Kaingang shamanism as a decolonial potentiality

Abstract

The different ethnographic studies focusing on the Kaingang people pointed out similar evidence concerning the deep political nature of their shamanic praxis. By presenting ethnographical cases, this article emphasizes the implication of Kaingang shamanism as a cosmopolitical expression involved the historical colonial process. A critical analysis of the shamanism concepts is conducted here with a proper terminology and illustrates the point of view of the Kaingang people on this topic. In particular, the concept of vẽnh péti (dreams) experienced by the kujà (“shaman”) is presented as a possible decolonization impulse. More than a review of ethnographical studies, this paper proposes the mythical narration of a kujà about the birth of Kaingang shamanism and the measures taken by this community to save humanity from darkness, giving back to them political feminine protagonist and the wishes of a decolonial future in ga (the Earth).

Keywords:
shamanism; Kaingang; coloniality; cosmopolitics