Gaimo
Uitoto · numen · Uitoto traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Gaimo is the devouring jaguar of the Uitoto origin cycle, the predator whose slaying of the Dawn Sun leaves Jitoma and Kechatoma orphaned. As the archetypal man-eater of the early world he embodies the danger of the forest night and the disorder that the sun-heroes must overcome; their long vengeance culminates in his destruction, an act that helps clear the world of its primordial monsters and prepares the ordered succession of day. The jaguar-antagonist is a recurrent figure of the twin-hero narratives across the northwest Amazon, and Uitoto tellings give the role to Gaimo.
Domains
- predation
- underworld
Powers
- devours human and divine prey
Epithets
- el jaguar devorador — the devouring jaguarNative Languages of the Americas. 'Witoto Legends'. native-languages.org. (secondary)
Relations
- enemy: Monairue JitomaSlays the Dawn Sun.Native Languages of the Americas. 'Witoto Legends'. native-languages.org. (secondary)
- enemy: JitomaDestroyed by the avenging orphans.Candre Yamakuri, Hipólito & Juan Álvaro Echeverri. 2015. 'Historia de los Huérfanos del Sol'. Mundo Amazónico 6(1). (primary)
Sources
- Gaimo is the man-eating jaguar of the origin cycle who slays the solar father and is in turn destroyed by the avenging orphan sun-heroes.: Candre Yamakuri, Hipólito & Juan Álvaro Echeverri. 2015. 'Historia de los Huérfanos del Sol'. Mundo Amazónico 6(1). (primary); Native Languages of the Americas. 'Witoto Legends'. native-languages.org. (secondary)