| Religious beliefs
are manifest in different ways among different groups
of the Uaçá River basin. Among the Karipuna
and Galibi-Marworno, popular Catholicism is prevalent,
along with a progressivist and activist line, due to the
influence of the Indigenist Missionary Council (Cimi),
at least until recently. The Catholicism of the Galibi,
which for centuries has been incorporated to their beliefs
and practices, is of the so-called traditional line.
Shamanism remained alive until the 1960s, and
Galibi pajés were well-known and recognized among
all the indigenous peoples of Amapá, as were
their neighbors, on the other side of the Oiapoque,
the Saramaká Blacks of Tampac. Actually, however,
there are no more pajés in the group. The symbols
of the last pïyei (pajé), the pakará
(basketry) and the maracá (rattle), are duly
kept by the Galibi. However, the beliefs related to
the shamanistic universe have not died out. More than
once, the Galibi declared that, compared with those
of other groups, their shamans were "true"
and competent. Mr. Lod described in minute detail the
rituals of initiation, the curing sessions and contact
with the spirits. The spirits are divided into two categories,
those from on high, the sky, the guardian angels, always
good, and the spirits of the forest and water, which
are dangerous, and with whom it is necessary to negotiate.
On these occasions, it is the spirit of the shaman,
who is prepared for this task, who acts, and never the
shaman himself, who is just a common man. For the Galibi,
God made everything, knows everything and dominates
everything, while the shaman, however good he may be,
has only a partial vision of the world, and his path
may at any time be “closed” by another more
powerful shaman. "First comes God, then the maráca".
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Long ago, the Galibi say, the spirits of men and
animals, who were people in their world, communicated
with each other. But now they no longer do so. According
to Mr. Lod, at some moment, “something happened”,
there was a rupture and today they no longer communicate
with each other. This happened because of the incomprehension
of the European colonizers in relation to the wisdom of
the Indians. A loss and a pity, according to him.
Nevertheless, the Galibi continue to believe
that everything in nature has an owner, the animals
and the plants. For that reason, they act with special
care in their predatory activities of hunting, fishing,
and the felling of trees. Or, as they say in French,
"one should not make the mistake of annoying them",
a delicate way of characterizing the negotiations that
link the different domains of the cosmos.
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