Yuruparí: Amazon’s Unique Myth of Creation & Ritual of Passage

The myth and ritual of Yuruparí define the mystical, cosmological, and socio-structural basis of life in different indigenous communities inhabiting the region around the Pirá Paraná River, located in the Amazon rainforest of southeastern Colombia. These include communities such as the Desana, Barasana, Maku, and Tucano. The ritual is one of the most significant cultural practices recorded and researched in the region. Yuruparí refers to both the foundational story about the origins of the world from the local communities’ cultural perspective, as well as the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood for boys.

In 2011, the traditional knowledge of the jaguar shamans of Yuruparí was added to  UNESCO’s Representative List of the World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. This knowledge includes the mythical and cosmological heritage protected by the shamanic practices of different indigenous communities alongside the Pirá Paraná River, located in Colombia and Brazil, and includes tribes from the Guarani, Tukano, and Arawak linguistic families.

The Pirá Paraná River region is the demographic and cultural center of a broader region called the Territory of the Jaguars of Yuruparí, where communities practice specific ceremonial rites and calendric events based on sacred knowledge for the reproduction of their society and the sustainability of their communities’ cultural life and social order.

Yuruparí refers, in its mythical aspect, to the knowledge inherited by an original Yurupari ancestor: the ancient anaconda that once lived as a human being and is now incarnated in traditional Yuruparí ancestral flutes. These flutes are played only by men in rigorous ritual performative structures and have a vital performative role in the ways these communities produce and reproduce their mythological and cosmological structures. When this ritual is executed, knowledge about preserving the body’s health as well as the land is passed to the newly reborn adult males.

The myth of Yuruparí is one of the oldest pre-Columbian works of literature on the American continent, together with the Quiché Maya’s Popol Vuh in Guatemala. Although the mythical narrative of Yuruparí was originally only passed orally from generation to generation, it was first transcribed in the late 19th century by a local of indigenous descent, José Maximino. Italian explorer, researcher, and photographer Count Ermanno Stradelli later translated Maximino’s version into Italian. This is the only original version that remains, as Maximino’s was lost at some point in history.

Stradelli gained an excellent reputation among local indigenous communities because he was not perceived as part of the fanatic missionaries and rubber exploiters and settlers that were harming these territories in the late 19th century. The religious missions that spread throughout the Amazon rainforest in the 19th century structurally devalued and persecuted the indigenous world, as it was considered the product of a savage mind and an obstacle to civilization, but Stradelli defended Yuruparí from accusations that it was a demonic cult.

Stradelli published his translation of the myth of Yuruparí with the Italian Society of Geography to broaden knowledge about the origins and belief systems of these indigenous communities. However, it wasn’t until the 1950s that Pastor Restrepo and Américo Carnicelli translated the Italian version into Spanish. The most consulted and widespread version of the myth is Susana Narváez Salessi’s, published in 1983 by the Caro & Cuervo Institute.

Etymology of Yuruparí

There is no consensus among the historians and anthropologists who have researched the practices related to Yuruparí regarding the word’s actual meaning. However, the most popularized definition was proposed by anthropologist Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff, who determined that the term came from the Tucano language, meaning passage. In Tucano, the combination of the verbs yërësé (pass, transit) and parirí (open, go through) suggest a translation of “going from one state to another,” a puberty ritual and the knowledge and practices associated with it. Stephen Hugh-Jones was another prominent anthropologist interested in the topic and proposed that the meaning of Yuruparí was “the sons of the birds,” as the mythical ancestor narrated in the myth and the names of the instruments used in the ritual are both related to birds.

Since the written version of the myth has been subject to many interpretations from a number of ethnologists researching variations from different communities, the myth does not have a single specific storyline or narrative structure. In the broadest sense, the story addresses life and death and explains the origins of the world and human beings. It teaches about human communion with nature, the structures of society, the prohibition of incest, and some agricultural practices.

Anthropologist Carlos Luis del Cario Silva summarized the various versions of the myth from different ethnologists who tried to reconstruct the story and wrote a version that tells the story of a being born in the Serranía of Tunahi, “the bellybutton of the world.” This entity was neither human, plant, nor animal and was nourished by tobacco smoke. It commits a mistake and is condemned to death and burned alive. Its death marks its passage from the terrestrial world to the celestial world, where it resides as a star and communicates to Earth through thunderstorms. From its ashes, the paxiuba palm tree grows, providing the material to craft the sacred ancestral Yuruparí flutes. Another version of the myth claims that the being in question was chosen to be a shaman, in order to replace matriarchal social rules with “more ordered” patriarchal ones.

The Ritual Practice of Yuruparí

Every year in this area of the Amazon Rainforest, one of the most prominent ethnographic events related to rituals takes place. The rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, also called Yuruparí, marks a moment where different mythological and cosmological stories are re-enacted and remembered as a means to preserve their culture. Other roles of the ritual include the control of sexual behavior, the prohibition of incest, and the maintenance of male dominance over women. As in many other cultures around the world, a direct transition from childhood to adulthood shows that puberty is not considered a separate phase in life. Instead, leaving childhood means being granted a reproductive role in society. Boys start preparing for this ritual when they turn 9 or 10 years old. Every day they go to the river and wash themselves and eat pepper leaves as a practice of daily purification.

When boys reach 16 to 18 years of age, the ritual of Yuruparí should start. The shamans from neighboring malocas (traditional houses) gather and arrange several ritual activities. One of the most important is the crafting of traditional sacred flutes, also called Yuruparí—which were considered demonic by 17th-century missionaries in the region. Once the boys to be initiated are in the maloca, the elders begin playing the flutes. Once the sounds of the instruments can be heard, women must leave, due to a strict rule that prohibits them from seeing or hearing the sacred instruments. When finished, the men hide the flutes again and return to the maloca. Men also hunt and fish, give food to different participants, and dance together for as long as four consecutive days. At this stage, women can take a more active role in the dancing.

Although the ritual of Yuruparí has been condemned as demonic for decades, it has prevailed until the present day. Several communities still practice it every year. However, its role in the preservation of male domination over women in these communities has brought to the table a debate on whether Yuruparí is a misogynistic practice that local communities should reevaluate. This is still an open debate.

Moreover, the significance of the myth and ritual of Yuruparí extends beyond local communities and is now part of the World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. The myth and ritual of Yuruparí stands as a profound cultural cornerstone of the Amazon indigenous communities of the Pirá Paraná River in the Vaupés area of the Amazon Rainforest. It highlights how non-Westernized societies have been able to preserve their mythical stories as the basis for establishing ecological relationships between humans, non-humans, and their environment, and how, through the celebration of rituals, societies can preserve their traditional knowledge amidst contemporary threats related to deforestation and mining. Despite this, maintaining their ritualistic practices ensures a sustainable and balanced relationship with the rainforest today.