BECOMING A PIYEI: VARIABILITY AND SIMILARITY IN CARIB SHAMANISM PETER KLOOS 1. INTRODUCTION Shamanism is a relatively individual form of religion, With its emphasis on individual experience in trance, or trance-like states, and its general lack of public dramatization of belief in ritual it can. lead easily t0 heterogeneity in belief. On che other hand, heterogeneity is counteracted by the fact that individual experience and activity take place in, and are conditioned by, one and the same culture, Exactly ow variable is shamanism? Ic seems that the numerical approach in this field of research is rarely practiced (NoRBECK, 1961:113). This approach is with regard to shamanism in the Guyanas among the Amerindians restricted to Audrey Butt’s article, Réalité et idéal dans la pratique chamanique (1962), with regard to the Akawaio shaman, Describing shamanism in Surinam many authors give superficial accounts, and the few whose work shows insight have restricted themselves co the experiences of One shaman (AHLBRINCK, 1931:400-408; PENARD, 1928:623-671), or based their work on the information of only one informant (Dr Gorye, 1942:211-276). 1 found ia che two Carib villages in which I catried out fieldwork 18 shamans (that is almost one fifth of the adult men — among the Caribs only men are shamans — though not all of them equally active). In this article’ I shall try to disclose something of variability and similarity in the behavior of these shamans, concentrating myself on One aspect of shamanism: becoming a shaman. I collected most data by systematic interviewing of 13 of the 18 shamans in the villages 1. 1am indebted w Professor A. J. F, Kébben, University of Amsterdam, and to Dr. Audrey J. Burt, Pite Rivers “Museum, Oxford, for ceading an earlier’ deafe of this article,4 INSTITUTO CARIBE DE ANTROPOLOGIA ¥ SOCIOLOGIA Christiaankondre and Langamaykondre, at the mouth of the Maroni on the Surinam shore (see research note at the end of this article). Be- tween February 1966 and February 1968 I stayed about 18 months in Christiaankondre, I am indebted to the Netherlands Foundation for the ‘Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) for making the field- work possible. The only religious functionary among the Maroni River Caribs — apart from the Roman Catholic priest — is the pi:yei*, or shaman. Although a shaman had formerly an important political function in being the leader of a village, his primary function was and is that of a medical man. The Caribs themselves proudly call him “the Carib doctor”. According t0 Carib thinking illness is the result of the activities of. bad: spirits, who .are. “upon” you, and by being upon you cause illness. Consequently, a shaman heals by chasing away the bad spirits with the aid of his spiritual helpers, in address also called pi:yei (or rather Bi:yei). Once the bad spirit has been removed, health returns automatically. The chasing away is effected during a nocturnal séance, in which the shaman, seated in a small tent (to:kai) summons his spiritual helpers (aéw:tva), consults them, and asks them to chase away the spirit causing the illness. The séance, which normally lasts for two or three hours, consists of singing special songs (ale:w#i), accompanied by the shaman’s rattle (maclaka), and talking with the vatious spirits. Other methods of curing include sucking of certain substances (called piclinda); blowing tobacco smoke over a patient; drinking of tobacco juice co induce vomiting; massage with tobacco smoke and drinking the lacex of the ta:kiné tree (probably a poison, see below, p. 105); sarkin? can also be used as an embrocation®, Among the Caribs in the northwest part of Surinam (on the rivers Coppename, Tibici, Wayombo, Saramacca and Suriname) shamanism has nearly died out. Only one or two shamans are still active. In almost all villages on the lower Maroni, however, shamanism is a lively institution. 2. A aote on orthography: /i/ an unrounded close back vowel, resembling /e/ in Tithe). /1/ isa flap. /:/ Luse in accordance with B. J. Hoff's The Carib Language, to indicate a long vowel. I did not indicate that all consonants but the flap are palatalized when they follow the /i/. like the /s/ preceeding the /i/. ta:kini is an exception, (sce HOFF, 1968:39 for the rules of palatalization) 3. In another publication 1 hope co discuss Carib methods of curing.ANTROPOLOGICA 5 . Becoming a shaman ' is a process in which the following. phases can be distinguished: 1. A preliminary phase in which motivation to become a shaman arises. 2. The preparation and the drinking of ta:kini. 3. The period of seclusion. 4. The final feast, atawenackano. 5 + Practice, and after a few years often a second drinking of ta:kini. On the basis of my interviews with the shamans [ shall now describe the five phases. It is not necessary to cite every phase from the experiences of all shamans. I have selected a few model cases, and the variations. For the sake of consistency three shamans will feature in the descriptions of all phases (ya:nea from Christiaankondre, and alemnwa:le and kuma:nda from Langamaykondre®.) 1 refer to cable 1, in which [ sum up some information about all 18 shamans. 2. PRELIMINARIES The reasons why a man becomes a shaman fall clearly into two types. ‘The’ first is illness of the future shaman himself; the second, care for other persons, mostly one’s children, Let me give the shaman’s versions: ga:nea, | didn’t want to become a shaman but I was il. I had headache, pain in the limbs and stomach, maybe it was caused by a spirit, The grandfather of [X] said that if I would not drink According to PENARD (1928:625) the Caribs have three kinds of shamans, the sackini piyei, the ta:min tobacco) piyei. and the pornsii Epepper) piyel. | discuss in this article only the ta:Binf shaman, because it is he who is the preseatday shaman. The last initiation of a tobacco shaman took place probably 60-70. years ago. and about the pepper shaman present-day Caribs are ignorant. 5. After some hesitation 1 decided to use their actual (Carib) names, 1 can do so because there is no risk involved; publication cannot be harmful to the shamans (1 would not give their actual names had there been a tense relationship berween shamans and missionary. for instance). I feel obliged co do so, because I deem it necessary thar other anthropologists have the possibility to continue the research where 1 stopped. Penaru’s mentioning of maliwa:yu's name was useful to me. My use, of Carib names gives some protection because the Carib clo not mention these names readily (and iostead give their Christian names to outsiders). A few Carib names. however, have become family namesINSTITUTO CARIBE DE ANTROPOLOGIA Y SOCIOLOGIA ta:kini and become a shaman I would die, Afterwards the pain often came back and I have drunk savkini six times in my life... alatumasle, | had been to Paramaribo and was coming back by boat [by sea}. One night we stayed in a creck and suddenly | saw two men walking on the beach, | was terrified and got a headache immediately afterwards. The headache stayed and stayed, After coming home I went to Albina {a nearby market town) and, got fever and pain all over my body, I nearly died. At home again T still had my head aching, but the fever disappeared. This lasted for three months, I really chought | was going to die. My first wife brought me to Aware [a Carib village on the Mana River in French Guyana} where [ALBERT] the father of Aayacliyw:lan [a famous shaman] lived. In the evening I saw a butterfly dancing before my eyes, but I knew it was a spirit. I stayed a few days with Alberc who swayed the rattle, but it did noc relieve me. A Creole woman from Mana told me to go to the Sister [that is, to the Roman Catholic hospital in Mana]. I stayed for three days in hospital but to no avail. T wen back to Awara and to my brother. He said, go to my father-in-law to drink ta*kini, And that did help. What was the cause of the fever? My brother's father-in-law cold me that a Hindu barber in Paramaribo, who had cut my hair, had kept it and worked on it [put a spell on ic] Laya:liyuslan, We lived on the other side of the Maroni, some fifteen years ago perhaps, My father was a shaman, Thad fallen from a tee and was ill for @ considerable time, T don’t know the name of the illness, Finally my father said that T should drink ta:kini and become a shaman. jse?u, When I lived with my wife in her father’s village I sud- denly became paralyzed. At that time 2 few men were with my father-in-law, they wanted me to become a shaman and I drank tatkini with them. Afterwards my wife’s father told me to learn the shaman’s songs and consequently J became a shaman. as to the second type: alemuwa:le, { became a shaman because I wanted to fearn it how long ago? Well, how old is our oldest son? He was sickly and I wanted to be able to cure him. kuma:nda, One of my children had died, thereafter I wanted to become a shaman because then I could take care of them myself. ‘After I became a shaman another child died bur after that one everything went all right. Rabula:i, 1 became a shaman at the same time as my father who drank at that moment for the second time. I had been married for a few years and two of our children had died and theANTROPOLOGICA 7 others were often ill. My mother told me to became a shaman, in order to cure them. I had not thought about it myself. My mother, too, was often ill and went to various shamans. She became bored by ic and told my father to become a good shaman, to protect her. From these data it can be concluded that the reasons motivating a man to become a shaman cannot be classified simply with the psycholog- ical disturbances often ascribed to shamans. (I hope to discuss the problem of the psychology of shamanism and its relationship to culture and social structure in a future paper.) It is a motivation of a very homely nature in most cases (see table 1). This is in agreement with the general nature of Carib shamanism with its medical, goals and the unemotional atmosphere even during nocturnal séances, and also in agree- ment with the place of the husband in the nuclear family and the concern of a man for his family, Age for becoming a shaman (see table 1) is a reflection of this characteristic. In becoming a shaman shame plays a role: several men said that they fele ashamed when they frequently had to ask the aid of a shaman, and that they therefore became a shaman themselves, This, t00, is com- pletely in line with Carib society and its culture, with its stress on the independent nuclear family (see my The Maroni River Caribs). One might say chat the term “shaman” is inappropriate. On the other hand, this functionary in the Guyanas (and in South America in general) is customarily called a shaman, while a better term is difficult to find. There is no relationship between type of motivation and activity as a shaman, Not all who drank tahini became shamans. In the first place many women used it as a medicine (it is regarded as an ultimate medicine), but in Maroni River Casib society only men are shamans. In the second place a few men used it as a medicine, but were not trained into shamanistic craft; Aaniyale, in fact, is a borderline case (maybe ala:tumarle, to). Aaniyale, | was about twelve years old and had diarrhoea, with blood in the faeces. | was in hospital in Kaya'ni [Cayenne] three months, but T did not become well again. Then, back in Iracubo [an Amerindian village in French Guyana}, my parents consulted a shaman and he let me drink ta:Bini, Because I was very ill the spasms lasted for about a week. My teacher made a rattle, though 1 refused at first, 1 was only a boy, but he forced me to become a shaman and gave me a few spirits, I didn’t learn the shaman’s songs properly. | am not a real shaman but since I have8 INSTITUTO CARIBE DE ANTROPOLOGIA Y SOCIOLOGIA my spirits (yakewasl?) and a ratcle Tam obliged to hold a séance from time to time. 3. PREPARATION AND DRINKING OF TA:KINI Once a man has decided to become a shaman a teacher is selected, although often’ the choice is already made in the decision itself, namely when a shaman urges a patient t0 drink sa:kin?, When a man's children are frequently ill it is often the shaman who treats them who suggests that their father become a shaman, not only to take care of them him- self, but also to protect them beforehand. Those who have a father who is an active shaman choose theit father (they have chosen him alseady as a healer), some their father-in- law. In about half of the cases the choice is made on the basis of assumed competence of a certain shaman. My data suggest that in competence, as the Caribs see it, family tradition can be discerned. Having pupils is often a many or none phenomenon, When a man has had a few pupils, his father or his son — if he is a’shaman — has had a few pupils, too. Next come a few material preparations. These include the making of the shaman’s rattle, the building of the house of seclusion and the collecting of ta: In the majority of the cases a shaman's firse ma‘laka is made by his teacher (yamole:bane, my teacher of shamanistic knowledge). The rattle is made of the tree gourd (Amwa:i, Crescéntia cujéte L.). The fruit, normally abouc 15 cm. ¢, is perforated at its stalk and ac the op- posite side and cooked. Its weakened contents are removed with a thin stick, Prolonged shaking of the already hollow shell with small pieces of a broken bottle frees the inner side of all pulp. The shell is fitted to a wooden handle, and a string of cotton is tied ro both ends of che handle to prevent its coming apart during use. The shell gets six or eight incisions before it is painted (a dark reddish brown paint, called kume.ti). Finally ic is filled with a handful of seeds of palaka:ly (Canna coccinea Mill.), heavy, hard, round seeds, about 5 mm. § together with a few white pebbles abouc the same size (called sawo:no). Both seeds and pebbles have a spiritual meaning. According to Carib thinking everything — every category of things, like animal species, trees, etc. — is connected with a spirit. Ic is nor so much the individual plant or animal thac has a spirit, itis the species as such that is connected to a spiritual being thac can be called its guardian spirit. When theANTROPOLOGICA 9 original shamans where looking for something to put into their rattle, it is said, the spirit of the palaka:lu induced them to dream about che plant. And indeed, they found the seeds useful for producing noise. The small stones, however, are more important. In most cases the stones are small pieces of white quartz, rounded by the action of water (they are found on beaches). The pebbles are “owned” by spirits, in particular by the guardian spirits, aéu:wa, of the shaman, The spirit of the seeds does nor bear a name apart from its generic name (palaka:lu aki:li), but the owner of a pebble bears a personal name, The names belong to various spirits, most of chen closely connected with the fa:kini tree, like twkaya:na, si:litoya:na, sina:liyan, ipo:webin. Often a shaman is not interested in knowing the names of all his stones It is che teacher who supplies his pupil with his first pebbles, buc their number can be augmented. Finding a beautiful pebble on the beach a shaman puts it into his rattle. By means of a séance, in which he tries to contact the spirit of the pebble, he can find out whether it is an useful spirit stone or not. Moreover, according to the shamans, the pebbles, like the seeds, multiply in the rattle, A shaman, showing the contents of his rattle will tell thar che brown seeds are the young of the black ones, and that the small and very round and white or trans- parent pebbles are the young of the bigger stones, I can offer no serious explanation for this belief. As far as T know che shaman does nor put them secretly into the rattle. The pebbles are highly valued objects and after the death of a shaman the stones (in fact, the whole ma:laka) can be inhericed by his son or a pupil. One of the shamans told me that he had quarrelled with his older brother after the death of his father over the possession of a particularly beautiful stone, a nearly transparant piece with red, blue and green veins (it may have been part of a glass marble). Nowadays the shamans find their tawo-no on the beach; some go ‘0 special places, on the Maroni or Mana river. But they may be found on any sandy beach. Long ago, it is told, the shamans used to pick them from the sky. The novice went into the sky to gather his shamanis- tic knowledge as well as his stones, while his body remained on earth. Once the body of a young shaman was touched by his girlfriend during his endeavour (contact with women is taboo during the novitiate). The young man’s spirit was unable to reenter his body and disappeared, Ie took revenge however: no longer were the novices able to visit tukaya:na's realm, and instead of gathering their stones there, they had to search for them along the rivers.10 INSTITUTO CARIBE DE ANTROPOLOGIA Y SOCIOLOGIA The shaman’s rattle has ewo functions. In the first place it serves to call the spirits, who, hearing its sound, perceive that their presence is required. In the second place ic is 2 musical instrument used ro ac- company the songs which are sung to summon particular spirits. The room in which most shamanistic activities take place, above all the séance, is called to:kai. Normally the to-kai is a tent, made of a few poles and a boat's sail. It is about one meter high. For the period of seclusion following the drinking of ta:kini a special house is built, also called to:éai, But it is a house of the normal type, though smaller and closed on all sides. It is built by the teacher together with his pupil (s) and is situated in the village near the house of the teacher. Neither rattle nor house are made with special care, even though they are closely connected with the supernatural. The collecting of Intex from the sa:kini tree, however, is a different macter, The ta:kini tree “is neither rare nor abundant. According to OSTENDORF (1962:20) it grows only in the eastern part of Surinam. In any case, its habitat extends from there in-an easterly direction, into French Guyana. The trees used by the shamans of Christiaankondre and Laygamaykondre grow in French Guyana, It is a tall tree, with a light grey outer bark. The juice is collected from the inner bark (it should be called latex). The teacher, and often his pupils as well, goes co the tree. They light their long cigars‘. The teacher blows smoke against che tree and utters a short prayer, addressing the tree as “father”: ha pa:pa// wo:pii o?wa/kula:no bo:ko/tamo:le bo:ko// kaba:noko//ayeka:li eda:li bo:ko/ha/wo:pii o?wa// iloge_kaba:noko. ha/father//1 have come to you/for something good/for knowledge// help me// because 1 heard about your fame [1 heard your namel/ha/ I have come to you// so help me. 6. The identity of saskini is not certain. OSTENDORF (1962:20) mentions Helicostslis tomentosa Macht. (according to him called takini in Carib and hiari in Arawak). Professor O. F. Uffelie, University of Utrecht, informes me that sa:bini is probably the much rarer H, peduneulara, 1 was unable to collect plane material. 7. The Caribs are rather heavy smokers. Normally they smoke Furopean tobacco, but the shaman, at least the shaman in action, smokes the traditional long cigar, made ‘of dried leaf tobacco (za:/bun) and a thin sheet of the inner bark of the alema:ly tee (Couratari sp.). The cigar measures abouc 25 cm. The importance of cobacco in shamanism rests on the belief char the plant houses « spirit as powerful as the tackini cree.ANTROPOLOGICA 11 The teacher then takes his machete and a piece of heavy wood, and placing the machete vertically on the tree, beats on it with the stick (che bark of the tree is hard and this is the best way to get a neat slit, some 30 cm, long). Normally four slits are cut, in pairs, two on the east side of the tree and two on the west side, But there is no complete uniformity of opinion about this. kuma:nda, You must cut the tree on the west side where the sun goes down, northwest or southwest is all right but east is wrong, you will die because the spirits bringing illness come from the east. ° ya:nea, You begin on the east, making cwo slits a hand apart. If you can’t get enough you can make slits on the west side, but never at the north or south side of the tree, I don't know why, the old shamans in the past did it like | tell you Aayacliyuclan, Two slits on the east and two on the west side of the tree, that is the way I do it always. I do not know aemuwa:le’s opinion but in general ya:nea and Aayacliyn:lay are cortect, The tahini trees I saw had all cuts both west and east, but never on the south or north, From the slits a yellow white fluid flows first, but this is consid- ered to be useless. It is called its poison (iAasi:lipo) and ic causes ill- ness, but not by the action of spirits, After a few minutes dark red- brown and slightly sticky drops appear. The fluid has a stimulating smell and a very pleasant caste (the shamans become lyrical when speaking about the taste of ta:kini, “ic is just like wine”). The teacher has some cotton fluff and soakes it with the drops. The latex he squeezes into a bottle. The amount needed varies, of course, with the number of pupils. Each pupil drinks always two small glasses, about 30 cc. altogether. The lavex may be drunk at the place, but normally drinking takes place at home. According to a few shamans the two slits in the tree are connected with the drinking of the two glasses, In any case the wo glasses symbolize man and woman (some say hus- band and wife). No ordinary man dares to damage a tackini tree, lest he be punished by the spirits of the tree, who kill the culprit. The cree is also in other, respects subject to extraordinary (and contradictory) beliefs. According fo many shamans small ta:kini trees do not exist — only mature trees, measuring some 20-30 cm. 9 and bigger. Other shamans hold it chat the tree has no flowers (it has). Now the principal act follows: the12 INSTITUTO CARIBE DE ANTROPOLOGIA Y SOCIOLOGIA drinking. This is done in the evening, without any formality. Some time after drinking the pupil lies down in his hammock, and awaits the impact of che chemical involved — or the arrival of the spirits, as the Caribs conceive of it. The effect of ta:kini is equated with fever, ic is said chat the pupil is shivering from a strong fever and if his hammock was not strongly tied or the house not well built, the whole ching would collapse. The experience, as well as the strength of the attack and che explanation differ a good deal among shamans. dlemuwacle, After drinking wo small glasses, they ate ase:piti me, husband and wife, I smoked 2 long cigar and laid down in my hammock. After a shore time I felt a series of shocks, beginning in my feet, I stayed motionless, because my father [his teacher] said that if T moved 1 could get @ crooked back. I didn’t sleep, the fever came when I was fully conscious. It Jasts a long time but you can think and sce and hear. The shivers came in two waves, the first longer than the second, Jt means that the spirits are upon you. The presence of their power is enough to cause fever in you Good and bad spirits arrive but my father sorted them out, the good spirits became my familiar spirits and the bad ones he kept at bay. When you fall asleep you dream about spirits. They come in boats and look like Indians, they talk with you, Before falling asleep 1 didn't notice the presence of the spirits apart from the fever they cause. kuma:nda, After drinking the we:we agizli, the spirits of the tree come and sit down and have a look at you, My father [maliwa:yu, his teacher} took his rattle and started to talk with them and then che spirits came upon me and I had a strong fever. I didn't sleep, 1 was awake [Auma:nda uses the word for being alive — nuilo mana, you are alive} but I felt like being ill. I didn’t see the spirits, Maybe I dreame afterwards, 1 forgot. The only thing 1 know is that 1 heard thunder, but when I awoke there was no thunder at all, it was the sound of konopo ywimi [a bird, the father spirit of the rain]. I told my father because it was a bad dream and if ] hadn't cold it I would have walked in rain all my life. yarnea, The growing fever is a sign that the spirits have arrived. I shivered in my hammock because the spirits pulled at me. ‘The shivering fits Jast about an hour, but I could think. Aabnla:i, After drinking, all the spirits in the s:ini «ree — and that tree has the power to collect many of them —~ are disturbed and angry and come to you, bad ones and good ones. The bad ones want to kill you for disturbing them, They are the cause of the fever. The good ones prevent it.ANTROPOLOGICA B My conclusion from these and my other data is chat the sachin latex contains a poison, but probably not of hallucinogenic nature S, The Caribs conceive its effect as the presence of spirits who by their presence alone already induce fever (ko:mii — tiko:miiye may — he has fever). The Caribs themselves stress the difference between a shaman's crain- ing with tobacco, involving a heavenly journey (a hallucination, see PeNarb, 1928; AHLBRINCK, 1931:400-1), and training with ‘a-kini, without a heavenly journey (ie. without hallucination). During the attack (in fact, during a good deal of the night following drinking) che teacher talks with the spirits. The shamans are unanimous in their opinion chat should the teacher not speak with the spirits during his pupil’s fever, the pupil would be killed by the (bad) spirits. On the other hand, no one could mention the name of a novice who died. No one ever dies from drinking sa:kini, they say After all ic is a benevolent power. The effect is not the same in all individuals, for various reasons. meta:pelukan, The attack in ya:nea was much stronger than in me, 1 was baptized and ya:nea net [factually he was wrong, because yu:vea is baptized], further, at first I did not believe in shamanism because } was Roman Catholic. ise?, | have drunk ta:kini because 1 was ill, 1 had no fever at all and vomited, I couldn't keep it in my stomach because 1 was baptized. Aabulasi, \ had fever for twelve full hours buc my father much shorter, maybe the spirits loved me more because then they are longer on you ‘Rayusliyuclen, 1 had fever and was ill, very ill, for five days, you see, 1 was already ill and when you have a bad spirit upon you on already, the attack of the sa:kivi spirits is fierce indeed, they purify you, See also the case of kaniyale, in section 2. Like so many features Gf Carib shamanism the preparations are the subject of the shaman’s songs, ale:mi, OstENvORF (1962:20) wrote that the latex causes hallucinations and dreams. My daca indicare that this is nor the case. Which chemical is involved seems to be completely unknown (O. F. Uffelie. personal communication). I collected a sample of the latex to be analyzed,14 INSTITUTO CARIBE DE ANTROPOLOGIA Y SOCIOLOGIA oya ga:tu ni:ton na, yamole:bane niton mo:lo la kula:no aiy® ni:ton mo:io la tawo:no aiyé ni:toy mozlo la whither did he go {whither} my teacher went he went away to fetch a good thing [eu:éini) he went away to fetch the pebbles [for the maclaka] Many songs like this one are learned during the next phase in becoming a shaman. 4, “SECLUSION The pupit stays in the small house for one or two weeks and is not allowed to go home, indeed, is not allowed co leave the house, Likewise, his diet is restricted. First ] shall cite from a few normal cases, and end wich two abnormal cases of seclusion. dlemuwaite, The night of drinking my father talked with the spirits, Next day I stayed in the tovkai, and in the following night nothing happened. The third night my father spoke again with the spirits. The following days 1 did nothing, I thought, slept and smoked nlema:li cigars. My body was still painful. J was not allow- ed to drink or eat much. 1 drank a litde bit of water, ate some manioc cake, very thin it was, I ate fish but only very small ones. } was very lean when I left the rorkai! The songs I learned after wards. duma:nda, Most of the time in the hut I did just nothing, I slept a lot and smoked. My father spoke with the spirits every second day. He talked to the spirits of the ta:Bivi tree, was kind co them and tried to attach them to his pupil. The spirits, at firse angry because they were disturbed, are. formed together with the pupil [into a working team]. [ learned songs towards the end of the period of seclusion [one week in his case]. My [step]-mother brought me food, manioc porridge and small fish. Big fish are forbidden, they have a strong smell and the spirits hare that. kabulaci, The first day 1 did nothing, just lying in my ham- mock, I felt sick. I stayed a week in the foreai and learned songs every night. My teacher sang a particular song and | tried to repeat. The same with the spirit words. I had to fast, my wife brought me only some watery manioc porridge and water.