Blood, semen, coca, and tobacco: The transmission of ritual knowledge among the Murui-Muinaɨ Indigenous people of the Amazon

Difficulties in the intergenerational transmission of knowledge within Amazonian societies impact collective identity, sociopolitical cohesion, and ritual praxis. While idealized models of this transmission exist, these have come under strain, engendering concerns regarding the potential loss of knowledge. Nevertheless, as the Murui-Muinaɨ (Uitoto) case demonstrates, the transmission of ritual knowledge, articulated with conceptions of bodily substances and ritual products, has found alternative pathways in contexts of social crisis. These innovations, which include women and affinal kin breaking with male primogeniture, offer valuable comparative perspectives for other Amazonian societies facing similar challenges of social change and the disarticulation of traditional kinship structures.