Mã
Xavante · numen · Xavante traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Mã, the greater rhea, is the fire-bearer of the Xavante fire-theft myth. When Buru'õtõre the swallow snatches the falling flame from the air, it is Mã who takes it up and carries it onward, completing the relay by which fire is brought from the jaguar to the Xavante. The rhea's role beside the swallow makes the acquisition of fire a shared act of the birds rather than the deed of a single hero.
Domains
- fire bearing
Powers
- carries the fire onward to the people
Relations
- companion: Buru'õtõreRhea and swallow together bring the fire to the people.Pracé Xavante, in Pappiani & Lacerda (eds.), 2014 (primary)
- enemy: the JaguarThe rhea carries off the fire that had been the jaguar's.Pracé Xavante, in Pappiani & Lacerda (eds.), 2014 (primary)
Sources
- Mã, the rhea, receives the rescued fire from the swallow and carries it onward so that fire passes to humankind in the Xavante theft of the jaguar's fire.: Pracé Xavante, in A. Pappiani & M. Lacerda (eds.), Aiho'ubuni Wasu'u: O Lobo Guará e outras histórias do povo Xavante (Ikorê, 2014) (primary)