Piai'mã
Macuxi · numen · mythic prehistoric · numen
Piai'mã ('great shaman') is the ogre of the Makunaima cycle shared by the Macuxi, Taurepang and Arekuna of the circum-Roraima region. A cannibal giant who carries victims off in his basket, he kills and cuts up Makunaima, who is restored to life by his brothers; the heroes in turn trick and destroy Piai'mã, and in some tellings the powers and chants of shamanism derive from him. The figure entered Brazilian literature as the giant Piaimã of Mário de Andrade's Macunaíma.
Domains
- shamanic power
Powers
- to hunt and devour human beings
- to wield the original arts and chants of the shaman, later taken from him by the hero brothers
Relations
- enemy: Makunaima (Macuxi recension)