Wai-Wai people

The Wai-wai (or Waiwai) are an ethnic group of Guyana and northern Brazil.

The Wai-wai in Guyana live in the far south of the country, near the headwaters of the Essequibo River.

The Umana Yana in Georgetown, Guyana, takes its name from the Wai-Wai for "meeting place".

There are approximately 200 Wai-wai in Guyana and 2000 in Brazil. In Brazil, they mostly reside in Terra Indígena Wai-wai, Terra Indígena Trombetas-Mapuera and Terra Indígena Nhamundá-Mapuera.

Shamanism

The "yaskomo" of the Waiwai (called also medicine man or shaman in the literature) is believed to be able to perform a soul flight. The soul flight can serve several functions:
* healing
* flying to the sky to consult cosmological beings (the moon or the brother of the moon) to get a name for a new-born baby
* flying to the cave of "peccaries' mountains" to ask the "father of peccaries" for abundance of game
* flying deep down in a river, to achieve the help of other beings.Thus, a yaskomo is believed to be able to reach sky, erth, water, in short, every element.Fock 1963: 16]

Notes

References

*

External links

*
*
*