Biblioteca Digital Curt Nimuendajú

Digitalizado por Renato Nicolai (biblioteca pessoal) em junho de 2018

The author describes and interprets the cargo cult that has arisen in recent years among the Tukuna Indians of the Amazon, the basis of which is the expectation of the arrival of a large, mythical ship full of commodities. This is a new, clearly characterized phenomenon among the tribe, which imposes on the researcher the obligation to re-examine a number of postulates and conclusions which had been considered as definitive by the students of messianic and millenarianist phenomena.

The author describes some basic aspects of Tukuna society and of the changes it has undergone through contact with "civilized" people, in order to place the millenarianist movements in adequate perspective, both before and after the apparition of the cargo cult.

He mentions seven prophetic movements which have arisen among the Tukuna, since the beginning of this century to the present day. He bases his discussion on the last three movements, all of which appeared after 1940 and about which there is more information. Starting with the content of these prophetic manifestations, the author discusses some of the interpretations that have been offered of native religious liberation movements. He states that the rigid use of a classificatory typology or of an inflexible conceptual framework can be an obstacle to the deeper understanding of these phenomena.

He concludes that Tukuna millenarianism can only be explained in terms of the socio-economic conditions which arose from their contact with "civilization", particularly the domination and spoliation of the Indians by the rubber gatherers, who have appropriated tribal territory and are imposing on them a highly unfavorable trade. Tukuna messianism is a praxis whereby the Indians try to liberate themselves, consciously or unconsciously, from these conditions. Their messianic beliefs are elaborated on the basis of preexisting mythological material, but they satisfy subjective and objective needs of an entirely new social situation. Thus, the traditional myths and conceptions are adapted and modified, whenever necessary, by the addition of new ideas, taken either from the "civilized" world or developed by the Indians themselves.

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