Apurinã Awiry Purus | Subtle Opening

The Apurina tribe, numbering between 2,000 and 4,000 members, inhabits 27 indigenous territories along the Purus River in the Brazilian Amazon. Their migratory lifestyle makes precise population estimates challenging. Each community within these regions maintains its own social organization, yet all Apurina people speak the Maipure-Aruak language and refer to themselves as 'Popingaré' or 'Kangite,' meaning 'people' or 'humans.'

Women in the tribe are adept in crafting baskets, brooms, pottery, and exquisite snuff boxes from snail, metal, and rubber residues, as well as the corresponding rapé blowpipes used in their rituals.

Shamanism plays a crucial role in Apurina culture. Their shamans engage with the spiritual world using stones and a special healing leaf known as 'katsoparu.' Shamans and tribe members frequently use a snuff called 'awire' during rituals. A typical healing session may involve the shaman extracting stones believed to embody illnesses from a patient’s body, then placing these stones within themselves, followed by prescribing plant-based treatments. Shamans also perform spiritual journeys in dreams, guided by animal spirits and the chiefs of these spirits, to mediate with the natural world and protect the tribe from predatory animals. It is a common belief within the tribe that a powerful shaman does not die but becomes enchanted, continuing his journeys in another realm.