Kashinawa - Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Traditionally, the Kashinawa were animists, believing that all of nature, including humans, has an invisible, spiritual component called yushin. Humans have the right to use the visible, physical part of the world. Spirits use the invisible part. Spirits, like humans, can be capricious and playful or mean and spiteful. They can be seen during dreams, while unconscious, and while under the influence of the hallucinogen nishi pae, a brew made of the vine Banisteriopsis and a species of the shrub Psychotria. Men imbibe a pint or more of the brew in order to communicate with the spirits and learn the causes of illness or of matters occurring elsewhere in time and/or space that will have an impact on their lives. The teachings of Catholic and Protestant missionaries have introduced new religious ideas but have not eliminated these traditional beliefs.

Religious Practitioners. Although all individuals could and sometimes did interact with spirits, only shamans could do so with relative impunity. They served as mediators between members of the community and the spirit world.

Ceremonies. The Kashinawa have three primary ceremonies: initiation rites ( nixpu pimai ), fertility rites ( kachanawa ), and the headman's ritual ( chidin ). Initiation rites are a monthlong series of rituals held every four or five years during the "green corn moon" (between the late December full moon and the full moon of January) to initiate children between the ages of 9 and 12 into adulthood. Children, who are considered adults following the rites, are permitted to participate in the other rituals and are expected to begin to take on adult responsibilities. Fertility rites are held one or more times a year to attract the spirits of fertility to the village and to new gardens. The headman's ritual is held whenever tensions within the village threaten the social fabric; it emphasizes the unity of the men.

Medicine. The Kashinawa have no extensive knowledge of the efficaciousness of herbal medicines ( bata dau, "sweet medicine"). Some men, huni bata dauya, have special knowledge and provide herbal treatment when asked. Illnesses not responsive to herbal remedies are thought to be caused by spirits and may be treated by a shaman ( huni muka dauya, "man with bitter medicine").

Death and Afterlife.

At death, some of a person's spirits die with him or her. One relives the life of the individual and ultimately dissipates into the mist in the forest. Others join the spirits of the ancestors, occasionally returning to visit the living.