Huni Kuin Murici

Huni Kuin – Kaxinawa Tribe

Until 1946, the Kaxinawá of Peru remained isolated in the virgin forest, far from the rivers navigated by traders. They preferred independence and isolation to dependence that implied greater access to metal weapons and tools. Through the Yaminawa they achieved some things, until in the mid-1940s they decided they needed more and sent a six-man team to the Taraya River for direct negotiations.

Over time, the Kaxinawá made the decision to seek contact with civilization, a decision with profound consequences, which was questioned by the Kaxinawá themselves, who a generation earlier had opted for the opposite position. In this region, even today, ethnic groups live, Pano and Arawak linguistic groups, who avoid any contact with non-indigenous society.

The Kaxinawá claim that the true shamans, the mukaya, those who had in themselves the bitter and shamanic substance called muka, died, but that fact does not prevent them from practicing other forms of shamanism, considered less powerful but which seem equally efficient. Abilities such as communicating with yuxin are the domain of many adults, especially older ones.

So we could both say that there are no shamans to say that there are many. An outstanding characteristic of Kaxinawá shamanism is the importance of discretion in relation to the possible ability to cure or cause disease. The invisibility and ambiguity of this power is linked to its transience. The use of ayahuasca, considered the privilege of the shaman in many Amazonian groups, is a collective practice among the Kaxinawá, lived by all adult men and adolescents who wish to know “the world of ayahuasca.”

The mukaya would be one who does not need any substance, any external help to communicate with the invisible side of reality. For the Kaxinawá, the person is composed of flesh (or body) and yuxin. Animals have a body side and a yuxin side, as do plants. Among animals there are those with strong and dangerous yuxin, and others with juxtaction power. The specialty of the huni dahya (man with sweet medicine, herbalist) is not usually combined with that of the huni mukaya (shaman).

The learning process of the herbalist is very different from that of the shaman. Unless poisonous leaves are involved, the herbalist is not subject to fasting and can carry out normal hunting and marital activities. He acquires his knowledge by learning from another specialist and requires great memory and perception. The first sign that someone may be a shaman, to develop a relationship with the world of the yuxin, is failure in hunting.

The shaman develops such great familiarity with the animal world (or with the juxtapositions of animals), that when he manages to dialogue with them, he can no longer kill them. Therefore, the shaman does not eat meat and not only for emotional reasons. The inability to eat meat is also linked to muka, to the change in smell and palate of the person with muka matured in their heart. The taste and smell of the meat becomes bitter.

Shamanic Initiation

There are several ways to start shamanism. Some are the result of a deliberate search on the part of the apprentice, others occur spontaneously due to the initiative of the yuxin. The presence of the muka in the heart of the apprentice, a sine qua non for any exercise of shamanic power, ultimately depends on the will of the yuxin.

Linguistic confusions:

Since the first reports of travelers about the area, there has been confusion with the names of ethnic groups that persists to this day. The names do not reflect a consensus between the denominators and the denominated. The denominator Pano calls (almost) everyone else as nawa, and himself and his relatives as huni kuin. Thus, the Kulina were called pisinawa (“those who stink”) by the Kaxinawá, while the Paranawa called the same Kaxinawá de pisinawa. The name Kaxinawá itself could have originally been a pejorative. Kaxi means bat, cannibal, but it can also mean people with the habit of walking at night.