For the Yąnomamö, an indigenous tribe in northern South America, the soul is divided into three parts: the No Borebö, No Uhudi, and Möamo. Upon death, the free will of the soul (No Borebö) ascends into the heavens where it meets Wadawadariwä, the son of the thunder god Yaru, at a forked road. On one side of the path is the tranquil world of Hedu and on the other side is the torturous world of Shobari Waka. If the soul has been benevolent and generous during their time on Earth, they travel to Hedu; however, if they have been greedy and meanspirited, they are sent to Shobari Wake.[1] While the No Borebö is judged for its deeds on Earth, the No Uhudi is released during the cremation process and escapes into the jungle in the form of a bore. If the No Uhudi was from a kind individual, the bore is a peaceful entity residing forever in the jungle. But, if the No Uhudi originated from a malicious person, the bore becomes an evil force with glowing eyes who attacks travelers trekking through the jungle at night.[2] The Möamo, located near the liver, is the most sacred part of the soul and can be stolen during life by evil shaman (shabori) or supernatural beings like bore. If a person’s Möamo is taken, they quickly fall ill and, if a good shabori cannot recall the Möamo in time, they die.[3] In addition to a three-part soul, the Yąnomamö also believe that every individual has an animal counterpart (noreshi) who is inherited from the parent of their same sex. Often, boys inherit a hawk or monkey from their fathers and girls inherit a dog or snake from their mothers. Being linked together, noreshi and humans mirror each other’s lives: eating and sleeping during the same times. Likewise, the death of someone’s noreshi prompts their own death, which means the Yąnomamö are highly sensitive to the act of hunting because they can be killing their own noreshi or the noreshi of a loved one.[4]
Works Referenced
Chagnon, Napoleon. Yąnomamö: The Fierce People. 3rd ed. Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983.
____________________
[1] Chagnon, 103.
[2] Chagnon, 103-104.
[3] Chagnon, 104.
[4] Chagnon, 104.
No comments:
Post a Comment