Jnu Ãri
Red hot chili peppers
The food that causes men to become warriors is the hot pepper known in Spanish as “Ají”:
The dragonfly (*Jnaguto) stamped its foot long ago, and when he did, he stepped on some ají and ground it into powder, and after that people ground the hot peppers into a powder.
Warriors come about from eating ground ají. And it’s said, the very first warriors originated long ago from eating these hot peppers.
Jnaguto gathered everything together –both animals and people. We’re told he called to the animals and people and he said to them: “Come, get what I’ve ground up, the ají, and eat the powder.”
*Oroné’s father, *Jaboidé, told us all about this; he said: “Important men, like myself, eat ground ají to become warriors.”
What happened to a person after he ate ground ají showed whether he would become a warrior or not. The ones who felt its sting and couldn’t suck their breath in and out after ingesting it, would not become warriors, for it was plain that they could easily be defeated.
Others would be warriors, for when they ate the ground hot peppers, they sucked their breath in and out and began working themselves up into a frenzy (they ranted and showed fierce anger).
(Because they eat ‘*jnui’ (ají) they can get can get angry and fierce in preparation for war.)
And even today, it’s said that warriors are made by eating ground red hot peppers.
The ones who can be easily defeated are those who are not able to breath in and out after eating ají. Men like that, it’s said, won’t be victorious in battle. Those who can be defeated are those that tremble when they eat ground hot peppers.
The Lizard Ugóbedái was the first to eat Aji
And it’s said, the first one who ate hot peppers was *Ugóbedái, a small lizard that climbs in the trees. In the beginning Ugóbedái ate ground hot peppers and was transformed by it and his insides became red. He ate the ground peppers first, but I don’t know very well how the rest of the story goes that Jaboidé told about him.
And it’s said, the next to eat ground hot peppers was *Arori, the eagle that lights in the trees; he was one of the first to eat it, too, they say. Our grandfathers would say: “You know that it was Arori who first got angry and wasn’t afraid of anything.”
A brave warrior tries his courage by pointing his finger right down near a boa constrictor’s mouth. If he remains calm and steady when it snaps at his finger, that shows he is a ‘*dacasuté’, a brave warrior leader – but if he pulls his finger back, he isn’t.
The Ayoreos ate ají also and showed themselves to be brave warriors when they could breath in and out after eating ají.
But some, even thought they didn’t breath in and out after eating ají, proved to be greater warriors than some who did suck their breath in and out, because when they went into battle their enemies couldn’t overcome them.
Ají, though, was the food that made warriors, according to the men of old.
(Oidábiadé said: I would like to make this comment, our forefathers did not yet know long ago about the influence of Satan’s demons, or that Satan is the author of killing.)
There are other things we’ve been told that pertain to Ayoré warriors.
Once long ago, the Ayoreos ingested red hot peppers, and it made them so anger inside that they ended up killing a very ugly official, according to Jaboidé.
(Malformed and ugly people are referred to as *Poritai in the Ayoré language. So, that is the name we will use throughout this story for the one that was killed by the Ayoreos.)
Poritai, the very ugly official, was the maker of the warrior clans. He also made names for the clans (*cucherane). He was an evil spirit referred to in Ayoré as dicoré (walking spirit).
The killing of Poritai
It was Jaboidé who told us that Poritai was the one who made warriors.
It’s said that when they killed Poritai, it was the Chiquenone Clan who hit him first. They say, they sucked their breath in and out as they delivered their blows.
When Poritai groaned and groaned as he was being beaten, his groans entered the men who were hitting him, and they became warriors. And Ayoré warriors were made in this way, according to Jaboidé.
Those who didn’t fear Poritai (who appeared as a phantom), and had the courage to hit him, they became *dacasuté (brave warrior leaders).
The participation of the various clans in the assassination of Poritai
The Chiquenone Clan, sucked their breath in and out, and chanted ¡hay-hay-hay! as they were hitting Poritai.
The Dosapéode Clan also hit him, and like the Chiquenone Clan, they sucked their breath in and out.
The Posorajane Clan hit him, also, but we’re told they didn’t suck their breath in and out. It’s said, they were so much greater than the very ugly official, that there was no need to suck their breath in and out.
The Picanerane Clan hit him, and like the Posorajane Clan, they didn’t suck their breath in and out.
The Étacorone Clan hit him, but they did suck their breath in and out as they did it.
And Jaboidé said: “Now you’ve all heard that our forefathers were people who could push their enemies back.”
For a long time we Ayoreos have been know as people who have chased after other groups of Ayoreos through the jungle. And it’s said that Ayoré warriors who can push their enemies back are true descendants of those long ago men who first became dacasuté (warrior leaders).
They say that a warrior who stays calm during battle is superior to those who work themselves up into a frenzy.
Ayoreos who were pursued through the jungle by other groups of Ayoreos, knowing how fierce the Ayoré were, would run from their pursuers.
And Jaboidé said: “Now you know that the Picanerane Clan were those who often chased their fellow Ayoreos through the jungles. And the Juruminone Clan were like the Picanerane Clan and pursued other groups of Ayoreos.
The forefathers of the Juruminone participated in the killing of Poritai, but they were like those that controlled themselves and didn’t let their anger out.
But those that descended from the long ago true pursuers were referred to as *Positodie or * Pijositodie. There was no limit to their hostility long ago, and they chased their fellow Ayoreos all over the jungles.
The Posorajane Clan, the Picanerane Clan, and the Juruminone Clan were fearless long ago, according to Jaboidé.
The Ayoré warriors who pursued their enemies, were the ones who beat up Poritai ¡pow! but they couldn’t overcome him because they didn’t suck their breath in and out.
All of these things were factors in the making of warriors in the Ayoré tribe, according to Jaboidé. This is the end, and there’s nothing more I can say about the subject.
*The term ají that is used throughout this article, is also known as hot peppers; ají is the common name primarily in South America and areas of the Caribbean for chili peppers.
Oidabiade – Campo Loro, Paraguay – 1988.
Transcribed and translated to English by: Maxine Morarie.
