Sacred Tribal Ritual -- Poisonous Ant Bites

April 18, 2007 — -- In the heart of the Amazon rain forest, the strange rituals of a small tribe of indigenous people provide clues to possible future discoveries of medical science.

We set out by speedboat for the small village of the Sataré Maué, approximately 30 minutes upstream from Manaus on the tea-colored waters of the Rio Negro.

We had been invited to meet a small tribe of Indians whose lives, livelihood and customs have not changed in centuries. As we approached the village, the sound of drums emanated from the forest. The driver of our boat said that the drumming was a signal that we were welcome to come ashore and visit.

We scrambled up the riverbank and into the forest and immediately found ourselves at the edge of the village common -- an earthen circle defined by a perimeter of palm fronds supported by bamboo. All 32 inhabitants of the village were assembled in the common area, their arms, legs and faces painted with an inky black substance in various ceremonial designs. They had gathered for a uniquely terrifying ritual to be performed on the 13-year-old son of the village chief.

Chief Ramal Ato explained through an interpreter that we were about to witness a "coming of age" ceremony for his son, Taché, who sat nearby, wearing a green crown of woven palm fronds that pressed tightly across his forehead. Almost immediately, Chief Ramal began an ominous chant while stamping his bare feet on the packed-earth floor.

Hanging on a kind of bamboo easel in the center of the common area were two large armbands -- perhaps 8 inches long -- made of the same woven palm fronds used to make Taché's crown. Locked between the weaves of each armband was a squirming, wriggling mass of very large black ants, perhaps a hundred or more on each armband. Highly poisonous, the bite of just one of these tocandira ants can be lethal, but to the Sataré Maué they are also sacred and play a terrifyingly central role in the ceremony.