What or who is Kanaima? Why are the indigenous people afraid of it?
Get to know the Pemón cosmogony and some studies carried out by the first missionaries in the Gran Sabana!
The Pemon Dictionary by Friar Cesáreo de Armellada and Fray Mariano Gutiérrez Salazar, in its fourth edition published by the Catholic University Andrés Bello en 2007, p.88 describe Kanaima like: "Hidden enemy to whom the Pemón attribute all deaths./ Sometimes, they attribute magical properties to it but, in general, they speak of it as people in ambush, of enemy tribes from ancient times".
The natives in general; but in the case that concerns us, those of the Caribbean islands and the continental coast of America have always been superstitious. Its cosmogony is based on beliefs told by generations of evil beings and gods demanding sacrifices; bloodthirsty. The origin of the universe and of living beings is explained through divine beings that give life and other evil ones that cause death and if these did not exist, the human being would be immortal.
But this way of perceiving the universe; the world around them, it goes without saying, as danger lurks around them constantly. Man's original home is the dangerous tropical jungle; however, the danger did not come from the physical or natural world, but rather from the inexplicable beyond in the form of spirits; ghosts, monsters that take possession of bodies or that are multiform.
Each civilization revolves around the complacency of ill-tempered gods, who demand lethal sacrifices from poor mortals, as in the case of the Mayans, who created their culture based on those beliefs; in myths such as that of a deity in the form of a feathered serpent (Kukulcán) who had the power of life and death.
In the case of the cosmogony of the Pemón ethnic group in Venezuela, there were more deadly spirits that did not need human sacrifices made by mystical priests, but rather, in their ability to transform into animals or people, took bodily possession of mortal men, inciting them to commit murders. Assassins who hide in the jungle waiting for the opportunity to possess some lone unwary in the green thickness of the vegetation to make him a victim. This spirit is known as Kanaima; a shapeshifter who seeks to kill and completely consume humans, body and soul. If Kanaima or Kanaimö did not exist, the Pemón would be immortal.
The Kanaima, for the Pemón, represents death; to an evil being. It represents the nemesis of indigenous humanity. It is mainly associated with the Pemón-Akawaio, Caribe, Patamona and Makushi tribes; all of which inhabit the jungles of South America. The word of this evil deity has alternative spellings: Kanaima, Canaima, Kanaimá, Kenaima, Kanáima, Kanaimö.
This being exists in all the mentioned tribes, being the Pemón, the best known. Such has been the importance of this mythical being in this tribe, that they called a very beautiful natural region, in southern Venezuela, as: Canaima National Park, where the oldest sandstone plateaus on the planet (tepuys) and a hughe waterfall is located. The highest in the world: the Kerepacupay-Vená, as the Pemón call it and which we know as Angel Falls, with a 983-meter free fall.
Some elders say that Kanaima is a shaman who uses dark magic to take the form of an animal in order to hunt, kill, and feed on people. On the other hand, they say that the Kanaima is an evil spirit that silently passes through the huts at night while the residents sleep, looking for whom it can possess. However, according to legend, the Kanaima can also take possession of animals. This causes the beasts to become very aggressive and violent towards other animals and people in particular.
It is also said of people (Pemons) who are so consumed by their need for revenge that they voluntarily invite these evil spirits into their bodies (possession) through the use of powerful drugs or magical rituals, known in the Pemón culture as "Tarén". to avenge. These people literally become Kanaimas, looking for their enemies to kill and devour them, especially those who hurt them, hence the revenge.
There are others who believe that the Kanaima is a predatory animal possessed by the spiritual "Me" of a human being, possibly through the magical practice of astral projection. In this case, the most sought after animal is the jaguar; a magnificent animal that was worshiped in ancient times by the Olmecs and the Mayans for its strength, speed, and hunting prowess.
Whatever the case, the Kanaima remains a supernatural force to be reckoned with. This evil spirit gives possessed humans the power of shapeshifting, the ability to transform, physically, into any animal they desire. The jaguar is the most common choice, though there are also stories of the Kanaima assuming the form of an anaconda.
Furthermore, the possessing spirit gives its host strength, speed, stamina, and unnatural ferocity that only the most depraved serial killers can match. When the person takes the form of an animal, he also acquires the animal's claws, teeth, strength, and senses. It is also said that Kanaima's gaze can make a person irrevocably go insane. Like other spirits, the Kanaima seems to be capable of spreading disease and causing bodily problems to its victims (such as stomach ailments) as well.
"It is also said of people (Pemons) who are so consumed by their need for revenge that they voluntarily invite these evil spirits into their bodies through the use of powerful drugs or magical rituals, known in the Pemón culture as Tarén. Those people literally become Kanaima...”
We must always remember that the idea of Kanaima is held by the indigenous people in their psyche and no matter how hard you try to persuade a pemon that it is just a mythical character, it will be useless. Kanaima is the equivalent of childhood "Coco"; the "Sayona"; the "Silbón" of the Venezuelan plains terror myths or the "Devil" of religions.
When you want to convince a Pemón that there are no Kanaimas and that everything is imagination; fear, let's call it "collective hysteria", they would be able to offer such convincing arguments that they can convert the unbeliever.
From the publication that I present to you below, we have the following excerpt: "That when they were on their way they saw their footprints (the Kanaima walks on tiptoe or heel so that its course is not known); that just the other day, an Indian, who was in the conuco (indian plantation), was grabbed by a Kanaima and then his back began to ache; that such an Indian, going to the ravine for water, saw Kanaima and became ill; what about another one... while hunting, he heard his whistling and he cried like a child's; In short, that the Indians of such a hamlet had to move their homes because there were an abundance of kanaimas and that those of such and such another hamlet killed two or three kanaimas with machetes...". In this way, we can listen to versions of Kanaima's misdeeds; Conversations on this matter are the daily bread of the natives..." Source:: Kanaima Etunumá "Canaima's voice is heard" by Lyll Barceló Sifontes- Abreu. Separata del Boletín Universitario de Letras. Volumen I, del Centro de Investigaciones Lingüísticas y Literarias de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello- Caracas, 1993. pp133, 134.
So, my dear readers, Kanaima is a typical case of hysteria and psychological manipulation, based on fear, just as it happens in the "civilized world" with the Devil, Demon and many other evil beings that are the product of our cultures.
Alexander Cordero Blanco.
CEO- Founder Trekking Tours Group
(June, 2023)
Commenti