4 - The path of the spirits

Summary

Rikōmi was born at Karohi, where his father and his brothers still live. He went to Botomawë to marry two sisters and remained to live there among his allies after fulfilling his marital service with his parents-in-law. He is rather short compared to the average Yanomami. His body is muscular without being massive; small eyes, cruel and cunning, shine in his round face; his gestures are quick. He is sensitive on questions of honor. In his adopted community, he is esteemed and respected for his qualities as a good hunter and courageous warrior. He is still young and has the stuff of a future leader. His undertakings are always well thought out. He is a man on his way up, a fiery and prolific orator, a worker who knows how to be generous. He has recently arrived at Karohi to receive from his fathers his initiation as a shaman. That is a hard trial; but if he succeeds, the status he will acquire will further reinforce his aspirations to play an active role in the political affairs of his adopted group.

Every day since his arrival, Rikomi has been scouring the forest for the bark of the Virola elongata tree, from which a powerful hallucinogenic drug is prepared; he dries this bark and crushes it to a fine powder before pouring it into a long, narrow tube tightly sealed with the skin of a toad. After a solitary quest that takes him each day farther afield, he finally manages to complete the filling of the bamboo tube. Nothing henceforth prevents the start of the ceremony of which Turaewë will be the grand master, assisted by Kaōmawë and Shimoreiwë.