The Achuar

Around 16,000 indigenous Achuar live in small villages along the rivers and in the headwaters of the Pastaza, Corrientes, and Morona river basins on both sides of the Peru–Ecuador border. In this remote and biodiverse area of tropical rainforest the rivers and forests provide the Achuar with water for drinking and bathing, fish, animals, wild fruits, insects, mushrooms to eat and all the materials they need to build and thatch their large oval houses and to make the canoes, baskets, stools, ceramic bowls, bags, feather crowns, musical instruments and all the other items they need and use on a daily basis.

They also have large gardens where they grow many different agricultural crops including plants for eating, making drinks, painting and adorning their bodies, making household utensils, medicines, poisons and some with special powers that help you dream, communicate with the spirits, see your future or bewitch and seduce a desired lover. Amongst all the species the Achuar grow, wayus, manioc and tobacco are three crucial to nurturing the Achuar mind, body and spirit.

“Wikia achuar aintsuitgai” “I am an Achuar person”

For many years these Achuar communities have dreamt of introducing themselves, their way of life and the beauty of their ancestral lands to the rest of the country and the world. For the Achuar, a dream is not simply a passing, nocturnal illusion without relation to one’s waking life. On the contrary, dreams are gateways allowing communication with the spirits of their ancestors, who come to visit and talk to the living, giving them advice and a vision of their future so that they can tread a clear path in life.

The vision which the Achuar share is to protect their ancestral lands and leave them healthy and intact to their children and grandchildren. Although very few city dwellers have heard about them, the Achuar know about life in the cities, and their own lives are far from being cut off from the pressures of the world economy, and its impacts upon the environment. The Peruvian State has categorised their lands as open for petroleum exploration, however in doing so it has not taken into account the vision which the Achuar share and which they have received through dreams from their ancestors.

Daily Life

The Achuar day starts early. Before dawn the whole family wakes up in the darkness to drink wayus. This infusion made with leaves of the wayus bush (Ilex guayusa) shakes off sleepiness, is an important purgative, and stimulates concentration.

The family shares quiet and intimate moments as they drink this tea sat around the fire, and parents take advantage of this time and the power of the wayus to give advice to their children and tell them the stories of the past. This daily ritual has led outsiders to refer to the Achuar as the people of wayus.

The Achuar drink wayus in large amounts until it provokes vomiting. It is important to them that their stomachs are cleaned and emptied every morning of all the impurities that accumulate over night.

After taking wayus the Achuar are left with clean stomachs and clear minds and they then drink a little warm masato before starting their day’s work. Masato is the Achuar’s most important drink.

As the day passes and the different tasks in the gardens, hunting, fishing or construction require physical exertion, the women distribute masato to their husbands and other community members in beautiful pinin – delicately painted ceramic bowls.

A woman’s masato reflects upon her abilties, and great pride is taken in its preparation and distribution. Achuar girls learn different recipes for this manioc beer, fermented with sweet potato and their own saliva, from an early age.

Wherever they go, masato goes with them. Women accompany their husbands on hunting trips, carrying a pot of thick masato in a basket on their backs, which is mixed with stream water before serving. They also serve large amounts during all communal activities to keep the workers cheery and slightly tipsy, so that hard work is made easier and time flies by with joking and singing. And when the work is over they party into the night.

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Visions

Both boys and girls undertake a special ritual around the age of puberty to ask for a vision to guide their lives. It is a ritual undertaken alone, and is a test of bravery.

The child leaves the village early, fasting from dawn and walking into the forest singing or whistling special tunes to call the spirits close and ask them for a good vision. They walk for several hours until they reach a water source, where they build a small lean-to. Then they clear a straight path going away from the lean-to in both directions, and finally bathe in the stream or pool.

As night falls they drink a bowl of tobacco juice, previously prepared by one of the elders of the community. The elderly man or woman prepares the tobacco by chewing it, as this releases its power and the visions they had in their childhood may be passed on to the next generation through contact with their saliva.

The tobacco provokes vivid dreams; dreams with the spirits of the Achuar ancestors known as Arutam. They say that the Arutam come along the recently cleared path so it is important that not a single stick is left, upon which it could stumble. The Arutam appear in their dreams as a powerful or dangerous animal, such as a jaguar, an anaconda, an alligator or an eagle. The child must not be scared, but must welcome the spirit, who will then show them the vision of their future they have been seeking.

The Arutam gives different visions depending upon the form it takes when it appears, it could be that of a long life, power to lead, to be a fearless warrior, bravery, a love for travel or a large, united, healthy and hardworking family. Of all the places in the forest, waterfalls are the best places to go to search for a vision as this is where the Arutam reside, and as such they are sacred and treated with special respect.

Anents

The songs which call the Arutam and ask for their power to be passed on are called anent. Anent are charms with the power to attract a desired thing or being and ensure that events work out favourably, working in the physical and emotional worlds. There are anent for searching for a vision, anent to ensure the growth of plants, anent for curing the sick, anent to attract game animals and anent to make someone fall in love or return home if missed.

Anent can be sung aloud softly, whistled or simply recited in silence. Children learn anent from their parents, aunts and uncles and grandparents and so these songs, which allow the Achuar to communicate with all the beings that surround them, pass from generation to generation.