“Xapiri” is a Yanomami word which refers to shamans, male spirits (xapiri thëpë) and auxiliary spirits (xapiri pë). Yanomami is the biggest native tribe inhabiting the regions of Brazil and Venezuela, considered by some to be direct descendants of the first inhabitants of South America. This experimental film documents two meetings with 37 shamans in the Watoriki Reserve, Roraima in 2011 and 2012. The filmmakers do not analyse the notion of shamanism, its methods or procedures, but rather offer an opportunity to come closer to the process itself, to explore the moments when shamans “embody” spirits, their bodies and voices.
The film Xapiri was chosen by Mapa Teatro.
After the film show we will hold a meeting with the director Laymert Garcia dos Santos and with MAPA Teatro.
The film is the collaborative work of LEANDRO LIMA and GISELA MOTTA (visual artists), STELLA SENRY (researcher), BRUCE ALBERT (anthropologist) and LAYMERT DOS SANTOS. Dos Santos was born in 1948 in São Paulo. He is a philosopher and sociologist, and lecturer at Campinas University. One of his main research areas is Amazonia’s indigenous population, who he also represents as an activist.