On Savages / Gustavo Pereira

The Pemones from Gran Sabana call the dew Chirïké Yetaakú, that means Saliva of the Stars; the tears Enú Parapüé, meaning Juice of the Eyes, and the heart Yewán Enapué: Seed of the Womb. The Waraos, from Orinoco's delta, say Mejokoji (The Sun of the Chest) to name the soul. To say friend they say Ma Jokaraisa: My other Heart. And to say forgetfulness they say Emonikitame, that means forgiveness.

              The fools don't know what they say
              To say earth they say mother
              To say mother they say tenderness
              To say tenderness they say surrender

They are so confused
that truly
        the kind people we are
              we call them savages.

Gustavo Pereira (1940). From Cuaderno Terrestre (1999).