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The Mawé, also known as the Sateré or Sateré-Mawé, are an
The Sateré-Mawé people intentionally use bullet ant stings as part of their
Sateré-Mawé artwork
indigenous people
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
of Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
living in the state of Amazonas. They have an estimated population of about 13,350. The Sateré-Mawé were the first to domesticate and cultivate guaraná, a popular stimulant.
Name
The name "Sateré-Mawé" comes from ''Sateré'', meaning "caterpillar of fire", and ''Mawé'', meaning "intelligent and curious parrot". They are also called Maué, Mawé, Mabue, Maragua, Sataré, Andira, Arapium.Language
The Mawé speak the Sateré-Mawé language, which belongs to the Tupian family. A grammar book was developed for the language in 1986.
Initiation rites
The Sateré-Mawé people intentionally use bullet ant stings as part of their initiation rite
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...
s to become a warrior. The ants are gathered from their homes by the men of the community, while the women and children gather cashew leaves. 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 the cashew leaves (which resembles a large oven mitt), stinger
A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal.
An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of ve ...
facing inward. When the ants regain consciousness, the 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
Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...
due to the ant venom. In addition to suffering intense pain, he may hallucinate and 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.
References
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. * Garfield, S. (2022). ''Guaraná: How Brazil Embraced the World’s Most Caffeine-Rich Plant''. University of North Carolina Press. * 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) *Groes-Green, Christian. Courageous Caterpillars and Images of the Whiteman: Storytelling and Exchange as Indigenous Strategies in the Face of Discrimination in Manaus, Brazil. MA Thesis, Department of Anthropology. Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen (Denmark), 2002. * 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
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers.
The museum has three ...
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Indigenous peoples in Brazil
Indigenous peoples of the Amazon