Mawé people

The Sateré-Mawé (or Sateré-Maue) is an indigenous tribe located in the Brazilian Amazon, with an estimated population of about 10,761. The Sateré-Mawé were the first to domesticate and cultivate guarana, a popular stimulant.

Name

They are also called Maué, Mawé, Mabue, Maragua, Sataré, Andira, Arapium.

Language

The Mawé speak the Sateré-Mawé language, which belongs to the Tupian family. A grammar book was developed for the language in 1986.

Initiation rites

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, a boy slips the glove onto his hand. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes. When finished, the boy's hand and part of his arm are temporarily paralyzed due to the ant venom, and he may 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 or even years.