Several legends refer to the origin and powers of curare, the famous paralytic poison used by Indigenous peoples on the tips of arrows and blowguns, especially in the Amazon. Although its use is widespread, the main origin stories of curare come from the region of the Upper Rio Negro and Solimões, where peoples of the Tukanoan language family, such as the Desana and many of the peoples around the Uaupés River, of the Arawakan family, such as the Tariana, Tikuna, and Baniwa and the Makú language family, increasingly less spoken by groups like the Hupda, live. Popularly, the Tukano and Arawakan are considered “river peoples,” while the Makú are known as “forest peoples.”
Indeed, there is anthropological and linguistic evidence that speakers of Tukanoan and Arawakan languages historically dominated Makú speakers, making them labor under their command. Tukano languages contain various derogatory terms for the Makú: boroa (in Dahséa) and pohsá (in Cubeo) mean “servant,” and wirapoyá (Desana) means “spoiled person,” while peoná, which originally meant “lords of the path,” also took on a negative connotation. Nonetheless, legends and anthropological evidence suggest that the origin of curare in the region is tied to Makú-speaking peoples, who call the poison Nam.
According to the Makú, curare was a gift that served as protection against those who attacked them. One legend recorded in the early 20th century recounts that the Makú were suffering and defenseless, fewer in number, nomadic, and unarmed. One day, near one of the remaining villages, three Makú encountered a large stone, upon which a being named Keinte appeared, holding a blowgun.