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Emily Routbort
Dr. Lee
IHSS
9/14/16

Kunana


    A Tribe called, Roucouyenne, created the Kunana. It is a shield that has turned into a ritual for another group called the, Wayana Apalai.  The shield is made out of woven straw and bird feathers.  The shield is shaped in the form of some type of mythical animal. In the middle of the shield there is an open patch of straw without feathers.  The Wayana Apalai gather bullet ants to put on the open patch.  First they smoke out the ants, making them not able to really move. Then they will attach the the ants to the open patch and when they “wake up” they will be quite angry. In the tribe the boys first live in the women's house.  To get out of it and move to the men’s house they have to go through the ritual.  The ritual is putting the shield on their body with the bullet ants on it.  They have to be able to stay still and not make a sound during this process. If they do make a sound of move they won’t be capable to move up to the men's house and they will have to repeat the ritual again until the can handle the pain. The bullet ant is the most painful insect bite a person can possibly get. It feels like a hammer hounding into you spontaneously (Joseph).  Once they pass, the boys can move into the men's house. The girls of the tribe have to do the same ritual, but the rules that applied for the boys aren’t as strict for the girls.

    When I see what I saw the exhibit today I felt really lucky to be living in the conditions I am living in now.  I am happy that we don't have weird rituals that include the most painful bug to be bit by. When I went through the exhibit I thought to myself that this exhibit probably doesn't include all of the details of how these people live.  It could be over exaggerated or there could be a lack of information.  But with the information I received, I could compare my life to there's. It is strange to think what if I ended up there? Or, what would my life be like now?  I also wondered why they would want to cause pain to themselves?  They are already living in harsh conditions.  Why would they want to make it even more harsh. I feel like to really know how they live you would have to go and try to live with them yourself. I don't feel like an exhibit can exactly tell you how they live.  The person who made it is giving you their interpretation of the lifestyle of the people of the Amazon. You could have a whole other way of thinking about it.  It is great that we are living the way we are living and you can't tell what other people's lifestyle is like until you try it for yourself.

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