WAYAPÍ

AnAmazonianindigenous people.AlanCampbell’s ethnography is particularly interested in the Wayapí’s use of the termpayé, which, though roughly cognate withpiya(a term for shamans elsewhere in the region), acts as a verb or adjective rather than a noun. That is, there are no “shamans” among the Wayapí, but anyone can access, utilize, and be affected by powers that can be called “shamanistic.” Similarly, any person (human orother-than-humanin thisanimistcommunity) can be “very shamanistic” or only “slightly shamanistic.”