Matapu
Mehinaku · numen · Mehinaku traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Matapu is the spirit of the whirled hummer, whose deep roar summons and represents its presence. It is the focus of an important festival that runs for several days, one of the recurring rituals by which the Mehinaku give substance to the invisible spirit-beings and draw them into sociable relation with the village. Like the sacred flutes, the instrument is a body for a spirit rather than a mere object, and its sounding is understood as the being itself made audible.
Domains
- ritual sound
- wind and weather
Powers
- sound the whirling hummer
Sources
- Matapu is the spirit of the hummer, honored in an important ritual lasting three days: Carla D. Stang, A Walk to the River in Amazonia: Ordinary Reality for the Mehinaku Indians (New York: Berghahn Books, 2009) (primary)