Mã

Xavante · numen · Xavante traditional religion; continuing · numen

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.