Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

clear that many aspects of knowledge and practice have indeed been lost. On the
other hand, people did on occasion allude to the continued presence of powerful
marunao and marunawabo in the region, though apparently not in Maruranau itself.
I got a clear impression that these surviving practitioners maintain a very low profile
with respect to outsiders. Certainly, all attempts I made to follow up hints made to
me about their presence quickly proved unsuccessful, my enquiries being met with
claims of ignorance as to their identity and location. There are certain aspects of
Wapishana culture that are rarely or never revealed to outsiders; certainly the time I
spent in the area was not sufficient to allow me to access to some of its more
esoteric aspects. For both these reasons, the following account is both superficial and
fragmentary, although it clearly indicates the value of more thorough investigation.
The wish expressed by more than one person in Maruranau to document Wapishana
spiritual practices comprehensively indicates the most appropriate form that such a
project could take.
Any such efforts may be too late to prevent the loss of some key knowledge. In
particular, the role formerly adopted by shamans as effective ecological managers
(chapter 6.5) appears nowadays to take the form of memories of actions of persons
who are now deceased. In the realm of healing, however, knowledge appears to have
been far less specialised. Many ethnopharmacological techniques are very widely
known, and numerous people among older age groups retain extensive personal
pharmacopoeias. In the realm of spiritual healing too, there are many people who
retain knowledge of esoteric techniques. Although the master practitioners are said
to have passed on, this body of knowledge has not entirely died with them. However,
many people have expressed concern that, like many other aspects of specialised
local knowledge, this is not being effectively transmitted to younger generations.
Wapishana concepts of disease and practices involved in treatment have much in
common with those recorded in other Amerindian groups, particularly elsewhere in
Guyana. Disease is considered to result from the actions of evil spirits, many of which
have an ultimately human origin in the form of kanaima activity. The concept of
kanaima (kanaumuu in Wapishana) has some similarities with that described in other
Guyanese tribes (Anthon 1957; Roth 1950), and appears to encompass malevolent
entities of both human and non-human natures. As a human entity, the kanaima
appears to be a shaman who employs their skills to cause harm to others. One such
individual is reported to have led a highly active life in Maruranau within living
memory. He is said to have caused the deaths of a huge number of people, and
severe illness in many more, over a period of many years before being killed by