Review

Author(s): Edmundo Magaa

Review by: Edmundo Magaa
Source: Anthropos, Bd. 84, H. 4./6. (1989), pp. 612-614
Published by: Anthropos Institut
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40463984
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612 Rezensionen

assortsthemintoninelinguistic-cultural groups:G, Ar- been madeforthisopinion,butno matter:theargu-

awak,Carib,Tup, Pano, Tukano,Yanomama,Jva- mentsbywhichtheauthorproceedsarefullofinsights,
roan,and"otherlinguistic families." Formostofthem, and empiricaldetailand theoretical formulation are
hesummarizes theirrelationship terminologies, systems melded together byanalytical acuity that,besides its ob-
ofallianceandhierarchy, andexternal relations. Local viousappealto regionalspecialists hasproducedan im-
groupsize and composition is providedforsome ex- pressive studyofsuchgeneralimportance as tothrust its
amples, and there is a summary evaluation at the end of relevance welloutside anyethnographic region - even
eachgroupdiscussed. one as expansiveas SouthAmerica!Americanists and
Thissectionoccupiesmostof theauthor'satten- kinship specialists alikewillfindthisengagingly written
tion,butthenheturns tothedaunting taskofattemptingbookmostenlightening reading. DavidHicks
to discern"generalcorrelations" in a typology of the
lowlandsocieties.Indeed,itis an impossible undertak-
ing,forwhatever criteria ofempirical comparison arese- Illius,Bruno:Ani Shinan.Schamanismus bei den
lected,thesetdecideduponcannotfailto be arbitrary. Shipibo-Conibo (Ost-Peru).Tbingen:VerlagScience
Yet Hornborg's selectionis as appropriate to hisambi- & Fiction,1987.vi + 415pp.,Kt.,Fig.,Tab. (Ethnolo-
tionas onemight reasonably hopefor,andtheyarecer- gischeStudien,3) Preis:DM 51,90
tainlyofheuristic value.Theyinclude:otherdenotations Illius'well-documented workbeginswitha general
ofthetermusedforMBD and FZD; patterns ofpost- butalltoobriefdescription ofShipibo-Conibo society, a
marital residence;and preferred and/or actualspouses montaa fishing, hunting, andhorticultural tribeineast-
formaleego.Whatever thetheoretical merits ofthecon- ernPeru.Inhistreatment ofthegroup'ssubsistence acti-
clusionshe eventually draws,thecorrespondences he vitieshe devotesfarmoreattention to hunting andfish-
discovers are worthknowing, forexample,thatCrow ingthanto thecultivation ofmaniocandotheragricul-
are
equations virtually exclusive to the G-speakers, turalproducts, and failsto offer anydiscussion ofwom-
thattheDravidianequationofbothcross-cousins with en'scontribution to Shipibo-Conibo society andideolo-
thecategory of"spouse"predominates amongtheCar- gy.It seems,however,thatin Shipibo-Conibo theory
ibs,Pano, and Yanomama, and that the twocross-cous- hunting andagriculture areinitimately connected. Illius
insare terminologically distinguished onlyin societies writes thatmuchofthegameis caughtbythemenwhile
practising uxorilocal residence. working inthegardensand,moreimportantly, thatthe
I do havetoraiseoneethnographic point ofconten- hunters' preferred hunting territories are abandoned
tion.Hornborg confuses twodistinct populations under gardens.According to Illius,thisis because"die Pfade
thelabel"Caingang."Sincemostofthedataheadduces dortsindohne allzu groeMhe begehbar,die ver-
ontheirsocialforms andideationcomesfroma commu- bliebenenFrchtelockenTiere an, und die Sicht-
nityresident at theDuque de Caxiasreservation in the verhltnisse sindgnstig" (68). Elsewhere inthetropical
BrazilianstateofSantaCatarina,thenthislabelis mis- lowlands ofSouthAmericatheoldgardens aremeantto
this ismore termed " Awei- be used and other animals either in exchange
applied: population properly bygame
koma"or"Xoleng"(cf.D. Hicks,Structural Analysis in forthemeatobtainedbymenoras a wayofcompensat-
Anthropology. Case StudiesfromIndonesiaandBrazil. ingtheanimals'original lossoflandto menduring the
St. Augustin: Anthropos-Institut, 1978:Chap. 1). The clearingoftheforest forplanting. The relationship es-
"Caingang" constitute an altogether more numerous se- tablished by the Indians between hunting and agricul-
riesofcommunities scattered aroundthefoursouthern tureallowsustodefinecertain phasesoftheagricultural
statesofBrazil.Noris thedistinction one ofmereno- processas pertaining properly tothedomainofhunting,
menclature. The Aweikomaare cognaticin theirsocial as somevegetable products - likesomespeciesofyams-
organization and non-lineal in theirrelationship termi- and all theremaining plantsin theabandonedgardens
nology;the Kaingangexhibita two-section systemof areplantedorhavebeenplantedjusttoattract gamean-
termsaccompanied a
by patrilineal/uxorilocal form of imals in the overall exchangepattern established be-
descent/residence. tweenmenand animals.Huntingand agriculture, in
Havingcompleted thiscomparative survey, Horn- fact,seemto pertainto thesameconceptual construc-
borgis thenplacedto advancehis theoretical conclu- tion(on thistopic,see: E. Magaa,Oriony la mujer
sions,the mostfundamental of whichis that"social Plyades.Dordrecht 1988).
structure can onlybe surmised through thesystems of OtherdataobtainedbyIlliusareworthdiscussing
classificationinwhichitis imperfectly reflected, andby herebecauseoftheirrelevance to recentdebatesinthe
which itisindeterminately reproduced" (291).Thisfind- ethnology ofSouthAmerican Indians.He observes, for
ingcontrasts withtheviewsofRodneyNeedham,which instance, thattheShipibo-Conibo huntaloneandrarely
serveHornborg as a sortofdialectic foilbywhichhefor- in groups:and thatwhentheydo formgroupsto hunt
mulatesit,andis baseduponhiscontention thatsocial theyareusually formed bymenrelatedbyconsanguineal
structure is something thatexistsin a moreobjective ties(father andsonseemsto be themostcommon prac-
sensethanthesetheorists wouldconcede.Socialstruc- ticeamongtheShipibo).Thereis, however,no treat-
ture,he wouldconjecture, is "out there"readyto be mentoftheideological and/or cosmological basesofthe
perceived, evenifonlysubjectively and imperfectly. sociological organization of hunting. Like othertribes,
The presentreviewer is notsatisfied thecase has the Shipibo-Conibo use ideationalsymbolic meansto

Anthropos84.1989

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Rezensionen
enhancehuntingabilities,as attestedby the customof
rubbinga bird's eyes upon the hunter'seyes. Again,
however,no discussionof thistopicis offered.Hunters,
as elsewhere,do not carrythe game to the women's
houses but leave it in the canoe where theirwives or
daughtershave to fetchit. Illius observeshere a custom
rarelyconceptualizedin anthropologicalaccounts that
he callstheritualdialoguebetweenhunterand womenin
whichmenpretend,afterarrivingat thevillage,to have
[hunted]onlya smallthing.Accordingto Illius,thisstan-
dardizeddialogue is meantto protectthe huntersfrom
theforestspiritsin whose territories theyhave hunted.
The Shipibomenalso abstainfromeatingfromthegame
theyhave caught.
ThoughIllius does not deal withthe cultivationof
maniocor itsideology,he includessome notesthatcould
add to our understanding of the tribe'sconstructionof
culturalidentity.During the last monthsof pregnancy
women have to observe strictdietaryrestrictions:all
land animals, big fish,and some fruits.Eating them
would resultin a transformation of the foetus.The re-
strictionsalso applyforsome monthsafterbirthand it
wouldseem thatthe same theoryis at work.The trans-
gressionsofthedietaryruleswould resultin an assimila-
tionofthenewbornchildto thenatureofthespecieseat-
en. In fact,theveryfirstfoodreceivedbybabies is mani-
oc beer,masato,thehumanfood.Accordingto Illius' re-
vealingobservation,thedrinking ofmasatorunsparallel
to or contributes to the formationof the baby's identity
sincemasatois made frommanioc,thecharacteristic hu-
man food. "Das Essen von Maniok kennzeichnetden
'richtigenMenschen'" (81). But Illius does not go fur-
therthanrecordingnativeassertionson the rightfood
andoffersno discussionoftheintricaterelationshipsbe-
tweenidentity, kinship,manioc,and moon,as tentative-
ly exploredby P. G. Roe (The Cosmic Zygote. New
Brunswick1982).
In the sectionon shamanismand shamanisticcos-
mology,the authoradds littleto Gebhart-Sayer'sand
Roe's contributions to the subject.The Shipibo-Conibo
worldhas threemain layers.The middlelayeror, on a
horizontalplane, the centreof the world is the actual
Shipiboterritory, a kindof islandsurroundedbywater.
The upperworldis inhabitedby skyspiritsand is con-
nectedto the earthby a tree, a liana, or a ladder. The
watersaroundtheearthare thedomainofani ronin,Boa
mother-of-the-fish, a figurewho playsan importantrole
in Shipibocosmology.The nativetheoryhas it thatthe
lifeprinciple(caya) ofpeople is "digested"byBoa, who
thusreturnsit to the"cosmicenergycircle." "Vielleicht
bestehthier eine Vorstellung,die mitder des 'Seelen-
handels'verwandtist,der Annahme,da Schamanenin
ihrerFunktionals Wahrereines fiktivenkologischen
Gleichgewichts menschlicheSeelen gegen Jagdwild(in
diesemFall Fische)eintauschen"(132) - a commentthat
adds little to Gebhart-Sayer'ssuggestion on Shipi-
bo-Conibo shamanism.(A. Gebhart-Sayer,comment-
ing on Desana shamanism as expounded by Rei-
chel-Dolmatoff, wrotethat"a case forsuchan interrela-
tionbetweencaringand harmingcould be made forthe
Anthropos84.1989
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613
Shipibo-Coniboif it could be shown that the shaman,
while expellingevil forcesfroma patient,intentionally
directsthemto certaintargets[. . .] ratherthanjust dis-
missingthemintospace" [The GeometricDesigns ofthe
Shipibo-Conibo in Ritual Context. Journal of Latin
AmericanLore 11. 1985: 166 f.]. He thenadvanced the
claimthatShipibo shamansattributetheirown sickness
to thosewho are "hittingback.") The underworldis in-
habited by the chai coni, a kind of tribe of ancestors
whosemembersare distinguished frompresent-day men
in thattheyhave no corporalorifices,do not copulate,
and feed themselvesby smellingtobacco smoke and
maniocbeer. The chai coni are Shipibowho have main-
tained a pure culturalidentity- but, again, the author
does not tell us why a closed body could convey this
meaning.(On thispointRoe [1982: 120 f.] offerssome
interesting insightson the bodyorificesas metaphorfor
social constructions.)Some other"good spirits"seem to
inhabitthislayer.The skyof the underworldis peopled
by nai yoshinbo,skypeople, and by Dios Inka. It is in-
terestingto note here thatmanyspiritsare addressedas
God; in fact,"God" seems to be a synonymfornai yo-
shin. Dios Inka lives in a beautifulcity with golden
streetsand a marvellouschemist'sfarmaciawhereearth-
lyshamansdo theirshopping.In thereal underworldlive
the jacoma yoshinbo,the dangerous spiritswho deal
withdeathor withthe dead souls. Waterspiritsare also
fearedas theycause several illnesses.Illius' closingre-
markon shamanismis that shamans mediate between
the different cosmic domains.
A briefchapteron the intriguing and well-known
Shipibo-Conibodesignsincludessome remarkson the
relationshipbetween art and healingpractices,as sha-
mansassociatedesignswithcosmiclayersfromwhichill-
nesses come. In Ayahuasca sessions, straightlines are
associated withthe lower domains and curvilinearpat-
ternswithhigherregions.In healingtechniques,singing
playsan importantrole in that"schne Melodien" heal
by weakeningthe effectsof the cacophonous singingof
malevolentspiritsthatcauses illness.Their singingdis-
turbsthe patient'sown designs.Additionally,in Shipi-
bo-Conibo theorysingingitselfhas healingproperties.
Illius' treatmentof the subject, however,is too brief.
Gebhart-Sayerhad previouslypointedout thatin native
notions"each personcarrieswithinhis body a spiritual
patternrelatedto hiswell-beingand bestowedon himby
hisshaman" (1985: 144). (His briefworkon Shipibosha-
manismand healingtechniquesoffersusefulclues to the
studyof designsand singing,but muchof thisarea de-
serves furtherresearch.) These designs remainwitha
person'ssoul even afterdeath. Healing techniquescon-
sist,then,in restoringto the individualits own internal
designthathas been distortedbythespirits'songs.Geb-
hart-Sayerhad also establishedthat Shipibo shamans
recognizevisual images in songs - a song may indeed
containmore than a hundreddesigns(1985: 162).
The book includes several appendices, a 59 page
Shipibo-Conibo-Germandictionary,a glossary,an ap-
pendixcontainingseveralmythswithbotha literaland a
freetranslation,and a translationof 11 songs. Unfortu-
614 Rezensionen

natelyno indexis included.Illius'book is welldocu- The Claimsof HighTheology"in theformofNilotic,

mented,buta moredetailedandthorough treatment of Christian, and,in a postscript, Islamicinfluences; final-
shamanism anditsimplicationsin Shipibo-Conibo soci- ly,Part3, "TheEbonySpeaks,"looksatthemostprom-
etywouldhavebeenwelcomed.As itis,itseemsto me inentdivinatory ritualand itspractitioners amongthe
that the conclusionof D. W. Lathrap, A. Geb- Uduk.The internal coherenceoftheseparts,whichat
andA.M. MesterthatShipiboshamanism
hart-Sayer, is thefirstglanceappeartodealwithonlylooselyintercon-
a domainthatdeservesmoreintensive study still
holds nectedtopics,consists intheir common, though (as faras
(The Rootsof theShipiboArtStyle.Journalof Latin data and perspectives are concerned)distinct focion
AmericanLore 11. 1985:31-119). For reference pur- "thearchive."One couldsaythatPart2 andPart3 in-
poses,however,thisvolumeis to be welcomed. vestigate howtheelements ofthecultural archive, dis-
EdmundoMagaa cussedinthefirst part,arerevealed(andreassert them-
selvesincontradistinction to thedifferent, oftenthreat-
ening external influences) in the various habitual and
James, Wendy: The ListeningEbony. Moral verbalmanifestations ofUdukmoralandreligious life.
Knowledge, Religion,and PoweramongtheUduk of Part1, as itdealsmostdirectly with"thearchive," con-
Sudan.Oxford:ClarendonPress,1988.xvii+ 391pp., stitutes theintellectual coreofthebook,towhichsubse-
map,photos,fig.Price:40.00 quentdiscussion constantly refers back.WithinPart1,
In '"KwanimPa," WendyJames'first monograph Section(i) ofChapter2 discussesthevariousUdukno-
on theUdukoftheSudan-Ethiopian borderlands (Ox- tionsexpressing theirunderstanding ofthepersonandof
ford1979),theauthorseeksto understand elements of moralandbodilyexperiences; as suchitforms thecentre
socialorganization, myth, and ritualin thelightofthe ofgravity ofthebook.An important placeamongthe
Uduk's(remembrance oftheir)troubledhistory. "The variousnotions ofpersonality isoccupiedbytheconcept
Listening Ebony,"by contrast,is describedin theuseful of arum, and one could say that anunderstanding ofthis
"Introductory Essay"as a studythat"exploreswaysin conceptprovidesthekeyto an understanding ofUduk
whichtheUdukthemselves havelooked,andarelook- philosophy. Hence,an exegesisofthemeaning ofarum
ing, to the future rather than remembering the inUduk thought is taken up at all parts of "The Listen-
past" (2). "As theydo so," Jamescontinues,"they ingEbony"andconstitutes itsAriadnean threadwhichI
drawnotonlyuponthepastas theyconsciously repre- willfollow.
sentit,butalso uponthelong-accumulated cultural de- Numerous Udukstories,as we learninChapter1,
positofunremembered events"(2). In orderto under- on"TheForestandtheAnimals," contain thevisionofa
standthenatureandcomplexity oftheprojectenvisaged primeval gathering ofallthecreatures fora greatdance.
byJamesone has to see thatUdukreligious andmoral As a resultofhostilities arising during thefestivities, hu-
ideasandpractices arequiteeclecticincharacter, as Ni- manbeingsbecamephysically differentiated fromother
lotic,Christian,Moslem,andotherinfluences havebeen creatures; earthandskywereseparated, anddeathbe-
takenup bytheUdukfora longtime.Jamesthenre- camefinal.Thesetales,according toJames,represent a
frainsfrom(re)constructing theUduk religionin the "fragmentary discourse aboutthewayinwhichthepres-
senseofan orthodoxy or theUdukworldinthesenseof enceofarumintheworldcameto taketheformithas"
a coherent tribalcosmos.Rathersheseekstothrow light (39). In bothprimeval, mythical timesand in present
on the Uduk's "receivedelementsof fundamentaltimestheanimating forcearumis seenas theground of
knowledge oftheworldandtheselfwhichliepartly dor- existence ofallmoving creatures. Buttheseparations af-
mantin the'archive'oftheirculture"(3). terthedanceled to an "alienation"of humanbeings
TheimpactofFoucaulton sucha projectis charac- fromarum:todaymanisseparated from thearumofthe
terizedas follows:"Foucault'sgeneralconceptofan ar- wildand,sincedeathwasintroduced, fromthearumof
chive,belowtheleveloftheexplicit statements andfor- thosewhohavedied.Theseideasarereflected inUduk
mulated theory oftheday,persisting a
throughperiod of ritualpractice in two main ways. One focus of ritualis
history and underwriting a certaincoherencethrough thedefensive struggle of humankind againstthewild;
timesofsuperficial change,lendsitselfto ourprojectof thesecondfocusis themaintenance ofa person'svitali-
analysing Uduk moral knowledge. Not describable as a the
ty, repair of itsloss in case of disease, and,ultimate-
whole,perceptible onlyinpart,liketheevidenceofthe ly,theprevention ofthefinaldetachment ofarumfrom
archaeologist, thearchival depository ofculturalrepre- thebody.
sentation neverthelessoffers crucialcluesto anyunder- TheUduk'snotionofthehumanbeingorpersonis,
standing ofthewaythatarticulated creedinitsmostre- as is madeclearin Chapter2, on "Persons,"a rather
centformshas1beenreceivedand reshapedamongthe complexconfiguration ofvariousstrands ofideas.Two
Uduk" (4). vitalnotions (in addition tothe notions of the bodyas the
"The ListeningEbony" consistsof threemain tangible andvisiblepartofthepersonandofbloodas the
parts,whichpresentdatacollectedduringsomefifteen essential carrier oflife)aretheLiver,adu,andtheStom-
months offieldwork inthemid-tolatesixtiesandduring ach,bwa.WhereastheLiveris associatedbyUdukwith
a revisitto thefieldin 1983.Part1 dealswith"The Ar- thespontaneous, passionate innernatureoftheperson-
chiveof a HuntingPeople" and includesa theoretical ality,theStomach is theorganassociated withreflecting
postscript "On MoralKnowledge";Part2 investigates andcontrolled, consciouswilling andthought. Another

Anthropos84.1989

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