This Extremely Painful Transition Initiation Will Make You Want To Cry For These Children 😱😢

The Mawé, also known as the Sateré or Sateré-Mawé, are an indigenous people of Brazil living in the state of Amazonas. They have an estimated population of about 13,350.

The Sateré-Mawé were the first to domesticate and cultivate guarana, a popular stimulant.

In the depths of the jungle, many native tribes still follow their traditional ways of life. They carry on ancient practices and rituals that have contributed to their survival.

Their culture values strength and courage, qualities needed to protect the tribe from hostile neighbors and natural predators, as well as to provide a steady supply of food for its members.

Mawé warriors and hunters ensure the well-being of the tribe in many regards, and they are highly revered.

As a result, young boys in the tribe are raised with the purpose of becoming warriors constantly at mind.

Joining the ranks of Mawé warriors, however, is not an easy undertaking. In one of the tribe’s most sacred rituals, young men hoping to gain the status of their elders must show themselves capable of enduring the worst that the jungle has to offer.

They prove their worth by remaining calm, often entirely expressionless, while experiencing excruciating pain.

The Initiation

The Mawé test their young men’s strength against a natural predator: the ant. Although it may not seem a formidable challenge to a foreigner, the Amazon Rainforest is home to a particularly venomous species of ants.

A single sting from ‘Paraponera clavata’, the ant of choice for Mawé initiations, is capable of causing hours of pain.

The species has been nicknamed the “bullet ant” because a sting is said (by some victims) to be as painful as being shot.

The powerful toxin used by the ant attacks and interferes with the nervous system, often causing uncontrollable shaking even after the waves of pain have ceased.

The effects of a single ant sting have been known to last days; the warrior hopefuls of the Mawé tribe, however, do not sustain just one sting.

In preparation for the initiation ceremony, bullet ants are sedated and harvested from the jungle.

While unconscious, the ants are woven into a pair of gloves made from leaves, with their stingers facing inward.

To be considered a man of the tribe, boys as young as twelve will thrust their hands into the gloves for a full five minutes (or longer), being stung the entire time.

The tribe leads the initiates in song and dance during the ordeal, but this distraction is their only relief.

When the gloves are removed, the ants’ venom continues acting for hours. In addition to the pain, it can cause muscle paralysis, disorientation, and hallucinations for hours.

And while completing the ceremony earns the young men respect, they must wear the gloves a total of twenty times before being considered fully initiated as tribal warriors.

When the ants wake up, the ceremony begins. The boys show courage by placing their hands in the gloves for 10 minutes each while being led in a traditional dance.

The ceremony repeats 19 more times before the young boys can call themselves men.

According to the Satere Mawe traditions, the bullet ant initiation prepares them for the pain of adulthood and how to manage pain without showing weakness.