Indigenous Narratives of Creation and Origin in Embrace of the Serpent, by Ciro Guerra
English language notes April 1, 2020 Enrique Bernales Albites
An analysis of Ciro Guerra's film *Embrace of the Serpent* shows how the Amazonian shaman Karamakate's interactions with Western travelers reveal Indigenous origin narratives and the curative power of plants. The article argues that for these Indigenous cultures, knowledge and its reproduction are equivalent to ancestral songs and rituals, such as the Ayahuasca ceremony. By exploring central scenes of intercultural exchange and the Ayahuasca ritual, the analysis highlights the difficulty of distinguishing between the rationality of orality and writing in how Native cultures of the Americas understand their world.