Kun Kaze Ambra

Kun Kaze Ambra, the 'Smoke Woman', is the spirit familiar through whom the Maring communicate with the spirit world, and above all with the red spirits of the high ground. She takes possession of a male medium when he smokes strong native tobacco to the point of trance and collapse; speaking through him, she reveals the causes of illness and misfortune, the demands of the spirits, and the counsel sought before warfare and ritual. Associated with smoke, with the high ground, and with the red spirits she serves as intermediary, the Smoke Woman is the pivot of Maring divination and the chief means by which the living learn the will of the dead.

Domains

• divination and mediumship
• the high forest

Powers

• possesses the smoke man
• reveals the demands of the spirits
• diagnoses the causes of illness

Epithets

• kun kaze ambra — smoke womanRappaport, Roy A. (1999). Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (secondary)

Relations

• companion: Rawa MugiShe is the intermediary through whom the living reach the red spirits of the high ground.Rappaport, Roy A. (1999). Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (secondary)
• companion: Kun Kaze YuShe takes possession of the smoke man and speaks through him.Rappaport, Roy A. (1968). Pigs for the Ancestors. New Haven: Yale University Press. (primary)

Sources

• Kun Kaze Ambra, the 'Smoke Woman', is the spirit familiar who possesses a male medium when he smokes strong tobacco, and through whom the Maring communicate with the spirit world, above all the red spirits, to learn the causes of illness and the demands of the dead.: Rappaport, Roy A. (1999). Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (secondary); Rappaport, Roy A. (1968). Pigs for the Ancestors. New Haven: Yale University Press. (primary)