It is said that the Hotī shamans can kill with a single breath. When provoked, they blow a magic powder, called madúa, into the air that causes sickness. The powder also protects them from the dangerous animals of the jungle. Yet the Hotī shamans also cure. They do this in curing sessions performed in complete silence, without singing, the playing of maracas, or the use of tobacco or other substances.

The word closest in meaning to Hotī is "man." Although the origin of the Hotī language is unknown, some believe it is related to the languages of the De'aruwa and Sáliva. Others find similarities in vocalization and nasalization to the Yanomami. Little is known about the history of this group, in part because of their geographic isolation. Protected by rivers which were difficult to navigate, the Hotī were insulated from the outside invasion and exploitation that affected the region during the first half of the twentieth century. The Hotī live within the middle-superior basin of the Orinoco, northeast of the Escudo Guayanés. They occupy jungle regions bounded by the Kaima River in the north, the Maigualida mountain range in the east, the Asita River and Majagua channel to the south, and the Parucito and Cuchivero rivers to the west. The Hotī live in temporary settlements made up of one to four related family groups who share common territory. They move often, particularly during the dry season. Nuclear families generally live together in a single house. In cases when they must live in a communal house, each family has its own small space for personal belongings, hammocks, and a cooker. Families generally gather and pepare their own food. In terms of material culture, the Hotī have much in common with their neighbors, the E’ņepa. The two ethnic groups produce similar housing, cotton hammocks, cooking utensils, musical instruments, basketry, clothing, and body decorations. The Hotī make beaded necklaces from dried seeds, bird bones and beaks, and danta hooves. They pierce their ears with bamboo shoots, báquiro teeth, or thin needles made from monkey bone. They use dyes made from anatto and other vegetable resins for body painting. Until recently, the Hotī wore no clothing. Through E’ņepa influence, they have begun to wear guayucos, or loincloths. The male loincloth is a rectangular strip tied around the waist; a woman's barely covers her pubic area. They are usually woven in cotton, although other plant fibers also might be used. Like the E’ņepa, males fasten their loincloths with a belt made from human hair. Boys who do not yet wear loincloths tie a cotton ribbon around their waists. Adults, in addition to wearing loincloths, tie strips of cloth or human hair around their wrists, legs, and ankles. The loincloths, as well as the hammocks the Hotī use, are made of cotton that they cultivate themselves. Both men and women spin cotton, although women most often undertake this task. To make a hammock, spun threads are dyed with anatto and braided into a single cord. This cord is then woven into a hammock on a rustic loom consisting of two vertical posts placed a meter and a half apart; the distance of the posts establishes the length of the hammock. Hotī ceramic artistry also reveals an affinity to that of the E’ņepa. Vessels are formed from rings of clay that are smoothed together with a piece of a gourd. Once dried, they are baked over an open fire. Gourds also are used as containers to store and serve food and water. The Hotī also make a wide variety of baskets for use as containers or for carrying loads. Baskets, as well as animal cages and crowns, are woven using tirite fibers. This fiber also is used to make fans for stoking fires. The Hotī weave palm esteras to sit on as well as rectangular guayares made of two palm leaves coarsely woven together; the guayare is used once, then discarded. References Virginia Guarisma Pinto y Walter Coppens, "Vocabulario Hoti," Antropolķgica 49, 1978, pp. 3 - 28.