Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »

Lacandon oral tradition includes curing incantations which were believed to stop pains of a magical nature. The subject of the present study is a spell that is uttered to alleviate an acute and sudden pain that a person feels in a specific part of his/her body— arm, leg or chest. Such a pain is caus...

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Main Author: Didier Boremanse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société des américanistes 2020-06-01
Series:Journal de la Société des Américanistes
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Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/18092
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author Didier Boremanse
author_facet Didier Boremanse
author_sort Didier Boremanse
collection DOAJ
description Lacandon oral tradition includes curing incantations which were believed to stop pains of a magical nature. The subject of the present study is a spell that is uttered to alleviate an acute and sudden pain that a person feels in a specific part of his/her body— arm, leg or chest. Such a pain is caused by an invisible arrow that has been shot by Kan Huuneh, a manifestation of Kisin, the evil god of the underworld. According to Lacandon beliefs, each person’s soul has a double which lives in the forest of the underworld in the shape of a spider-monkey. As Lacandon did in the past, Kisin hunts monkeys; and when his arrow pierces the arm, leg or chest of a monkey, the person whose soul’s double is that particular monkey feels the pain in the same part of her/his body. The incantation describes the technique of bow and arrow making, as well as the material used by Kan Huuneh/Kisin (for instance, the birds’ feathers he utilizes to feather his arrows), which does not fit at all Lacandon technical norms. The spell also mentions the places where Kan Huuneh might hide to shoot people, and finally it tells how Kisin’s arrow can be broken by the man who utters the magical words.
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1957-7842
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series Journal de la Société des Américanistes
spelling doaj-art-f42682c0e219427c8904ff840370abde2025-02-05T15:54:40ZengSociété des américanistesJournal de la Société des Américanistes0037-91741957-78422020-06-01106118722010.4000/jsa.18092Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »Didier BoremanseLacandon oral tradition includes curing incantations which were believed to stop pains of a magical nature. The subject of the present study is a spell that is uttered to alleviate an acute and sudden pain that a person feels in a specific part of his/her body— arm, leg or chest. Such a pain is caused by an invisible arrow that has been shot by Kan Huuneh, a manifestation of Kisin, the evil god of the underworld. According to Lacandon beliefs, each person’s soul has a double which lives in the forest of the underworld in the shape of a spider-monkey. As Lacandon did in the past, Kisin hunts monkeys; and when his arrow pierces the arm, leg or chest of a monkey, the person whose soul’s double is that particular monkey feels the pain in the same part of her/his body. The incantation describes the technique of bow and arrow making, as well as the material used by Kan Huuneh/Kisin (for instance, the birds’ feathers he utilizes to feather his arrows), which does not fit at all Lacandon technical norms. The spell also mentions the places where Kan Huuneh might hide to shoot people, and finally it tells how Kisin’s arrow can be broken by the man who utters the magical words.https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/18092soulmythincantationmagical beliefsbowarrow
spellingShingle Didier Boremanse
Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »
Journal de la Société des Américanistes
soul
myth
incantation
magical beliefs
bow
arrow
title Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »
title_full Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »
title_fullStr Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »
title_full_unstemmed Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »
title_short Huuneh : incantation maya (lacandon) contre « la flèche de Kisin »
title_sort huuneh incantation maya lacandon contre la fleche de kisin
topic soul
myth
incantation
magical beliefs
bow
arrow
url https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/18092
work_keys_str_mv AT didierboremanse huunehincantationmayalacandoncontrelaflechedekisin