kanaimö

Ye'kwana

FWOTD – 28 March 2023

Variant orthographies

ALIV	kanaimö
Brazilian standard	kanaimä
New Tribes	canaimä

Etymology

Either inherited from Proto-Cariban or a South American Wanderwort; compare Kari'na kanaimo, Pemon kanaimö, and, ultimately from the same source, English kanaima.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kanajmə]

Noun

kanaimö

1. person turned into a monstrous or animal form and seized with a murderous rage
2. the practices, mode of killing, magic, etc. used by such a person

Usage notes

Opinions among speakers differ as to exactly what form a kanaimö takes, whether a person invokes it or transforms into it, and other details.

References

• Hall, Katherine Lee (1988) The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volumes I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University, page 392: “kanaimö - night devil”
• de Civrieux, Marc (1980) “kanaima”, in  David M. Guss, transl., Watunna: An Orinoco Creation Cycle, San Francisco: North Point Press, →ISBN:

  kanaima: A highly feared form of black magic widespread throughout the Carib-speaking Indians of eastern Venezuela and Guyana. The Yekuhana brought back Kanaima when they went to Amenadiña to find iron. Versions vary as to what a Kanaima actually is, but most agree that it is a person turned into a monster, jaguar, snake, etc., who ruthlessly kills for revenge, hire, or just the pleasure of it.

• Guss, David M. (1989) To Weave and Sing: Art, Symbol, and Narrative in the South American Rain Forest, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, →ISBN, pages 3, 223: “kanaima”