ABSTRACT
The mythological narratives of the people originating from the tributaries of the right bank of the middle Guaporé River reveal an intimate connection between gender relations and human / animal / spirit difference. The myths emphasize, on the one hand, the conditions for the possibility of a society composed of cross-sex relations, and on the other hand, the cannibalism practiced by women. From the articulation with the daily ethnography, in particular regarding the production and consumption of fermented drink, the article suggests that female’s cannibalism, ie, the virtual identification between women and jaguars, is the condition for the (current) difference that separates human from nonhuman and human among themselves.
KEYWORDS
Amerindian mythology; gender; cannibalism; Southwestern Amazon