Hunting for spirits, hunting with spirits

Photographer
André Lopes

The Manoki inhabit a land that is a kind of "green island" surrounded by cattle ranches and agricultural monoculture on all sides. This environmental devastation directly contributes to the scarcity of many animals in that region, which forces men to travel outside their land for tens of kilometers to hunt (kare'y). The moments that mobilize a large number of people for the hunt happen in the "offerings" to the "neighbors", also called spirits or yetá, whose viewing is forbidden to women. In these situations, hunting is carried out by truck and potentially becomes easier and more abundant. When hunting for a later collective ritual sharing, the Manoki obtain the help of "neighbors" and, therefore, they hunt not only for spirits, but also with spirits. The community must continue to maintain relations with these beings at a friendly level, so that they are always social partners and do not become potential pathogens, in other words, predators.