by Pedro Fernandes Leite da Luz
translated to English by Joshua Callaghan
This paper is the fruit of a twenty day stay in four different villages of the Hupda population, known as the Maku, located in the region between the Japu and Uaupés rivers in the northwest Amazon. Recently settled as a result of contact with western society and the influence of Salesian missionaries (a Catholic order), the Hupda have small, incipient fields, but they are skilled hunters and specialists in the collection and cultivation of psychoactive and poisonous plants used not only by themselves but also by other neighbouring groups with whom they interact. It is about these plants that I write, specifically, those related to Banisteriopsis caapi in the Hupda cosmology.
Patu
Erythroxylum coca var. ipadu is known by the Hupda as "Patu" and
is used daily. There are three distinct types: Ipadu de Peixe, Ipadu de
Pau, and Ipadu Abiú. These are valued according to flavour, Abiú
being the strongest. Close to all Hupda villages in the region you encounter
small fields with enough mature Patu plants for the Hupda's traditional
use of the species. Starting at 4:30 pm the sound of the "pilão"
(wooden mortar and pestle) can be heard in almost all of the households.
The recently collected Patu leaves, dried in a manioc toasting pan, are
beaten and the resulting powder is mixed with ashes of dried Embaúba
(Cecropria sp.) leaves. The final product is then sifted through cloth to
be taken orally in doses of a teaspoonful, or more, at a time in the "roda
dos homens" (the circle of men). The events of the day are discussed.
Taking Patu has an important role in the socialisation of the Hupda men,
acting as a stimulant while they relate to each other the trails used in
hunting, discuss problems affecting the group, or organise a party. These
conversations last from 5:00pm to 10:00 pm. When the Patu prepared for the
day is finished, the Hupda begin preparing for sleep, which they will all
be doing by midnight. In spite of testimonies by the Hupda of persecution
by the Brazilian Federal Police because of their use of Patu, they do not
want to give it up because they recognise the medicinal and stimulant virtues
of the plant.
Patu is also important in the preparations for the ingestion of "Carpi" (Banisteriopsis Caapi), because it allows the shaman to acquire the mental state and the physical purification necessary for the Carpi ceremony. Patu is chewed in great quantities while fasting for several days before the ceremony. The Hupda frequently associate the two plants, Carpi and Patu, considering both to be "professors" which emerged together when the world was created.
Xenhet
Another related plant, used simultaneously with Carpi is "Xenhet",
a red powder made from trees of the genus Virola. The Hupda utilize two
species: Virola theiodora and Virola calophylla, and consider this plant
to be Carpi's relative. Xenhet is at the same time a tree, a powder made
from the tree, and an "enchanted being." This being, the "Xenhet",
is considered to be a man about eight centimetres tall who, when the shaman
inhales the powder for the first time, starts living in the shaman's ear.
Here he teaches the shaman about the visions and knowledge which come from
"Carpi" consumption. The Xenhet is seen as the son of everyone
who has sniffed him but his help and teachings can be invoked even without
inhaling the powder; all you have to do is call him affectionately and he
will answer. Extremely valued by the Hupda, the use of Xenhet is fundamental
for those who want to be a shaman. Only with Xenhet's help can someone be
successful in understanding Carpi's effects and become a healer. The powder
must be acquired from an experienced shaman who will teach the apprentice
about its use and preparation. The apprentice then becomes indebted to the
shaman for favours and gifts which he must honour under penalty of death.
Indeed, the shaman who has not been satisfactorily paid for his Xenhet can
blow in the direction of the apprentice and cause him to die within three
days.
The tree is well known and common in the region occupied by the Hupda and the preparation of the powder is simple and known by all Hupda men. The bark of the Virola is cut 50cm from the ground, a piece 40cm wide and 1.2 metres long is then stripped from the trunk. The exuded resin is put in cold water where it solidifies, later being dried, pulverized, and mixed with tobacco snuff to be inhaled. Even given the high esteem and the enthusiastic terms with which the Hupda refer to Xenhet, and in spite of the recognized strength of its effects, Xenhet is thought of as an auxiliary entity to Carpi.
Carpi
For the Hupda, Carpi existed at the time of creation, in the "Parmuridúi"
when humanity emerged. Carpi formed the bones of the first man, the ancestor
of all Hupda. In this way Carpi can be seen as a distinctive legacy of the
Hupda. They say that by having the Carpi body they share the knowledge that
it has, thus justifying their alleged superiority in knowledge of the world
in relation to other peoples. Indeed, in Hupda culture, Carpi is the principal
vehicle for attaining wisdom. Identified in another myth with the veins
of the "sloth man", the "owner of caxiri" (a fermented
drink made from manioc), Carpi metaphorically represents the strength and
the vital sustenance which enables the user to learn and grow.
In taking Carpi the Hupda first see "how the world moves," as they say, which means the reason for the creation of the world, how it was done, and the laws which govern its workings. Carpi reveals the "movement" of all things, the reasons they exist, and the role they play in the great cosmic drama. Under the effects of Carpi everything acquires life. Even a rock or a piece of firewood reveals its true identity. Everything appears as if it were human and that is the hidden aspect of being which is revealed to whoever drinks Carpi. To obtain knowledge, to be intelligent and have good vision and discernment, it is necessary to take Carpi and to learn from it the true form and meaning of all things. In spite of being the same plant, Banisteriopsis caapi, the Hupda distinguish seven different types of Carpi in accord with the maturity of the plant, the part used and the general appearance of the vine, e.g. if it is smooth, if it has knots, if it is twisted, etc. Each type has its own specific use. For instance, there is one which is drunk to learn, another to give knowledge, another is a stimulant to be taken before work or war, one is used to relate and listen to the tribal myths, and finally, those which are used for dancing at parties and for healing.
To ingest Carpi with the goal of having good visions, one must observe certain procedures. For some days beforehand one cannot eat anything roasted, salted, warm, or prepared by a menstruating woman. It is necessary to clean the body repeatedly by taking an emetic drink, as well as by maintaining sexual abstinence. According to the use for which the vine is being prepared, the plant additives are changed, but generally the preparation is similar. The vine is scraped and the bark, the only part utilised, is put in a pan of water to cook while the other desired plants are added. As soon as the liquid boils the pan is removed from the fire and left to sit in the sun. The Hupda believe that the sun has an active role in the "birth" of the Carpi, by boiling and cooking it. Both the preparation and the ingestion of Carpi take place far from the eyes of women and children, otherwise the drinker may get sick. The vine is cultivated and harvested by the shaman, or by a dancer, who must always be the oldest of his sibling group. The oldest brother brings the vine, tied in a bundle, and drops it at the entrance to the "maloca" (communal hut) and sings and dances around the vine before its preparation.
In the Dabacouri celebration (ritual exchange between siblings and/or village), the drink is ingested by the dancers so that they will "lose their shame", chanting and dancing to meet the expectations of the village. The songs, in these cases, have as their objective the fertility and growth of animals and fruits. When the effects of Carpi start to be felt, the Hupda encourage each other by saying: "It's started, we must be strong, we must be men," and eventually they discuss the visions they are having. In these situations, the Carpi is used not as an end in itself but as a tool, a necessary aid to the harmony of the song and the dance.
"Huamp Carpi", on the other hand, is used by the shaman to heal and is drunk for its capacity to show sickness and its causes. Under the effects of "Huamp Carpi" the shaman sees illness in the form of a venomous substance foreign to the patient, and also sees who has sent the illness. The shaman sucks the back of the left hand of the patient, taking away his/her evil, meaning the cause of the illness, an invisible poison which the shaman then spits away. The illness, however, can't be left there alone where it could contaminate someone else passing by. So the Shaman then takes the illness in his hand, as if it were solid, and puts it in a magical invisible bag. To drink Carpi is also thought of as a preventative medicine, turning the blood of the drinker bitter, thus making him immune to any external aggression. During the healing ceremonies, a specific song is sung which lists different flowers from which water comes to extinguish the fire which represents illness.
Those who want to be good hunters also drink this kind of Carpi which will show where to find game and how not to be perceived by them. Therefore, the Carpi plays an important role in Hupda society as the principal medicine and also the primary conduit for all tribal knowledge which is acquired directly through its use or through the oral transmission of the elders under its effects in specific ceremonies with this goal. To the Carpi are added various plants such as tobacco, whose leaves are mixed into the drink and whose smoke blown above the liquid to avoid any evil influence, as well as other plants depending on the use intended. Among the traditional additive plants, are Diplopterys cabrerana, Psychotria viridis and Vismia guienensis (in Hupda "Há Routen"). It is dried, pulverized, and added to the 'Carpi for dance' during boiling. Nampiá, a species of the genus Spathiphyllum of the Araceae family, serves both for the 'Carpi for dance' and the shaman's Carpi. It is believed that this plant offers particularly bright visions, being even stronger than Carpi. The men rub their bodies with its scented leaves as a spell to conquer women. The Hupda regard both plants, "Há Routen" and "Nampiá", as psychoactives, but I am not familiar with any conclusive psychochemical studies on these species.
The use of psychoactive plants is clearly important to the Hupda, re-enforcing social links and distinctive beliefs, representing a factor of social cohesion, of transmission and reproduction of the tribal wisdom, but being restricted to the male sphere of the society.
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