Archetypal agents of affinity: 'Sacred musical instruments in the Guianas?

The central Guianas are not a classic area for the study of sacred flute cults, and one reason for this is that, arguably, flutes there are not really ‘sacred’ and the rituals that are associated with them are not really about the flutes themselves, the flutes being merely ‘tools’ in ceremonies which celebrate and renew society itself. There is nevertheless at least one type of flute ceremony found throughout the Guianas, which bears comparison with the ‘classic’ flute cults associated with other parts of Amazonia, even if the flutes are not preserved between ceremonies and are not subject to visual prohibitions. At the risk of reinforcing the impression that the Guiana Caribs do not qualify for entry to the ‘sacred flutes’ club, I am going to question a few of the categories that have been used to define its members, and suggest that the common features of Guianese and Northwestern Amazonian flute ceremonies may bring us insight into some pan-Amazonian social themes; in this I take advantage of the tendency for Guianese ethnography to provide simpler and more manageable templates, so to speak, of pan-Amazonian themes.