Wapishana People - Death

Death

Deaths were recognized to evil spirits or to kanaima, who were healers that had evil intentions and solely used their powers for that reason. Nowadays, Wapishana use words like hepatitis, malaria, and pneumonia to identify causes of death, but they often still believe that the true cause is kanaima or another malevolent spirit. A person's prized possessions are buried with them in the Wapishana culture for use in the afterlife.

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