46 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 9 



Shamanism is still an important part of Terena 

 belief. The Terena still speak with awe of their 

 famous shamans who, in the past, performed great 

 miracles. In a sense, these old shamans have be- 

 come legendary culture heroes, symbols of Terena 

 unity and past greatness. Although they admit 

 that present-day shamans do not have as much 

 power as the shamans of old, they believe that the 

 shamans of today can cure sickness and can dem- 

 onstrate their powers. Many Terena, although 

 members of either the Catholic or Protestant 

 church, attend shamanistic performances. An 

 interesting feature of present shamanism and one 

 which shows Christian influence is the fact that 

 some of the shamans attach a cross to the handle 

 of the hi'pahe. In addition, the olu'o''koti is given 

 on the 19th of April, the internationally recognized 

 "Indian Day." Thus while Terena shamanism 

 may have lost much of its meaning in competi- 

 tion with Christianity and white man's medicines 

 and technology, shamanism is, along with the 

 Terena language, a strong link with the past, an 

 element which is still specifically Terena and one 

 which gives the Terena a feeling of social and 

 cultural unity. 



Although the Terena have no clear record of 

 missionary activity among the tribe from the date 

 of their arrival in Brazil until about 1910, per- 

 sonal histories show that many old Terena w^ere 

 baptizetl and consitlered themselves Christians. 

 We know that before the establishment of the 

 Post, the Terena worked on the fazendas and that 

 the Catholic fathers wandered from farm to farm 

 in their oflicial capacity, baptizing, marrying, and 

 holding religious services even as they do in Mato 

 Grosso today. Terena farm laborers, therefore, 

 came under the influence of the "padres" quite 

 early and it is most likely that the priests visited 

 Terena villages from their headquarters in Campo 

 Grande, Miranda, and Aquidauana. Although no 

 statistics exist, it is more than probable that most, 

 if not all, of the Terena were nominally Christians 

 by 1900. 



In 1910 a number of English Protestant mission- 

 aries, belonging to the Inland South American 

 Missionary Union, visited the Terena led by Henry 

 Whittington, who, in 1913, returned to establish 

 the first permanent mission at Bananal. Along 

 with his missionary activities, Whittington began 

 teaching the Terena children to read and write 



Portuguese. He appears to have made a favorable 

 impression, for the Terena speak about him even 

 today. 



When the "Servi^o de Prote^fio aos Indios" es- 

 tablished the Post at Bananal in 191G it brought 

 the Terena together and made Catholic missionary 

 activity among them more effective. Around 1920 

 the English Protestants apj^ear to have withdi'awn 

 their mission. By 1925 American Protestant mis- 

 sionaries-, belonging to the South American Indian 

 Mission, had established a mission and scliool at 

 Bananal where a missionary, a teacher, and a nurse 

 are still active. In 1930 an American branch of 

 the Redemptorist Catholic mission was established 

 at Aquidauana, from where the fathers make pe- 

 riodic visits to the Tei-ena villages. 



In addition to the regidar activities of the Amer- 

 ican Protestant and Catholic missionaries, the 

 Brazilian nuns in Aquidauana organize saint's day 

 celebrations among the Indians. A popular saint- 

 among the Terena is Saint Sebastian. Being a 

 martyr he is represented bound to a tree with an 

 arrow in his side. The arrow may have something 

 to do with the selection of this saint to serve In- 

 dian needs. Among Brazilian Catholics, Saint 

 Sebastian provides protection against hunger, 

 sudden death, and pests. A month before Saint 

 Sebastian's day the nuns prepare a banner 

 mounted on a staff showing the figure of the saint. 

 This banner is then presented to the village of 

 Ipegue, near Bananal, where the Indians are pre- 

 dominantly Catholic. The Indians begin their 

 procession from Ipegue and after visiting all the 

 Terena villages they end up in Aquidauana on 

 Saint Sebastian's day, where the final celebration 

 takes place. 



During the procession the bearer of the banner 

 walks in front, followed by a man playing a vif)lin, 

 two drummers, and, behind these, the singers and 

 the faithful. The procession stops in front of 

 each house and the people sing. The banner bearer 

 then asks shelter for Saint Sebastian. The owner 

 offers shelter and gives alms to every member in 

 the procession. Wherever the procession happens 

 to stop for the night a dance takes place. Some 

 of the money received is spent on food. During the 

 night dancing is periodically interrupted by pray- 

 ers to Saint Sebastian. The procession continues 

 in this manner until it reaches Aquidauana, where 

 more dancing and praying take place. 



