irixulakuma

Wauja[edit]

irixulakuma

Blue Cotinga, Cotinga nattererii (a species of bird)
Irixulakume eu whun, a-MU-naun wiu. A-MU-naun whun... Itsa kala onu katiwhun... Etsunajatawinejo yiu. Iyawi uleitaku wi, ah kaliwhun, Irixulakume. Iyawi uleitaku wi. Iyawi uleitaku wi. Onai hiya we, onai hiya we. Onumanaitsa eejowehene yiu. Eejo-TA amunaun. Tueneu, salaleneu amakua. Sukuti wasityuene okupwi eu — Tum! — iyene okupwi eu.
[Storyteller:] Irixulakuma (Blue Cotinga Bird) was indeed a chief, [he] was. [The] chief of [his] village. [He had] this many wives [indicates four]. So [one day] he went wandering. He went to his manioc gardens, that one did, Blue Cotinga Bird did. He went to his manioc gardens, he went to his manioc gardens. [He walked some distance to his gardens.] He took his time there, rubbing charcoal on his body [to make himself handsome]. [At last the] chief was nothing but charcoal [covered with charcoal]. [He] returned [home] and reclined in his hammock. [His wife,] Sukuti (Parakeet Woman), jumped eagerly into the hammock beside him – Tum! – [went the hammock strings as] she climbed in beside him.

When adorning themselves, Wauja men rub charcoal (often mixed with piqui oil) on their bodies (maka awojotipa, "in order to be handsome"). Contrasting designs in red can be painted on the glistening charcoal base.
The male Blue Cotinga has brilliant teal feathers, set off by contrasting charcoal gray markings on the throat, chest, wings, and around the eyes. This above excerpt from the traditional story explains how, in ancient times, the Blue Cotinga got its distinctive markings.

E. Ireland field notes, confirmed with Piitsa, Muri, and other elders (all experienced hunters) in 1982 using José Cândido de Melo Carvalho's Atlas da Fauna Brasileira, Edições Melhoramentos, São Paulo, 1981.
"Irixulakume eu" (transcript pp. 5-8) uttered by Aruta, elder and storyteller, while recounting story of the "Caiman Spirit and the Origin of Piqui," (Yakaojokuma), November 1989. Recorded in BBC film, "The Storyteller."