Bélgica Dagua, "Why Deer Don't Have Masters."

From interviews with Tod D. Swanson

Description

Bélgica Dagua argues that deer are unique in not having masters because they are the ghost of humans. Most animals have an amu, a spirit master analogous to a Hopi Kachina who protects them and causes them to flourish. To protect them these amus keep the species locked in corrals inside the mountains only letting out a few to be hunted. For this reason the animals are relatively scarce in the forest but plentiful inside the mountains.

Unlike peccaries the deer do not have amus because deer are the transformed ghosts of people who die. For this reason deer haunt the areas around their previous homes as well as their old manioc gardens. According to Bélgica there are many deer in her home community because the deer have no amu to lock them up. By contrast there are few peccary in the forest because their amu keeps them protected inside local mountains.

A western ecologist might attribute the relative abundance of deer to hunting practices. Because deer are believed to be ghosts they are not hunted for food and consequently multiply. Peccaries by contrast are heavily hunted.

English Translation

“When I die, will he (the master) still take me to the corral in the forest?” “No, no; he has no master (boss), that’s why he lives free.” He has no boss; those who have bosses — “win” — he takes with him. I think the deer has no master (boss). A person transforms into that (a deer), and every time someone dies, they also become one. That’s why it has no boss. Those who have bosses — “win” — are already cared for by their bosses; they are grouped in each den, and the bosses decide where each animal should go. The deer only walks through the house when someone dies. It passes through that house; in the house where that person was buried, there were many deer. That’s why there are so many deer. Where we live, there are many deer. There aren’t many wild pigs; only a few. They have more bosses, so they only release a few.

Kichwa Translation

[Ñuka wañukpi pay imachari chi coral ña urku ukuy riwn pay]. Ma, mana, mana amuyuk ashatami pajllaybi ti an chi. Amu illakman chiga kuti amuyuk gunataga, amuguna ña “win” apanawn. Mana amuyuk chan chi taruga ñuka rikujpiga. Chasna runamanda tujuk ashka payga karan. Runa wañushkay tukun, amu mana tian. Ya amu, amuyukgunaga ña “win” amuga kwinrangawa undachishka tianguna karan. Payguna maykan animal chi churanay churashka. Randi taruga wasillay purinun pay wañushkamanda. Payga chi wasi, wasima kuti chasna chi payta chi pambashkaybi muntunarishka tiajashka. Amuzilla asha chasna asha tarugaga más, yapakta ñukanchi tiajashkama tiaj ashka. Kay randi lumukuchiguna randi mana tanto chasna ashkara tian ansalla, pero amu charin mas ashka kacharishkama anzawata.

Spanish Translation

[Cuando yo fallezca, él —el amo— me llevará a un coral en la selva]. No, él no tiene amo (jefe); por eso anda libre. No tiene jefe. Los que sí tienen jefes, los win, a esos se los llevan. Yo pienso que el venado no tiene amo (jefe). De una persona se convierte en eso: cada vez que una persona fallece, se convierte en venado. Por eso no tiene jefe. Los que tienen jefe, los win, ya son cuidados por sus jefes; ellos los agrupan en cada hueco o cueva y escogen a dónde debe ir cada animal. ¿El venado solo pasa por los alrededores de la casa cuando alguien fallece? Sí, él pasa por ahí, cerca de la casa. En la casa donde lo enterraron había muchos venados. Como el venado no tiene jefes, por eso hay muchos venados. En cambio, de los jabalíes casi no hay muchos, solo un poco, porque ellos sí tienen más jefes. Por eso solo sueltan pocos.

Analysis

Not available