The People of the Aguaje Palm

MESSAGES FROM DREAMS

Dreams are another means preferred by the Achuar to communicate with beings from nature. During a dream, the soul is freed from the constraints of the body and travels to another dimension in space where it comes in contact with the souls of beings usually invisible, including mythological heroes or those, such as plants and animals, simply deprived of speech. Thus, the interpretation of dreams has an important role in daily life and, on waking, all see to this task before planning the day's activities. Kuntukunar dreams announce a successful hunt, while mesekramprar dreams foretell illness, conflict, unfortunate events. Karamprar dreams, on the other hand, are the means by which guiding spirits, absent relatives, and even the dead, on occasion, transmit messages. A number of special anent, sung at sunset, aid in "calling" beneficial dreams and thus in guiding the whims of destiny, given that life would be unbearable if all acts were undertaken in blind submission to the fortunes foretold in dreams.

THE HALLUCINOGENIC TRANCE

Other journeys taken by the soul are voluntary, the result of ingesting hallucinogenic substances, especially ayahuasca (natem) and floripondio (maykiua). By means of ayahuasca, the uwishin, or shamans, are able to see the darts, or tsentsak, causing illness in their patients' bodies, and to join their assistants (jaguars, anacondas and spirits of the rain forest) to better fight against the ruses of the aggressor. Floripondio is stronger and more difficult to control. It brings on a long trance during which the Achuar seek contact with the arutam, "the spirit of an ancestor." The experience is terrifying: alone, in a tiny hut in the middle of the forest, the person seeking aid first sees a monstrous apparition (two anacondas entwined, an enormous glowing head, or a gigantic harpy eagle) which he must touch without showing any signs of fear; the vision then disappears immediately and in its place there is the ghost of an old warrior who will give, from that moment on, protection and strength to the initiate.

The strength transmitted by the arutam takes various guises, but it is manifested, above all, in an overpowering desire to demonstrate courage in war. It must be pointed out, however, that each time an Achuar participates in a victorious expedition, he loses his arutam and must immediately look for him in a new vision that will give him even more strength and increase his desire to confront the enemy. This mystical accumulation of warrior virtues has no doubt contributed to the intensity of vendettas among the Achuar. At times, provoked by accusations of shamanic aggression, the internal wars led families in conflict to gather together in large fortified houses, from which the men emerged only to undertake campaigns. In spite of dramatic consequences, war has been a factor in social cohesion, and the most important collective rites of the Achuar, the ane martin for the men and the ujaj for the women, were once performed on these occasions.

THE LIFE OF TSAMARIN

We visited Tasmarin, a famous Achuar warrior whose house stands, roomy and majestic, on the banks of the Pastaza River. He received us seated on his chimpi, a bench with carvings in the shape of a boa head and tiger claws. As is the custom, each of his women brought him a gourd filled with nijiamanch, a chicha made of manioc, and then served the visitors, a process that continued until midnight. Tasmarin, in a talkative mood, told us about his life:

"I was born upriver, near Copataza, 65 years ago, but my father was really a Mayna from Peru. We were a family of brave warriors. I myself have killed many enemies. I have nine wives in all, and of those, one died while she was working in the family plot, bitten by a snake, another left, and a third I killed because she was half mad, always looking for other men! Now I have only six women, and I am the father of 32 children.

"As you know we Achuar look for the Arutam, that power that gives us energy and strength. To find him, I went for several days to the Capahuari River, I fasted, and I took much tobacco and natem. Finally I saw my Arutam; he came in the form of a toucan and told me that I was going to kill eight persons. But I only managed to kill five. For that reason I am not at peace. It's that the missionaries made the wars stop and now I am old and can no longer carry out my pact with my Arutam.

"It's not that killing is easy. There is a whole preparatory ritual that gives validity to the war of revenge. First, you have to be full of power, you have to find your Arutam, and only when you have him can you undertake a war. For example, I killed my enemy Asamat because one of my daughters died from a curse and a shaman told me who had sent death to her, so that I could have my revenge. When I found out that it was Asamat, I invited all of my friends and we began the anemak preparations. We had a great meeting. I explained with many details the reason for the war. We had some target practice with our shotguns, but we didn't use too many shells because we had only a few. It was important that my group be strong and ready to kill. I picked only the best I still remember a young man who was so scared that he vomited, so we took him along, but just as a cook. Anyway as is our custom, we painted our faces with achiote. I asked them to make a large drawing around the mouth so that my warriors would look like savages. Above all, I didn't want anyone to see fear on our faces. I was filled with rage and with strength. I picked a boa design for myself. Next, we went to Asamat's house, which was a three-day walk. We waited, well hidden, for him to come out. We didn't get too close to the house because he had vicious dogs that might have alerted him. We made our move the day Asamat went to the river, and I killed him from behind with the rifle. We left quickly after that."