Tamakafi

Tamakafi is the hero of a Kalapalo narrative of combat and endurance among the beings of the mythic world. His story, told with its embedded songs, sets a mortal against a formidable adversary and turns on the courage and skill by which he prevails. He stands with the other human protagonists of Kalapalo tradition whose deeds are recounted in performance rather than treated as acts of creation.

Domains

• warrior heroism

Powers

• Overcomes a dangerous adversary

Sources

• Tamakafi is a named hero of a Kalapalo narrative performance recorded by Basso.: Kalapalo narration transcribed in Ellen B. Basso, A Musical View of the Universe: Kalapalo Myth and Ritual Performances (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985) (primary)