The contagion of images: embedded voices and sensory apparatuses in an Amerindian shamanic ritual
Hybrid January 1, 2017 Andrea-Luz Gutierrez Choquevilca
Amazonian Runa shamans (yachak) perform therapeutic songs (ikara) that summon invisible beings—spirits, demons, animals, or hybrid entities—during rituals. The shaman's utterance involves a composition-translation that deliberately exploits the sign's deficiency: its duplicity, evanescent presence, and secret evocation. This partial deciphering and transgression of ordinary communication rules gives the mental image its power to persist and spread among participants. The article challenges Western communication models based on signifying intention or relevance, replacing them with a pragmatic approach emphasizing multiplication of voices, points of view, and possible interpretations. It reexamines Lévi-Strauss's ideas on symbol effectiveness through sensory apparatuses that affect representation and belief in ritual contexts.