"The Spirits Drink Cassava Beer": The More-Than-Human Politics of Self-Help in Amazonian Guyana.
Medical anthropology February 17, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2025.2473500 via PubMed
Summary
Among the Makushi people of Amazonian Guyana, communal work called mayu is a traditional system of self-help grounded in an ethic of helping each other out. Unlike Western self-care, mayu is a convivial event involving feasting, drinking, and celebrating social relationships. This cooperative ethos extends beyond humans to include nonhuman beings who participate in the shared work. Shamanism and plant-charms mediate these generative relations of shared selfhood.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Mayu, a traditional Makushi system of communal work, involves a collaborative ethic that extends to nonhuman beings and is mediated by shamanism and plant-charms. |
Abstract
This article concerns vernacular practices of "self-help" among the indigenous Makushi people of Amazonian Guyana. Contrasted with "Western" self-care, the article examines mayu, a traditional system of communal work grounded in a collaborative ethic of "helping each other out." A convivial event, mayu is always accompanied by feasting, drinking, and the celebration of social relationships. This cooperative ethos passes beyond the human realm to harness the agency of nonhuman beings who participate in this shared work. The article moves on to investigate how shamanism and the use of plant-charms are integral in mediating these generative relations of shared selfhood.