Burial Ground of Small Animals

‘Teso dos Bichos’ is truly a terrible episode of the X Files and should be avoided at all costs - unless you have strong feelings about either cultural appropriation or cats. While either one of these will give you a reason to keep watching neither improves the quality of the show. 

The title of the episode refers to the archaeological dig being conducted in the Ecuadorian Highlands, lead by Dr. Roosevelt, we must notice. According to Wikipedia, it translates as, “Burial Ground of Small Animals”, as appropriate a place to locate this episode as any.

Upon finding an ‘Amaru’ or burial jar, containing the remains of a female shaman, Roosevelt is warned that the locals, the Sekona Indians, won’t let them take it. Roosevelt, of course, isn’t about to let “these people” stop him. Roosevelt has the good graces not to pretend to be working for the benefit of the locals. His claim to be ‘saving’ rather than ‘disturbing’ her, has some merit, taking into account PetroEcuador’s plans to build a pipeline through the burial grounds. Upon hearing the warning, however, he drops his use of the gendered pronoun and with it any pretensions to the role of saviour: "Have the piece cleared and packed. It's going with us.” [my emphasis]

A good case could be made for the Ecuadorian Government’s collusion in the destruction of the national heritage, but who would listen? Certainly, it would seem, not the State Department, who had made no response to Bilac’s letter on behalf of the Secona. Dr. Bilac may be high on Yahe, but there is still a note of sarcasm when he informs Scully and Mulder that he has "been teaching them [the Secona] the joys of American bureaucracy."

The urn is taken, people die, cats get to nibble Scully’s toes, the urn is returned. Job done.

I suppose if one lives in the mountains of Ecuador then one is likely to have an appropriate animal spirit. Having drunk the yahe, it’d be unfortunate if one discovered one’s spirit animal was a penguin. There doesn’t seem any reason why this couldn’t happen. That there are no penguins in the Ecuadorian mountains is no excuse. 

Proximity plays an important role in forming relationships and even falling in love. It’s likely then that one’s animal spirit be of the local fauna. Strange that no one seems to adopt the Giant Otter or Brazilian Tapir or even the South American Coatimundi. The Jaguar seems to carry the burden as far as South American animal spirits are concerned.

But Shamanism, per se, is not localized. The word ‘shaman’ “originates from the Tungus tribe in Siberia”, but applies to "spiritual and ceremonial leaders among indigenous cultures worldwide” because of the “countless similarities between various ancient traditions”. (cf. Shamanism)

So, if shamans around the world are participating in fairly similar ceremonies and contacting basically the same spirit world, there’s reason to think that penguin spirits are hob-nobbing with jaguar spirits, with nothing to prevent it gate-crashing a Seconan yahe party.

While one can’t imagine there being intestines hanging from the trees if we were indeed dealing with a penguin spirit, it might add a degree of, if not interest, at least curiosity in an otherwise time-waster of an episode.