THE TRIUMPH OF ETSA

We Shuar people see ourselves in Etsa and are aware of having defeated Iwia. Thus, we have every right to organize our universe in accord with our needs. We know that the jungle contains dangers and difficulties, but we have managed to dominate and "humanize" it and are able to live as brothers with nature. We understand that we need one another. Thus, we Shuar "naturalize" ourselves in order to understand what the jungle feels.

In the never-ending battle between Etsa and Iwia, one can see how the members of our community have adapted to the jungle. This heroic process has guaranteed our security so that we might "progress" and multiply. We believe we are the possessors of the lands of the Amazon. The apach' believe there is only one way to think, and this vain pretension does not recognize that we, too, have our own science and philosophy.

At the present we are face to face with another "Iwia": Western culture, which has come to destroy our world and change the daily life of the cosmos itself. The jungle Iwia is angry and does not pay attention to us any longer. It is for this reason, and with great unease, that we ask this new "Iwia" to change his destructive ways.

A tuntui is featured on the image. This is a large drum used by the Shuar and Achuar in the natem (ayahuasca) ceremony, and for long-distance communication. A combination of strong beats (I), weak ones (.), and pauses (-) create different messages. For example, below is a call for someone to return home (the message is repeated at five-minute intervals):

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The large tuntui drum is played to call upon Ayumpum, a being from Shuar mythology who controls life and death. The myth tells the story of Ayumpum saying, "When I hear the tuntui I will go down to earth immediately." The individual making a tuntuf was not allowed to approach a woman. While he worked he could not sleep with a woman and, above all, he was not allowed to have sexual relations, in addition, for the duration he was not to eat during the day, but only after sunset.

THE TSANTZA

Image: courtesy of Jacinto Jijon and Caamano Museum

Maria Magdalena Chumpi Kayap

THE TSANTZA CELEBRATION: I'm going to tell you about how our grandparents, with great care and respect, used to perform the tsantza celebration.

After killing an enemy the warrior cut off the victim's head and hid himself in the forest, fasting for eight days, in order to get ready to prepare the tsantza.

The warrior prepares the tsantza in this way. He removes the skin from the head and puts it in boiling water; then he dries it slowly over hot ashes. Next, he sews it shut with hot pebbles inside and shakes it. Finally he paints the face with charcoal and very carefully moulds the skin until it takes on again its natural features.

Throughout the process, the Shuar calls on Ayumpum, the spirit of life and death, so that no one takes revenge on him and so that the victim does not come to life, as he has been sacrificed so that justice be done.

When the tsantza is ready the community begins to collect wood, and to hunt, and to prepare chicha for the fiesta that will take place. The community gets together in the house indicated and one of the elders of the community along with the other warriors, stays in the patio with the one who has prepared the tsantza and is wearing it around his neck.

The women inside the house sing ujaj meset, or omens, to bring the warrior good luck and to protect him from evil, so that all memory of the killing is forgotten, so that the land of the victim remains abandoned and the weeds erase all paths around it.

One of the elders blows tobacco smoke into the warrior's nose, so that he will not dream of death, which would be a bad omen. Then he goes to the river and the elder cuts a lock of his hair and throws it into the river. After that, he puts on new clothes so that the past remains behind and he is transformed into a new creature.

The preparation of the tsantza is a religious rite, by means of which the participants ask that all evil stay away that the lost soul of the victim be recovered, and that it be born again of a woman in the group.

In this way justice is established once again, and the community is able to live in peace and joy The celebration ends with singing, dancing, and a large banquet at which everyone eats as much as he can.