PIYA

Piya: translation

Various similar and related words in diverseAmazonianlanguages refer to the kind of shamans who have the ability toheal illnessesor commit violence (predation). In some languages (e.g., that of theWayapídiscussed byAlan Campbell), cognate terms are not nouns but verbs and adjectives and should be translated as “shamanize” or “shamanic.”Neil Whiteheaddistinguishes piya fromalleluiaandkanaimàpractices and practitioners. Although all might be dangerous, it is only “kanaimà’san” (practitioners of kanaimà) who are by definition “assaultsorcerers.” Piya shamans “are primarily sought after to heal.”