I'm curious... weren't these aputu/macana around and being used prior to European invasion? So was the club both a self-defense Kanaima killer and warrior's weapon all along? How prevalent was the kanaima practice historically? I was under the impression it became more significant post European invasion... socially working as a reaffirmation of aboriginal power, spiritually as the destructive compliment to healing and life, and physically as a very cruel, torturous way to die...
It's interesting that despite the availability of machetes and guns, that they'd still be using aputu - but not much can beat good old impact weapons at what they do - crush, bludgeon, and smash!