Hei tä bebi (literally, "bottom layer") is the lowest of the four layers in the Ya̧nomamö cosmos. According to Ya̧nomamö tradition, hei tä bebi was created after a piece of hedu kä misi (heaven) fell onto Hei kä misi (earth).[1] The falling piece of hedu knocked a hole into hei kä misi, creating a hole and dislodging a swathe of earth which fell below forming hei tä bebi.[1]
When this fell through hei kä misi it took with it the garden and shabono (village) of Ama̧hiri-teri, but it did not take the surrounding jungle.[1] As a result, the landscape of Hei tä bebi is barren and desolate.[1] The people and village of Ama̧hiri-teri got trapped there, and as a result were forced to turn to cannibalism. Using their spiritual powers, they capture the souls of children from hei kä misi for food.[1]
Notes
editReferences
edit- Chagnon, Napoleon A. (1997), Ya̧nomamö, Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology, series eds. George & Louis Spindler (5th ed.), Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, ISBN 0-15-505327-2
- Wilson, David J.; Salomon, Frank; Kicza, John E. (2007), "Native Americans of Middle and South America", Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, Encarta, archived from the original on 2009-10-28, retrieved 2008-03-02