The Anaconda
The young girl was proud and happily prepared the stiff snacks for the great chief, who was about to embark on a long trip to unknown lands beyond the forest: a fermented yuca with which he could obtain a delicious chicha wherever he was, when he needed a refreshing and reinvigorating drink, by just adding some water to it. She also put coca leaves, so when he would chew on them, he could recover the energy to keep walking energetically every time he needed, albeit his shaman had given him the ability to crawl on the ground, dig quickly in the muddy shore, and swim silently but vigorously along the black waters of the jungle streams. The shaman also gave the chief the ability to withhold against other powerful chiefs, whom he saw in his vision quest as jaguars, capibaras, tapirs, peccaries, deer, and turtles. The shaman told him that he should be attentive at all times. As a farewell token, the shaman gave him a cushma dress with scales of different colors so that the chief could walk in the forest without being seen by his enemies, making him an invisible presence around the river edge.
The tunduy drum brought the news of his trip to all corners of the jungle: the great chief was to leave his homestead and probably will pass visiting each of the settled areas of the territory. Therefore, it was necessary to be alert and to prepare a bed for resting upon arrival. It was also important to stoke the fire and to welcome the chief with hospitality and affable demonstrations in each hut. The tundy “mail of the forest” travels fast. The news got to even the furthest and remotest corners of the territory. All friendly tribes owed him loyalty, adhesion, and, why not, love? Yes, he was a mature man, tall and strong, the chief of a tribe, just like he was big and strong like himself.
Warm welcome demonstrations did not cease when arriving at other tribes. The men who expected him were also haughty, free, and respectful. The great chief traveled alone. Hi demonstrated his value in his solitary forays, knowing that in case of difficulties, his tribe and countless other friendly tribes would be promptly at his side, armed and ready to fight. Even in the depths of the forest, there were preparations to welcome the great chief on his mysterious voyage.
To be visited by a great chief meant that peace was assured with his protection in whatever event. This is one reason why in every single tribe he visited, he was given fresh chicha on pilches bowls of new gold, and the best warriors offered to join him in his journey. He did not shy away nor ask, so on more than one occasion, he was seen followed by an entourage of numerous men with their chiefs and also of beautiful women who demonstrated the power, vigor, and beauty of their respective lands.
The paths of the jungle are always full of danger. He did not accept to be accompanied but gladly accepted the admiration, keenness, lots of meat, and lots of chicha that were offered in each hamlet, and in some cases, even the love of a playful young woman to seal the pact of protection of that jungle hut.
How long will the crossing take? The chunta palm had already flourished three times. The eyes of the great chief were already full of beautiful landscapes, often captured when wearing the cushma that made him invisible to others. The jungle is so beautiful in every aspect. Its climate is mostly warm but pleasant; its huts are cozy; the rivers are wide with waters that are either clear or full of sediment; and its beaches seem to be made for love and calm dreams.
For the great chief, visiting each of the tribes was a gift for his intimate joy. People always exalted the prestige of a strong and magnificent jungle leader. His children will later grow and populate the entire territory, making the whole jungle entirely his because of the seeds of love he left in each of the hamlets. Palm trees, chunta palms, and the trees will be siblings of eternal happiness and constant renewal of new creation energies in such short intervals of his visits, new flowering of youth, of strength, and of power.
The great chief thought that when he returned to his tribe, they would explode with enthusiasm and joy for his return; the childish, noisy screams would be like the hubbub of talking parrots and paujil great curassows. For that, he was always anxious to see them again once his travels brought him home again, full of gratitude to the jungle and to his tribe.
When that time came, he spent the night not far from his hamlet; he wanted to arrive in the middle of the day. In his mind, he could imagine the wuatusa wild meat already prepared, the wild turkey and venison already served, the cold chicha stored, and all his tribal people anxiously waiting. The feverish expectation of a return was indescribable. However, the reality was by far very hard and tragic. His beloved tribe had disappeared, stumbled, and was burned by a southern enemy tribe that, taking advantage of his long absence, invaded the unexpecting tribe, kidnapped women, and killed all other residents, including their pets.
The surprise, cruel and unexpected, converted the great chief into the image of pain. He searched for his hut, and by the fire that had warmed so many of his years and now remained cold and abandoned, he cried as a kid, crying of anger and impotence for not being able to take revenge on his enemies. Late, that painful state that he never experienced before and the humiliation of his pride never subdued, destroyed his hero’s hearth and overshadowed his mental faculties to the point of madness; he put on his cushma dress and fled into the jungle, and he got lost in the green tapestry of rivers, lakes, and the unfathomable forest, in search of revenge.
Nobody gave account for the crazed chief; but every now and then, news of a giant monster-like snake coming in-and-out of the jungle, searching for prey to avenge angry feelings, spread over the distant tribes.
Cultural Significance
The association of female preparation for the chief to embark in exploration of the territory makes reference to the gendered concept of matriarchal knowledge of jungle’ secrets and the ability to create magic messages through the sounds of the drum tunduy and the mythical colors of a polychromatic imaginary dress cushma. This characteristic of the impressive green snake known as water boa or giant Anaconda (Eunectes murinus), the largest living snake in the world.
The mimetic property of the aposematic coloration as well as the perfect camouflage offered by the geometric design of the skin tones and geometric shadows explains the difficulty of finding it on the ground, only cough by the sounds recalling the wooden echoes of the tunduy drum. And the habitual presence in the sediment-loaded streams that mimic well with the reflections of its skin diving easily among the mud and the myriad plant debris of the water course. The iconic presence of this animal is highlighted as the personification of a wise shaman always wanting to return to the peaceful ambience of his tribe, to find the reality of life in the jungle: to kill or to be killed.
