The One and the Many

This chapter explores the meanings of “Body” in relation to one of the most important spirits in Hohodene cosmology, the “Owner of Sickness and Sorcery”, Kuwai. In my interpretation, I seek to unravel multiple layers of meaning related to this figure by utilizing native exegeses that connect narratives, graphic representations (including petroglyphs), shamanic cures and visions, sacred geography, and sacred chants. I hope to show that Hohodene notions of Person, Cosmos, Ontology, and History are intertwined in an all-encompassing multiplicity of living entities into one material and spiritual Body. Sonic imagery, directly connected to sacred places; sorcery and shamanic powers; and a rigorous ethic of resistance to pain are among the principal features of the enigmatic being of Kuwai, the first ancestor of humanity and the body of their Universe. “I am Kuwai, you [pointing to step-son] are Kuwai, you [pointing to me, the researcher] are Kuwai” (José Cornelio, 1976)