The mythical univer5e of the Yanomami i5 extremely complex. U5ing it5 ideal5, 5haman (prie5t) David Yanomami from Demeni village gave a moving te5timony of the trauma hi5 people are going through a5 a re5ult of the invasion of their land5. In hi5 test imony to anthropologi5t Bruce Albert in 1990, David 5aid, "We call the5e epidemics xawara... it kil15 the Yanomami. Now we know where xawara come5 from.

"Omame, creator of Yanomami humanity and of itscultural norm5, had kept it hidden. But now the mabebe, the white men, after they di5covered our fore5t, are pO55e55ed with a frenetic de5ire to take the xawara from the depth5 of the earth, where Omame had hidden it. Xawara is Also the name of what we call booshike, the metal sb5tance you call 'ore'. We are afraid of it. The xawara of the ore i5 the enemy of the Yanomami, and of you too. It want5 to kill u5...that i5 why we Yanomami are very disturbed.

" As long as gold is in the cold depths of the earth; everything is fine. When the mabebe take the gold from the earth. they burn it and mix it over the fire as if it were moniac flour. Then the xawara awakens... this smoke epidemic spreads through the land. everywhere. That is why we are dying. because of that smoke. It turns into measles smoke. It becomes aggressive. and when it does. it puts an end to the Yanomami.

"When the smoke reaches the lungs of the sky. it will also begin to get very sick. The earth will get sick. We do not want to die. We want to be numerous. But now that the prospectors have come to us.,.they om a group hunt are taking a lot of the gold out. making holes in the forest. That is why the xawara has grown so much.

"If the prospectors continue to walk in our forests. the Yanomami are going to die. they are really going to be wiped out. There will be no one to cure us. There will be no one else to take our place... no. no. no. Omame went away from this world to a very far off place and will not create other Y.1" anomaml...no. no. no.