Indigenous People Setting of Social Circumstance

63 Amazed by the scenery he saw, the narrator described the situation in the community as prehistory-like. From his description, the Shapra community is described with its primordial touch. The way the narrator compared the Shapras to the lives of ‗our distant ancestor‘ emphasizes that this community still lived in very traditional ways. The terms ‗hunters, gatherers, bowmen, nomads‘ depict that this community relied on what nature provided them in the jungle. Besides, their spirituality was still traditional also for the mentioning of shamans, irrational and animistic to describe their beliefs. This, too, was Peru, and only then I became fully aware of it: a world still untamed, the Stone Age, magico-religious cultures, polygamy, headshrinking in a Shapra village of Moronacocha, the cacique, Tariri, explained to us, through an interpreter, the complicated technique of steeping and stuffing with herbs required by the operation−that is to say, the dawn of human history Llosa, 1989: 73. The narrator then remarked that despite the primordial touch shown by the Shapras, this community was still part of the Peruvians. That this community existed somewhere in Peru made him aware that besides the people he usually encountered, there were some other people lived in wildlife with their own ways to survive. Thus, the Shapras as well as the Aguarunas and Huambisas are depicted with its primordial touch. They are part of Peruvian society that still holds the old traditions. It is seen from the way they survive and also their spirituality. 64 iii. The Machiguengas Machiguenga community is another society mentioned in the story. This community is depicted more thoroughly than the others in the story since it covers big part of the conflict. Machiguenga is one of indigenous community dwelling in Peruvian jungle. They are also considered as Indians. The Machiguengas live mostly in the jungle of Quillabamba. This description can be seen from the narrator‘s contemplation when he was curious about how his friend, Saúl Zuratas, could earn knowledge about certain beliefs and customs of a tribe. The narrator finally found out that it was Saúl‘s encountering with the Machiguenga that enabled him to describe about many traditions of this community. I now know that those Indians, whose language he had begun to learn with the help of native pupils in the Dominican mission of Quillabamba−he once sang me a sad, repetitive, incomprehensible song, shaking a seed- filled gourd to mark the rhytm−were the Machiguengas Llosa, 1989: 19. Machiguengas, as well as the other indigenous communities dwelling in Peruvian jungle, rely on their beliefs on magical things and on the clash between good and bad things. They believe that their existence can last because they see the rule of good and bad signs happening among their communities. Besides, it is seen also from their polytheism for they have many gods and goddesses, such as Tasurinchi, the god of good, and Kientibakori, the god of evil Llosa, 1989: 14- 15. Related to their beliefs on magical things, Machiguengas have their own ways to manifest their spirituality. The manifestation is seen from their costumes and their attributes. The Machiguengas draw secret writing instead of decorative