Areruya and Indigenous Prophetism in Northern Amazonia

By (author) Virgínia Amaral

ISBN13: 9781350338739

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Published: 19/03/2026

Availability: Not yet available

Description
Based on four years of ethnographic research, this book discusses the presence of Christianity on Areruya, an indigenous religious movement practiced by the Ingarikó in Northern Amazonia. Tracing the role of 19th-century missionaries in the region, the book shows how shamans started to announce the coming of a cataclysm, associated with the promise of indigenous salvation in Christian paradise and the acquisition of the colonizers’ goods. It also explores how the ancient mythological elaboration of salvation after death was reinforced through both an appropriation of some aspects of Christianity and the development of a very violent form of shamanism, which epitomizes the evilness ascribed to the human condition on earth. Virgínia Amaral offers a valuable reflection on cultural transformations, revealing how Areruya is not only a shamanic appropriation of Christianity, but also an indigenous and ritualized interpretation of colonization.
List of Figures Introduction 1. Ingariko: the Kapon of the Upper Kuwatin River 2. The Colonization of the Circum-Roraima Region and the Kapon and Pemon Prophetisms 3. The Origin of Areruya According to the Kapon and Pemon 4. Areruya as Practiced and Conceived by the Ingariko 5. The Pukkenak and the Kanaimë: Vertical and Underground Shamanisms Afterword Bibliography Index
  • Religion & beliefs
  • Religion: general
  • Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography
  • Indigenous peoples
  • General (US: Trade)
  • Professional & Vocational
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List Price: £28.99