By Mel Caumont (Ankerman)
At the beginning there were nothing but peace and the Tapirapes lived in harmony with the gods, their laws and the nature, which became their home and provider.
Surrounded by the spirits and supported by the will of the gods they formed a symbiosis with the jungle and the big stream. This way they lived for long and as a family guarded by the light of Inti and their childes continued and appreciated him for that.
Slowly they forgot this way that the other gods provided them shelter and nutrition too, so watching them from the underworld Supay saw envious how Intis reputations and popularity grow while the ancestors forgot that light can just exist, because of the shadows.
So Supay sent a big Toucan at the world to remind the Tapirapes and a huge shadow felt on the Amazon. But the Tapirapes were always strong and gave their best to guard their kin and lifestyle so that the tribe would hold their heritage. Annoyed by seeing this Supay screamed in anger and accompanied by a thunderstorm a second shadow felt about the jungle. The ancestors who had witnessed it told that it was again a big Toucan who opened his beak to pick up the tree crowns until the trees filled the big stream.
But also this catastrophe was not enough to erase the tribe. Carefully they had cared for the plants and even the smallest being in the jungle before, so they learned not just to live in harmony with the jungle but also to harvest the most useful plants, like corn and melons. Of course it was a hard time for our ancestors and surely they suffered, but their wisdom and knowledge upheld our lifestyle again, also if they misjudged the signs.
Witnessing this ignorance Supay spoke to the other gods “..can t you see their depravity.?” and judging god Inti he convinced them to act again the Tapirapes too. So a third shadow felt about the Amazon and this time the big Toucan at the Sky darkened the sun.
Of course our ancestors tried again to fight the destiny and trusting Inti they gave their best to maintain the village, but this time it was different and some already thought that the gods had left them. After years of suffering and beginning to question the existence itself one Tapirape went to the mountain in the south and climbed up to the top to see if their is still a place to live for the Tapirapes. His name was Nácom, the bravest and strongest of our past, present and future.
When he arrived at the top he discovered that their was a huge hole and able to see down to the underworld he was seeing the place where the Toucans were born. Of course he didn t know this and brave like he was he climbed down just in the hope to find shelter from the wind and storm
Soon the shadows welcomed him and climbing deeper all light left until he had to climb in darkness. After a while, meanwhile he just climbed deeper because he felt to weak to climb up the darkness became brighter and he began to feel the presence of something close to him; then his feet touched the ground. The feeling which was fulfilling him paralyzed him and fearful he thought that he made a mistake to come down, when suddenly a powerful spiritual pressure let him fell on his knees
“Who are you that you dare to invade my kingdom, the den of darkness and death?” came a voice in his head.
With a trembling voice he answered into the emptiness of the cave “I am Nácom, the bravest among the honorable Tapirapes”. Then the angry roar of Supay filled the rock and the world itself as he heard this, and Nácom was now utterly crushed to the ground. “Honorable? Wasn’t it you who forgot to honor the gods who gave you life and future? Wasn’t it you who looked down on us with ingratitude and only looked at the sky, towards the sun, defying the rest of the gods ?” Intimidated and not knowing how to answer this, Nácom said “I don’t know what you’re talking about…..we were always a unite with the jungle and its dweller “
Again the angry roar of Supay sounded and the trembling ground made Nácom doubt his convictions in the face of this omnipotence of strength. “Three messengers I sent you in the form of toucans and three times you ignored them. Why do you praise the light? Because there are shadows. Why do you praise life? Because death shows its value? There is more than the pleasures that inti bestow, I brought you the gift of appreciating them, like many other gods. But what have you done? You have forgotten us.”
Claws of terror gripped Nácom’s soul and revealed the truth to him. Decades of ignorance and the creeping growth of false beliefs. So Supay purified the first of the Tapirapes, and amid cries of guilt, Nácom sank his blade into his own heart. As the blood wet Supay’s lips and he tasted the purity of that admission, remorse swept over him, and using Nácom’s dying breath he asked, “What you did for me today, would you be willing to continue making that sacrifice if I gave you one more chance ?” The humility of Nácom was reflected in the dull glow of the dying eyes and with a last devoted nod he was about to disappear from the world. But at that moment Supay reached into his soul and signed Nácom as his own as the sky cleared and the almighty toucan vanished from the sky cawing the message of a new age.
When Nácom woke up again, he was lying at the foot of the mountain. In his hand he held three black toucan feathers, three black shadows that should forever burn themselves into the memory of the Tapirapes so that we should never again doubt the wisdom of the ancients, the omnipotence of all gods and the beauty of their creation. Since this days everybody of us dedicate his life to his own god, to keep the balance and peace.
elders -They are the wisest among us, their wisdom are the reason of our trust to their decisions and it is said that some of them are childes of the god Inti itself.
shamans – They build the spiritual bind to the gods and their connection to the spirits provide them a power which not everybody can call his own. Reading the signs of the spirits they provide us spiritual shelter.
hunters- They are the keeper of the jungle and its creatures. their knowledge provide the tribe the base to survive. Our nutrition and a warm fire, a warm heart and the soul of honesty.
scouts – They are sensitive to any change in the jungle and sharing this informations with the tribe they provide the shamans the opportunity to read the future
warriors – they dedicate their life to Nácom and facing the dark side of the life their life remembers us that even in peaceful times the heritage of all gods are embodied in the Tapirapes.