THE SATERE' MAUE' PEOPLE

SATERE' MAUE' PEOPLE

Mawé people

Sateré-Mawé

Guaraná (Paullinia cupana), which the Sateré-Mawé are famous for domesticating
Total population
10,761 (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Brazil ( Amazonas)
Languages
Sateré-Mawé, Portuguese[2]
Religion
traditional tribal religion

The Sateré-Mawé (or Sateré-Maue) is an indigenous tribe located in the Brazilian Amazon, with an estimated population of about 10,761.^[1] The Sateré-Mawé are the first to domesticate and cultivate guarana,^[1] a popular stimulant.
The Mawe share little contact with the outside world.

Contents 1 Name 2 Language 3 Initiation rites 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

Name

They are also called Maué, Mawé, Mabue, Maragua, Sataré, Andira, Arapium.^[2]

Language

The Mawé speak the Sateré-Mawé language, which belongs to the Tupian family. A grammar book was developed for the language in 1986.^[2]

Initiation rites

The Satere-Mawe people use intentional bullet ant stings as part of their initiation rites to become a warrior.^[3] The ants are first rendered unconscious by submerging them in a natural sedative and then hundreds of them are woven into a glove made out of leaves (which resembles a large oven mitt), stinger facing inward. When the ants regain consciousness, a boy slips the glove onto his hand. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes. When finished, the boy's hand and part of his arm are temporarily paralyzed because of the ant venom, and he may shake uncontrollably for days. The only "protection" provided is a coating of charcoal on the hands, supposedly to confuse the ants and inhibit their stinging. To fully complete the initiation, however, the boys must go through the ordeal a total of 20 times over the course of several months or even years.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Sateré Mawé: Introduction." Povos Indígenas no Brasil. Retrieved 27 Feb 2012.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Sateré-Mawé." Ethnologue. Retrieved 27 Feb 2012.
3. ^ Backshall, Steve (6 January 2008). "Bitten by the Amazon". The Times (London). Retrieved 21 May 2010.
4. ^ YouTube - Incredible Ritual With Hundreds of Poisonous Bullet Ants

Further reading

• Alvarez, Gabriel O. Pós-dradiviano: parentesco e ritual. : sistem de parentesco e rituais de afinabilidade os sateré-mawé. Série Antropologia (Brasília, Brazil), no.403. Brasília: Departamento de Antropologia, Universidade de Brasília, 2006.
• Gordon, Nick, Hildy Rubin, and Jessica Siegel. Gremlins Faces in the Forest. Nature video library. South Burlington, VT: WNET/Thirteen, 1998. (video - Satere Mawe customs involving marmosets)
• Lattas, Andrew. "Anthropological Knowledge, Secrecy and Bolivip, Papua New Guinea: Exchanging Skin." Ethnos 74.3 (2009): 433-435.
• Lorenz, Sônia da Silva. Sateré-Mawé: os filhos do guaraná. Coleção Projetos, 1. São Paulo, SP, Brasil: Centro de Trabalho Indigenista, 1992.
• Salzano F. M., T.A. Weimer, M.H.L.P. Franco, and M.H. Hutz. "Demography and Genetics of the Sateré-Mawé and their Bearing on the Differentiation of the Tupi Tribes of South America." Journal of Human Evolution 14.7 (1985): 647-655.
• Vilaça, Aparecida, and Robin Wright. Native Christians: Modes and Effects of Christianity Among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Vitality of indigenous religions. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate, 2008.
• Uggé, Henrique. Mitología sateré-maué. Quito, Ecuador: Ediciones ABYA-YALA, 1991.

External links

• Sateré-Mawé artwork, National Museum of the American Indian