The Jaguar
Nivaclé · numen · Nivaclé traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
The Jaguar is the great predator of Nivaclé myth, at once feared hunter and, in the mythic age, a keeper of coveted goods such as fire, which is wrested from it for humankind. A jaguar-like beast of the sky is also blamed for eclipses, seizing the sun or moon until people make noise to frighten it away.
Domains
- predation
- fire origin
Powers
- keeps fire until it is wrested away
- seizes the sun or moon in eclipse
Sources
- The Jaguar is the great predator of Nivaclé myth, a keeper of fire in the mythic age and, as a sky beast, the cause of eclipses.: Wilbert, Johannes & Karin Simoneau (eds.), Folk Literature of the Nivaklé Indians (1987). (secondary); Métraux, Alfred, 'Ethnography of the Chaco,' Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 1 (1946). (secondary)