University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2018 A Return to Dark Shamans: Kanaima & the Cosmology of Threat Tarryl Janik University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons, Religion Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Janik, Tarryl, "A Return to Dark Shamans: Kanaima & the Cosmology of Threat" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 1834. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1834 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A RETURN TO DARK SHAMANS: KANAIMA & THE COSMOLOGY OF THREAT by Tarryl L. Janik Jr. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Anthropology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2018 ABSTRACT A RETURN TO DARK SHAMANS: KANAIMA & THE COSMOLOGY OF THREAT by Tarryl L. Janik Jr. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2018 Under the Supervision of Professor Ingrid Jordt Kanaima in Amazonia has been theorized within anthropology as “assault sorcery,” “dark shamanism,” and “anti-structure.” Among the Patamuna Indians of Guyana kanaima have been theorized as “cultural expression” of “hyper-traditionality” in response to an encroaching state, its industry and development, evangelism, and modernity (Whitehead; 2002). Kanaima is a mode of terror and violence, of healing, enhancing power, and performing masculinity—a symbol that operates in Patamuna mythology, cosmology, and place-making.