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Tradition of Passage to
Adulthood of the Sateré-
Mawé: Initiation of the
Bullet Ants

Luis Sebastián Albarracin Herrera

Karen Vanessa Llica Achulli
Nicolás Vargas Melgar
Bullet ants: the most cruel
and painful initiation ritual
in the world.
What does it feel like to be stung by a bullet ant?

The first few seconds are intense burning, like

exposing a limb directly to fire or touching a red-
hot piece of metal. By then the victim has not
only become aware of the sting, but also screams
and starts to move around abruptly trying to
soothe the burning. A bullet ant sting is never
forgotten.
The most painful sting
The bullet ant sting ranks first on the Schmidt
index, a rating that measures the intensity of pain
caused by insect stings. The sting of a red ant or a
wasp is insignificant compared to the sting of this
ant, 30 times more powerful than that of a honey
bee. Its simple name alludes to the pain it most
resembles; a gunshot wound.
The ritual of the bullet ant

Deep in the Amazon jungle, a tribe uses the

sting of the bullet ant as part of an ancient
initiation ritual. For the Sateré-Mawé, the
final test that all men must pass to "become
men" is to face the bite of dozens of these
insects.
In the morning, the tribe's elders go out to collect hundreds of specimens
of bullet ants. With skill and care to avoid being stung, the ants are
introduced into a kind of gloves or mittens woven with leaves and
previously prepared, inside which sap and an infusion of herbs are
poured to numb them momentarily.
Inside a circle formed by men and women of the tribe, youngsters
between 9 and 16 years old wait anxiously for their moment to be part
of the ritual. In the center, a wooden stand waits for them to pass one by
one to put on gloves filled with ants. The chosen children present
themselves to their superiors and place their elbows on the stand
awaiting the ordeal.
With his eyes closed and his upper limbs facing
the sky, one boy prepares to begin the ritual. Two
men approach and place the gloves carefully on
his hands. The smoke poured by the priest
awakens the ants suddenly with only one purpose:
to sting the intruder who disturbs their calm.
The rictus of pain is not long in coming. The
titanic effort to deal with the burning breaks their
concentration for a moment, while tears roll down
their cheeks. The bells ringing in the background
speed up the rhythm and immediately the other
members of the tribe take him by the shoulders to
dance with him: at the same time that he is
recognized as an adult member by the others, the
movement distracts for a second from the pain and
moves his muscles to prevent the poison from
completely taking hold of them and he faints.
After about ten minutes, the test comes to an end and is passed. However,
recovery will not be easy. It is highly probable that some young people will suffer
loss of consciousness and spend the worst night of their lives between shivering,
sweating and constant burning that will subside in about 24 hours.
However, for them it has all been worth it: dozens of young men are now part of
the Sateré-Mawé men, who will pass on the painful initiation ritual from
generation to generation as a way of preserving their culture.
THANK YOU