page_title: Mawé people
section_title: Initiation rites
hierarchical_section_title: Mawé people / Initiation rites
caption_attribution_description: English: Museum of Ethnology (Vienna). Exhibition "Beyond Brazil": Glove made of palm leaves ( 21st century ), used for initiation rituals of the Sataré-Mawé people, Brazil. Deutsch: Museum für Völkerkunde (Wien). Ausstellung "Jenseits von Brasilien": Palmblatthandschuh ( 21.Jhdt. ) für die Ameisenprobe, ein Intiationsritual der Sataré-Mawé, Brasilien.
context_page_description: The Mawé, also known as the Sateré or Sateré-Mawé, are an indigenous people of Brazil living in the state of Amazonas. They have an estimated population of about 13,350. The Sateré-Mawé were the first to domesticate and cultivate guarana, a popular stimulant.
context_section_description: The Sateré-Mawé people intentionally use bullet ant stings as part of their initiation rites to become a warrior. The ants are first rendered unconscious by submerging them in a natural sedative and then hundreds of them are woven into a glove made out of leaves (which resembles a large oven mitt), stinger facing inward. When the ants regain consciousness, the boy slips the glove onto his hand. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full five minutes. When finished, the boy's hand and part of his arm are temporarily paralyzed due to the ant venom. In addition to suffering intense pain, he may hallucinate and shake uncontrollably for days. The only "protection" provided is a coating of charcoal on the hands, supposedly to confuse the ants and inhibit their stinging. To fully complete the initiation, however, the boys must go through the ordeal a total of 20 times over the course of several months.
caption: Glove made of palm leaves, used in initiation rites (taken at the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna).
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