Fatal Substances: Apurinã’s Dangers, Movement and Kinship

Through continuous patterns of travel when hunting, visiting other settlements, trekking and foraging, the Arawak-speaking Apurinã of southwestern Amazonia are able to access resources, new power and skills, and knowledge about other beings. In the course of the trips, however, certain trees, stones and types of earth formation are approached with the utmost caution as the spirits of these places may afflict the unwary with their invisible poisonous arrows, causing illnesses or even deaths, if not removed by shamanic skills. Similar illnesses are also related to moiety food taboos, a danger which highlights the crucial elements of kinship construction among the Apurinã. Yet immobility can also be dangerous as stability can make the body ill and decrease its stamina and strength. This article shows that it is not only co-residence that produces kin; movement also contributes to community-building. Encounters with other beings contribute to establishing selfhood and kin territory, as well as making allies. The centrality of movement in Apurinã experiences is also discussed as an element leading to the dominant position of Arawakan peoples in the history of southwestern Amazonia. ; Por medio de patrones continuos de viaje debidos a la caza, las visitas de otros asentamientos, y a las excursiones y búsquedas, el grupo arawak de los apurinã del suroeste amazónico logra acceder a recursos, poderes, habilidades y conocimientos sobre otros seres. A lo largo de sus viajes, sin embargo, ciertos árboles, piedras y tipos de espíritus y sitios son aproximados con máxima precaución, pues los espíritus de estos lugares pueden afligir a los incautos con sus flechas venenosas invisibles. Si no son retiradas con la intervención de técnicas chamánicas, pueden causar enfermedades o incluso la muerte. Aflicciones similares también están relacionadas a tabúes alimenticios que resaltan elementos cruciales de la construcción del parentesco entre los apurinã. Sin embargo, la inamovilidad también puede ser peligrosa, pues la estabilidad ...