The Custom in the body of the bädi. : The soul energies of the Otomí ritual specialist in Pantepec, Puebla

Abstract

The work presented in this article was carried out in Acalmancillo, Ixtololoya, El Pozo and Tenexco, Otomí communities of the municipality of Pantepec, located in the Sierra Norte of Puebla State. It addresses the conceptions of the body - jäi, in Otomí, means body, people, person and forms a unity with the soul energies that compose it: nzahki (the force of life), mbui (the heart) and xamu (sexual desire) -. He also pays particular attention to the figure of the bädi —healer— who can enter a trance and heal, thanks to the specificities of his soul energies. Those qualities portray a nzahki stronger than the rest of the people, a control of his mbui through his double heart, so as to be able to enter in trance and a hightened control of his xamu, which is acquired through certain sexual prohibitions. These characteristics that differentiate the bädi from the rest of the people are what allows him to enter a trance —in line with the Customs— and perform his work. In turn, it is the qualities of these soul energies that build the habitus of the bädi.