-being ofthe communities on the Iana, votes fo the non-acceptance of the Nothen ChannelPoject.

And futhe:

Why is thee a need fo a new indigenist policy, and fom the infomation that we have just eceived, within this new indigenist policy, the demacation of land will be donein a diffeent way, not as extensive aeas, but in small aeas? We undestand that theneed of ou people of the Iana, living along the ivebanks, it’s clea that we have tosecue above all what we most need, ou habitat, which does not only mean just a pieceof gound, but a population that lives by hunting, shing, and gadens. So, why this

new change, and why the unclea denition, on the pat of the authoities and mainly

5 ‘PojetoCalhaNote’,otheNothenChannelPojectwasalage-scaleandcomplex‘Pojeto Calha Note’, o the Nothen Channel Poject was a lage-scale and complexdevelopment poject intoduced into the Nothen Amazon egion by the militay sectosof the Bazilian govenment in the 1980s. It included the building of highways, aistips,colonization, the edenition of indigenous lands, and a seies of othe geopolitical measuesintended to integate the Amazon egion moe effectively with the est of the county. Themassive upheavals esulting fom the militay buildup in the egion povoked the eactionof the indigenous communities in the sense of an inceased political mobilization; in the Nothwest Amazon, this esulted in the ceation of a egion-wide indigenous fedeationcalled the Fedeation of Indigenous Oganizations of the rio Nego (FOIrN), ceated in1987 which has lasted until the pesent day.

6 Gesem is efeing to a ecent invasion of Baniwa and Tukano lands by thousandsGesem is efeing to a ecent invasion of Baniwa and Tukano lands by thousandsof gold pospectos and by lage mining companies who disputed amongst themselves andwith the Indians contol ove gold found in the egion.




the ceatos of this new indigenist policy? (Tansciption of the tapes fom the SecondAssembly of the Peoples of the Uppe rio Nego.)

Finally, Gesem pointed to the heat of the poblem, with admiable claity: ifdevelopment was poducing divisions amongst communities, as it was because ofthe mining companies’ pesence in the egion, then the Baniwa wee against it:

Ou community of the Iana asks in what way will these benets, these favos, thesesocial woks come to us, even in the nea futue?7 The communities of the Iana havenoted ecently that with the coming, with the pesence of something that is calleddevelopment, a cetain diffeence fom seveal yeas ago, among the communities ofthe Iana, because even today, just a few minutes ago, we have just seen diffeencesamongst goups, goups of indigenous bothes8 thee ae some who no longe agee

with each othe, is that what will be bought by what we call development? And oucommunity can leave it clea hee, fo the well-being of the communities of the Iana,we do not accept the Calha Note Poject. (cited in Wight, 2005, chapte VII)

The st local political associations emeged among the Catholic communities ofthe Aiay rive and the lowe Iana rive; howeve, not moe than a few yeasafte they had initiated thei activities, those associations wee oveshadowed bya goup of Baniwa evangelical communities, nealy all fom the cental egion of

Baniwa teitoy, and nealy all fom the same high-anking clan, the Walipee-dakenai. This goup became known as the OIBI which assumed leadeship in theBaniwa political movement as a whole, and, with the assistance of the ISA, ceatedthe poject ‘Ate Baniwa’ in 1997.9

The Baniwa Art Project (BAP): Structure and Objectives

The cental objectives of the Baniwa At Poject (BAP), as stated in the pocket booklet, and on the website of the NGO, ae to poduce and commecialize Baniwa baskety on the national and intenational makets. It seeks to enhance the valueof the Baniwa basket-making tadition, incease poduction within the limits ofthe sustainable use of natual esouces, geneate income fo indigenous poducesand thei political associations, and tain indigenous leadeship in the skills of business management.

7 Gesem is efeing to the fact that the mining companies and the militay had pomised,

in exchange fo the exploitation of mineal esouces on thei lands, the Baniwa would eceive

a seies of mateial benets and social sevices, ‘fo the bettement of the communities’.8 Gesem is efeing to the fact that just a few minutes befoe he stood up to speak,Gesem is efeing to the fact that just a few minutes befoe he stood up to speak,

thee had been a heated discussion amongst the epesentatives of seveal communities ovewhethe ‘development’ was a ‘good thing’ o just anothe lie.

9 Fo an excellent inteview with one of the st leades of the OIBI, see Boye, 1999.



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It would be no exaggeation to say that the BAP in pinciple would putBaniwa expeience with the white man’s economy on a diffeent histoical tack:it epesented a beak fom thei long histoy with pedatoy and exploitativeeconomies. In a sense, too, it would complement thei eligions of esistance suchas pophetism and evangelicalism which always had, as one of thei main goals,to beak the stanglehold the white man’s economy had ove thei lives and tointoduce moal efoms into thei communitaian way of life.

The Baniwa At Poject was implemented at oughly the same time as a seiesof othe altenative pojects, such as a new school, the pedagogical objectiveof which was to povide a ‘diffeentiated’ education that would bette suit theneeds of the Baniwa people; an aquacultue (sh-aising) station built in the samecommunity as the new, altenative school (so that the childen could paticipate ina sot of hands-on kind of education useful fo thei pactical needs of nutition);

taining in compute communications, amongst othe things – again, in the samecommunity as the sh-station and the altenative school. All of these pojects weespeaheaded by the fomidable alliance of the OIBI leadeship (pedominantlyevangelicals, as I’ve said), and the Socio-Envionmental Institute, with its diectlinks to majo funding oganizations in Euope (Hoizont, Alliance fo the Climate,Euopean Union, Nowegian rainfoest Fund), the United States (the MooeFoundation) and Bazil. What was clealy happening in all of this was a e-shapingof Baniwa social, political, and economic geogaphy: the key community amongst

the Baniwa on the Bazilian side of the bode was Pamhaali, a community of pedominantly Walipee-dakenai.10

The conjunction of these pojects was a majo success, a model fo what couldhappen in othe aeas of Baniwa teitoy as well as in the Tukanoan peoples’communities on the Uaupes rive, whee ISA has also had a long-tem involvementwith sustainable development and local political associations. But, in eecting onthe success of these pojects fo the Baniwa, Gesem Santos – who, we ecall, wasso citical of the kind of top-down development that chaacteized the nationalgovenment’s elation to his people – stated in an inteview with me in 2006:11

10 The Baniwa ae oganized into fou o ve lage phaties, each consisting of veThe Baniwa ae oganized into fou o ve lage phaties, each consisting of veo moe clans, which ae anked accoding to the ode of ancestal emegence in mythicaltimes. Histoically, the middle Iana has been the teitoy of the Walipee-dakenai phatyand the Dzauinai phaty; the Aiay rive has been the teitoy of the Hohodene phaty.

11

Gesem, who eceived his Maste’s degee in Anthopology fom the Univesity of Gesem, who eceived his Maste’s degee in Anthopology fom the Univesity ofBasilia in 2006, is fom the Walipee-dakenai clan. Gesem himself founded one of the ealy political associations among the Baniwa. He is well-known in the indigenous movement inBazil fo his ole in the national poject fo suppot to sustainable development amongstindigenous peoples. He was an impotant leade in the Baniwa stuggles against the PojetoCalha Note and copoate mining on Baniwa lands in the 1980s and was a key politicalgue on the local and national levels thoughout the 1980s and 90s.




I have no doubt that the pojects whateve they ae, in tems of thei concepts andapplied methods, bing mateial benets to the Indians and that is what they want,in thei post-contact pespective. I undestand that the Baniwa life ideal has changedsubstantially since contact, and is guided at the pesent time by the life ideal of thewhites: consumption, technology, knowledge, values, and so on. I would say that fom

the ideal point of view, thee is a stong tendency and desie fo integation, as anappoximation to the White way of life without losing otheness o ethnicity. recentlyI asked a Baniwa leade if he could choose (without any pessue) between sending hischild to a Baniwa school o to a high-level city school, he answeed ight away that hewould choose the city school because it offes bette conditions fo pepaing his childfo the futue in tems of studies and pofession. I don’t think that’s the Baniwa idealof twenty yeas ago. In this sense we can say that the pesent-day pojects do in fact bing benets. But thee is a big poblem in this mid-eld hee, because eveythingindicates that the Baniwa would like to have these initiatives implemented in thei way,

accoding to thei customs and taditions in effect and thei pesent-day objectives. Onething is to have an ideal simila to that of the whites, anothe thing is how we wantto go afte that ideal (which in fact they’e not going to attain that quickly, since thewhites themselves impose stict limitations, which fo the time being ae impassable.I see that the fomal indigenous authoities who have gained space in the ofcial andfomal powe stuctue, aen’t even able to beak the social baies of the whites in SãoGabiel [the municipal capital city, whee the headquates of the FOIrN, the ISA, andthe OIBI ae all located]). Fo that eason, the benets that I am efeing to have a veyhigh cost fo the indigenous leades who coodinate and conduct these pojects, because

they ae obliged to follow the pinciples, methods and logics of the pojects based on thetechno-bueaucatic ationality that violate the pinciples, methods and logics that guideBaniwa social and political elations, copoative loyalties, foged though unanimousand collective decisions and following goup hieachies, because of fomal and aticialdecisions, geneating disputes of powe. The leades of the pojects ae basically getting bunt and gadually emoved fom thei communities as a esult of this, though theatsand pesecutions (witchcaft and poisoning). I think that this is the limitation of the pojects. Eithe they tun out pefectly well and thus denitively conclude the pocess ofintegation o they do not fully attain thei objectives because of the esistance which still

exists fom the Baniwa cultue. They ae pojects of intevention with established foms,functions, uses and meanings, in which the actos involved confont conicts of inteest, peceptions, stategies, distinct and antagonistic socio-cultual hoizons. The pojects aea kind of post-contact necessity, like access to mateial goods that may even facilitate people’s day-to-day wok. In pinciple, the Indians do not conceive of the pojects alongthe lines of wealth accumulation and income, although the leades of oganizations mayaleady have incopoated that and may be tying to convince eveyone that that is theway-out fo the futue of the communities. (inteview with G. Santos, 2006, my tansl.)

Gesem’s eections ae extemely impotant to keep in mind as we continue withthe naative of how the Baniwa At Poject got off the gound.

The initial challenges of the poject wee daunting: to get by maketing the baskets on the egional makets, which wee typically exploitative, tanspotingthem ove the enomous distance fom the nothwest Amazon to the southeast ofBazil, a distance of 6,000 kilometes; to establish a system of commece based on



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pinciples of fainess, until then non-existent in that egion; to test the ecologicalsustainability of intensive poduction of the auma plant, which is the pincipalesouce fo the baskets; and pehaps most impotantly, gauge what impact a poject of this size and complexity would have on Baniwa society and cultueas a whole – social, economic, political, and eligious oganizations and moegeneally, the elations between humans and natue as these ae dened in Baniwacosmologies (plual sense: evangelical, non-evangelical, pophetic).

Just in tems of the logistics of the poject, it epesented a majo feat of planning and coodination fo it involved taining and oganizing local atisans to poduce a maket-quality poduct, which intoduced a new fom of oganizationwithout pecedent in Baniwa histoy. Then, to tanspot by canoes, tucks, and boats the hundeds of dozens of baskets, all packed with mateials of local oigin,fom one exteme of the county to anothe, passing though vaious citical points

of tansfeence. Then, oganizing and supevising the sale of the baskets in lagechain-stoes in the cities of São Paulo and rio de Janeio, and nally, making suethat the poceeds got back to the nothwest and wee coectly distibuted into thehands of the atisans.

The poject had seed suppot fom two majo foundations, one Austian theothe Dutch, and was assessed at evey step of the way by the ISA with its manyyeas of expeience in woking on complex pojects of this type. It had the suppotof the Bazilian Envionmental Ministy and the backing of the egional indigenous

oganization, the FOIrN (Fedeation of Indigenous Oganizations of the rio Nego), which was especially inteested that the poject succeed because it was pat of its moe global, 19-point Pogam fo Sustainable Indigenous Developmentof the rio Nego, a poposal which had been pesented to the state govenment ofAmazonas.

regading the ecological sustainability of intensive auma ( Ischnosiphon spp.) poduction, although it is pobably sustainable in cetain envionments, the questionis a genuine concen, and pobably should continue to be in many envionmentsof the Iana. In much of the Baniwa teitoy, at least that of the OIBI, thee isno auma, despite an abundance of humid o patially ooded lands. This has todo with the povety of the soils. In cetain conditions, the plant gows well, inothes not (see Hoffmann, 2000, fo detailed desciption; pesonal comm., 2006).Some communities have just a little auma, and it could easily be depleted. Thisecological heteogeneity cetainly contibutes to the poblem of poject-elatedsocial inequalities that I shall descibe late in this chapte.12

12 Anothe ecological facto is woth mentioning: the plants seem to spoutAnothe ecological facto is woth mentioning: the plants seem to spoutexceptionally well even afte cutting, at least the st time. But this is because they have anundegound hizome which stoes food and enegy, and new spouts ae aleady developedunde the soil. Studies of a elated species in the lowe rio Nego, howeve, suggest that the plants ae vey slow in ecoveing fom subsequent cuttings. In this egion of the Amazon,even the ‘good’ soils ae actually extemely poo, and auma does not gow o ecove




Like any poject that seeks to beak away fom deeply ooted pattens ofdependence on intemediaies in an exploitative system (as is typical in Amazonia),the BAP had its shae of difculties in getting stated. One economic analysismentioned that the failue to maket baskets in the ealy 1990s (befoe the BAPactually got stated) was due in pat to the ‘low quality of the poduct’: ‘sincethey still wee in a state of economic dependence, atisans continued to poducelow quality objects’. Yet, the Baniwa had aleady decided they had had enough ofgold pospecting (in which the etuns wee vey small) and wee willing to investthei time and enegy, with the suppot of the FOIrN and the ISA, in basket-weaving – which, tuth be said, was not a get-ich-quick economy, but was bothecologically and socially moe inteesting than the kind of exploitation they weeused to. But that meant taking all the pepaatoy steps necessay: on the one hand(the Baniwa) oganizing wokshops to tain local atisans, and poducing a manual

fo the atisans; on the othe hand (the ISA), doing maket eseach fo potentialoutlets outside the nothwest Amazon.

One potential outlet was the annual owe fai, called ExpoFloa, held in thetown of Holamba, inteio of São Paulo (a community pedominantly of Dutchdescendants); the idea was to sell the baskets as owe-holdes, a beautiful decoative piece fo homes and ofces. A lage ode fo baskets was placed, and 200 Baniwaatisans poduced the baskets on time. But poblems with the shipment and thelack of any copoate sponsoship at the fai esulted in poo sales, unsatisfactoy

fo the atisans, many of whom quickly abandoned the Poject.One esult of the maket eseach was the identication of the majo chainof funitue and home decoation stoes in Bazil, called Tok and Stok. With theISA’s intemediation, the stoe bought all of the poducts that hadn’t been soldat the fai and put in an ode fo moe, paying tiple the local sales pice foeach dozen of baskets. Tok and Stok thus became the pivileged outlet. At a late point, the majo chain of supemakets, Pão de Auca, enteed the scene which, besides contibuting to the visibility of the poducts, intoduced the element ofcompetitive picing. Long discussions wee held on both sides, the Baniwa andTok and Stok, egading fai pices, and a completely new concept was intoducedof ‘fai commece’ (fo an analysis of this maket concept and its implementationon the local scene of the nothwest Amazon, see the aticle by Untestell andMatins, two economists fom the Fundaão Getulio Vagas, a majo institution ofhighe education specializing in economics in Bazil).

Accoding to Untestell and Matins, thee was a shot boom in basket poduction between the end of the 1990s and aound 2004/5, a boom whichgeatly beneted the indigenous oganization, the Baniwa communities afliated

with it, and the ISA – the latte, in the sense that it demonstated the possibility ofdeveloping socially, envionmentally, and economically sustainable altenatives,

quickly unless it is in a light gap o in a gaden site following a bun. (Hoffman, pes.Comm., 2006)



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thus mateializing its belief in the intedependence of biodivesity and socio-divesity. Thus, the poject ealized the NGO’s mission statement.

Despite the initial difculties of establishing connections with a consumemaket, the Baniwa At Poject began a peiod of acceleated gowth and publicecognition. The numbe of atisans gew fom its initial 20 to 143; the totalnumbe of baskets commecialized ose to at least 10,000 pe yea. What Baniwaatisans eceived in etun doubled, which meant not only geate buying powe but also impovements in the oganization of the atisans.

In 2001, impotant ecognition of the poject came in the fom of two majo pize awads in national competitions. Both ecognized the innovations achieved by the BAP in tems of esouce mobilization and the administation of social pojects. The money eceived fom the pizes went to puchasing equipment, geate publicity, and expansion of the Poject’s facilities. The pizes, accoding to ISA’s

coodinato, epesented ‘the esults of expeiences in fomulating a management plan, integating [local] communities on the one hand and [national] buyes on theothe’. Othe local communities (such as Itacoatiaa-miim, a small community onthe oadside nea the municipal capital city) which peviously had no paticipationin the Poject, demanded the technical assistance of the ISA in taining indigenouseseaches to do envionmental analysis fo the puposes of intensive use of localstands of auma. This expeience showed in an impotant way how the Baniwacould themselves do the local eseach necessay fo poduction. Finally, in

2006, OIBI leadeship went beyond the expectations of technical assessos thatthe maket outlet would emain national at least fo the time being, and began pesonally contacting makets in Austia and Holland to enhance the possibilitiesof expotation of the baskets.

In shot, the poject moe than demonstated its sustainability both ecologicallyand fo the estimated 20 pe cent of the Baniwa population paticipating in it. It’simpotant to be clea about this howeve: initially, between 11–16 communitiesout of the moe than 100 on the Bazilian side of the bode wee beneted by theBAP. A epot on the poject by two eseaches of the FGV (Besle and Oliveia)leaves it clea on evey page that the poject was entiely diected by the OIBI.Communities that ae associated with the OIBI ae all located within appoximatelythe same egion of the cental potion of Baniwa teitoy. Communities upive,downive, and on adjacent steams wee, fankly, not included and, fo vaiouseasons, objected eithe to being left out (which did in fact ceate social poblems)o to the way the OIBI leadeship was conducting the Poject (which esulted insetbacks fo the leades, as I will descibe shotly).

A good pat of the eason fo these intenal divisions had to with eligious

ivalies: OIBI communities ae pedominantly evangelical (though onecommunity, which contibuted signicantly to basket poduction, is Catholic).Catholic communities outside the obit of OIBI inuence have had long-standingenmities with the evangelicals (fo which, see my book, 2005), including violentconicts, and because the OIBI liteally took away the political powe of thesecommunities, which had been esponsible fo the st Baniwa political oganization




(the ACIBrI, Association of Indigenous Communities of the Iana rive Basin).OIBI communities ae pedominantly membes of a lage and pestigious clan;they have had taditional ivalies with othe lage clans both upive and onadjacent steams. This clan, it can be shown, speaheaded Baniwa convesion toevangelicalism; besides assuming hegemony in Baniwa political oganization, ithas assumed leadeship in the Baniwa At Poject, in aquacultue pojects and inan altenative schooling poject (the Pamaali). It is no exaggeation to say that, inall of this, the OIBI was favoed by outside institutions and NGOs, which explainsin lage pat its apid gowth.

Othe evangelical communities upive fom the OIBI also esented OIBI’shegemony in the BAP, but fo diffeent easons: being moe fundamentalistevangelical, they disageed with OIBI’s insistence on ceating stong elationswith the NGO and extenal maket. The st evangelical missionay among the

Baniwa, afte all, had peached that contacts with the whites would lead to thedamnation of the Baniwas’ souls.

The Catholic communities, pedominantly of the Aiay rive, wee the pincipaldefendes of Baniwa taditions against attacks by Potestant missionaies and theiconvets in the 1960s. The young Baniwa leades of the Aiay wee the st to be summoned by the Catholic missionaies in the 1970s to fom local politicalassociations but though a somewhat suspicious sleight-of-hand manoeuve, theyoung evangelical leades of the Iana took that powe fom them and fomed the

OIBI. This local coup was highly esented by the Catholic leadeship of the Aiayrive, but peceived diffeently by the Baniwa communities of the lowe Ianawho had fomed one of the st political associations, the ACIBrI. The founde ofthe ACIBrI, Gesem Santos, analyzed the situation as follows:

As fa as the discontent of othe communities – in the case of the uppe io Iana theeis, yes, amongst those of the Iana and Ayai, and it is vey stong and unpecedented.The Ayai is the aea that has felt most excluded in this stoy. And thee ae clea signs ofconicts and theats. But, amongst the Catholics of the lowe Iana, with whom I have

lived the most, I don’t peceive this. They undestand that it is thei tun and this endsup motivating them to seek to deepen thei pespectives, a sot of positive competitionand they have othe pioities. They have peceived that the collective ‘community’ pojects did not poduce the desied esults, so today they have changed thei stategiesand seek individual initiatives and pomotions in the eld of economic suvival, and theole of the associations and thei leades has come to be to stuggle fo taining pojectssuch as schools, political paticipation that they can capitalize on and tain individualsin the solution of thei poblems. Community pojects don’t enchant them anymoe.On the othe hand, the nancial advantages – although they ae not insignicant – ae

compensated fo those who do not paticipate, by the peace of mind that they havegained, without having to confont and involve themselves in conicts. Fom the pointof view of the poductive envionment, fo example, the Indians say that in the past, itwas the white bosses who would exploit them, but today it’s thei own ‘childen’ (young people) kin, which fo them is moe seious.



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While the evangelical communities of the Iana wee and ae in a phase of‘enchantment’ with the pojects and the new foms of political oganization, theCatholic communities, accoding to Gesem:

ae in a phase of disenchantment, clealy because they have expeiences with othe poject models (communitaian, ecclesiastical, amongst othes) but it eally is becausefo the Indians, it’s all the same thing. I think the evangelicals (young leades) seek to

invest in the pojects in an attempt to ecove the time lost in the peiod of political

connement to which they wee submitted by eligion and as a stategy fo getting out

of the invisibility o negative visibility of being consideed backwads, illiteate. The

pojects ae a way of ecoveing self-esteem to show that they ae capable. This is a

vey positive thing and has enomous potential that the indigenous movement has to

potentialize and capitalize on. I think thee’s anothe facto that’s extemely impotant

in this stoy, that has to do with the anthopological view. The evangelical communities

ae consideed excellent patnes by the suppot goups and nances, because they

have been vey little coupted by the suounding society, thus they ae moe docile,

obedient, and honest fo the development of the woks of the pojects. A kind of ideal

of the pimitive Indians …. When we look at the geogaphical location of the pojects

on the uppe rio Nego, we can see this vey clealy. No-one is inteested in woking

with the Baes o othe communities that ae moe inuenced by the cities and the

missions.

The case of the OIBI leade and coodinato of the BAP (until ecently), howeve,is paticulaly evealing of the contadictions faced by the poject fom the beginning. This leade, whom I will call Mauilio, had consideable success and pestige as the coodinato of the OIBI, the head of the altenative school, andthe head of the BAP. He had led Baniwa community paticipation in delibeativecouncils on public health policy; he was a technical and pedagogical coodinatofo the goup, and was well-known outside Baniwa communities. His wok isecognized by NGOs and outside pofessionals as being highly qualied, efcient,and always esonant with the communities’ needs and demands. He is now thevice-pesident of the egional indigenous oganization.

With his expeience in vaious taining couses, he is actually one of the mostqualied leades of the egional indigenous movement. He uses his knowledge inan innovative way, demonstating an enviable ability to facilitate communicationand to develop a kind of ‘intecultual tanslation’ egading social policies inBazil. He assists village leades in undestanding the poposals and decisionsof govenment authoities, which affect the lives of the indigenous population.People tust his coect management of nancial and mateial esouces obtained

though pojects and patneships with the NGOs and govenment entities. He isthus a poweful mediato between public powe and indigenous societies.

Despite – o even as a esult of all of this – seveal yeas ago, Mauilio wasthe victim of assault socey (by poisoning). The physical symptoms includeddiahea, digestive indisposition, acute weight loss and intemittent headaches.Psychological symptoms included nightmaes, difculties in concentation,




sensation of weakness, depession, and an ovewhelming cetainty that he, o oneof his elatives, would die fom socey. In his deams, he would see stange,menacing people eating tapi heat (the tapi is the symbol of his clan) o he wouldsee the boat in which he was tavelling sunk in the watefalls.

Duing his sickness, he tied seveal kinds of teatment: medicinal plants, afolk heale, Chistian pastos, and chantes. One folk heale diagnosed his ailmentas being the esult of an attack by the spiits of the foest, called Iupinai. Theseinclude spiits of all plants, animals, and insects which, it is said, ae constantlyat wa with human beings fo thei aggession on natue. It makes sense thatthis leade, coodinato of the auma poject, would suffe thei attacks.13 All ofthese pocedues alleviated, but did not cue his sickness. Since he is Potestant,Mauilio hesitated in consulting a shaman but nally did and it was diagnosed thatanothe poweful shaman had been hied to kill him. The shaman/heale pescibed

a igoous diet which the leade was unable to follow because of his constantlyheavy schedule of political activities.

His symptoms wosened; consequently, he enewed his teatment withmedicinal plants which impoved his health. But, when he attended an assemblyof the local indigenous movement, he ate the meat of a fuy animal, which is atype of food stictly fobidden to a peson who is ecoveing fom a socey attack.His condition went fom bad to wose within seveal months.

He then sought teatment by a shaman, his matenal uncle. The shaman

identied the focus of the digestive lesion which had esulted fom the poisoning, but he said he would be unable to cue his nephew if the latte continued with his political activities. It was his political activities and success that made Mauiliothe taget of socees, who envied his inuential position and the goods obtainedthough his wok. Even if he could be cued, thee was no guaantee that he, oanothe membe of his family, would not suffe anothe attack. Assault soceywas thus a etibution (in the fom of aggession) fo the inequality poduced byhis political wok.

Mauilio had to decide whethe to continue o abandon the wok to which hehad dedicated all his effots. If he continued, he and his family would have to livewith the constant theat of chonic o fatal sickness; if he abandoned his activities,he would peseve himself and his family but sacice the ideals that ae his lifeand futue. Accumulating wealth and pestige was neve a stated concen of his;athe, he tied to avoid peceptible diffeentiations and the kinds of behaviouthat would incite people’s envy o jealousy, and thus deect attempts at assaultsocey. But he knew that, although his actions wee govened by his concen

13 Thee is a elation of negative ecipocity between these spiits and humans,Thee is a elation of negative ecipocity between these spiits and humans,which esults in vaious sicknesses and misfotunes to humans. These spiits, it is said,lost thei humanity because of thei impatience and aogance which led them to disobeythe ules of shamanic appenticeship. The sicknesses they may give to humans ae oftenskin infections. Misfotunes include stoms, accidents (like the sinking of canoes), andfightening childen.



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fo edistibuting goods obtained by the OIBI and the BAP, just the pestige andnancial success of both wee enough to geneate that kind of eaction.

The nal esult of the case: Mauilio was cued of his symptoms though biomedical teatment, although he expected a new attack at any moment aftewads.In an unexpected move, he decided to confont this constant theat by discussingthe poblem in an assembly of the villages of the aea. As one obseve, a medicaldocto and – at the time, my advisee – who was pehaps the closest to the leadeduing this whole odeal, obseved:

… [assault socey] is a key element in the social stuctue of the goup which offes ameans fo action in managing disputes deived fom ancestal hostilities, is updated inthe context of the appopiation of goods and sevices geneated by public policies, inthe dispute fo employment, industialized poducts and alliances with institutions and

non-indigenous spaces of powe.The sick leade is stuck on the cossoads of histoy. On the one hand, he is inseted intothe wide context of the Bazilian indigenous political movement, that seeks to povideAmazonian indigenous peoples with mediatos, capable of geneating ceative solutionsfo the impovement of public policies which ae slowly established on indigenouslands. On the othe, he is the membe of a specic cultue that is govened by theinhibition of social inequality. His cultue has in [assault socey] an impotant suppotfo egalitaianism, the contol of individualism, and the accumulation of symbolic andmateial powe. [Assault socey] thus becomes a safeguad fo such contempoay

initiatives. But this stategy that impedes diffeentiation also hindes the actions ofinnovative membes of the goup who ae intenal souces of social tansfomation.Changes bought about by the political movement contain the seeds of subvesion ofa social ode which ties to potect itself though stategies such as [assault socey].(Ganelo, n/d)

Like the pophets of the past (Wight, 2005), who sought to change thei societyin ode to potect it fom extenal change agents and to poduce a egime ofhamonious conviviality, but wee saciced in etun by the vey mechanismsof society that paadoxically guaantee egalitaianism, the political leade ofthe pesent sought to intoduce a new fom of social, political and economicoganization in ode to eceive benets fom extenal makets but was sacicedin exchange fo the diffeentiation that he, as an individual, was believed to have poduced. The model of this leade’s stoy can be found in the stoies the Baniwatell of thei pophets. Both Gesem and Mauilio agee that the stoies of theicultue-heoes, waio ancestos, pophet ancestos seve as models fo them tostategize and plan thei next moves. As Gesem said:

I think that ou ancesto heoes ae indeed ou inspies and seve to motivate us andas a efeence. … I am vey poud of them and I think they pass on to us enegy andstength to continue, conscious that today ou instuments, weapons, stategies andcontext ae vey diffeent in tems of pespectives, possibilities and challenges. Todayou main weapon is the same weapon of the White man, in the sense that we seek to




appopiate fo ouselves thei knowledge, to ou benet, whethe it is to defend ouights to live ou way of being and thinking, o to incopoate techniques that help usto impove ou woking conditions and ou daily lives. I think thee is a vey stongelation fom the spiitual point of view with ou ancestos mainly fom thei couageand daing in confonting extenal and enemy foces, and ou geatest fea is that thee

be no continuity in this with ou childen, because of ou own stategy, when we judgethat to dominate the powe and knowledge of the Whites, we will pevent them fomdominating us.

In the end, the BAP beneted a numbe of communities but left quite a lot moeout, and left many questions to be answeed by futue expeiences, and by deepeundestandings of how to calibate Baniwa cosmology with the logic of the maket.Gesem analyzed the situation in the following way:

Thee ae concete, measuable, positive esults, if we take into account the volume ofesouces that seveal dozen families could benet fom and can continue to geneate

income and benets. Nevetheless, it is poducing seious poblems fo eveybody, and

mainly the leades that coodinate and manage it, e-kindling ancient inte-clan conicts.

This occus, st, because it meets the needs of only a few who ae beneted, which

poduces sentiments of exclusion and betayal of loyalty, and second, because the young

leades do not have sufcient ecognition of thei authoity to impose the pocedues and

logics necessay to implement maket stategies, which geneates discomfot, distust and

accusations, as is typical of Baniwa cultue. Besides that, in tems of change in the way of

thinking about life and mateial conditions (economy), any poject that affects poduction,commecialization, money, consumption, and accumulation has the same consequences as

a goldmine, that is, it intoduces new foms of social and economic elations. Eveything

evolves aound payment, even if it is fo an exclusively communitaian use. The challenge

is how to econcile this gap. I don’t see much of a way-out, the ideal would be to think of

pojects that somehow could involve and benet at least a specic copoate goup and

get ove the ways of nancing and administeing of bueaucatized pojects, allowing the

methods of implementation to follow the oganizational foms of wok, distibution of

goods poduced and mainly the decision-making that today ae centalized in the ownes

of the pojects, the leades of the oganizations and the technicians. I undestand that the poblem is moe complex than that.14

The Baniwa At Poject has just ecently shown signs that its populaity andsuccesses have eached a plateau and may even be on the downswing. The latestinfomation we have is that about 350 dozen of the small baskets continue to be poduced pe yea and that, although the numbe of atisans has inceased, demandand poduction have not simultaneously inceased.

On the othe hand, two supising developments have ecently occued: oneis that anothe ‘feve’ has boken out, so typical of the Amazonian economy,

14 I undestand Gesem to mean that the local associations should be govened moe by taditional foms of oganization and decision-making than by the cuent, centalizedleadeship of NGO-suppoted individuals.



Baniwa Art 207

this time fo extaction of the foest vine called titica ( Heteropsis spp.) usedin the poduction of chais, baskets and bags. In the ecent past, in the state ofAmapá, the exploitation of titica vines got to be so violent to the ecology (titicais not sustainable if exploited intensively) that the Envionment Ministy seveelyegulated its exploitation in that state. On the uppe rio Nego, whee exploitationis just beginning, the st suveys indicate that etuns fom the sale of the vinehave been quite high (B. ricado, pes. comm.).

The second is that gold pospecting has once again spaked the Baniwas’inteests. One ex-leade of the OIBI actually has a poposal ciculating to implant‘sustainable gold pospecting’ (ibid.). Thee seems to be little likelihood that this poposal will be accepted by the state govenment, o appoved by the fedealgovenment given the disastous consequences of diamond pospecting on Cinta-Laga Indian land last yea and given that the fedeal govenment has still not

taken any steps yet to egulate pospecting of any kind on indigenous lands. Evenif in the vey unlikely possibility that gold pospecting would be egulated in a‘sustainable’ way, specialists doubt whethe the Indians would eve eally have fullcontol ove it, and would moe likely fall into the hands of the white mechants ashas happened so often in the past. Nevetheless, the poposal is ciculating.

This case study clealy illustates the interpretive/heuristic value of taking theBaniwa cosmological famewok seiously pio to and duing the implementationof such pojects. It is not simply a case of how a set of ‘capitalist’ elations

‘went bad’ o ‘failed’ as a esult of native ethics. My agument is that, had thedevelopment plannes seiously taken into account the notions we have discussedhee – of ‘egalitaian’ elations, ‘powe’, ‘inequality’ and the pobable outcome of povoking inequalities, as well as the active and aggessive ole of the spiits ofnatue in eacting to human excesses, – pehaps the leade would not have suffeedsuch attacks. Pehaps it would have esulted in a poject that was moe sensitiveto the natue of balance the Baniwa stive to keep amongst themselves, and thei potential foes (be they ival clans o spiits of natue).

Final Reections

In the paticula case of the Baniwa At Poject, how did Baniwa eligiosity –especially the elations of humans to natue – come into play in the dynamicsof the BAP, and how did ‘sustainable development’ fae in the evolution of thePoject?

Fist of all, it’s clea that both Baniwa Potestant evangelicalism and thei

beliefs in natue-spiits wee key elements. Potestant ethics – in the senseintoduced by the st missionaies of a moal Puitanism – denes a way of lifewhich the Baniwa adapted to meet thei own spiitual needs. It is undeniable thatthis has been inuential in the odeliness and efciency with which the BaniwaAt Poject has been caied out, and this was fom the beginning seen in a positivelight by the NGO and intenational fundes whose views of sustainable indigenous




pojects ae lagely based on modenity and efciency. But the simple fact of beingevangelical in the tems set out by the st evangelical missionay among theBaniwa, Sophie Mulle, and he ealy followes, as we’ve seen, was not necessailyconducive to establishing fiendly tems with ‘the white man’; to the contay, it positively hindeed these elations fo a good many yeas.

Secondly, the histoy of Baniwa eligiosity, I think it is safe to say, seved asa basis fo the manne in which the BAP ‘took off’ and was, fo awhile, a geatsuccess. We have compaed the histoical ise of pophets and of individualism,coupled with the objective of elief fom debts, to the ise of individual OIBIleades whose pojects bought in money to puchase much-desied mechandiseas well as contibuting to Baniwa empowement. OIBI’s pincipal leadeexpessed his millenaian vision in an inteview in the late 1990s when he isquoted to have said, ‘The Whites will aive amongst us, they’ll help impove

ou living conditions. Once we each this objective, the wold will end.’ (cited inBoye, 1999) By which I undestand him to mean that a specic socio-economic- political-eligious conguation will ‘come to an end’ to be eplaced by a modiedfom of the copoate, oganizational mentality, but not the ‘end of the wold’ ina cosmological sense, which was neve a tenet of pevious pophetic messages.One can easily conclude, howeve, that such a copoate mentality will lead tothe ‘disenchantment of the wold’ as Webe had pedicted fo taditional societiesundegoing socio-economic change like those of the Baniwa evangelicals. What

is puzzling about the statement, though, is that Sophie Mulle peached avoidanceof the Whites, while Ande postpones the ‘end-of-the-wold’ dama to sometimeafte the Whites bing pospeity.

Thidly, Baniwa pophetism and evangelicalism, as univesalistic foms ofdiscouse and paxis, esonated with the equally univesalistic discouse of the NGO egading bio- and cultual divesity, and sustainable development. D.Pollock, witing of the Siiono and Kaho, has obseved that convesion illustateshow, paadoxically, a univesal eligion can become ‘a way of peseving local andtaditional identity, as well as thei micocosmic social integity’. A simila sotof pocess seems to have occued in the esonance between the discouse of the NGO and the pophetic/evangelical taditions.

Fouthly, egading the OIBI leade’s nea-fatal illness: local explanations and,moe impotantly, the local dynamics involved in his misfotune wee most clealyelated to the dilemmas he faced duing the evolution of the BAP. Local explanationsefeed, stly, to assault socey by the spiits of natue, the Iupinai, in a sotof negative ecipocity fo the intensive use he had made of natual esouces.Secondly, assault socey came fom socees, enemy shamans, who in the fom of

animals, poisoned the leade. Negative ecipocity clealy came into play as a esultof the leade’s violation of the social nom that favous the egalitaian ethos. Likethe pophets of the past, the leade’s ascension to a position of powe and pestige – despite the denials by all leades that this was what they sought – was exacebated by the BAP, to the point of tiggeing the local, taditional levelling mechanism ofassault socey (conceived of as attacks by shamans, o animal-souls).



Baniwa Art 209

Finally, independently of eligiosity, the whole episode highlights thedichotomy between, on the one hand, a complex and biey successful sustainabledevelopment poject (which still has, I believe, a geat potential to gow IF localivalies could somehow be moe effectively dealt with) which is pat of an equallycomplex and pomising egional sustainable development pogam sponsoed bythe egional indigenous oganization (the FOIrN) and suppoted by enomousextenal esouces – and, on the othe, the spoadic ‘feves’ of extactivism whichhave chaacteized the Amazonian economies since the 17th and 18th centuies, andwhich, today, assume eve moe violent foms (titica extaction, fo example, whichis eminently non-sustainable, o the so-called ‘sustainable gold pospecting’). Thequestion emains of whethe the indigenous oganizations can somehow contolthese ‘feves’ o whethe they will be witnesses to eplays of the past.

On the moe geneal level, it is obviously of geat impotance that Baniwa

cosmology and eligious belief in a signicant way shaped histoical paxis.Had these been taken into account in a moe effective way by the plannes ofthe poject, pehaps many of the tensions, ivalies and pesonal sacices couldhave been avoided. Thee ae cetainly many positive aspects of the development pogam undeway, paticulaly with egad to education. Nevetheless, thee isstill a good deal of oom fo impovement with egad to: stly the question ofinclusion of those who have been ‘left out’ until now, secondly the spiituality,that is, the elations between humans and natue, and thidly the democatization

of the pojects. Somehow, the ‘pilot’ model of sustainable development must beovecome so that moe communities can eap the benets of the new age.

References

Boye, Veonique. 1999. ‘Os Baniwa evangelicos falam dos missionaies potestantes: Soa e seus sucessoes’. Religiao e EspacoPolitico. (oiginally published in) Ateliers de Caravelle. Toulouse, v. 18: 99–124.

Besle, ricado and Fenanda Oliveia. 2001. ‘Pojeto Ate Baniwa: ComunidadesBaniwa do Alto rio Iana’. Pdf fomat, oiginally published in 20 Anos deExperiencia de Gestao Publica e Cidadania. São Paulo: Pogama GestaoPublica e Cidadania.

Buin, Giuliana Otega. n.d. ‘A relacao Comecial ente Empesas e FonecedoesSociais: um Estudo Multicaso’. Unpublished ms., June 2003.

Conklin, Beth A. and Laua r. Gaham. 1995. ‘The Shifting Middle-Gound:Amazonian Indians and Eco-Politics’, American Anthropologist , 97(4):

695–710.Ganelo, L. n.d. Manhene: ‘Buxaia tadicional Baniwa e suas implicacoes no

movimento etnopolitico e nas politicas publicas de saude’. Pape pesented atPape pesented atthe 2002 Annual Meetings of the Ameican Anthopological Association. NewOleans, LA. Symposium on ‘The Poetics of Violence’, N. Whitehead, og.(my tansl.)




Jounet, Nicolas. 1981. ‘Los Cuipaco del rio Isana: Economia y Sociedad’. Revista Colombiana de Antropologia. Bogota, XXIII: 125–81.

———, 1995. La Paix des Jardins. Structures Sociales des indiens Curripacodu Haut Rio Negro (Colombia). Pais: Institut d’Ethnologie, Musee del’Homme.

Untestell, Natalie and rafael Matins. 2004. ‘Pojeto Ate Baniwa: Possibilidades paa o Comecio Justo no Basil. Atigo’ pepaado paa a 6ª ConfeenciaIntenacional da Intenational Society fo Thid Secto reseach. July 2004.

Wight, robin M. 2005. Historia Indigena e do Indigenismo no Alto Rio Negro.Campinas: Mecado de Letas and Instituto Socioambiental.

———. 2004. ‘The Wicked and the Wise Men’. In: N. Whitehead and r. Wight,. 2004. ‘The Wicked and the Wise Men’. In: N. Whitehead and r. Wight,(eds) In Darkness and Secrecy. Duke Univesity Pess.

———. 2002. ‘Pophetic Taditions Among the Baniwa and Othe Aawakan. 2002. ‘Pophetic Taditions Among the Baniwa and Othe Aawakan

Peoples of the Nothwest Amazon’. In: Comparative Arawakan Histories: Rethinking Language Family and Culture Area in Amazonia. (ed.) JonathanD. Hill and Fenando Santos Ganeo. (Ubana: Univesity of Illinois Pess,2002): 269–93

———. 1998.. 1998. Cosmos, Self and History in Baniwa Religion. For Those Unborn. Austin: Univesity of Texas Pess.



Chapte 11

Divine Child and Tademak:

Economy, Moality, and CultualSustainability of a Guaaná Poject among the Sateé-Mawé, Bazil1

Wolfgang Kapfhamme

Accoding to Geman anthopologist richad rottenbug (2001), in his aticle ‘TheCultue of Development Collaboation in Afica’, the mode of communication between westen and non-westen patnes involved in development collaboationcould be called a ‘technical game’. Its leading diffeential is the distinction efcient/inefcient, while culture is at best efeed to as ‘socio-cultual factos’. Culture couldchallenge the contents of the ‘technical game’ as the latte is based on the maste

naative of pogess and emancipation. rottenbug daws on examples fom Afica;in the Amazonian case I am elating hee, it seems as if things would be just the otheway ound: the naative the Euopean patne adhees to testies to scepticism against pogess and valoisation of tadition. The ideal of ecological sustainability within thisnaative is seen to be lived by the indigenous patne in an exemplay way; culture

– as gounded in ‘local knowledge’ – is the basic ule within this game.In an impessive ideological tunabout, the so-called ‘taditional populations’,

especially those of Amazonia, have ecently advanced fom being an ‘obstacle’ to,o, at most, ‘candidates’ fo pogess and development, to becoming the ‘avant-gade’ of an inceasingly sceptical modenity. This tunabout is due above allto the association of these populations with taditional knowledge, which haveecently been evaloised by westen modenity in the face of its own eos andits cuent effots to peseve the envionment and encouage the sustainable useof esouces. This change of mind is based above all on the envionmental ethicsof westen industial societies, and, at the local level, has ceated a willingness toallow these ‘taditional populations’ to have contol ove wide teitoies in etunfo ‘envionmental sevices’(Caneio da Cunha/Almeida 2001: 184).

To begin ou discussion, in ode to speak of ‘taditional populations’, onedoes not necessaily have to efe solely to indigenous goups, but athe a kindof moden ‘Erntevölker ’. They ae specialists in a cetain cop, such as ubbe

1 I wish to thank the Sateé-Mawé fo thei geneous hospitality and suppot and theI wish to thank the Sateé-Mawé fo thei geneous hospitality and suppot and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft fo funding my eseach.




tappes in the Bazilian state of Ace (like Chico Mendes; Schwatzman 1989),who, because of thei economically sustainable poduction methods, meet westenexpectations with egad to pesevation of the envionment and bio-divesity.Hee we ae confonted with the st poblem: the two patnes involved in the pocess obviously adopt diffeent pespectives, which may convege, at leastideally, but which ae in no way identical. While in local tems, fo example,something like the ‘poduction of bio-divesity’ o the ‘poduction of natue’ may be a contadiction in itself (because one cannot ‘poduce natue), this is exactlywhat is expected, suppoted and concetely nanced by suppoting oganisations(Caneio da Cunha/Almeida 2001). Bio-divesity is a ‘by-poduct’ of a cetain wayof living, o in westen economic tems, a ‘positive extenality’, that is, a positive,extenal effect on an entepise; howeve, it is usually ignoed by the maket (loc.cit.: 192). While thee is a cetain maket fo ‘existential values’ like bio-divesity

and pesevation of natual envionments, the membes of the so-called ‘taditional populations’ ae by no means paid to act as ‘guadians of natue paks’. A solutionto this poblem consists of the constuction of a combination of high-quality foest poducts (supplied by the foest peoples) togethe with the global pesevationof biological divesity (the main demand of westen consumes) (loc. cit., see.Molna/Sche/Khae 2004).

Fo the actual indigenous goups of Amazonia, this package deal of teitoyin etun fo bio-divesity is not immediately elevant, insofa as indigenous land

claims tend to be legally based on histoical cicumstances, at least accoding tothe Bazilian Constitution. Nevetheless, it is becoming inceasingly impotant foindigenous goups to come up with some valid answes to the question ‘muita terra

para pouco índio’ (a lot of land fo a few Indians). In the face of a vey successfulstuggle by a demogaphically small minoity (indigenous peoples compise 0.5 pecent of Bazil’s population but have gained contol ove 11 pe cent of the county’steitoy) this question can be head eve moe fequently these days. Thus, a positionsuch as ‘envionmental sevice povide’ would cay some pesuasive powe. Theguaaná poject among the Sateé-Mawé, an indigenous goup of some 8, 000 peopleon the Middle Amazon rive south of the city of Paintins, also has to do with thefact that the teitoy of this goup foms the only existing biological gene-pool fothe entie guaaná industy of Bazil (Faboni 2001).

In this chapte I ty to undestand the cultual ole of the guaaná fuitamong the Sateé-Mawé by making infeences fom the indigenous myth ofoigin of the plant and the discouse actually suounding this myth, and fomthe ‘mythopaxis’ (Sahlins 1983, 1992; Fiedman 1992) of a ecent ‘fai tade’ poject of the commecialisation of guaaná. Instead of a ‘symbolic’ analysis of

guaaná mythology, which would misepesent the cultual and social embeddingof the poject, I suggest an ‘ethno-tophological’ appoach that associates qualitiesof this food with its consequences fo the ontological and moal status of theconsume (see Hugh-Jones 1995, Fausto 2002), in ode to undestand the eldof economic, social and political paxis, in which the poject is unfolding. I willshow that it is not pimaily ‘sustainable’ human-natue-elations, commonly



Divine Child and Trademark 213

associated with topical foest dwelles in an essentialist way, that can be heldesponsible fo the acceptance of a successful poject, but athe the embeddingof poject paxis in an encompassing stategy to establish cetain social and moalstandads within the context of an evangelical convesion movement. The pofoundsocietal changes accompanying convesion do not necessaily esult, as might be expected, in the expectation of capitalistic pecuniay ewad (as Max Webewould have suggested). The ‘social capital’ (Baun/Gote/Jütting 2000) investedin a maket-oiented economy deives fom a pe-existing indigenous potential fothe univesalistic constuction of consensus as opposed to the paticulaism of asociety diffeentiated into a numbe of exogamous clans.

Product Information

In Bazil guaaná is an ingedient and avou of an immensely popula soft dink andfoms an impotant pat of the poduct ange of big beweies such as Antarctica and

Brahma. The vegetal aw mateial is poduced on industially managed plantationsin Amazonia, paticulaly in the egion of Maués, nea the Área Indígena of theSatere-Mawe. Thee is a cetain volume of expot to the US; but mostly, distibutionof the beveage is esticted to the Bazilian intenal maket. In Euope guaanást held only a niche maket as a kind of vegetal stimulant o ‘uppe’. Given this

somewhat diseputable image, guaaná had a had time establishing itself on thealtenative eco-maket which tied to push guaaná as a milde altenative to coffeeand tea. Futhemoe, only poducts fom sustainable and ecologically acceptablecultivation wee offeed, and it was the ‘ethical’ quality of the tade, which offeedBazilian peasants adequate emuneation fo thei poduct, that was emphasised.At some point, anothe supplie enteed this maket, namely the Sateé-Mawéthemselves, the oiginatos of cultivation and pocessing of the guaaná fuit. Thus, afuthe pomotional agument was added to the high poduct quality and sustainablecultivation: the ‘authenticity’ of an indigenous oigin of the poduct. Afte havinglost a viable position on the egional maket many yeas ago (that is, petty tadeto towns nea the indigenous aea; the Sateé not being involved in agoindustial poduction of guaaná) the guaaná poject of the Sateé-Mawé now distibutes the beveage with inceasing success to Euopean makets (GTZ 2000).

Guaaná (Paullinia cupana) pospes almost exclusively in Amazonia and is a bushy climbing plant that twines itself aound the tunks of tees, o aound acksmade of wooden beams in the indigenous plantations. The fuit of Paullinia containsa elatively high concentation of caffeine, which is esponsible fo the stimulating

and enegising effect of the beveage. Because the caffeine is mly bound to thefuit mateial, it is only slowly eleased into the oganism and thus has a gentle butenduing effect (Henman 1982). Among the Sateé-Mawé, guaaná is taditionallycultivated in sepaate plantations, that is, distinct fom the manioc plantations. Whena new plantation is set up, o peiodically enewed, new seedlings fom wild foestvaieties ae intoduced. In ode to be able to epoduce and yield a good cop, the




plantations have to be egulaly cleaned of undegowth and weeds. The fuits aeabout the size of a chey and ae collected befoe they dop; then, they ae peeledat home. Afte being washed and soaked fo a few days, the fuits ae oasted onlage Amazonian hotplates. Then, afte adding a small amount of wate, the fuitsae pounded to a thick paste and olled by hand to fom a kind of ba. These bas,about 20 cm. in length, ae then smoke-died ove special woods. The end poductis as had as stone and esembles a salami in size and colou. Fo non-indigenousconsumption the died fuits ae mechanically pocessed to a ne powde (Da SilvaLoenz 1992). With the exception of the washing of the smoked bas, all steps of the poduction ae done by men, while the pepaation of the beveage, in sateré calledsap’o, is women’s wok. To make the dink, the women ub the guaaná ba againsta wet stone and continuously dissolve the ubbings in a calabash lled with wate.The esult is a whitish, nutty and bitte tasting beveage. On moe fomal occasions,

sap’o is offeed in a calabash by a man. Each peson in tun takes a dink, expesseshis o he satisfaction by saying ‘waku’, ‘good’, and etuns the calabash. Duingthese dinking ceemonies, the pevailing mood is solemn and concentated, as anexpession of inne composue and contemplation of common values.

Illustation 11.1 Guaaná plants (Paullinia cupana)




Growth Societies

The moe o less itual seving of guaaná actualizes mythical eality. Such‘mythopaxis’ oganizes ‘the pesent in tems of the past’, but a past aleadyoganized by the pesent (Fiedman 1992). The agency-oienting discouse onguaaná, as it is maintained by the spokesmen of the evangelical convesionmovement, who ae at the same time the actual political avant-gade and advocatesof the guaaná poject, does not emphasize the symbolism of the main motif of themyth – the oigin of the plant fom the body of a killed mythic being – but insteadthe pophetic content of the naative, summaized as follows:

Immediately afte the emegence of the aquatic and iveine landscape, the womanUniawãsap’i goes to the ive whee, without he noticing, she is impegnated by a little

snake. He pegnancy depives Uniawãsap’i of he capability to pepae ‘medicines’ fohe bothes, who ae shamans. They disclose the secet of he pegnancy and dive heaway out of jealousy. Uniawãsap’i is foced to delive he baby alone, assisted only byan opossum. She beas a son.

In the following episodes of the myth, seveal cases of death occu. The stchestnut tee gows out of the body pats of one of the victims.

As soon as the ‘sepent’s son’, Uniawãsap’i’s child, discoves the chestnut tee, he picks

some of the fuits and by doing so futhe aouses the wath of his jealous uncles, whoconside the chestnut tee as thei possession. They ambush thei nephew and kill himwith aows as he etuns to collect moe fuits. They cut his body in two with a ope.The gieving mothe, Uniawãsap’i, huies to the spot, takes the eyes fom he son’scopse and plants them in the soil. The st guaaná shub gows out of the eyes.Uniawãsap’i then eassembles the emaining body pats and puts them into a vessel inode to evive them. Afte a few failues, which give ise to the koata monkeys andthe peccaies, the st human couple slips out of the vessel, the ancestos of the Sateé-Mawé. [vide Sateé-Mawé dawing of the oigin of guaaná below]

A pimodial being gives ise both to a cultivated plant and to the st humancouple: in an almost edundant way, the naation exhibits a mythological motif,which is well known to Geman-speaking ethnologists as the ‘ Hainuwele motif’[Hainuwele is a female being in a myth fom Ceam. She is killed by cushing he body, and out of the buied body pats gow the st coconut tee.]. This motifwas elaboated by Geman anthopologist Adolf Ellegad Jensen as the pivotalmythological topos in the wold view of ealy hoticultualists (Jensen 1951,1965). Jensen himself ecoded the coesponding myth among the Wemale of

Ceam, accoding to which the divine maiden Hainuwele was itually killed andhe copse dismembeed. Afte the body pats had been inteed in diffeent places,the st tube plants gew out of the gaves. With this st killing, pimodial timehad come to an end, death had come into life and the pesent fom of being began(Kohl 1998:194). In his compaative woks, Jensen gatheed numeous examplesof myths fom Asiatic, Afican, Oceanic and South Ameican ‘hoticultues’




( Panzerkulturen). The damatic climax of these naations was the killing of a pimodial being, whose dismembeed body pats tansfomed themselves intocultivated plants. Cental to this eligious belief, held by Jensen to be a ceation ofthe st hoticultualists, is the cultivated plant. In accodance with its impotancefo humans it is taken to be divine, but nevetheless o because of this, the divine being has to be killed, fo gowth would only be conceivable in close associationwith death. Fo Jensen, the ‘Killed Deity’ (idem 1965) embodies one and the sameidea: killing is a peequisite fo gowth and the pimodial killing, which boughtfood and life to humans, has to be peennially epeated in itual (Steck 1997).

In his ecent eections on Jensen, Geman anthopologist Benhad Steck (1997)consides the common featue of these ‘achaic’ cultues to be thei contast to modenindustial society, as well as thei ‘non-paticipation in wold eligions founded onwitten doctines and secula salvationist pomises’(146). Thei altenative conceptions

of the wold would have poduced allies in the westen envionmental movement:tibal societies as ‘guadians of the wold’ (Buge 1991) and ‘guaantos of bio-divesity’ (see Foest Tend 2004). Steck shufes the tems in an inspiing way: Whilemodenity uses the wod ‘development ’ to efe to one-sided gowth, which ‘wouldmake life without death, o incease without decease, conceivable and desiable’(1997: 158), fom the pespective of anthopology these contasting societies conceiveof ‘growth in its ancestal, natual quality, as the coming and going of life, as life that iscontinually enewed but neve eally augmented’ (l.c.). Instead of being efeed to as

‘developing counties’, these societies should be called ‘gowth societies’ in a deepesense, athe than ou industial societies which long fo economic gowth (l.c.). This‘achaic’ cosmovision would keep in check ‘natue destoying economic powe’.

Illustation 11.2 Uniawasap’i plants the eye of he child, giving ise to guaaná




The ‘achaic’ ideology with its basic social mode of ecipocity (betweenhumans and natue) would in the end fom the cultual dispositive fo ecologicalsustainability.

Consumer Societies

Although the cental mythological topos of the ‘Killed Deity’ is vey commonamong Amazonian societies (see Zeies 1969), one is had pessed to nd its‘itual ecaptue’ (in the sense mentioned above: that killing is a prerequisite forgrowth and the primordial killing, which brought food and life to humans, has tobe perennially repeated in ritual) as Jensen had it. As I have said, in Sateé-Mawémythology thee is continuous mention of dismembeed, butcheed o othewise

cushed up pimodial beings, fom whose testicles, beasts o intestines a vaietyof plants oiginate: fom manioc to cotton, fom palm fuits to guaaná. Judgingfom the mythological impotance of these culinay-mythological concepts, onehas almost the impession of some kind of vegetaian cannibalism. Nowadays thismay only be cultual backgound noise, but nevetheless it seems wothwhile toconside Amazonian societies not so much as gowth societies in Steck’s deepesense, but athe as consumer societies, as societies which attibute to the foodthey ingest special, ontologically tansfoming qualities (Hugh-Jones 1995, Vilaa

1992, Fausto 2002, Conklin 2001).Fausto descibes the pocess of (e-) poduction of Amazonian societies as a pocess of the poduction of kinship embedded in the dialectic of pedation, theconictive elation with the afnal Othe, and familiaisation, the tansfomationof the Othe into a consanguineal condant. The decisive diffeential in thisstuggle ove the diection of (mutual) pedation is the mode of consumption:eithe eat somebody (pedation) o eat with, o like somebody (commensality)(Fausto 2002). Howeve, this dialectic must be diffeentiated fom yet anotheconsumptive categoy: a kind of non-eating o anti-meal (Hugh-Jones 1995).This consumptive mode tigges a pocess of tanscending society and kinship bydissolving afnal, pedatoy elations as well as convivial consanguinity (Oveing,and Passes 2000) and opens out to the univesalism of communitas.

Now, what follows pomptly leads us in a diection opposite to that of theideology of achaic gowth societies: instead of the impassive acceptance of deathand decay as a peequisite to life, we have anxious o even despeate attemptsto negate and cicumvent death and the human condition altogethe (Biesack1996). Within this context the quality of food adopts an almost eschatological

impotance.In the itual paxis of Tupí Guaaní societies in paticula, the so-called pophetic

movements ae a well known phenomenon, in which whole populations migatedon a quest fo a Land Without Evil (H. Clastes 1978). Much has been witten onthe eligious fevou and enthusiasm of these movements and thei tagic failues.Howeve, one aspect has usually been neglected: besides singing and dancing, it




is the ingestion of light food that enables one to ovecome eathly heaviness andente the Land Without Evil (without having to die st!). Nimuendajú’s classictext (1914) on the pophetic movements of the Apapocuvá-Guaaní epots thatthe cataclysmic catastophe these movements tied to escape, is caused by thecollapse of the eath’s disc unde the weight of the many copses it has aleadyhad to consume:

‘I have aleady have eaten too many copses, I am sick and tied, make an end, myfathe!’ (loc.cit.: 335)

As has been said, itual means to escape the cataclysm consist in abstaining fomcetain types of food o in limiting oneself to cetain types:

Though this way of living, thei (the medicine chiefs of the Apapocuvá) bodies became light, ... the animal soul was suppessed and the ayucué (name soul) went backto whee it came fom. In thei medicine dance the soul left the eath and went to Nandecy, Nandeyqueý o Tupã. Sometimes thei dead bodies wee found, sometimesthey ascended alive. Mostly they depated alone, but sometime they took along theifollowes, in some cases the whole dance house along with eveybody in it ascended toheaven. (loc.cit.: 328).

In some cases the pactice of itual cannibalism conveged with this quest foovecoming death. In an ealy souce on the Chiiguano (Guaaní of Bolivia) it issaid: ‘... dicen que por ser ligero’ – ‘they say it is to become light’; that is, if theyconsumed human esh, which is consideed to be ‘good food’, it would make thei body ‘light’, capable of ascending to heaven (Combès 1987). The desied effectof this itual dietetic food is always ascension to heaven, etun to a paadise lost,and it is the entanglement in the pocesses of eathly gowth, in the cycles of bithand death, that coupt the body and make it heavy. The fundamentalist pophetsof the Guaaní oated against the human condition, which – though the weight ofits ‘bad existence’ (teko achy kue) – would pevent ascension to the Land WithoutEvil. Making the body light, its Dis-encanation would lead to the condition of pefection (aguyje), necessay fo the entance into the Land Without Evil withouthaving to die (kandire) (H. Clastes 1978, Combés 1992).

In the cosmology of the cultually elated Sateé-Mawé (Da Silva Loenz n.d.,Texeia 2005), of whom no pophetic movement has been epoted, the idea ofa lost, ideal wold without death can nevetheless be found, albeit a wold thathas been dislocated to the heavens above since pimodial times. This immotal

wold is in shap contast to the eath which is associated with death, copoalityand motality, oiginating fom the bodies of two sistes. Attempts to ascend tothe pefect wold always fail, which, as I have been told, explains why this eathcontains so many dead.




Economic Crisis

The Sateé-Mawé had plenty of easons to yean fo a Land Without Evil when, inthe 1960s and 1970s, they wee theatened with extinction as a social and cultualcommunity. In a fundamental economic cisis, thei capacity to ensue thei ownsubsistence had collapsed. The Sateé-Mawé had inceasingly become victims ofthe egional economic system, which in the typical manne of Amazonian boom-cycles ecklessly exploited ose-wood ( pau rosa, Aniba roseadora). The Sateé-Mawé had sunk eve deepe into debt bondage due to the aviamento-system; heldin slavey-like dependency by thei patons, they wee foced to neglect thei own plantations, ovecome by hunge and – as it is said – they decided to stop havingchilden in this wold. It is lagely due to the effots of the Catholic mission thatSateé-Mawé society did not disappea. What I would like to stess hee is that

many of the societies focused on by the west as ‘guadians of the eath’ have tofull thei ole not on the basis of intact but athe lagely destoyed stuctues.

A cetain consolidation notwithstanding, Sateé-Mawé society continued to bedeeply involved in the egional maket economy: anyone who does not want tosuffe hunge needs cash to be able to buy food. Until ecently thee wee two possible ways of access to nancial esouces: stly by tapping into the localsystem of assistencialismo: that is, passively awaiting aid fom the nationalauthoities o intenational oganisations, without eve eally undestanding why

they distibute fee gifts in this way; secondly by commecializing manioc ou,which despite the high wok input (especially by women) yields only a low piceon the egional maket. In addition, thee is the ecologically citical solution ofextending the cultivated aeas.

The esulting ‘monocultues’ ae just one example of violating the ethic of balanced mediation between humans and natue and the social ideal of ecipocity,which in ou wold has become povebial fo the cultues of Amazonia.

In view of the ugent necessity of social and economic econstuction of Sateé-Mawé society, with appoximately seventy villages along the Andiá and Maauives, the Tibal Council (Conselho Geral da Tribo Sateré-Mawé , CGTSM)decided on the ambitious guaaná poject. This poject intended not only to satisfythe economic demands of the people, but also to peseve the only existing gene- pool of this industially impotant plant though sustainable management of theanthopic space of taditional guaaná cultivation. The poject consists of sellinglocally poduced guaaná as an oganic, native poduct of unique quality at adiffeential pice. In the long tem, the funds obtained though a igoous picing policy would be used exclusively fo the geneal benet of the Sateé-Mawé. To

put it simply, one thid of the pice goes to the poduces, one thid to the TibalCouncil (fo ecuing expenses as well as fo mattes of common inteest to thecommunity), and nally one thid fo commecialisation, consulting, pomotion,envionmental monitoing, quality contol and eseach. This scheme of dividingup the eanings, which – in spite of all the immediate necessities of the poduces –




does not lose sight of long-tem development, equies a high degee of pesuasivewok on the pat of the activists in the Tibal Council.

The basic idea of the poject is that the guaaná of the Sateé-Mawé should be seen on the intenational maket as moe than a poduct of high quality; itshould be seen as an ethical poduct, associated not only with ecological andsocial costs, but also with social and cultual values, qualities that should justify ahigh consume pice. Thus, the Fench impote Guayapi Tropical changed foma supplie who offeed guaaná fo 10 US$ pe kilo to the Sateé-Mawé, whosell fo ove 40 US$ pe kilo. In the context of its stategy of ‘fai tade’, theItalian Cooperativa Terzo Mondo declaed itself willing to advance 100 pe centof the pice of the anticipated amount of poduction befoe delivey, in ode toensue the functioning of the poject without having to boow outside capital.Accoding to the Italian poject patne, Mauicio Faboni, the social o cultual

sustainability of the poject is due not only to the deep cultual identication of theSateé-Mawé with guaaná, but also to the attitude of the Tibal Council, which believes that legal and political ecognition can only be constucted on the basis ofeconomic autonomy. This economic autonomy in tun povides the Council withthe necessay cedibility (Faboni 2001).

As has been said, the ‘Projeto Guaraná’ is exclusively self-nancing. Thisself-nancing can be ensued only by the altuistic ‘ fair trade’ ethic, in which thenal consume in Euope is pepaed to pay a little exta fo existential values

such as ecological safety and the pesevation of biodivesity. Howeve, we mustemembe that this is the Euopean moality of the poject, based on pinciplesageed upon in the Kyoto Potocol o Climate Alliance by westen goups andoganisations with a citical stance against industial gowth and consumption.This moality cannot necessaily be deived fom indigenous ideological pemises.In ode to bette undestand the indigenous pespective it is advisable to take upthe thead again that led us on the quest fo the Land Without Evil.

As we have aleady suggested, the consume behaviou of Amazonian Indians,at least the Tupí-Guaaní o Tupían goups, have moal connotations which aeelated to a seies of dilemmas intinsic to indigenous Amazonian cosmologies:

The epots on consumption and pophecy among the Tupí-Guaaní exhibita kind of puitanism, seeking salvation in the sense of ovecoming, o feeingoneself fom peiodic pocesses of vitality, gowth and epoduction. Entanglementin these pocesses is consideed as coupting, sickening and budensome in thetue sense of the wod. It is obvious that these ideas ae contay to a cosmo-visionthat celebates life, gowth and epoduction complementing death and violence,as among the hoticultualists discussed by Jensen.

To this ontological dilemma is added a sociological one: an attempt is madeto ovecome the social conguations of epoductive, peiodical life withinmatimonial elations and thei potential fo ivaly and violence among afnes.In a Satee-Mawe myth, the oigin of clan oganisation is explained by theappeaance of a jagua-monste theatening to extinguish pimodial mankind. Anold woman manages to kill the beast and then bestows plant and animal names on




the suvivos, accoding to the places whee they hid fom the monste. This wasthe oigin of the exogamous clans ( ywãnia); fom that moment on, people couldfeely may each othe, the steility of pimodial times was ovecome, but sotoo was its peacefulness: accoding to the myth, the clans immediately becameentangled in bloody was.

The cosmological dilemma of an inte-maying but quaelsome societyafte the fall nds expession in Sateé-Mawé discouse in the fom of a kind ofachaism, that is, the effot to etun to an hamonious ‘Urgesellschaft ’ (pimodialsociety) befoe the fall. The context fo this achaism is the ongoing convesionmovement to evangelical o pentecostal denominations among the Sateé-Mawé.

The nal dilemma is a political one – namely, the effot to ceate enoughauthoity and pesuasive powe within a politically egalitaian society to tanscendsocial diffeences and paticulaistic inteests, touches diectly on the cultual

sustainability of pojects such as the projeto guaraná in an indigenous society ofAmazonia. In these societies, the lack of institutional means to each consensussignies that it can only be eached discusively: fo the Tupí, veitable mastesof speech, consensus is obtained though the use of the ‘good wods’, in Sateé-Mawé: sehay wakuat .

In Sateé-Mawé cosmogony, it was good wods that let the ideal wold ascendto heaven, and good wods wee also spoken in the guaaná myth, wods that aeimmediately connected with chiey authoity. Afte Uniawasãp’i had planted the

eyes of he son, she spoke the following wods:

“Now you ae dead, but one day you will be in this wold to oganise all wok.You will be a leade (sat. morekuat )!All you descendants will gathe togethe in you name foeve!You will show youself esponsible fo you descendants when thei time fo wokcomes,

fo constucting houses, setting up plantations, cleaing the land, fo evey kind of wok,

and when the authoities gathe togethe!”

In this context, ‘wok’ means not so much the dudgey of the peasant’s dailyoutine, but athe the constuction of a specic kind of sociality, a dispositionto communal wok, that can only be induced by the ‘good wods’. In fometimes, the context fo utteing the ‘sehay wakuat ’ was the purati~g itual, anindispensable pat of which was the itual consumption of a vey thick sap’o oguaaná beveage.

The so-called purati~g st of all is a tangible object, a ceemonial club

with an incised decoation of a type well known in the Guayana aea. But theinteesting point is that this object is by no means egaded by the Sateé-Mawé asa weapon. In Potuguese the Satere-Mawe use the expession ‘ patente’, meaning‘patent’, ‘document’ o ‘cetication’. Why is this so? The myth of the oigin ofthe purati~g, as it is told today by the evangelical elite, can be summaized asfollows (Kapfhamme 2004): A ght took place between the cultue heo Wasiri




(also called Anumare hit ) and a demon (ahia~g). This ght aged ight up to theedge of the wold, whee Wasiri managed to thow his advesay down. Afte hisvictoy, Wasiri caved a kind of ‘cutch’ (muleta) to use on his way back home.While esting duing the night unde a tee [in one vesion a guaaná tee!], Wasiri had a kind of auditoy expeience [that is, he head a message], and he incised whatwas evealed to him on the wooden stick with the tooth of an agouti. By so doingWasiri, ceated a text which, accoding to the Sateé-Mawé, has to be undestoodliteally: the incised design is consideed as the scipt of Wasiri’s evelation whichwas eceived in pimodial times. What oiginated is an all-encompassing textof efeence: on one side of the purati~g eveything good is ‘witten’ down,concening social unity and collective wok, while on the othe side is eveythingevil, concening feuding and wa.

The club was handed down fom mythical time and space to the pesent time

in diect line fom tuxaua geral (geat chief) to tuxaua geral. A tuxaua geral’s position of powe essentially depended on his ability to ‘ead’ this ‘text’. In itual‘eadings’, which mainly took place on the occasion of a summons to communalwok o at the settlement of a dispute, the ‘text’ was ecited, but only the ‘goodside’. At these meetings, adult people gatheed in the house of the tuxaua geral, asolemn and sobe mood pevailed, and a vey thick guaaná sap’o was consumed.It seems as if the ‘good wods’ may have been engendeed by the consumption ofguaaná, as fo example they ae engendeed – by the ingestion of special, saced

food such as coca o tobacco among the Tukano, Baniwa, Uitoto and Mianha-goups in the nothwest Amazon.The eadings wee stuctued in the fom of a ceemonial dialogue, in which one

peson, the tuxaua geral, ead, and anothe peson conmed what had been ead. Due

to the unshakably pesuasive powe of this supenatual knowledge, no opposition

was possible against the moal guidelines given in the text. Any peson who was

wong o who had done wong would inevitably become entangled in contadictions.

refusal to submit would inevitably lead to death fom supenatual causes.

In ecent times the ability to ead this text has become lost, due to immoal,self-inteested use of this poweful knowledge, and this has also led to a loss ofthe foundation of the tuxaua geral’s integating powe. The stuctues of Sateé-Mawé society began to dissolve, paticulaistic inteests of goups and individualstiumphed ove common goals, esistance against invasion fom outside stated tocumble. Indeed, as we have said aleady, the cultue and society of the Sateé-Mawé wee in a deep cisis at the beginning of the sixties, at the time the st potestant missionaies (SIL) appeaed.

Yet today it is the crentes, the native evangelicals, who ae convinced that the

powe of the purati~g has been estoed. This is due to two intedependent factos:stly, the tanslation of the Bible into the language of the Sateé-Mawé: onceagain a moally binding text has been made eadable. Secondly, the foundation ofthe Tibal Council, Conselho Geral da Tribo Sateré-Mawé , whose epesentatives,the crentes efe to the poweful knowledge of the purati~g in ode to pesentthei political pogamme in pesuasive and integating tems. As I have agued




peviously (Kapfhamme, in Wight, ed., 2004), this efeence is explicitly madein the discourse of the Evangelical leaders. One cannot say the Evangelicals aeagainst ancient beliefs. They ae against beliefs which they think ae against theinew moal standads while eadily evitalizing ancient beliefs which they thinksuppot these new moals.

The Tibal Council and the geneal chief conside the text of the Bible analogousto the text of the ancient purati~g. This kind of moally unambiguous knowledgeand its unselsh use legitimises the powe of the Sateé-Mawé leades (o shoulddo so). Thei commitment to the common weal and thei ‘love’ (wo’oky’e – thefundamental moal concept each crente holds) fo the people bestow fom andcontent on thei powe of knowledge and pesuasion (Santos Ganeo 1991). Notin the least it is guaaná, whose itual consumption constucts such univesalisticsociality. Guaaná belongs to that categoy of ‘anti-meal’ as Hugh-Jones (1995)

calls the sots of food and stimulants, the consumption of which countes eathlyweight, tanscends eveyday life and establishes neaness to pimodial conditionsof communitas.

Conclusion

This discouse of the Sateé-Mawé crentes, moe specically the chiefs and main

activists in the guaaná poject, is cented on diffeent foms of legitimating powe: While in the context of shamanism, the legitimation of powe functionsin a vey ambiguous manne, powe in the context of political leadeship – a eldinceasingly conguent with the eld of evangelical inuence – is legitimated by tansmission of moally unambiguous knowledge accoding to the modelof the ancient purati~g complex, in ode to tanscend social diffeences. Theinceasing inuence of evangelical denominations – nowadays lagely dominated by the indigenous authoities themselves – is causing the abandonment of cultualinstitutions such as shamanism in an attempt to escape its endlessly violentcycles of evenge, and of the male initiation ite (dança da tucandeira), whichitually celebates the latently violent social diffeentiation into clan goups. It isobvious that the abandonment of this cultual complex causes the uptue of itssocial paametes: a consanguineal society is tying to emancipate itself fom theafnal society of the ywãnia, with its conicting clan goups and latent violence between bothes-in-law; this ‘new’ society coves up social diffeences, o, to putit positively, ties to ovecome them in favou of a community of ‘bothes andsistes’ (see Vilaa 1997) – an idea which efes back to the pimodial community

of the anumareria, the childen of Anumare hit o Wasiri, as it existed befoe theappeaance of the jagua monste.

In the context of this discussion it is necessay to efe to the two ecently poposed theoies of Amazonian sociability: on the one hand the ‘symboliceconomy of alteity’ with its categoy of afnity as social opeato and its heavy potential of violence (Viveios de Casto 1996), and on the othe, a ‘moal economy




of intimacy’, o peaceful attempt to establish conviviality maked by consanguinity(Oveing 1999; Kapfhamme 2004, Wight and Kapfhamme 2004; Wight 2004). Nevetheless, I would like to popose a somewhat diffeent emphasis hee, onethat has moe to do with the ‘ange’ of the social elds ceated by these diffeent‘economies’. The ‘cultue of mediation’ (Vermittlerkultur ) of shamanism and clanoganisation with its ‘shot ange moality’ (Santos Ganeo 1986) has a stuctualtendency towads symbolic as well as eal delimitation against the ‘Othe’. Ittheefoe has a paticulaising effect, without doubt histoically contingent onegional socio-political foms such as the tutelay egime, economic and politicalclientelism, amongst othes. On the othe hand, a ‘movement of immediacy’ seemsto oiginate fom the mythopaxis of the purati~g-complex, that claims social,economic and political powe in a univesalistic way.

The fome stategy of legitimating authoity in Amazonia at least implicitly

bases its life-giving powe on an exchange of life fo death and by doing so can atleast tentatively be associated with the wold view of topical hoticultualists andits basic notion of violence and death as a peequisite fo new life, as Adolf E.Jensen had it. The second stategy of powe legitimation is implicitly based on thecontasting idea that life-giving powe lies within the itually enfoced negationand ovecoming of death. To a cetain degee, we ae eminded hee of PieeClastes’ idea (1976), accoding to which the pophetic movements of the Tupí-Guaaní seved to dissolve paticulaising stuctues and diffeentiations. I would

again point out that the ‘ight wods’ (beautiful and moally coect) as well as the‘ight consume behaviou’ (in the sense of consuming only ‘foods’ that would popitiate the tansition to the desied wold without evil) wee the decisive itualmeasues within these pophetic movements.

While fom a histoical point of view these ‘univesalistic’ tendencies inAmazonian societies may be exacebated in times of cisis, stuctually it seemsthat both tendencies ae embedded in the hythm of annual and economic cycles.A nal example of the intelocking of manioc and guaaná poduction schemesamong the Sateé-Mawé illustates this:

Guaaná – Manioc – Cycle

Allocationof wok season

Allocationof wok gende

Socialfomation

Wok fomation

manioc dy season Womendispesion:life in thegadens

collective wok puxirum

guaraná ainy season Menconcentation:life in thevillage

individual wok




Manioc demands the allocation of wok mainly duing the dy summe months(July–Decembe), guaaná duing the wet months of winte (Januay–June).Cultivation of manioc and the poduction of manioc poducts is mainly thewok of women, in the case of guaaná, it is the wok of men. While duingsumme many families live scatteed in individual gadens, duing the winte, thecommunity lives togethe in the village. While the allocation of collective malewok (cleaing, buning, planting) is necessay in the manioc cycle, poduction inthe guaaná cycle is moe individual. Hee the stuctual scheme adopts a tempoaldynamic: duing the time of social concentation in the ainy season, it is by wayof poducing and consuming guaaná that ‘univesalistic’ consensus is ceated, aitual necessity fo ovecoming ‘paticulaistic’ tendencies, in ode to be able toecuit the lage woking paties needed fo manioc poduction. In othe wods:ritual consensus, ceated by the ‘ight wods’ and by ‘ight consumption’ pecedes

practised consensus.These new moals, contasting with the ambiguous, usually shamanically

mediated moals of balanced elations between humans and natue and/o supe-natue typical of indigenous Amazonian cultues, ae indispensable in theiintegating function fo what I would like to call the ‘cultual sustainability’ of the‘ projeto guaraná’ among the Sateé-Mawé. While the ethics of achaic societies ofgowth as illustated above may be bette suited to westen ecological expectations,fom an indigenous pespective it is of all things the convesion movement to

evangelical denominations that contibutes to the sustained success of the guaaná- poject among the Sateé-Mawé. The key wod is ‘pesuasive wok’ that isequied by the indigenous authoities to cay out these pojects. The main factoin evitalizing chiey authoity is the convesion movement that eintoduces theunivesalistic stategies necessay to ovecome the economic, social and political paticulaisms of pevious social consensus fomation. The cental mythologicalnotion and itual paxis concening chiey authoity evolves aound the puati~g.ritual consumption of guaaná is an impotant pat of this complex. This is whyin the discouse of the evangelical spokesmen, the pophetic content of the oiginmyth, which alludes to chiey authoity and communitas, is emphasized athethan the symbolism of death and egeneation (the killed divine guaaná-child),which – following Jensen and Steck – could be much easie elated to the notionsof ecological sustainability of the westen patne.

As stated in the st paagaph citing rottenbug, development collaboationoften functions only unde conditions of conceptual heteogeneity. The ‘game’ between development patnes seems to wok only unde conditions of conceptualheteogeneity (rottenbug 2001): what fo one is an altenative to the ecological

pedation of industial society, to the othe is the basic stuctue of social pedation. The latte then ties to emancipate itself fom pedation, at the sametime constucting the social capital fo ‘best pactices’, so often fustated indevelopment collaboation.




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AftewodJoel robbins

I am vey gateful fo the oppotunity to wite an aftewod fo this impotantcollection focused on convesion and Chistianity among the indigenous people’sof the Ameicas. I am gateful st because of the quality of the wok collectedhee, and second because I am condent the book will have an impact on howChistianity is studied in the futue in elation to Ameindian societies and beyond.

And I am also gateful fo a thid eason, one that is a little moe complicated toexpess and that tuns on what an unlikely candidate I am fo being given thisoppotunity. Let me begin by explaining what I mean.

In his chapte in this volume, Gow points out the similaities between the egionalsystems of the Bajo Huallaga and the Alto Xingú, which he sees as both aticulatedthough a ‘combination of local heteogeneity and global homogeneity’ (Gow, p.48). It makes a cetain sense to descibe anthopology as similaly stuctued,at least in the moe successful of its intellectual endeavos. Such successful

endeavos tend to be ones in which anthopologists bing togethe stong, oftendivegent taditions of egional ethnogaphy in theoetical convesations that, evenif they ae not always based on a homogeneity of theoetical outlook, at least shaeenough conceptual common gound to allow fo fuitful compaative discussion.The intellectual issues on which the discipline is able to opeate successfully on both of these levels changes though time: while once kinship might have been a pototypical domain fo this kind of teatment, o myth, moe ecently it is othessuch as, fo example, gende o local appopiations of the global that have held pide of place. Yet even as the anthopological spotlight that bings signicantethnogaphic accomplishment and theoetical fement into a single focus shiftsits aim though time, thee ae some cones of the wold of human pactice uponwhich it neve falls. Chistianity has until ecently been one of these cones: theewas some (though not much) good ethnogaphy of Chistian peoples, but thee wasno wide theoetical, compaative dialogue to speak of. Afican Chistians weeAficans st and foemost, Melanesian Chistians wee Melanesians, AmazonianChistians wee Amazonians, and so on. One might compae Chistians withothes in thei egions, and paticulaly with othes who had not conveted so that

one could detemine the extent to which an indigenous ‘substate’ existed beneaththe Chistian ovelay. But one would aely examine Chistians fom one pat ofthe wold in connection with Chistians fom othe places. Thee was no globalfamewok of intellectual ‘homogeneity’ that would allow such a compaativeexamination to develop.




Ove the last decade, the intellectual situation I have just descibed has beenchanging. Thee has aisen what a numbe of scholas have efeed to as ananthopology of Chistianity the vey mission of which is to povide a famewokin which ethnogaphic studies of Chistians as Chistians can ouish and canlead to boad compaative discussions. In a small way, this effot to tun theanthopological spotlight on a cone it once happily left in the dak has been amove to estuctue one egion of anthopological thought. The fact that someonelike me – a Melanesianist and student of compaative Pentecostalism who has alsodone wok in the anthopology of Chistianity – has been given the oppotunity towite an aftewod fo a book that is focused neithe on a egion in which I havewoked no paticulaly on Pentecostalism indicates that this estuctuing effothas met with some success. This, then, is the thid eason I am vey gateful fo theoppotunity to wite this piece.

Tuning to the volume at hand, I want to mention at the outset two among themany common featues that unite its chaptes. The st is that, as the editos notein thei intoduction, the vast majoity of them ae focused squaely on indigenousviews of the convesion pocess and of Chistianity moe geneally. As the editos put it, echoing Gow’s chapte, the authos whose wok is collected hee ‘do not seekto know what Chistianity does to native cultue, but athe what native cultue doesto Chistianity ….’ (p. 5). The second common featue I want to mention is thatwith the exception of the intoduction and Vilaa’s chapte, the wok collected hee

does not engage signicantly with the liteatue cuently being poduced undethe ubic of the anthopology of Chistianity. With a focus on indigenous views ofChistianity, the authos of these chaptes ask compaative questions that emainlagely egional, and often unfold with mattes of indigenous cosmology and social pocess at the foefont, athe than dwelling on the diffeences and commonalitiesthat might have been poduced in pat by vaious foms of Chistianity themselves.Almost cetainly these two common featues of the chaptes ae linked. One of the pimay stuggles in the development of the anthopology of Chistianity has beento encouage anthopologists to take seiously the inuence of Chistian categoieson the cultues of convets: if one is focused almost exclusively on indigenouscategoies, the anthopology of Chistianity liteatue will be less elevant to one’s poject.

Having noted the absence hee of much dialogue with the anthopology ofChistianity, I want to add that I do see many bidges that might be built betweenthe wok collected hee and the discussion that has unfolded unde that ubic. Inwhat follows, I want in two diffeent ways to go about building a few of those bidges. Fist, I want to conside some mattes of concen within the anthopology

of Chistianity that might be bought to bea on these chaptes, and coelatively Iwant to conside what the standing discussion in the anthopology of Chistianitycan lean fom the sustained effot hee to examine Chistianity fom a position thatmakes indigenous categoies analytically fundamental. Second, I want to bieyconside the possibilities fo a contolled inte-egional compaison of pocesses ofChistianization in Melanesia and Amazonia – two aeas that anthopologists have



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sought to compae on othe gounds in ecent decades. Such a tightly dawn inte-egional compaison would be something new in the anthopology of Chistianity,and the wok pesented in this volume indicates its geat potential.

In consideing how wok in the anthopology of Chistianity might be boughtinto dialogue with that pesented in this volume, let me begin by contastingGee’s and Gow’s contibutions. Gee’s chapte is animated by a spiit vey closeto the one that has diven the development of the anthopology of Chistianity.His claim that ‘the global scope of the Jesuit entepise … povides a uniqueoppotunity to undetake compaative and intecontinental eseach on contact,colonization and eligious tansfomation’ points to one of the geat pomises ofanthopological wok on Chistianity: that the global spead of vesions of thiswold eligion opens up possibilities fo compaison whee few o none may haveexisted befoe (Gee, this volume p. 21). Gee’s wok is also salutay fom the

point of view of the anthopology of Chistianity fo the way he efains fomaguing against the value of compaison on the basis of his nding that pocessesof missionization in New Fance and in Paaguay unfolded quite diffeently fomone anothe, suggesting instead that these diffeences make compaison all themoe inteesting (see robbins 2003a: 193).

In contast to Gee’s chapte, Gow’s is a vey elegant pesentation of pecisely

the kinds of aguments the anthopology of Chistianity has lagely had to leave

behind in ode to get up on its feet. Setting aside ‘convesion’ as an analytic tool

useful to missionaies but not anthopologists (pp. 46, 50, see also Bacchidduthis volume p. 54, Comaoff and Comaoff 1991: 250; robbins 2007: 13), he

suggests that being Chistian in the Bajo Huallaga has been about maintaining a

place in a taditionally ecognized social classication in which humans (now ead

‘Chistians’) ae distinguished fom wild people and dead people. To the extent that

the Jesuits wee successful at all in leading the peoples of the Bajo Huallaga to think

of themselves as Chistian, this was so only because they wee able to ‘elease’

the social potentials epesented by this pe-existing classicatoy scheme (p. 49).

Chistianity’s own meaningful schemes of social classication and cosmology have

thus done vey little to shape local ways of thinking o living.

Although vey intellectually ich in its details, in fom Gow’s chapte is builtaound a kind of dismissive agument anthopologists have long made whenconfonted with Chistianity in the eld; an agument that holds that Chistianityhas not eally taken oot, o has not changed vey much about people’s lives (seerobbins 2007). My point in binging this up is not to question whethe Gow’saccount is tue fo the Bajo Huallaga, fo I would have no gounds fo aisingsuch questions and the impotance of elated schemes of social classication in

the othe Amazonian chaptes agues fo its validity. It is athe to ask whethe,assuming it is accuate, the Bajo Huallaga can be of any inteest to those studyingChistianity compaatively – o whethe they simply do not belong in a compaisonset with people whose encounte with Chistianity has been of moe moment fothei undestandings of and ways of acting in the wold. One effect of the ise ofthe anthopology of Chistianity has been to bing such questions to the foe.




Intiguingly, Gotti’s analytically and ethnogapically ich chapte has muchin common with Gow’s, while descibing a case in which Chistianity has moedecidedly taken hold. Like the Bajo Huallaga, the Tio of Guiana have putChistianity into play in aticulating a thee-pat social categoization, theisinvolving themselves, wild people, and whites (Gotti this volume). In thisscheme, Chistianity appeas to allow the Tio to identify themselves with whitesin thei elations with the wild Akuiyo they have taken in. It has also aided themin developing a concen with the kind of sociability that thei move to sedentaismequies. Gotti pehaps undeplays the extent to which Chistianity may havesupplied some of the content of Tio ideals of sociability (just as Gow mayundeplay the ole of Chistian ideas of peace in shaping Bajo Huallaga notions of peacefulness). But it emains the case that Chistianity is clealy opeating moe pofoundly in the Tio case she epots than it is in the Bajo Huallaga case Gow

focuses on. This suggests one kind of issue wok like Gow’s might usefully aisefo anthopologists of Chistianity, which is how it comes to pass that some peoplehave a lot of contact with Chistianity, adopt it as some kind of identity, yet ndit possible to keep almost all its cultual content at ams’ length, while othesembace it moe tightly. If the Tio can take up some of the content of Chistianity,we cannot est easy with the assumption that it is natual fo Amazonian people notto do so, and cases like that of the Bajo Huallaga equie explanation just as muchas do those like that of the Tio.

The contast I have established between Gow’s and Gotti’s chaptes toucheson an issue that has been cental to debates within the anthopology of Chistianity.This issue has to do with ole of cultual discontinuity in the pocess of convesion.A numbe of scholas have noted the fequency with which convets, paticulalythose who join Potestant chuches, undestand thei wolds to have changedadically (Bonilla this volume, Engelke 2004, Meye 1998, robbins 2003b, 2007).Futhemoe, they have shown that this sense of a beak with the past is oftenexpessed itually, as in the Inuit siqqitirniq discussed by Laugand and Oostenhee (robbins 2003b). Fo anthopologists, the existence of such claims fo andituals expessive of discontinuity aises the question of how this folk hetoic ofchange elates to actual pocesses of cultual tansfomation. Long-standing habits push fo anthopologists to see cultual continuity as dominant even whee suchhetoics of change ae in play (robbins 2007). As Gow’s chapte demonstates,such aguments fo continuity ae geneally based on assessments of similaitiesthat hold between contempoay foms and olde ones. Yet Gotti’s chapte at leastimplicitly evidences how complicated judgments of similaity can be – fo such judgments always dwell on some featues athe than othes, and involve choices

between levels of abstaction (see robbins 2003b: 227–30). Both Bacigalupo’sand Laugand and Oosten’s ne chaptes push the same issue in anothe, less philosophical diection, by poviding detailed, pocessual ethnogaphic accountsof the ways ‘similaities’ between indigenous and Chistian cultual featues,similaities that can allow taditional ideas and social oles to daw stength fomconvesion, ae vey much made athe than found. In the Mapuche and Inuit cases



Afterword 233

these authos discuss, both the convets and the missionaies who conveted themhave laboued to fashion the similaities and diffeences between shamans and piests. In these cases, then, we see that continuity as much as discontinuity can be fuitfully analyzed as a cultual poject, athe than simply descibed as a facton the gound.

On the issue of continuity and discontinuity, a numbe of the Amazonianistchaptes collected hee also make impotant contibutions to the othe line ofagument I want to daw out hee: the one that shows how a focus on indigenousundestandings can tansfom the anthopology of Chistianity. Bonilla, Gotti,and Vilaa, in thee vey nely ealized chaptes, all demonstate the existence ofindigenous models of adical tansfomation in the societies they study, and showhow these models have pofoundly shaped the way the people of those societies haveexpeienced convesion to Chistianity. In all thee cases, changes in the body ae

cental, and this is elated to taditional notions of bodily change and pespectivaltansfomation (about which moe below, when I discuss the Amazonia/Melanesiacompaison). As Bonilla suggests, an emphasis on convesion as a adical histoical beak may have come to the Paumai fom the evangelical fom of Chistianitythey have taken up, but it is ealized in conjunction with a taditional notion of‘histoical-cosmological tansfomation’ as something that must be inscibed ‘onthe skin and in the body’ if it is to be ealized. Othes studying Chistianity haveemphasized the ole of the body in convesion on geneal theoetical gounds (see

Csodas 1997), but the aguments being made hee ae diffeent in chaacte: theysuggest that anthopologists need always to conside the ways indigenous modelsof change, involving in these Amazonian cases the body, inuence pocesses ofconvesion that the spead of Chistianity sets in tain.

Vilaa, in he chapte, in effect makes this agument fo the necessity ofstudying indigenous models of change as pat of a tou de foce intevention indebates about continuity and discontinuity within the anthopology of Chistianity.What do we make of a case like the Wai’? One in which Chistianity has madeeal changes in how people constuct themselves as human, but in which it hasdone so only by opeating along tacks laid down by indigenous models of change.Do we count this as a case of continuity o of change? O does Vilaa’s agumentindicate that this is the wong question? Even in the absence of eady answesto these impotant questions, one conclusion anthopologists of Chistianity cantake fom he wok, and fom that of Bonilla and Gotti as well, is the necessityof ecognizing, as I noted above in my discussion of judgments of similaity,the extent to which claims fo continuity and discontinuity ae always elative,depending on what featues of a situation we choose to emphasize and how much

we choose to abstact fom the details on the gound. These chaptes show that ifin analyzing Amazonian societies we focus on indigenous models of change – achoice that seems to a eade like myself to be necessay given how impotant theyae in local social life moe geneally – we will nd that pojects of continuity aealways pesent, even when what is caied fowad is indigenous models of changethat give Chistianity impotant cultual space in which to opeate.




Anothe topic that has been widely taken up in the anthopology of Chistianityis the extent to which Chistian social values eithe come into conict with taditionalvalues o exacebate conicts aleady undeway between taditional social valuesand those intoduced by the maket and othe institutions of westen oigin.Most often, such conicts ae famed as ones in which Chistian individualismis set against indigenous values focused on social elationships o boad clan ocommunity solidaity (fo example, Keane 2007, Meye 1999, robbins 2004).Bacchiddu’s inteesting chapte indicates how close to the gound these concensoften ae – showing how Apiao people use these vey tems to discuss the diffeencesthat hold between taditional Catholics and ecent evangelical convets – whilealso indicating that foms of Chistianity that aive befoe othes can sometimeshold down the side of ‘tadition’ in these stuggles. Wight’s histoically detailedand closely agued chapte is the most attentive in the volume to the changing

political and economic stuctues alongside of which Chistian tansfomationstake thei place, and like Bacchiddu’s it also aises impotant issues elated tothe ise of Chistian individualism. In the Baniwa case, convesion to evangelicalChistianity is tightly linked to the ise of a majo local community goup anda development poject that fostes pecisely the kinds of inequalities Chistianindividualism geneally stands eady to chate.1 The evenge of Baniwa natuespiits and socees against one of the poject leades, howeve, demonstates thatwide Baniwa society is pehaps not eady to acknowledge that chate. No ae the

Wai’, who, as Vilaa epots, have banished individualism to heaven and given itno ole to play on eath (see also, Kapfhamme this volume). All of these chaptesmight usefully be contasted to Feao’s caefully laid out pesentation of thePesillo case. Hee Catholicism and development wok hand in hand, and moneyemains socialized though sacalized elations of debt. Is the less conicted pictue the Pesillo pesent a esult of the absence of evangelicals among them, odoes it have to do with a diffeent elationship to the maket? Taken togethe, thesethee chaptes vey poductively aise such issues, and in doing so make valuablecontibutions to the developing discussion in the anthopology of Chistianity onChistian individualism and its local discontents.

A nal way in which I want to bing these chaptes and the anthopology ofChistianity into dialogue has to do with what looks fom the point of view of theanthopology of Chistianity like a cuious pai of elated absences in these chaptes.One of these has to do with the link between Chistianity and globalization. Theanthopology of Chistianity liteatue contains many discussions of the waysconvets undestand Chistianity to connect them to wide wolds in which theyhope to paticipate (fo example, Englund 2003, Jacka 2005, robbins 2004). The

people whose lives ae discussed in this volume do not seem to shae this hope,

1 In passing, I should note that the link between evangelical convesion andIn passing, I should note that the link between evangelical convesion and politicization is elatively aely epoted in the liteatue, and its appeaance both inWight’s and Kapfhamme’s chaptes aises inteesting questions fo futue eseach (seeKamsteeg 1998).



Afterword 235

o at least not to see it as tied up with thei pactice of Chistianity. A secondissue that has been impotant in the anthopology of Chistianity is the ole thatnotions of tanscendence play both in diffeent foms of Chistianity and in howconvets take up those foms of Chistianity (Cannell 2005, 2006, robbins 2003a).Again, this theme is not much pesent hee, at least in Chistian tems. I take theseabsences to be elated, inasmuch as both have to do with how issues of alteity, thefoeign, and the ‘outside’ ae thematized. Why is an explicitly Chistian dialogueon these topics evidently of so little pominence in the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Ameicas?

The chaptes of this volume suggest an impotant answe to this question. Inmost of them issues of alteity, the foeign, and the outside ae in fact vey pominent.They ae taken up by way of ideas and pactices connected to elations with animals,afnes, wild people, and the dead. Concatenating the pope elationships between

vaious of these categoies is, fo the goups of people epesented in this volume,a cucial aspect of social life, and one that all individuals wok on themselves andthat they also tun to specialists such as shamans fo help with. The intoduction ofChistianity seems not to change these famewoks fo thinking about alteity veymuch. rathe, Chistianity appeas to have been eadily absobed within them.Chistianity can tansfom the way one deals with wild people, as Gotti notes, ocan become a way to stabilize a human pespective on the wold, as Vilaa tellsus, but it does not signicantly alte the famewoks of diffeence these categoies

instantiate no does it povide a tanscendent vantage point fom which peoplemight elativize them. The coming of Chistianity does not, one might say, seemin the cases discussed in this volume to expand the cosmos much. In the temsof Hoton’s famous agument about convesion to Chistianity following on asocial shift fom micocosm to macocosm, one is led to sumise that eithe thisshift has not occued, o, as seems moe likely on the evidence of these chaptes,indigenous cosmologies that always affoded alteity an impotant place havehandled this shift on thei own.

Connected with this failue of Chistianity to tansfom people’s sense of whatis beyond o outside thei own social expeience, one also gets a stong sense fommany of these chaptes that Ameindian convets have geneally put Chistianityto use in solving longstanding poblems of thei own, athe than using it toaddess new poblems bought by globalization o by its own appeaance on thescene. Kapfhamme’s poweful chapte povides a paadigmatic illustation ofthis phenomenon, as he shows that the Sateé-Mawé have found in EvangelicalChistianity a way to move towad accomplishing thei taditional deam ofetuning to an oiginal state fee of afnity and its attendant conicts and nding

a way to coopeate beyond paticulaistic social inteests (see also Vilaa, thisvolume). Chistianity is vey much something new fo the Sateé-Mawé, but in putting it to use to solve taditional poblems, they motivate thei adoption of it inways that do not follow fom Chistianity itself. Thee ae othe examples of thisin the liteatue (fo example, Tuzin 1997), and I have agued that it is pehapsgeneally the case the people’s initial motives fo engaging Chistianity have to be




embedded in indigenous undestandings and motivational schemes (robbins 2004,Vilaa, this volume). But many of the chaptes in this volume show this dynamicto be vey focefully at wok, and in a numbe of cases discussed hee this dynamichas also continued to opeate ove long peiods of time. Demonstating the natueand impotance of this dynamic is anothe contibution to the anthopology ofChistianity that this book makes by vitue of its focus on the ole of indigenousviewpoints in the pocess of convesion.

In thei intoduction to this volume, Vilaa and Wight note that a numbe ofits chaptes implicitly point to the geat potential value of compaing Amazonianexpeiences of convesion with Melanesian ones. Befoe concluding, I would liketo vey biey conside some possibilities fo such a compaison. As Vilaa andWight discuss, this kind of compaison has aleady been going on in elation toa numbe of issues such as gende, but issues of cultual change, and paticulaly

of Chistianization, have not been pat of the agenda (though see Knauft 1997 onchange). What ae some of the bases on which the two egions might be compaedin this egad?

An initial basis, and pehaps the most inteesting, would be to look at the boadsocio-cosmological emphases that hold fo many of the societies of each egionand ask whethe they may have been guided diffeent esponses to Chistianity.A numbe of the chaptes hee suppot Vilaa’s obsevation that a key value fomany Amazonians is stabilizing a human position in a wold in which shifting

pespectives with non-human altes such as animals, wild people and the dead issometimes necessay (see also Viveios De Casto 1998). Futhemoe, as I havenoted above, in many cases these effots at stabilization tun on ceating specickinds of human bodies, and change is egisteed as bodily tansfomation (seealso Vilaa 2005). As Stathen (1999: 252–3) has agued, Melanesian socio-cosmologies tend to be diffeent. In them, the human position is taken to be lagelystable, and it is elationships between humans that at once affod divese social pespectives and also equie wok. In these societies, ealizing elationships is the pimay value (robbins 2004), and it is mostly those who, like socees, destoyelationships that ae imagined to take non-human pespectives.

It is difcult at ou pesent state of knowledge to detemine how these boad socio-cosmological diffeences have shaped diffeences in the pocess ofconvesion. It is notewothy, howeve, that a numbe of studies fom Papua NewGuinea appea to demonstate that in the pocess of becoming Chistian peoplethee sometimes do nd themselves exceeding what they themselves take to bethei taditional ‘native’ points of view in ways the chaptes collected hee indicatethat some Amazonian people have not so much found themselves doing (fo

example, Eiksen 2008, Jacka 2005, Jebens 2005, robbins 2004, Scham 2007). Ifwe ae dealing with eal diffeences hee – and pehaps we cannot yet completelyule out the possibility that what we ae eally looking at is diffeences in egionalstyles of ethnogaphic agument – one might hazad that the Amazonian inteest in poducing humanity and the Melanesian one in poducing elationships could helpto explain them. Fom the point of view of the Amazonian poject, Chistianity



Afterword 237

aives as yet anothe pespective that both pomises inceased gasp of the vaiouswolds beings can inhabit and theatens to thow people off couse in thei effotto stabilize a human one. Ultimately, the most easonable way to handle the neweligion fom the point of view of this poject is to make it seve the human effotwithout allowing it to complicate the aleady too diffeentiated cosmos in whichhuman beings live. Fo Melanesians, by contast, evey expansion of the woldis an invitation to make new elations. Chistianity is welcomed pecisely fo itsability to futhe open up the wold in this way, and fo its pomise to help peoplein making elations acoss the boade canvass that globalization moe geneallyhas bequeathed to them. Like Amazonians then, Melanesians put Chistianityin sevice of thei own poject, but in doing so they make no effots to potectthei indigenous cosmologies against the challenges Chistianity pesents; theywelcome its cosmological excess fo the elation-making possibilities it affods.

This compaison is vey ough. It does not take into account inta-egionaldiffeences in indigenous socio-cosmologies, and it disegads histoicaldiffeences within and between the two egions as well as between the diffeentkinds of Chistianity people have been exposed to within and acoss both egions.But it does touch on a boadly obsevable diffeence between the wok collectedhee and much of the wok on Chistianity that has stated to come fom Melanesia,and it speaks in favou of the geneal value of the compaison the editos havesuggested undetaking.

Taken as a whole, this volume is an impotant contibution to the study ofChistianity among the indigenous peoples of the Ameicas. It should also beead, I have agued, as a majo contibution to the developing anthopology ofChistianity. One might say it makes this second contibution though a side doo – fo almost none of its chaptes addess the anthopology of Chistianity liteatuediectly. Yet by vitue of the many convincing aguments it offes about the keyole indigenous undestandings play in the pocess of convesion, it makes a wideange of impotant points that those studying Chistianity elsewhee cannot ignoe.I have tied to eview a numbe of these points hee, and I look fowad to thewide discussions the appeaance of this book is sue to geneate.

References

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———. 2006. ‘The Anthopology of Chistianity’. In. 2006. ‘The Anthopology of Chistianity’. In The Anthropology of

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Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa. (Volume One).Chicago: Univesity of Chicago Pess.

Csodas, Thomas J. 1997. Language, Charisma, and Creativity: the Ritual Life ofa Religious Movement . Bekeley: Univesity of Califonia Pess.




Engelke, Matthew. 2004. ‘Discontinuity and the Discouse of Convesion’. Journalof Religion in Africa 34(1–2): 82–109.

Englund, Hai. 2003. ‘Chistian Independency and Global Membeship: Pentecostal

Extavesions in Malawi.’ Journal of Religion in Africa 33(1): 83–111.

Eiksen, Annelin. 2008. Gender, Christianity and Change in Vanuatu: An Analysisof Social Movements in North Ambrym. Aldeshot: Ashgate.

Jacka, Jey K. 2005. ‘Emplacement and Millennial Expectations in an Ea ofDevelopment and Globalization: Heaven and the Appeal of Chistianity fo theIpili’. American Anthropologist 107(4): 643–53.

Jebens, Holge. 2005. Pathways to Heaven: Contesting Mainline andFundamentalist Christianity in Papua New Guinea. New Yok: Beghahn.

Kamsteeg, Fans H. 1998. Prophetic Pentecostalism in Chile: A Case Study on Religion and Development Policy. Lanham, Mayland: Scaecow Pess.

Keane, Webb. 2007. Christian Moderns: Freedom and Fetish in the MissionEncounter. Bekeley: Univesity of Califonia Pess.

Knauft, Buce. 1997. ‘Gende Identity, Political Economy, and Modenity inMelanesia and Amazonia’. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 3(2):233–59.

Meye, Bigit. 1998. ‘“Make a Complete Beak with the Past”: Memoy andPostcolonial Modenity in Ghanaian Pentecostal Discouse’. In Memory andthe Postcolony: African Anthropology and the Critique of Power . r. Webne

(ed.): 182–208. London: Zed Books. ———. 1999.1999. Translating the Devil: Religion and Modernity among the Ewe inGhana. Tenton: Afica Wold Pess.

robbins, Joel. 2003a. ‘What is a Chistian? Notes Towad and Anthopology ofChistianity’. Religion 33(3): 191–9.

———. 2003b. ‘On the Paadoxes of Global Pentecostalism and the Peils of 2003b. ‘On the Paadoxes of Global Pentecostalism and the Peils ofContinuity Thinking’. Religion 33(3): 221–31.

———. 2004.2004. Becoming Sinners: Christianity and Moral Torment in a Papua New Guinea Society. Bekeley: Univesity of Califonia Pess.

———. 2007. ‘Continuity Thinking and the Poblem of Chistian Cultue: Belief,2007. ‘Continuity Thinking and the Poblem of Chistian Cultue: Belief,

Time and the Anthopology of Chistianity’. Current Anthropology 48(1): 5–38.

Scham, ryan. 2007. ‘Sit, Cook, Eat, Full Stop: religion and the rejection ofritual in Auhelawa (Papua New Guinea).’ Oceania 77(2): 172–90.

Stathen, Mailyn. 1999. Property, Substance and Effect: Anthropological Essayson Persons and Things. London: Athlone.

Tuzin, Donald. 1997. The Cassowary’s Revenge: The Life and Death of Masculinityin a New Guinea Society. Chicago: Univesity of Chicago Pess.

Vilaa, Apaecida. 2005. ‘Chonically Unstable Bodies: reections on AmazonianCopoalities.’ Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 11(3): 445–64.

Viveios De Casto, Eduado. 1998. ‘Cosmological Deixis and AmeindianPespectivism’. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 4(3): 469–88.



Index of Peoples

Abenaki: 25, 29–30

Acuias: 114

Acuio: 114

Akuiyo: 10, 110ff, 112–13, 114, 121, 122

Algonquins: 24, 28, 29

Apapocúva-Guaaní: 218

Apiao people: 53ff., 234

Aawá: 127, 129, 140

Aawakan: 129Aweti: 48

Bajo Huallaga, peoples of: 4– 5, 7– 8, 33ff,229, 231, 232

Baniwa/Walimanai: 13, 187ff, 222, 234

Biaks (Indonesia): 150

Bicolanos (Philippines): 64

Cahuapanas: 35, 43Chamicuo: 34, 38, 40, 42, 43

Chayahuita: 34, 35, 37, 40, 42– 5Chayavitas: 35

Chiloé of Apiao: 4, 8, 53ff., 234

Chiiguano: 218

Cocama: 34, 38, 40, 43, 45

Cocamilla: 34, 35, 40, 42, 43, 44

Ewe (Afica): 149

Guaani: 1, 7, 21ff., 218

Hagen (Papua New Guinea): 149

Huaoani: 112, 140

Huon (Ioquoians): 1, 21, 24– 5, 29ff.

Inuit: 11–12, 14, 140, 154– 5, 168ff., 232

Ioquois (Five Nations): 21, 24, 25, 26–30

Kanamai: 132

Kulina: 140

Lamista Quechua: 34, 35, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45

Mainas: 35

Mapuche: 6, 9, 13, 14, 53, 89ff., 232

Maoons: 115, 117

Mianha: 222

Montagnais: 24, 25, 28, 29

Muniches: 35

Nauta: 35

Oyaicoulets: 114

Paanapuas: 35

Paumai: 4, 10–14, 127ff., 233

Pesillanos: 8, 71ff., 81, 83, 84– 6, 234

Pio: 4, 5, 33ff., 129, 132, 137

Sateé-Mawé: 13, 14, 211ff., 235

Shiwilu/Jebeo: 36– 9, 40, 42, 46, 49

Tio: 4, 10, 110ff., 111–12, 122, 124, 232

Tukano: 195, 197, 222

Tupi-Guaaní: 217, 220, 221, 224

Tupinambá: 48, 140, 161

Uitoto: 222

Uppe Xingu/Alto Xingu people: 8, 47– 8Uapmin: 12, 148, 149, 159–61

Waiwai: 10, 111, 113, 118

Wama: 114, 122

Wai’/Pakaa Nova: 4, 11–12, 136, 147,148ff., 150–63, 233– 4

Wayana: 110ff., 118

Yuimaguas: 35



Index of Authos

Acosta, José de: 92

Ahlbink, W.: 114

Akin, David: 14

Albet, Buce: 15

Alden, Dauil: 21Alfao, Fancisco de: 23

Almeida, ronaldo: 127, 128, 132

Andeson, Kaen: 28

Andello, Gealdo: 15Atungalaq, Noman: 179

Augusta, Felix José: 95

Axtell, James: 24

Aycock, Alan: 116

Bacchiddu, Giovanna: 8, 54, 231, 234

Bacigalupo, Ana Maiella: 9, 54, 92ff.,

232– 3

Balikci, Asen: 178Balladelli, P.P.: 82, 83, 84, 85, 86

Bashkow, Ia: 14

Basso, Ellen B.: 47– 8Bastien, J.W.: 77, 85

Bellah, robet: 158

Biesack, Aletta: 217

Blackbun, Caole: 22

Blackwood, Evelyn: 97

Blaisel, Xavie: 173, 181Bloch, Mauice: 85

Boccaa, Guillame: 94

Bonilla, Oiaa: 127, 132, 136, 140, 141,156, 157, 232, 233

Boye, Veonique: 196, 208

Baun, Joachim von: 213

Besle, ricado: 201Bightman, Mac: 109, 119

Buch J, Enest: 147

Buge, Julian: 216

Callende, Chales: 92, 97

Cannell, Fenella: 1, 3, 5, 54, 64, 68, 147, 235

Capibeibe, Ationka: 127

Cadenas, renato: 65

Cadiel, José: 28

Caneio da Cunha, Manuela: 15, 41, 211,212

Chandless, William: 134

Chapman, Shiley: 127, 129

Chapuis, Jean: 112, 114, 118, 121Chauchetieè, Claude: 27

Chaumeil, Jean-Piee: 134

Choque, Chales: 178Clastes, Hélène: 217, 218

Clastes, Piee: 224

Cliffod, James: 162

Coelho de Souza, Macela: 48

Cognat, Andé: 114

Coleman, Simon: 56

Comaoff, Jean and Comaoff, John: 147,231

Combès, Isabelle: 218Conklin, Beth-Ann: 3, 189, 190, 217

Conley, Joseph: 113

Coope, Johan: 95

Costa, Luiz Antonio: 127, 132

Coudeau, Heni: 114

Couse, Magnus EdwinGeoge: 53, 55

Cain, M.: 75, 85

Cespi, M.: 78, 79

Cevaux, Jules: 114

Csodas, Thomas J.: 233

Da Silva, Loenz: 214, 218

Descola, Philippe: 6, 55

Deslandes, Dominique: 22

Duchame, Lionel: 175

Dumont, Louis: 4, 12, 159, 160

Eheneich, Paul: 134

Elliston, Deboah: 97

Engelke, Matthew: 232

Englund, Hai: 234

Ecilla y Zuñiga, Alonso de: 92

Eiksen, Annelin: 236

Eington, Fedeick: 14




Espinosa, Lucas: 40, 43, 50

Estella, E.: 82

Falkne, Thomas: 94

Faon, Louis: 95

Fausto, Calos: 15, 110, 122, 141, 212, 217Fenandes, rubem Césa: 152

Feao, Emilia: 8, 73, 75, 78, 80, 83, 234

Fienup-riodan, Ann: 2, 147, 158

Foeste, rolf: 95, 104

Faboni, Mauicio: 220, 221Fanchetto, Buna: 48

Feie, Geman: 109, 112

Feuchen, Pete: 170, 172, 173

Fiedman, Jonathan: 212, 215Fuentes, Aldo: 35, 40

Fuentes, Hildebando: 45

Fuch, C.: 79

Gallois, Dominique: 109, 137, 152

Ganson, Babaa: 28

Gasté, Alphonse: 168– 9Geetz, Cliffod: 158

Geiola, Gustavo: 93Gell, Alfed: 160

Gewetz, Deboah: 14

Godon, Césa: 15

Godon, Flávio: 140

Gose, P.: 77, 84, 85, 86

Gow, Pete: 4, 5, 7– 8, 33, 35, 38, 44, 45,49, 54, 55, 112, 129, 132, 135, 137,141, 157, 229, 231, 232

Gabowsk i, Jan: 29

Gaham, Laua: 189, 190

Gee, Allan: 2, 7, 22, 24, 25, 30, 231

Gego, Thomas: 5, 6

Genie, Philippe: 53, 54

Goete, Ulike: 213

Gotti,Vanessa: 5, 9–10, 157, 232, 233, 235

Gupioni, Denise: 152

Gueeo, A.: 75, 79

Guevaa, Tomás: 95

Gusinde, Matin: 94

Hanish Espíndola, Walte: 61Hansen, K.G.: 177

Hading, Susan: 56, 57, 69, 147

Hais, C. Alexande: 114

Hais, Cole: 25

Hais, Olivia: 54, 55, 77, 85

Haubet, Maxime: 28

Heckembege, Michael: 15

Hefne, robet: 1, 3, 5, 149, 158

Henman, Anthony r.: 213Hendon, W. Lewis: 44

High, Casey: 112

Hilge, Maía Inez: 94, 95

Hoton, robin: 158, 235

Howad, Catheine: 111, 113, 115, 118

Hugh-Jones, Stephen: 6, 11, 110, 138, 139,157, 212, 217, 223

Iqugaqtuq, Benad: 171

Jacka, Jey: 234, 236

Jaa, Fabiola: 114, 116

Jebens, Holge: 236

Jensen, Adolf Ellegad: 215–17, 220, 224,225

Jetten, Mac: 24, 25

Jounet, Nicolas: 141, 192, 194

Julou, ronan: 36–40, 42, 45, 46Jütting, Johannes: 213

Kamsteeg, Fans: 234

Kapfhamme, Wolfgang: 9, 14, 221, 223,224, 234, 235

Katz, Jonathan: 92

Keane, Webb: 14, 234

Kee, Howad: 2, 3

Kelly, José Antonio: 5, 110, 112

Kensinge, Kenneth: 8

Khae, Avind: 212

Kloos, Pete: 115, 118

Knauft, Buce: 236

Kochems, Lee: 92, 97

Koelewijn, Cees: 109, 114, 121Kohl, Kal-Heinz: 215

Kolb, Stéphane: 175, 177, 178

Kopak, Felix: 175

Koeme, Gunte: 127, 128, 134

Kohn-Hansen, C.: 85

Lalement, Jéôme: 29

Landa, Diego de: 92

Landázu i, C.: 79



Index of Authors 243

Lasma, Cistiane: 15

Latcham, ricado: 94, 95

Laugand, Fédéic: 9, 11–13, 140, 147,154– 5, 169, 171ff., 232– 3

Law, Samuel: 175, 177– 8

Leach, Edmund: 116Le Clecq, Chestien: 24

Leenhadt, Mauice: 160

LeJeune, Paul: 24

Lévi-Stauss, Claude: 1, 6, 38, 47, 49, 161,162

Lima, Tânia: 50, 150

Loime, Joyce: 114

Mansutti, rodiguez Alexande: 119Matínez, L.: 69

Matins, rafael: 200

Massot, Chales: 114

Mathiassen, Thekel: 170, 173

Mauss, Macel: 60

McCallum, Cecilia: 8, 122

Menget, Patick: 48, 127, 141Meye, Bigit: 149, 232, 234

Michéa, Jean: 174, 176Mignolo, Walte D.: 26

Mille, Joana: 110

Moesbach, Wilhelm de: 95

Molna, Augusta: 212

Monteo, Paula: 2

Moice, Adien Gabiel: 176

Nash, J.: 77, 85

Nimuendaju, Cut: 218

Núñez de Pineda y Bascunán: 93

Olivaes, Miguel de: 91, 93, 94

Oliveia, Fenando: 201Oña, Pedo de: 92

Oosten, Jaich: 9, 11–13, 167, 172ff., 232

Otne, Shey: 7

Ovalle, Alonso de: 93

Oveing, Joanna: 217, 224

Pake, Stephen: 38, 40, 42

Pay, Jonathan: 85

Passes, Alan: 217

Peeia, Denise: 144

Pete, Aaju: 182

Pinto, Joge: 91, 93, 94, 95

Pollock, Donald: 2, 4, 7, 147, 158, 208

Pieto, M.: 79

Qasaluaq, Dominic: 179

raimondi, Antonio: 44

ramón, G.: 78, 97

ramos, Alcida: 15

rasing, Wim: 176

rasmussen, Knud: 170, 182

regan, Jaime: 38, 41, 50

remie, Co: 174, 178

rival, Laua: 116, 140

rivièe, Hevé: 112, 114, 121rivièe, Pete: 109, 114, 121robbins, Joel: 5, 7, 12–14, 147, 148, 149,

157, 159–62, 231, 232, 234, 235,236

rodges, David: 127, 137

ronda, James P.: 28

rosales, Diego de: 92, 93, 94

rösing, I.: 77, 85

ruiz de Montoya, Antonio: 22runo, Macos: 3, 128, 129

ruthefod, Danilyn: 150

Saege, James Schoeld: 23, 28

Sahlins, Mashall: 2, 14, 150, 159–61, 212

Saladind’Anglue, Benad: 177

Salinas, Maximiliano: 93

Sallnow, M.: 77, 89

Santos, Gesem dos: 191, 195– 6, 197, 202,203, 205, 206

Santos Ganeo, Fenando: 15, 35, 49, 192,223, 224

Scazzachio, Fançoise: 35, 40–41, 43, 44, 45

Sche, Saa J.: 212

Schoen, Ivan: 115, 116

Scham, ryan: 236

Schwatzman, Stephan: 212

Seed, Paticia: 27

Seege, Anthony: 8, 110

Shapio, Judith: 3, 140

Smith, Edmund reul: 95

Sosa, Pedo de: 92

Spix, Max: 130, 131Steenhoven, G. van den: 178




Stewad, Julien H.: 34, 37

Stocks, Anthony W.: 35, 40, 44

Stole, Ann Laua: 91Stoll, David: 53, 54, 142

Stathen, Mailyn: 1, 5, 6, 14, 149, 160, 236

Steck, Benhad: 216, 217, 225

Taube, Kal: 92

Taussig, Michael: 85, 162

Taylo, Anne-Chistine: 129, 142, 158

Tessmann, Günte: 40, 42– 5Texeia, Pey: 218

Thwaites, reuben: 24, 29

Tooke, Deboah: 4, 162

Tookoome, Simon: 182Tigge, Buce G.: 24

Tudel, Fanois: 167

Tujillo, Calos: 65

Tue, Dot: 21, 28

Tune, Teence: 110, 122

Tuquetil, Asène: 170, 174– 5, 176

Tuzin, Donald: 5, 235

Untestell, Natalie: 200Ubina Bugos, rodolfo: 61

Vallee, Fanck G.: 178

Van de Geest, Sjaak: 147

Van de Velde, Fanz: 175, 176

Van Velthem, Lúcia: 110

Velho, Otávio: 130, 149

Veyne, Paul: 2

Vilaa, Apaecida: 4– 6, 8, 11–15, 50, 109,

110, 127, 129, 134, 136, 141, 148,150, 153, 157, 158, 159, 162, 163,177, 217, 223, 230, 233– 6

Viva, Geónimo de: 92

Viveios de Casto, Eduado: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7,11, 36, 48, 49–50, 110, 111, 127,134, 137, 140, 141, 149–50, 158,161– 3, 168, 177, 223, 236

Wagne, roy: 1, 14, 149, 150, 158, 161, 162Wadlow, Holly: 14

Webe, Max: 158, 208, 213

Weston, Kate: 91, 97

Williamson, robet G.: 178

Wood, Pete: 3, 149

Wight, robin: 5, 9, 11, 50, 109, 127, 135,139, 158, 187, 191, 192, 194, 196,205, 223, 224, 234, 236

Yanez de Pozo, J.: 78, 79, 80

Yohne, At: 116

Zeies, Otto: 217



Subject Index

Accultuation: 36, 37, 50

Afnes: 13, 112, 117, 120, 163, 220, 235

Afnity: 4, 111, 153, 159, 163, 223, 235

Agicultue: 21, 24, 26– 7, 53, 72, 79

Alcohol: 29

Alteity: 2, 85, 160, 223, 235

Alto Xingu/Uppe Xingu: 8, 47– 9, 229

Amazonas: 199

Amazonia: 4– 6, 10, 11, 33– 4, 36, 45,49–50, 109,110, 112, 113, 119,127, 129, 134, 135, 141, 142, 147,150, 157, 158, 160, 162, 163,189, 200, 205, 206, 209, 211–14,219–25, 229–33, 236, 237

Amazonian peoples: 1–14, 21, 24, 28, 30,33– 7, 40, 42–50, 53, 71, 79, 109,111, 113, 114, 116, 118, 119, 128,

133, 139, 147, 149, 150, 152, 161,162, 188–90, 195– 7, 205, 212, 229,231, 235, 237

Ameindian: 10, 11, 15, 55, 109–11, 113,114, 117, 118, 162, 229, 235

peoples: 150

thought, 11, 162

Andes: 1, 55, 71, 72, 75, 77– 9, 85, 86

Andean: 9, 71– 3, 76, 84, 85

angels: 172

Anglican: 11, 168–72, 174, 176, 177, 179

Animals: 4, 6, 7, 11–14, 33, 53, 59, 76, 77,80, 83, 93, 95, 100, 110, 117, 134,141, 151– 8, 162, 163, 170–72, 174,175, 182, 183, 204, 208, 235, 236

game: 11, 115, 120, 122, 151, 152, 157,170, 174, 175, 183

technical game: 211, 225

Anthopologists: 2, 4, 11, 33, 43, 46, 49,97, 110, 130, 140, 142, 147, 189,229–33

Anthopology of Chistianity: 230–37

Apiao: 1, 8, 53–69, 234

Actic: 11, 147, 167, 170, 177, 183

At: Baniwa At Poject (BAP), 187, 191,192, 196– 8, 201, 202, 206, 207

Auma ( Ischnos spp.) ecology of: 199, 201,204

Assimilation: 14, 27, 159, 161 Assistencialismo: 219

Aviamento system: 193, 219

Baptism: 8, 11, 22, 24, 25, 29, 44, 61, 62,76, 82, 93, 94, 171Bee: 120

chicha: 59, 68, 75, 162, 163

maize bee: 75,162

manioc bee: 120

itual bee: 37

Bible: 33, 65, 66, 68, 98, 103– 5, 116, 118,119, 127, 132, 148, 152, 153, 154,

178, 181, 222, 223Genesis: 153– 4stoies: 148

tanslation: 132, 152, 153, 154, 222

Bio-divesity, 212

Body: 8, 9, 10, 14, 67, 80–82, 94, 95, 103,110, 111, 114–22, 130, 134– 6, 150,162, 163, 171, 181, 215, 216, 218,233

bodily change: 157

bodily tansfomation: 157

bodily substances: 150

centality of the: 9

Chistian: 110–11, 120, 121copoal habits: 163

fabication:10, 110

ece: 120–21, 122

and identity: 8

of knowledge: 21metamophosis: 163

notion of: 19

and socializing pocesses: 120, 122

soul-body: 135, 136, 139

and tansfomability: 111, 121, 122

(see also clothes)




Bolivia: 39, 55, 152, 218

Boss(es): 10, 11, 39, 45, 127, 130, 133,134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140,141, 142, 143, 202

Bazil: 1, 7, 8, 10, 23, 39, 41, 47, 109, 110,

114, 127, 130, 133, 147, 152, 187,189, 192– 5, 197–201, 203, 205,211–13, 217

Bothehood: 14, 153, 157

Canada: 1, 2, 21, 22, 24– 7, 30, 168, 170, 183

Cannibalism: 217, 218

Castillo (‘incease’): 8, 71, 72, 75– 8Owne: 75– 8

Catholic: 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 24, 28–30,44, 53– 8, 60–64, 67, 68, 71–81,83– 6, 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 98, 102– 5,127– 9, 132, 143, 147, 168, 170–75,177, 179, 188, 196, 201– 3, 219,234

divinities: 8, 9

mass: 8, 9, 102

ituals: 44

saints: 4, 13, 14, 83Catholicism: 3, 22, 55, 61, 81, 86, 102,129, 143, 174, 176, 234

Second Vatican Council: 2, 128, 129

Celibacy: 9, 91, 98

Ceemonial dialogue: 222

Chicha: 59, 68, 75, 162, 163 (see also

Bee)Chile:1, 8, 9, 53– 5, 63, 89, 90–92, 94– 6,

99–102, 105

ChistianChistian bodies: 1, 111, 120 (see Body)

expeience: 2, 5 13

Chistianity: 1, 7, 9, 14, 25, 27, 29, 30, 33,34, 36, 39, 46, 49, 50, 53, 54, 69,71, 72, 77, 78, 80, 105, 110, 111,118, 120, 122, 128, 137, 139, 147,149, 152, 156–63, 168, 170–75,177–80, 183, 191, 229–37

anthopology of: 230–37

convesion to: 10, 11, 33, 34, 39, 46,122, 137, 150, 156, 159, 174, 178,233, 235

Chuch(es): 27, 54, 55, 83, 147, 152, 189,232

fundamentalist: 147

sevice: 118–20, 142, 148, 156, 177

CIMI (Indigenist Missionay Council):127, 128, 129

Client (clientelist): 130, 132, 140, 141,

143, 224Colonialism: 30

Colonial context: 7

Commensality: 11, 120, 150, 153, 217

Communion: 8, 11, 103, 171, 182

Confession: 93, 94, 176, 179

Conquest: 1, 7, 9, 22, 23, 25, 30, 34, 46,47, 92, 147

Consanguine: 158, 163

kinship: 22, 55, 62, 112, 141, 159, 217,229 (see also Kinship)Consanguinity: 120, 152, 217, 224

Consubstantiality: 153

consubstantialized: 157

consubstantialization: 153

Consumption: 59, 60, 64, 127, 138, 198,206, 214, 217, 220–23, 225

Contact: 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 21, 24– 6,

30, 34, 38, 48, 50, 92n2, 109–19,129, 147, 148, 152, 155, 157–60,167– 9, 198, 202, 231, 232

expeditions: 10, 109, 110, 111, 112,115, 116, 119

missionay involvement in, 113, 115

Continuity: 9, 11, 133, 43, 47, 149, 160– 62, 177, 181, 183, 206, 232, 233

cultual: 147, 232

Convesion: 2–14, 22, 24, 29, 30, 33, 34,39, 46, 49, 50, 53–69, 110, 118,122, 127, 128, 135, 137, 138, 139,140, 142, 143, 147–50, 153, 156– 61, 168, 170, 174, 178, 182, 202,208, 213, 215, 221, 225, 229–37

collective: 148

concept: 8

missionay views on: 117

theoy of: 7

Tio and Wayana views on: 110, 117

Cooperativa Terzo Mondo: 220

Cosmology: 1, 12, 13, 128, 135, 154, 162,182, 206, 209, 218

cosmologies: 1, 9, 10, 199, 220, 235,236, 237



Subject Index 247

cosmological foms: 148

cosmological model: 157

socio-cosmologies: 9, 236, 237

Cloth(es): 9, 44, 56, 59, 60, 68, 95, 99,100, 104, 115, 119, 134, 159, 182

clothing: 9, 10, 44, 45, 50, 94, 99, 100,101, 102, 119, 132, 134, 135, 141,177

dess: 76, 80, 89, 93, 94, 99, 100, 101men’s dess: 92, 99

women’s dess: 99

Ceation: 153, 156

Cedit: 8, 71– 5, 77, 78, 81, 86, 193

Ciminality: 29

Coss: 91, 92, 100, 101, 103, 113Cucix: 103,168, 178

Cultivated plants: 216

Cultual sustainability, 225

Cultue: 1– 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, 21, 22, 27, 28,30, 36, 49, 53, 94, 128, 129, 132,135, 138, 139, 147, 149, 150, 159,160–63, 181, 197– 9, 205, 206, 211,215, 216, 219, 221, 222, 224, 225,

230concept: 149

cultual continuity: 149

cultue of mediation (Vemittlekultu):224

multicultualism: 150

native: 149

notion of: 162

old: 129, 132, 135, 138, 139

Dead: 7, 8, 40, 41, 50, 59, 64, 66, 67, 76,80, 81, 83, 84, 136, 139, 151, 181,194, 218, 221, 231, 235, 236

Death: 3, 24, 26, 37– 9, 42, 58, 59, 80, 82,83, 85, 86, 110, 132, 135, 136, 178,181, 182, 215–18, 220, 222, 224,225

Debt: 4, 8, 74, 78, 127, 130, 138, 193, 194,208, 219, 234

debto: 75

Deity: 95

killed deity: 216, 217

Descent, 62, 67, 192

Devil: 50, 65, 66, 82, 84–96, 91, 101, 103

Diet: 76, 204

Diezmo (tibute): 84

Discontinuity: 149, 233

Disease: 10, 23, 24, 77, 115, 130, 131, 133,

137, 138, 139, 158 (see also Illness)

Divine: 3, 12, 65, 86, 92, 103– 5, 142, 153,

155, 156, 211, 215, 216, 225Ceation: 12, 153, 155, 156

Incanation: 3

Divinity: 53, 192 (see also God)Dunkenness: 55–60, 64– 6, 75, 83, 101,

138– 9Dumont, hieachy: 160

Economy: 13, 26– 7, 72, 191, 193, 197,

200, 206, 211, 213, 219, 223capitalist: 13

evangelicalism and economy: 208– 9Empie

Euopean: 7, 30

Fench: 7, 30

Spanish: 7, 27, 30

Employee(s): 11, 130, 132, 134, 141, 142

Encomendero: 78

Encomienda: 78Enemy: 11, 12, 28, 92, 150–53, 156– 8,163, 206, 208

point of view, 157

Enlightenment: 28

Erntevölker : 211Ethnogaphy: 4, 7, 8, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41,

42, 43, 46, 49, 68, 71, 72, 122, 160,161, 229

Evangelical: 5, 13, 14, 33, 49, 53–63, 65– 8,101– 3, 110, 112, 127– 9, 132, 135,136, 138–40, 142, 143, 177, 188,191, 192, 196, 197, 199, 201, 202,203, 208, 213, 215, 221, 223, 225,233– 5

evangelical Chistianity: 53–68

evangelical missionaies: 54– 7, 60–68

evangelical movement: 213

Evangelization: 26, 91, 109, 113, 122, 130,169

cumulative evangelism, inGuianas: 113

Fai tade: 212, 220

Familiaization: 141, 142




Fathe (s): 24, 27, 29, 73, 78–81, 84, 85,94, 168–70, 174– 6, 178

Fathe (pat of Tinity): 71, 104, 173

Fetility: 71, 75, 78, 80, 92, 95

Food: 11, 28, 57, 59, 63, 64, 68, 69, 73,

76, 77, 82, 83, 112, 115, 117, 118,120, 130, 133, 135, 136, 139, 141,159, 163, 172, 182, 199, 204, 212,216–19, 222– 4

anti-meal: 217

food taboos: 4, 11, 139

Fance: 22

New Fance: 21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 231Fanciscans: 23, 24, 25, 44, 91, 110

Fatenization: 153FUNASA (Bazilian National Health

Agency): 139

Fundaão Nacional do Indio (FUNAI): 195

Gende: 5, 6, 9, 28, 89–105, 224, 229, 236

co-gende: 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97,105

effeminate: 89, 93– 5, 97– 9, 101

female: 9, 28, 94– 7, 102, 103, 133– 5,140, 215

feminine: 9, 92– 6, 99, 101gende elations: 6

male: 9, 28, 89, 91–103, 105, 134, 223,225

masculinity: 89, 93, 94, 98, 99, 100, 105

tansgendeism: 9

tansvestites: 93, 94

womanhood: 9, 93

(see also Homosexuality)Genesis: 153, 154 (see also Bible)Globalization: 234– 5God: 2– 5, 11–13, 46, 55, 57, 59, 63, 65,

71, 80–84, 86, 89, 98, 102– 4, 118,136– 9, 142, 143, 149, 153, 154,155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 163,168

169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 176,178, 180, 181– 2, 192 (see alsoDivinity)

ceating the wold: 159

House of God: 136, 137

Guaaná: 211ff.Guayapi Topical: 220

Guiana: 109, 110, 112–14, 119, 232

Hacienda: 72, 78–80, 84

Hainuwele motif, 215

Healing: 12, 81– 6, 91, 92, 98, 100, 102– 5,113, 180–81, 183

heal: 81– 3, 93, 94, 101, 103, 105, 179,180

heale: 71, 81– 6, 91– 5, 98, 100–105,113, 179–83, 192, 204

Heaven: 103, 153, 158, 159, 181, 218, 221,234 (see also Sky)

Hell: 65, 66, 103, 136, 148, 157, 158, 180

Histoy: 8, 10, 24, 25, 27, 28, 34– 9, 48–50,55, 72, 78, 79, 91, 127– 9, 132, 138,

142, 157, 189, 191, 197, 199, 205,208

Holism: 160

Holy Tinity: 172– 3Homosexualily: 89, 91, 96–100

Honou: 59, 65– 7, 74, 77, 175

Hoticultualists ( Panzerkulturen): 215

Huasipungueros: 79

Human(s): 4, 6– 8, 11, 12, 14, 33, 39–43, 47,

48, 53– 5, 58, 60, 76, 77, 79, 85, 86,89, 98, 102, 103, 110, 111, 115–17,130, 133, 150, 151, 153, 154, 155,156, 157, 158, 159, 161– 3, 177,182, 183, 189, 191, 192, 199, 204,207, 209, 212, 215–19, 225, 229,231, 233, 235– 7

Humanity: 6, 10, 13, 14, 28, 110, 113, 117,122, 156, 158, 204, 236

position, 157

Hymns: 12, 120, 169, 173, 181

Illness: 81, 82, 84, 86, 95, 103, 105, 116,117, 140, 181, 208

Indian Potection Sevice (SPI): 152

Individualism: 13, 159, 160, 188, 191, 205,208, 234

Chistian: 159, 160, 234

Jaa (Pauma i; non-Indian stange): 130,141

Jesus: 2, 3, 21, 24, 98, 101, 103– 5, 128,138, 140, 172

Society of Jesus: 21, 24



Subject Index 249

Jesuits: 35– 7, 39, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 50,55, 89, 91, 93, 94, 231

Kahaso (Pauma i myth): 132, 133, 134,135, 137, 141

Kinship: 22, 55, 62, 112, 141, 143, 159,217, 229

consanguine: 159, 163, 217, 223

kin: 13, 39, 60, 73, 75, 83, 111, 115, 118,137, 139, 141, 157, 159, 162, 202

Land Without Evil: 217–18

Liteacy: 152

Machi: 89–105Male initiation: 223

Maués, egion of: 213

Medicine man: 82– 4Melanesia: 6, 160

compaed with Amazonia: 5, 6, 230–31,

236– 7Mestizos: 7, 37, 39, 40, 48, 79, 192

Mexico: 25

Mind: 8, 150Missionay: 3, 22, 26, 36, 37, 65– 8, 94,109, 110, 112, 113, 115, 116, 129,134, 136, 138, 155, 168, 169, 170,177, 176, 180, 202, 208

and anthopologists, 140

catholic: 3, 147, 168, 170, 172, 174, 202

fundamentalist: 152

missionaies: 2– 5, 7, 10, 11, 14, 21– 5,27, 29, 30, 33, 34, 37, 44– 6, 49, 50,54– 7, 60–62, 64– 8, 109, 110, 112,113, 115–18, 121, 128–30, 132,135, 138–43, 147, 148, 150, 152– 8,160, 161, 163, 167, 168, 170, 172,174– 9, 181, 183, 194, 202, 207,222, 231, 233

missionay views on the Akuyo: 115–16

potestant: 10, 11, 54, 109, 110, 116,129, 130, 148, 194, 202, 222

mission(s)catholic: 129,147

Chuch Missionay Society: 168–70

New Tibes Mission (NTM): 152, 155

potestant: 147

SIL (Summe Institute of Linguistics/Intenational Linguistics Society):10, 127, 132, 134, 141, 222

Unevangelized Fields Mission: 10, 113

West Indies Mission: 10, 113

Mita: 26, 78 Mitayos: 78

Model: 1, 10–14, 23, 34, 94, 102– 5, 111,147, 150, 156–63, 168, 189, 190,194, 197, 203, 205, 209, 223, 233

accultuation: 162

cosmological: 157

Dumont’s: 160

Euo-Ameican: 162

robbins: 159Sahlins: 159

stuctualist: 159

theoetical model fo the convesion:159

Money: 8, 9, 44, 58–60, 64, 66, 71– 8,

80–86, 132, 139, 201, 206, 208, 234

lending: 71, 77

payment in: 81

Monotheism: 3Monteal: 25,Moal: 10, 12, 13, 28, 29, 62, 64, 66, 67,

71, 73, 74, 89, 100, 101, 102, 116,117, 120, 122, 160, 161, 197, 207,212, 213, 220, 222, 223, 225

and spiit attacks: 204

authoity: 74, 89, 102

change: 12, 161domain: 12, 13

moality: 9, 12, 72, 73, 85, 102, 105,115, 135, 153, 160, 161, 192, 211,220, 224

Catholic moality: 102, 105

Chistian moality: 12, 135

Euopean moality: 220

Multinatualism: 150

Myth: 1, 10, 11, 13, 14, 36– 9, 42, 132– 5,137, 149, 150–52, 153, 154, 156– 7,160, 161, 191, 212, 215, 217,220–22, 224– 5, 229

Mythopaxis: 212

Naming: 4, 42, 43, 44, 46, 181




Native: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12–14, 22–30, 40,79, 80, 85, 92, 94, 128, 129, 134,142, 147– 9, 152, 158–62, 170, 173,188, 190, 207, 219, 222, 230, 236

Native Chuch Policy: 169

thought: 149 Natue: 3, 9, 30, 34, 36, 49, 56, 65, 67, 74,

75, 77, 78, 86, 93, 103, 110, 136,150, 162, 163, 169, 188, 192, 194,199, 204, 207, 208, 209, 212, 216,217, 219, 225, 234, 236

New England: 30

New Fance: 21, 24– 5, 30

Non-Govenmental Oganizations: 189

CEDI (Ecumenical Cente foDocumentation and Infomation):189

FOIrN (Fedeation of IndigenousOganizations of the rio Nego):189, 190, 195, 198, 199, 200, 209

OIBI (Oganization of IndigenousCommunities of the Icana riveBasin): 187– 9, 191, 196– 9, 201– 3,

205, 207, 208OPIMP (Middle Puus IndigenousPeoples Oganization): 139

Novenas: 59, 60, 64– 7 Nutue, as opposed to familiaization: 112,

117, 118, 121

Obligación (‘obligation’): 27, 28, 64, 76

Offeings: 4, 8, 9, 60, 64, 84

Oobana (Manuel Ubano): 133, 134, 135,137, 141

Othe:opening to the: 162

Otheness (see Alteity): 198

Pacication: 48, 95, 111, 120, 121, 133,148, 152

and afnal elations: 120

pocess of: 48, 120

Pago (‘payment’): 72, 74, 75, 80–86

Pamhaali village (Baniwa): 197

Paadise: 136, 218

Paaguay: 1, 2, 7, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25– 8, 30,231

Paousia: 172, 181

Paticulaism: 224

Pentecostalism: 221, 230

Pespective: 150, 156, 157

enemy’s: 11, 151, 152

Pespectivism: 150

Peu: 1, 5, 7, 8, 23, 25, 43ff.Peuvian: 4, 5, 8, 21, 33, 34, 36, 44, 45,47, 50, 54, 112, 129

Pets: 10,132,140

(Paumai): 1, 4, 10–14, 127–43, 233

Pinta (skindisease): 130, 131, 132, 133,135, 138

Plata de los entierros (‘buied money’):84, 85

Polygamy: 22, 27, 28, 173Potugal: 23,Powe: 9, 12, 25, 27– 9, 59, 71, 76, 81, 82,

85, 86, 89, 91– 8, 101– 5, 112, 113,121, 122, 136–42, 150, 157, 158,160, 168, 171, 174– 6, 178, 180,181, 188, 198, 201– 8, 212, 216,221– 4

political: 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 150, 201,

224elations: 9

eligious: 91spiitual: 9, 25, 92, 94, 96, 102, 103,

105, 113

Paye: 56, 59, 60, 62– 4, 66, 78, 101– 3,105, 121, 138, 140, 156, 170–71,174– 5, 177– 8, 181

Pedation: 117, 147, 156, 157, 163, 217, 225

pedato: 10–12, 38, 121, 135, 151,156, 157, 158, 161, 162

pedato-pey: 10, 11, 158

pedatoy: 135, 197, 217

Pey: 10, 11, 12, 117, 132, 133, 134, 140,141, 142, 143, 156, 157, 158, 159,162, 182

position: 158

Piest: 9, 11, 24, 29, 38, 42, 46, 48, 58, 61,81– 6, 89, 91, 93, 94, 96–105, 171,175, 176, 180, 233

Pophecy: 22, 220

Pojeto Calha Note: 195n5

Pophet: 13, 138, 173, 192, 205, 208, 218

Baniwa pophets: 192n.3, 205– 6



Subject Index 251

pophetic: 13, 19, 192, 199, 208, 217,218, 224, 225

pophetic movements: 13, 217, 218, 224

pophetism: 197, 208, 215

Potestantism: 3, 5, 8, 33, 49, 53, 68, 70,

128, 129, 179, 192Potestant: 3, 8, 10, 11, 53– 5, 109, 110,

113, 116, 122, 127–30, 136, 147,148, 152, 187, 189, 191, 194, 202,204, 207, 222, 232

Potestant refomation: 3

Purati~g ceemonial club: 221– 5Puus ive: 10, 127, 133, 134, 136, 139

Quebec: 24, 25, 28Quichua, language: 8, 71, 72, 81– 4

recipocity: 9, 60, 61, 64, 72, 191, 204,208, 217, 219

redemption: 3

Reducciónes: 21, 23, 24, 25– 6, 28– 9

refomation: 3, 68

Counte refomation: 3

Potestant refomation: 3relationalism: 160

religion: 1– 3, 8, 11, 22, 33, 37, 45, 53– 8,60–62, 64, 68, 79, 102, 129, 140,147, 149, 158, 161, 171– 3, 180,183, 191, 194, 197, 203, 208, 216,231, 237

taditional: 149

eligious ivalies: 201– 2ritual: 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 28, 37, 44– 6, 48,

56, 59, 61, 72, 75, 77, 83, 84, 89,92, 94– 7, 99–105, 129, 135, 136,138, 139, 142, 143, 153, 158, 160,161, 171– 4, 176, 178, 180–82, 191,215–18, 221– 5, 232

catholic: 44

consumption: 59

mass: 4, 28, 30, 78–81, 83, 84, 86, 93,94, 102, 103, 104, 169

pestige: 160

taditional: 10

rose-wood: 219

rubbe tappes: 211rules: 170–72, 177– 8, 180–83

ruptue: 149

Saced: 58, 61, 62, 64, 66, 74, 75, 78, 86,93, 190, 222

Saint: 3, 4, 8, 13, 14, 38, 42, 58, 59, 64, 66,67, 76, 77, 82, 83, 85, 86, 103, 176

miaculous saints: 58, 59, 64, 66, 67 Salvation: 3, 9, 71, 72, 81, 85, 86, 138,

216, 220

native views of: 3

San Juan, festival of: 75– 7Second Vatican Council: 3, 128, 129 (see

also Catholic)Sedentaization: 10, 109–18, 122

and afnal elations: 120

of Akuiyo hunte-gathees: 118–19, 120changes bought by: 112

inelation to convesion: 118–19

Tio views on: 112

Sexuality: 89, 91, 94, 97, 100, 102

Shamanism: 12–14, 45, 48, 132, 136–40,142, 143, 167, 172, 177–81, 183,191, 223, 224

competition between shamans and mis-

sionaies: 175, 179shaman: 3, 9, 11, 13, 22, 45, 89, 105,122, 133, 135–40, 143, 158, 167,168, 170, 171, 173– 8, 180–83, 192,204, 208, 215, 233, 235

shamanic: 4, 9, 11–14, 115, 121, 122,132, 136, 137, 140, 169, 172, 174,176, 178–83, 204

shamanic fomula: 12, 174, 181Siqqitirniq: 171– 2, 181– 2Si i (Shiley Chapman, SIL missionay):

129, 130, 138

Skin: 10, 71, 110, 116, 121, 127, 129–35,139, 142, 170, 173, 182, 204, 233

change of: 10

Sky: 92, 133, 136, 141, 153, 156, 159 (seealso Heaven)

Slavey: 7, 26, 30, 91, 130, 219

Social foms: 10, 47

Sociality: 6, 10, 57, 58, 60, 61, 64, 67, 68,109, 110, 120, 134– 6, 140, 142,221, 223

new fom of: 10

Socialization: 115, 117, 122

Solidaity: 58–61, 64, 67




Socey: 45, 48, 82, 83, 86, 138, 153, 192,203– 5, 208 (see also Witchcaft)

assault socey: 192, 203– 5, 208

Soul: 8, 22, 40, 50, 56, 82– 4, 86, 92, 102,122, 135– 7, 139, 140, 158, 172,

176 202 208 218

taditional populations: 211, 212

Tanscendence: 3, 235

Tansfomation: 1, 3, 4, 10–14, 21, 26, 34,38, 44, 111, 112, 115, 119, 122,127, 128, 132, 133, 134, 135, 137,

139 141 150 155 157 160 161