The Awa and Globalization- Group 6: The Awa Tribe and Ritual

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The Awa Tribe and Ritual

The Awá are located between the equatorial forests of Amazonia to the west and the eastern savannahs. This part of the world experiences a two seasonal weather pattern that alternates between 'wet' (rainy) and 'dry' (sunny) season. TheAwá year is divided similarly; they refer to their seasons as ‘sun’ and ‘rain’. They believe that spiritual entities called ‘maira’ control and monitor the rain. During their full moon ritual, men leave Earth behind as they travel to the iwa, the domain of the earth spirits. It is at the Iwa that they are able to communicate with the ‘maira’. The ritual begins with the men placing white king vulture feathers on their heads and through chanting they become entranced and are able to connect with the spirits. This ritual is sacred and lasts until dawn.

Eede, Jonna 2013, The silent years: Karapiru’s story of life on the run. Survival International. Electronic Document. http://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3249-Karapiru, accessed November 4, 2013.

Davies, Lewis 2013, Tribal Festivals: Scared Ritual of the Awa. National Geographic. Electronic Document. http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/14/tribal-festivals/c_braz-awa-ld2-2011-1776/, accessed November 4, 2013.

3 comments:

UnknownNovember 5, 2013 at 1:19 PM
From this ritual it is clear that the Awá respect and live in harmony with their environment in hopes that they will be rewarded. This way of live and thinking is commendable especially with all the temptations to indulge in the efficiency of technology. It was very difficult to find information on the Awá rituals because they are one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes in Brazil and the most threatened tribe on earth. This tribe faces extinction and as a result they must spend their lives in hiding or on the move. Constant relocation impacts culture and tradition to not be participated or passed down to kin and this is why there are not many records of ritual. I believe that they cannot fight against extinction on their own and it is up to the world to step forward and lend a helping hand.
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UnknownOctober 22, 2018 at 9:28 AM
ok
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UnknownOctober 22, 2018 at 9:29 AM
im here for religious facts not a weather review lol sorry yall have a good day
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The Awa Background Information

The Awa tribe is said to be the last nomadic tribe of Brazil. Because of the changes of modern day society the tribe is on the verge of extinction. In the 1800's the Awa's left their settled lives because of violent attacks from the European invaders. Currently, many of the Indians of the Awa tribe live in villages provided to them from the government. However, they still hunt and gather plants as a means of survival. They pick fruit as well as look for pigs and monkeys for food. The Awa tribe has only about 350 members and when they go traveling they make sure to keep fire embers burning so that it is easier to start a new fire when they com to their new destination. 100 of these 350 members have no contact with the outside world. Their language is the Tupi-Guarani family. During 1982, the Brazilian government was graciously given a loan from the World Bank and European Union of 900 million USD under the condition that the lands of "certain indigenous peoples would be demarcated and protected." This was extremely beneficial for the Awa tribe who lost a lot of their lands to invaders. Without the help of the government the Awa and their ancient culture would come very close to extinction due to the large amounts of deforestation.

Latin ArtMall Tribes of the Brazilian Amazon. Electronic Document. http://www.latinartmall.com/Tribes%20of%20the%20Brazilian%20A mazon.htm, accessed September 17, 2013.

BBC, Live Science, National Geographic 2008-2013, Awa-Guaja People of Brazil. Electronic Document. http://www.crystalinks.com/AwaPeople.html, accessed September 17, 2013

Sibaja Marco 2012, Brazil's Indigenous Awa Tribe At Risk. Electronic Document. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/brazils-indigeneous-awa tribe_n_1574374.html, accessed September 17, 2013

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The iCross-Culutral Citizen Project's vision is to create an online cross-cultural space for students, professionals, and youth to learn and exchange cross-culturally sensitive information about contemporary indigenous experiences. From that outsider student's perspective, we will try to theorectically explore possible collaborative solutions to problems that affect the indigenous populations of our planted. Finally, we hope for the future creation of a space where indigenous youth can share their experiences and their realities with us for real mutual collaboration to take place.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The Awa Tribe and Ritual

3 comments:

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