Xapiri Bruce Albert Analysis

This video “Xapiri” by Bruce Albert observes the xamãs Yamomami or the shamans of the Yamomami tribe in their spiritual ritual involving the use of a plant produced from the resin of the Virola tree. “At the beginning of time, Father Sun practiced incest with his daughter, who acquired Viho by scratching her father’s penis.”1 This is considered as a “sacred snuff from the sun’s semen, and since it is still hallowed, it is kept in containers called muhipu-nuri, or ‘penis of the sun.’”1 It is a hallucinogen that enables one to consult the spirit world.1 Popularly used among shamans of different tribes, the shamans are only able to contact other spiritual forces through the good graces of Viho-mahse.1 Although there are sixty species of the Virola
plant spread throughout the tropical forests of the New World, it is used in only the western Amazon and adjacent parts of the Orinoco basin that this group has been used as the source of a sacred drug.1 “The snuff is apparently most highly prized and most deeply involved in aboriginal life among the sundry Indian tribes collectively called Waiká in the upper Orinoco of Venezuela and the northern affluent of the Rio Negro of Brazil.”1 One of the groups include the Yamomami tribe that was featured in the video. “They refer to the snuff as Epena, Ebena, Nyakwana, and other variants of this term.”1 For purposes of this essay, “Nyakwana” will be used to refer to the sacred snuff. “usually, all male members of the group above the ages of thirteen or fourteen may participate.
The hallucinogen is often snuffed in frighteningly excessive amounts and, in at least one annual ceremony, constantly over a two- or three-day period.”1 In the Xapiri video, the Nyakwana is used as a powder since it is shown that the shamans blow the Nyakwana through a long tube into the other’s nostrils. Since the Yamomami is located around southeastern Venezuela and northern Brazil, it is safe to assume that the way they prepare the Nyakwana is by felling trees and peeling off long strips of bark from the Virola tree.1 After this occurs, a plentiful amount of liquid flows out while almost immediately turning blood red accumulates on the inner surface of the bark.1 The strips are then gently heated and the “resin” is gathered by the shamans in an earthen ware pot that is then set on fire.1 The liquid is then reduced to a thick syrup and then sun-dried.1 The final product results in a crystalized, beautiful, amber-red solid that is very carefully ground to a refined powder-like consistency.1 The fine-powdered Nyakwana snuff product can be then used directly or mixed with the pulverized leaves of Justicia in order to make the smell
better.1 In the beginning of the video of Xipiri, a beautiful array of different plants is covered in a bright red pigment followed by apparitions of the Yamomami people walking through the forests of red. This red pigment may be referring to the red color of the Virola resin after it is extracted and oxidized in the air. A few minutes after, the men of the tribe are shown decorating themselves in a variety of patterns. Although a black pigment is used, the most astounding is the beautiful bright red color they use to cover their bodies. It is safe to assume that this is also the use of the Virola resin. As previously mentioned, the shamans are sniffing Nyakwana through a long tube. The video appears very out of focus and various chanting and singing accompanies the ritual that the shamans are currently partaking. This is most likely is where the shamans are first trying to connect with the spirit world through the Virola resin. The very “out of focus” effects may resemble how one would feel under the effects of the Nyakwana. Women and children are shown all together under a tent in a different part of the video adorned with the same paint, but lacking the red Virola resin and not participating in the smoking of the snuff. Later on in the video, the men and shamans are gathered outside in a group in front of an idol that most likely represents a spirit. They are adorned with beautiful bright red feathers and a solitary person, that appears to be possessed, dances and mimics the noises of animals or dances with an arrow in his hand. Most likely under the influence of the Nyakwana, this may be a way they are communicating with the spirits or possibly telling a story of the animals and the hunt. The most interesting part of the video was towards the end where the shamans appear to be prying something from their chest and giving it to another shaman who accepts the offering and puts it in his chest. Based on the other videos and readings in class, this may be a way that the shamans either give the power or healing power they have received from the spirits to the other person, or it is a way to show how they are all connected to the plants and animals around them since they are chanting in the language of the trees. The video describes the interesting relationship between the Yamomami shamans and the spirits. Vague evidence has shown that the shamans of Venezuela may smoke the bark of V. Sebifera ‘at dances when curing fevers’ or may boil and drink the bark of the plant as liquor ‘to drive away evil spirits’.1 Constantly under the influence of the Nyakwana, they are able to freely communicate with the” Xapiri” spirits, and connect with them in a way that would be impossible without the help of the plant. Whether it is wearing the plant in traditional costume, using the refined powder for ritualistic or medicinal purposes, or ingesting the powder in a variety of ways to communicate with the spirit world, it is apparent that the Virola plant, no matter what species is used, is critical in the customs of the aboriginals of the Waiká in southeastern Venezuela and northern Brazil.