KARSTK.N] BLOOD REVENGE, WAR, AND VICTORY FEASTS 41 



sible and consists only of the palm top {tingimi)^ which is eaten 

 roasted, of boiled and mashed manioc (nauma), and of the smallest 

 kinds of fish caught in the rivers (sardines, chu?nakai, and another 

 kind of small fish, shdchma). These may be boiled or roasted, but 

 must be eaten without addition of other kinds of food. 



The wife and daughter of the slayer must also fast. Their food 

 during the period in question consists principally of beans and of 

 the leaves of a forest plant which the Jibaros call epo. 



If the slayer infringes these rules the consequences for him will 

 be fatal. He will soon die; he will not be able to kill any more 

 enemies or to celebrate other tsantsa feasts. Even his nearest rela- 

 tives will die through sickness or accidents, one after another.^ His 

 domestic animals, instead of increasing and flourishing, will pine 

 away and die. The manioc, plantain, and other domestic plants 

 will dry awaj' and produce no fruits. In all his undertakings he 

 will be unlucky. In one word, the effects of the trophy will be 

 directly contrary to those generally expected from its supernatural 

 power. All this is caused by the spirit of the murdered enemy 

 {Lvakdni). The revengeful ghost, who takes no rest, follows his 

 slayer everywhere, always looking for an opportunity to kill or harm 

 him. and the latter believes that he meets him especially in dreams. 

 Generally the wakdni meets him in the shape of an Indian armed with 

 a lance, with which he is continually trying to kill him. But the spirit 

 also appears to him in other shapes, especially in the shape of a black 

 monkey, a deer,** a bear, or some other hairy animal of the forest. 

 This is one of the reasons why the slayer does not, during the critical 

 time, go out wandering in the forest. The umkdni can here in many 

 ways threaten his life. If, for instance, he wanders to the verge of 

 a precipice at the bank of a river the revengeful demon may take an 

 opportunity to push him over the precipice. He also may cause a 

 tree or a branch to fall upon him in the forest and crush him. If 

 he wears a lance or a knife the spirit may cause his death with 

 these weapons. If he tries to shoot a bird or an animal with blow- 

 pipe and poisoned arrows the enemy may cause the arrow to hit the 

 slayer lymself. For the same reason he has to be extremely careful 

 in other respects. If, for instance, he has intercourse with his wife 

 or some other woman, it maj' happen that the ivakdni, who is con- 



5 Every death tbat takes place within the family of the slayer during the time follow- 

 ing the killiuK of the enemy is set down to the secret operation of the revengeful spirit 

 {tcakdni). At a feast where I was present the slayer told me that within his family seven 

 persons had died of mysterious diseases or through accidents during the two years which 

 had elapsed since he killed his enemy. This u-akdni, therefore, was considered to have 

 been a particularly bad one. 



' The deer, according to the idea of the Jibaros, is the incarnation of a demon 

 (iguancM) , one of the most dangerous animal demons they know. The Jibaros, therefore, 

 never eat the flesh of the deer or even touch it with their hands. 



2119°— 23 4 



