Beliefs Functions Ceremonies Art Medicine Death and Hereafter
The active presence of a high deity is not reported, except in the tradition of the sleeping Sèifabül ('shiverman'), (cf. Citak: Ayai-ipit; Kombai: Refafu), whose awakening causes an earthquake, and eventually the final destruction of the universe. According to the myth of origin told among Khomey (Khayakhatun) the creator spirit Ginol created the universe from the mythical pig Faül's carcass. The first human couple is said to have been originally male siblings who received their offspring after a castration ritual, after which Ginol does not seem to play a further role in humankind's history.
Investigations did not result in evidence about an explicit link between this creation myth and the Korowai cosmology, in which the terrestrial universe is imaged as three concentric circles. The innermost circle, the world of the living (bolüpbolüp), and the second circle, the realm of death, called bolüplefupé ('[at] bolüpbolüp's margins'), are surrounded by a third circle, i.e. the endless ocean, which is called méanmaél (lit. 'dogwater'). In the context of ideas about the final universal destruction, the monstrous sheatfishes (ndewé - Siluriformes species), that populate the great ocean, are thought to swallow all the living and the dead at the future day of doom (wola/lamol). This final destruction is regarded as the turning upside down of the bolüpbolüp and bolüplefupé.
The Korowai consider the universe to be full of dangerous spirit beings (laléo), some of which are thought of as personal, while others are considered more impersonal. Still a long period after the first encounter with people from outside, especially the white missionary personnel, these outsiders have been regarded as laléo-alin.
Apart from this laléo-concept, a significant role is assigned to the somehow present spirits of dead ancestors (mbolombolop). Korowai life is surrounded by and immersed in numerous mana-like taboos (ayulekha) and secret and/or /sacred matters (khandin).
Institutionalized religious specialism is unknown among the Korowai. Some older women are said to have knowledge of divination and healing techniques. They claim the ability to communicate with ancestral spirits and other spiritual beings in order to neutralize disastrous events, or detect khakhua-witches.
Some males are known for their knowledge of magical methods for harming objects, places, people, and even entire clans, by burning human residues such as hair or finger-nails, or charmed magical arrow-tips (ayulekha daup).
Central notions of fertility and/ prosperity are connected with the lengthy preparations and the actual celebration of sago grub festivals (gil), which include an abundant distribution and consumption of food items, and particularly the grubs (non, gèkh) of sago beetles (khip 'Scarabaeidae species'). The grubs are considered the bearers of life power.
The festivals are performed in the presence of numerous guests who are gathered in accordance with kinship-related rules for chain invitation. The final ritual, however, takes place after these guests have departed, and involves the removal of a fence that had been placed around the central sacred pole (khandinfénop) in the long festival bivouac, while the clan-members sing the Gom-song to accompany fertility dances performed by the younger males. These festivals are organized by a clan at least once in a lifetime.
In times of trouble a ritual pig slaughter is performed, during which the male clan members call on the spirits to recompensate them for the sacrificial gift by providing protection, health, and a general improvement in the conditions of life.
Within the context of tree house building, the positioning of the supporting poles and the construction of the roof are accompanied by magic rituals, to defend against witchcraft and evil spirits, and to assure future prosperity. Before moving permanently into a new tree house, the tenants perform a simple but expressive noctural ritual by beating the walls with a piece of wood to expel evil powers.
Fishing and hunting are governed by various magical techniques, taboos, and restrictions, some of which arethem based on totem traditions.
Special magical arrows (khayolamol) are used as objects of reinforcement in times of trouble.
At least four genres of oral texts are found among the Korowai:
- origin myths (lamolaup) known only by older males,
- folktales (wakhatum), shared by all the people,
- magical sayings (ndafunmahüon) not likely to be known by children,
- totem traditions (laibolekha mahüon) that are commonly known.
Wood-carving art is done in various ways: The tops of arrow-shafts are decorated with abstract motifs that sometimes have a magical significance. The large mouthpieces of bamboo tobacco pipes are decorated with refined leaf motifs. Shields are carved with stylized motifs, and painted with white clay, charcoal, and the red saps of the pandanus and other fruits. Some of the decorations seem to be connected with symbolism of a mythical and sexual nature.
Healing techniques involve the application of charms, officinal herbs, and magical manipulations with tobacco pipes and stones. Although many Korowai patients have already learned the advantages of the missionary clinic, they simultaneously resort to their traditional healing methods.
A central notion with respect to the afterlife, is the khomilo-concept, which covers all stages from being in deep sleep to being really dead. The Korowai believe that the souls (yanopkhayan ['real person']) of individuals travel over the big road (debüloptalé) from the land of the living to the realm of the dead, where they are welcomed in their own territory and receive a new body. After a while they may be summoned to return, and to be reincarnated in a baby at the moment of its birth.
The khomilo-concept seems to provide an opportunity for souls to be transformed into animals. This transformation/metamorphosis theme occurs in various oral traditions. Simultaneously, the Korowai believe that the shadow/ghost (maf), the last manifestation of a deceased person, keeps wandering for a period in the neighborhood of that person's own tree house. Informants say that the maf enters the body of a torrent lark (kham - grallina bruijni), a bird that plays a certain role in divination techniques for the detection of khakhua-witches.
The deceased are buried near the tree house in shallow graves, providing an opportunity for resurrection in case of temporary unconsciousness.
