For most groups in Upper Xingu, including the Trumai people living in the Xingu Native Park, souls have an afterlife. They reach a village in the sky. In order to reach this heavenly place, they must avoid being devoured by the two-headed vulture that lurks in the sky. This two-headed “urubu” vulture is the guardian of the sky and practices anthropophagy by devouring the souls. It is large and the birds over which it reigns are obliged to satisfy its ferocious appetite. His death could bring about the end of the world.
Bench of Culture Iny-Karajá made of wood, vegetable stain of genipa (Genipa americana), acrylic painting by the artist Mataya Trumaï Suya (Brazil, State of Mato Grosso, village of Boa esperança Awara’i) in 2015. Object MHNT.ETH.2015.37.2 from the collections of the Natural History Museum of Toulouse, dimensions 27x56?5x27cm.
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