Sater-Maw Initiation

The world is of a great abundance of cultures that influence individuals from all various

types of backgrounds. Indifferent to race, gender, or age, people are astonished by how

remarkable indigenous tribes and their practices can be. The indigenous groups of the world are

unique in the fact that they are not like the majority of the religions that dominate the world

today. Individuals that are not accustomed to experiencing and practicing the traditional rituals

that indigenous people often perform can be astonished or even disturbed by the complexity and

intricacy of the belief system of various tribes. In the eyes of certain individuals, it may be

perceived as unorthodox or strange to see rituals performed by indigenous groups that look like

torture or self mutilation but in fact, it is a way to see the beauty, self expression, and rawness of

ones culture at work. Though there are different important rituals for different tribes, the rites of

passage for the Sater-Maw tribe from the Amazon Rainforest have a distinct and vigorous

ritual that initiates their boys into adulthood.

In the Amazon Rainforest, there is an indigenous group called the Sater-Maw that

consists of around ten thousand members that take part in a ritual where the boys are initiated

into adulthood. Maw men are notable for protecting the tribe against natural competitors and

neighboring enemies that could potentially cause unbalance in the village. These men are also

responsible for hunting and gathering the food for the tribe. The Sater-Maw tribe takes part in

an initiation ritual that consists of making the boys wear hand woven mittens with bullet ants

intertwined in the netting for a total of ten minutes over a span of twenty times until they are

officially considered warriors and men. The act itself is planned out and thoroughly prepared for.

Prior to the initiation, tribe initiate members go out into the Amazon Rainforest and search for

the bullet ants. The Maw people then submerge the bullet ants in a herbal concoction that puts
them to sleep so that they can be captured and woven into the material that the boys will then

wear during the ceremony. The bullet ant, also known as Paraponera clavata, can produce a sting

that is so painful that it is compared to the feeling of being shot. The venom of a bullet ant can

also produce hours of pain from only one sting (Cultures and Customs). The venom from a bullet

ant contains neurotoxins that start to attack the nerves of the individual wearing the gloves. After

enduring countless painful stings from the bullet ants, symptoms include hallucinations, muscle

paralysis, and disorientation. As the young boys are undergoing the initiation the Maw people

take part in song and dance that serves as the only diversion from their pain (National

Geographic).

The different phases of the ideological right of passage rituals include separation,

transition, and incorporation. Each phase is crucial to the development and journey of the young

boys as they transition into adulthood. The ideological rites of passage for the Sater-Maw tribe

begin with the phase of separation. The act of separation takes place when the young boys take

part in their first bullet ant ritual. The first ritual represents a separation from their identity of as

being a young boy and begins the transition to becoming a man. The second phase of the rituals

rite of passage is transition. The transition phase of the ritual occurs over the course of the next

nineteen times the boys go through the initiation ceremony, allowing themselves to transition and

completely lose themselves as boys. The last phase of the rituals rite of passage is incorporation.

After the boys have completed all twenty rituals they will be considered by their community as

warriors and men that are able to protect the tribe. Incorporation allows the transition to be

completed and for the men to join the community as new and better individuals than they were

before. The cycle of the ideological rite of passage of the Sater-Maw tribe is the reinforcement

of the values of the people for the sake of the community as a whole and the human change to
the young boys into men. The Maw people believe that by enduring pain, one can truly cherish

life.

The Maw people perform their initiation ritual along with song and dance to make their

initiate members worthy of a cause. The cause being that the boys that do transition into men are

in charge of protecting and ensuring the wellbeing of the tribe and continue the ritual for

generations to come. Through the Sater-Maw Initiation ritual, the young boys not only have

the opportunity to prove themselves to their community by becoming productive members of

society but also the opportunity to fight and win an internal battle within themselves. Through

the act of participating and by completing the rituals, the boys are able to transition and find a

place in the community that will accept them and be worthy of the unique culture and all it has to

offer to the members of the Sater-Maw tribe.

 Work Cited

Cultures and Customs. (2013, November 16). Sater-Maw Initiation. Retrieved November 06,

2017

National Geographic. (n.d.). Initiation With Ants. Retrieved November 06, 2017