Sentence 78 has three clauses. In a the ITR event verb phrase, go, contains the implicit AGSSjaguar, and the second clause has the ITR event process verb phrase, look.around-move.ahead with
one SR, AGhejaguar. In b get.out is an ITR event verb phrase with an AG role, anteater. At this point the jaguar has disappeared and the anteater is getting out of the water.
In Sentence 79 the anteater discovers his plight. There are two clauses in a, b. The first verb, get- out, is a repetition of the previous independent verb. It is an ITR verb phrase that contains the implicit
AG role, SSanteater and the second clause with the TR event verb phrase, not.find, has two arguments: EXPanteater and THEMErobe.
Sentence 80, the conclusion, is a type of rationalization which explains the assumption that anteaters hate jaguars and want to kill them, because centuries ago the jaguar stole the anteater’s
colorful, nice robe which his mother had just made for him. There are three clauses. In a the TR event verb phrase, take, has three arguments: THEMErobe, AGjaguar, and an implicit REFanteater with the
MALF on the verb root take. In b the first clause consists of the TR stative verb phrase, hate, which has two implicit arguments: GOALjaguar and EXPSSanteater. The third clause b, c consists of the dual
TR event process verb phrase, want.to.kill, which contains two explicit arguments which remained implicit in the second clause: the SR GOALjaguar, and the one who feels hatred and therefore wants to
kill, the EXPanteater.
3.4.3 Description of the SRs in the text
The most prominent SR in the “Jaguar – Anteater” text is AG, with several prototypical ones. PAT is next, then EXP, THEME, REF, GOAL. The minor ones are: LOC, TIME, and SOURCE. The REF SRs are not
only quite frequent, but they also reflect the Amahuaca culture to a certain degree. Doing favors on the one hand is like having a bank account for the people, be it sharing food, helping build a house or
making a field, etc. On the other hand, people take things from others, often without asking permission or returning them. To ‘steal’ means to take what is hidden. In the myth, of course, the villain robs the
victim, the jaguar takes the anteater’s colorful robe which he had left apparently in full view at the river bank. However, the narrator makes it a point to mention that the jaguar leaves his old robe behind in
favor of the anteater. He could have kept his and taken the other one as well. But he did not do that. Instead he acted generously. In a sense the myth does not only communicate that the villain outsmarted
the victim, but it also implies that the victim acted like an immature child. The conceptual make-up of most of the SRs is similar to those in other languages: AG SUBJ is an
animate entity which acts with volition, performs an action that has visible effects, instigates a process, or controls an event. PAT SUBJ or DO can be an animate or inanimate entity. It often undergoes a
visible change of state or location with or without someone else causing the change. PAT can be obtained or possessed. It does not act with volition, nor does it instigate an event. EXP SUBJDO is an
animate entity whose registering nervous system is relevant in one way or another. The EXP reacts to the environment, desires, hates, appreciates something, is introduced to someone, experiences such
sensations as sound, smell, noise, is addressed, or is affected emotionally by someone’s activity. THEME DO is something that might move around literally or figuratively, but it remains unchanged. It specifies
andor terminates the meaning of the predicate. In the above text, of course, the robes are one of the major themes and the SR THEME is quite fitting. REF IO has two sub-roles: BENEF and MALF. It is an
animate entity in whose favor or for whose detriment something is done. The REFBENEF most often receives a favor such as help from someone or less often, an entity as a gift. The REFMALF has
something done to himher that is harmful, be it something is taken away through thievery, or something harmful is being done to himher. GOAL DOIO is a point of termination, an animate entity
who is the terminal owner of something, the entity towards which something is directed. SOURCE is the point of origin of an entity, i.e. an animate entity who might be the owner in a transfer or the entity
where physical sensations sound, smell, light, etc originate. LOC is the place where something is going on or where something can be found. TIME is the time span that elapses between two events, the time at
which an event is taking place or a period of time during which a certain event is taking place.
3.5 Conclusions
