Made from Bone: Trickster Myths, Music, and History from the Amazon

224 Pages·2008·2.12 MB·English

by  Jonathan D. Hill

Anthropology / Latin American Studies H
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“A great achievement. The clear text allows readers to comprehend the l
complexity of the Made-from-Bone trickster, a fi gure that represents the
principles of the Wakuénai culture itself. Hill shows that myth is not Cover image: Máwi Made -from -Bone
fl ute players, kulirrína
mere ‘folklore’ or ‘text’ but something deeper, a fi eld of unseen forces trumpet players, and M
and powers by which people experience the world through dynamic, female dancers at
the Catfi sh Trumpet
shifting forms.” a
Festival, 1981.
—Michael Uzendoski, author of The Napo Runa of Amazonian Ecuador Design by Dennis Roberts d
Trickster Myths,
“An absorbing journey through the mythic history and musicscapes of the e
Wakuénai people. Jonathan D. Hill masterfully captures the sensuous -
f Music, and History
and poetic dimensions of Wakuénai narratives while highlighting their
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enduring engagement with the events, struggles, and uncertainties of
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modern life. This is a painstakingly assembled Amerindian bible com-
m from the Amazon
plete with its own hardcore exegesis.”
—Fernando Santos-Granero, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute -
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MMMaaadddeee---fffrrrooommm---BBBooonnneee iiss tthhee fifi rrsstt wwoorrkk ttoo pprroovviiddee aa ccoommpplleettee sseett ooff EEnngglliisshh ttrraannssllaattiioonnss ooff
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narratives about the mythic past and its transformations from the indigenous Arawak-
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speaking people of South America. Among the Arawak-speaking Wakuénai of south-
ernmost Venezuela, storytellers refer to these narratives as “words from the primordial
times,” and they are set in an unfi nished space-time before there were any clear distinc- fT
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tions between humans and animals, men and women, day and night, old and young, and oic
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powerful and powerless. The central character throughout these primordial times and the s
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ensuing developments that open up the world of distinct peoples, species, and places is he
a trickster-creator, Made-from-Bone, who survives a prolonged series of life-threatening e r M
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attacks and ultimately defeats all his adversaries. my
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Carefully recorded and transcribed by Jonathan D. Hill, these narratives offer scholars
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of South America and other areas the only ethnographically generated cosmogony of
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contemporary or ancient native peoples of South America. Hill includes translations of u
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key mythic narratives along with interpretive and ethnographic discussion that expands i
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on the myths surrounding this fascinating and enigmatic character with broad appeal ,
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throughout various folkloric traditions. n
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Jonathan D. Hill is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Southern i
s
Illinois University and the author of Keepers of the Sacred Chants: The Poetics t
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of Ritual Power in an Amazonian Society. r
y
A volume in the series Interpretations of Culture in the New Millennium, edited by
Norman E. Whitten Jr.
ISBN 978-0-252-07570-4
I
University of Illinois Press 90000 L
L Jonathan D. Hill
I
Urbana and Chicago N
O
www.press.uillinois.edu 9 780252 075704 I
S
Made-from-Bone
Hill.indd 1 8/21/08 9:45:45 AM
w w w w Interpretations of Culture in the New Millennium
Norman E. Whitten Jr., General Editor
A list of books in the series appears
at the end of the book.
Hill.indd 2 8/21/08 9:45:45 AM
Made-from-Bone
Trickster Myths, Music, and History
from the Amazon
Jonathan D. Hill
University of Illinois Press . Urbana and Chicago
Hill.indd 3 8/21/08 9:45:45 AM
©2009 by Jonathan D. Hill
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hill, Jonathan David
Made-from-bone : trickster myths, music, and history from the Amazon /
Jonathan D. Hill.
p. cm. — (Interpretations of culture in the new millennium)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13 978-0-252-03373-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-10 0-252-03373-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-13 978-0-252-07570-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn-10 0-252-07570-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Curripaco Indians—Folklore. 2. Curripaco mythology.
3. Curripaco Indians—Songs and music. 4. Tricksters—Venezuela.
I. Title.
f2270.2.c87h56    2009
398.208998'39—dc22    200802
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Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface: Introducing Made-from-Bone, the Trickster-Creator xi
1. The Arawakan Wakuénai of Venezuela 1
Part 1: Words from the Primordial Times
Overview 20
2. Narratives from the Primordial Times 25
The Cricket-Brothers; or, The Origin of
Made-from-Bone 25
The Origin of Death 29
Owl-Monkey; or, Made-from-Bone Tries to
End Poisoning 31
Made-from-Bone and Anaconda-Person 33
The Origin of the Bat-People 37
The Origin of Cooking with Hot Peppers 38
The Origin of the Vulture-People 42
Great Sickness; or, The Origin of Malaria 48
Made-from-Bone Creates Evil Omens 53
3. Ethnohistorical Interlude: Historical Themes in the
Myth of Made-from-Bone and Anaconda-Person 57
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Part 2: The World Begins
Overview 70
4. Narratives from “The World Begins” 75
Grandfather Sleep; or, The Origin of Night 75
The Origin of Fire 80
The Origin of Working in Manioc Gardens 82
The Origin of Ceremonial Music 83
The Origin of Bocachico-Fish Dances 85
Pípirri; or, The Origin of Peach-Palm Fruits 87
5. Ethnomusicological Interlude: The Catfish Trumpet Festival
of 1981, or How to Ask for a Drink in Curripaco 92
Part 3: The World Opens Up
Overview 110
6. Narratives from “The World Opens Up” 117
Kuwái, the Powerful Sound that Opened Up the World 117
The Struggle between Made-from-Bone and First-Woman 127
The Origin of Hallucinogenic Snuff and Shamanic Healing 134
The Origin of Honey for Curing 136
The Origin of Witchcraft and Its Treatment 138
The Origin of Enchanted Spirits and the City of Gold 142
7. Ethnological Coda: Shamanizing the State in Venezuela 147
Appendix A: A Note on Translation Methods 157
Appendix B: AILLA Numbers for Narratives, Music, Dances,
and Illustrations 160
Notes 163
Glossary 171
References Cited 177
Index 185
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Illustrations
Maps
1. Location of Arawakan language groups, fifteenth century 2
2. Location of contemporary Arawak-speaking groups 3
3. Wakuénai (Curripaco) communities in the Río Guainía-Negro,
Venezuelan Amazon, 1981 4
4. Place-naming in ritual chanting for female initiation 6
5. Place-naming in ritual chanting for male initiation 7
6. Ancestral territories of Wakuénai phratries in Isana-Guainía
drainage area 7
Photos
1. Horacio chanting and blowing tobacco smoke during childbirth
ritual, 1981 xiii
2. Félix correcting printed drafts of narratives, 1998 xvi
3. Félix recording narratives, 1998 xvii
4. Pairs of “male” (longer) and “female” (shorter) máwi flutes 94
5. Author learning to perform máwi flute dances with local man,
1981 94
6. Pairs of máwi flute players and women dancers, 1981 94
7. Canoe filled with palm fronds for thatching Horacio's
roof, 1981 97
8. Bundles of máwi palm tubes for making flutes, blowguns,
and fish traps 97
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9. Hunting dog in small fishing canoe while traveling up the
Caño San Miguel, 1981 98
10. Building a roof, 1981 99
11. Félix holding pavón and pavón grande fish, October 1981 99
12. Attaching máwi palm tubes to circle of vine, 1981 104
13. Spreading cooked resin (máini) on trumpet's resonator, 1981 104
14. Masking and painting trumpets to make black stripes 105
15. Testing trumpet after painting and decorating 105
  16. Máwi flute players, kulirrína trumpet players, and female dancers,
1981 107
17. Dancing at the Catfish Trumpet Festival of 1981 107
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Made-from-Bone
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