Puneet Varma (Editor)

Hei tä bebi

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Hei tä bebi (literally, "bottom layer") is the lowest of the four layers in the Ya̧nomamö cosmos. According to Ya̧nomamö tradition, hei tä bebi was created after a piece of hedu kä misi (heaven) fell onto Hei kä misi (earth). The falling piece of hedu knocked a hole into hei kä misi, creating a hole and dislodging a swathe of earth which fell below forming hei tä bebi.

When this fell through hei kä misi it took with it the garden and shabono (village) of Ama̧hiri-teri, but it did not take the surrounding jungle. As a result, the landscape of Hei tä bebi is barren and desolate. The people and village of Ama̧hiri-teri got trapped there, and as a result were forced to turn to cannibalism. Using their spiritual powers, they capture the souls of children from hei kä misi for food.

References

Hei tä bebi Wikipedia